Treatment Outcomes in Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension: Do Epidural Blood Patches Stop the Leaks?

Abstract:   Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a postural headache syndrome unrelated to dural puncture. Because of the increasing failure of epidural blood patch (EBP) to relieve headache in SIH, we retrospectively investigated the epidemiological features and treatment outcomes in 55 cases of SIH. The study population was stratified by age and sex; continuous variables were compared for differences by t -tests; categorical variables were compared by Chi-squared analysis or Fisher exact tests. Significant differences were identified by P values of 0.05 or less. The mean age of the study population was 44 ± 12 years with a female to male ratio of 1.3:1.0. Men presented with subdural hematomas ( P  = 0.001) more often than women. Meningeal enhancement on contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was the most consistent radiographic finding. Radionuclide cisternography (RC) demonstrated thoracolumbar dural leaks in 16 of 22 patients. EBP failures were more common in patients aged 40 and younger than in older patients ( P  = 0.003). Postural headache from SIH was not uniformly responsive to EBP, and had significant comorbidities, especially in men. The management of postural headache in SIH by other techniques to restore brain position and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics should be investigated.     

泰勒宁片和科洛曲片用于隆乳术后镇痛的比较

目的:评价泰勒宁片和科洛曲片对隆乳手术后疼痛的疗效和不良反应。方法:采用随机开放平行对照试验。共完成60例,其中A组30例予泰勒宁片,单次1片;B组30例予科洛曲片,单次1片。结果:泰勒宁片对隆乳手术后引起的中度或重度疼痛总有效率可达96.7%,科洛曲片的总有效率可达83.3%。服药后泰勒宁片组的疼痛强度差均高于科洛曲组,经统计学处理,有显著性差异(P<0.05)。不良反应发生率较科洛曲片组高。结论:泰勒宁片为中强度镇痛药,对于隆乳手术后引起的中重度疼痛有良好的镇痛效果。     

RGD-based strategies for selective delivery of therapeutics and imaging agents to the tumour vasculature

During the past decade, RGD-peptides have become a popular tool for the targeting of drugs and imaging agents to alphavbeta3-integrin expressing tumour vasculature. RGD-peptides have been introduced by recombinant means into therapeutic proteins and viruses. Chemical means have been applied to couple RGD-peptides and RGD-mimetics to liposomes, polymers, peptides, small molecule drugs and radiotracers. Some of these products show impressive results in preclinical animal models and a RGD targeted radiotracer has already successfully been tested in humans for the visualization of alphavbeta3-integrin, which demonstrates the feasibility of this approach. This review will summarize the structural requirements for RGD-peptides and RGD-mimetics as ligands for alphavbeta3. We will show how they have been introduced in the various types of constructs by chemical and recombinant techniques. The importance of multivalent RGD-constructs for high affinity binding and internalization will be highlighted. Furthermore the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of RGD-targeted therapeutics and diagnostics reported in recent years will be reviewed.     

Laryngeal Transplantation in 2005: A Review

There is no good surgical, medical or prosthetic solution to the problems faced by those with a larynx whose function is irreversibly damaged by tumor or trauma. Over the past 10 years, the pace of research designed to establish laryngeal transplantation as a therapeutic option for these persons has increased steadily. The biggest milestone in this field was the world's first true laryngeal transplant performed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1998. The recipient's graft continues to function well, in many respects, even after 7 years. However, it has also highlighted the remaining barriers to full-scale clinical trials. Stimulated by these observations, several groups have accumulated data which point to answers to some of the outstanding questions surrounding functional reinnervation and immunomodulation. This review seeks to outline the progress achieved in this field by 2005 and to point the way forward for laryngeal transplantation research in the 21st century.     

放射治疗71例骨转移癌止痛效果分析

目的观察低于常规剂量的2种分割方式治疗骨转移性疼痛的疗效。方法71例恶性肿瘤晚期骨转移患者,总计93处骨转移灶,根据疼痛程度及行动受限程度,采取2种均低于常规剂量的分割方式进行放射治疗,分别为Dm30Gy/10f/2W,Dm30Gy/6f/2W。观察疼痛缓解情况。结果2种分割方式止痛有效率分别为88%、95%。两组间无显著差异性(P>0.05)。与国内多数文献报告的结果接近。结论低于常规剂量的分割方式对转移性骨痛疗效与常规剂量的分割方式的疗效相当,且简便易行。     

Can Electrocardiographic Criteria Predict Adverse Cardiac Events and Positive Cardiac Markers?

