Diagnostic Significance of Ultrasonographic Measurements and Median-Ulnar Ratio in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Correlation with Nerve Conduction Studies

MethodsThe pisiform CSA (CSA_pisiform), swelling ratio (SR), palmar bowing, and CSA_pisiform/ulnar CSA (CSA_ulnar) measurements made in two subgroups of CTS patients (having sensory affection alone or having both sensory and motor affection) were compared with controls. CSA_ulnar was measured in Guyon''s canal at the level of most-protuberant portion of the pisiform bone.ResultsThe values of all of the measured US parameters were higher in patients with CTS (n=50) than in controls (n=62). CSA_pisiform could be used to diagnose CTS of mild severity. All of the parameters were positively correlated with the distal latency of the compound muscle action potential, and all of them except for SR were negatively correlated with the sensory nerve conduction velocity. A CSA_pisiform/CSA_ulnar ratio of ≥1.79 had a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 76% for diagnosing CTS.ConclusionsOnly CSA_pisiform measurements were reliable for diagnosing early stages of CTS, and CSA_pisiform/CSA_ulnar had a lower diagnostic value for diagnosing CTS.     

52例成年难治性癫(痫)患者诊疗现状分析

目的:探索成年难治性癫(痫)患者的诊断、治疗及管理方法.方法:通过对就诊于我科的成年难治性癫(痫)患者的5年临床随访资料进行回顾性分析,了解难治性癫(痫)病情的转归;同时将几种联合用药方案的疗效进行对比,探索最佳方案.结果:确诊为难治性癫(痫)的52例患者中,29例(56％)继续到专科医院就诊;13例(25％)选择到社区或基层医院综合治疗;10例(19％)未规范治疗.经过正规抗癫(痫)治疗者有21例(40％),治疗效果明显,2年内未再发作;31例(60％)病情未能有效控制.结论:难治性癫(痫)患者的就诊、治疗明显影响患者病情的转归,治疗缺口大,依从性差,非医疗因素严重影响其身心健康.应尽快制定规范化