OBJECTIVES: To determine electrocardiogram (ECG) predictors of positive cardiac markers and short-term adverse cardiac events in an undifferentiated chest pain population presenting to emergency departments (EDs). The authors hypothesized that specific ECG findings, other than those previously identified in higher-risk populations, would be predictive of cardiac outcomes and positive cardiac markers. METHODS: This study used data from a prospectively collected, retrospectively analyzed Internet-based data registry of undifferentiated chest pain patients (i*trACS). Logistic regression modeling was performed to determine the ECG findings that were predictive of 1) positive cardiac markers and 2) short-term adverse cardiac events. RESULTS: ST-segment elevation (STE), ST-segment depression (STD), pathological Q-waves (PQW), and T-wave inversion were associated with increased odds of percutaneous coronary intervention or catheterization, myocardial infarction, or coronary artery bypass grafting. The odds of creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) measuring positive were increased if STE, STD, or PQW were present [odds ratio (OR) 2.495, 2.582, and 1.295, respectively]. A right bundle branch block tended to decrease the odds of CK-MB measuring positive (OR 0.658). A similar pattern of results was observed for troponin I (OR 3.608 for STE, 3.72 for STD, 1.538 for PQW). Troponin T showed an increased odds of measuring positive if any of STE, STD, left bundle branch block, or T-wave inversion were evident (OR 2.313, 2.816, 1.80, and 1.449, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Initial ECG criteria can be used to predict short-term cardiac outcomes and positive cardiac markers. These findings can be important aids in the risk-stratification and aggressive treatment regimens of chest pain patients presenting to EDs.     

A New and Alternative Leads Positioning for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Treatment: Paraforaminal Stimulation

We present a case of a female patient suffering from type I complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) who developed “mirror imaging” of her CRPS and was successfully treated with dual spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in the paraforaminal epidural space. This patient initially had unilateral pain that was unsuccessfully treated with midline SCS and single‐lead lateral epidural lead placement “paraforaminally.” One year later, because we believed that paraforaminal stimulation would preferentially stimulate primary sensitized afferents innervating the painful area, we reperformed SCS with two leads positioned laterally and paraforaminally close to the roots within the epidural space. After repositioning and after 1 year of paraforaminal stimulation, there was significant improvement in the patient's symptoms, resolving all unilateral and “mirrored” symptoms. We conclude that paraforaminal stimulation may be a valid therapeutic option for the treatment of CRPS.     

Postoperative analgesia: pain by choice? The influence of patient attitudes and patient education

Postoperative pain control can be unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons, including patients' attitudes towards pain treatment itself. To assess patients' expectations and their influence on postoperative analgesia, as well as the prevalence of pain following common gynaecological surgery, a prospective study was performed in 166 patients with either adbominal hysterectomy, mastectomy, laparoscopy or uterine curettage. After a first postoperative period with routine on-demand analgesia, a nurse specialised in pain treatment discussed the purposes and risks of pain treatment with the patients and cared for these patients in the second, subsequent study period. Following this discussion, 30 of 40 patients refusing analgesics in the first study period agreed to be given pain medication. In the groups with hysterectomy or mastectomy, pain control improved in the second postoperative period, even though the doses of analgesics administered were generally lower. Education of patients regarding the aims and risks of pain therapy is an essential part of pain control and can lead to an improvement of postoperative analgesia.     

A comprehensive strategy for the evaluation and triage of the chest pain patient: A cost comparison study

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to determine the cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive, risk-based triage system, composed of multiple critical pathways, with the use of early myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in low-risk patients. We found previously that a chest pain evaluation system that uses MPI in low-risk patients was safe and effective, but the cost-effectiveness of this approach was not studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared two groups. The Acute Cardiac Team (ACT) group (n = 874) was assigned prospectively to 1 of 4 risk levels by emergency department (ED) physicians. Level 1, 2, and 3 patients were admitted; level 4 patients were evaluated in the ED. Level 3 and 4 patients underwent ED MPI. The control group (n = 713) represented consecutive patients evaluated in the prior year according to standard care and assigned retrospectively to an ACT level based on the presenting electrocardiographic and clinical data. Record and hospital administrative data were assessed for clinical variables, outcomes, lengths of stay, and all expenses incurred within 30 days of the index visit. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar, including age, sex, myocardial infarction prevalence, and 30-day revascularization rates within each level or between the two groups. Mean costs per encounter were reduced for the ACT patients for each level, which was significant when all patients were compared ($5,030 +/- $7,081 vs $6,044 +/- $10,432, P =.02). Use of MPI in the low-risk patients was associated with reduced costs (level 3, $4,958 +/- $4,948 vs $5,051 +/- $7,036; level 4, $1,529 +/- $2,664 vs $1,794 +/- $6,854) and was associated with a significantly lower angiography rate and shorter length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a comprehensive strategy for chest pain evaluation and triage reduced overall costs for patients with chest pain on presentation. Acute MPI in the ED setting did not increase net cost.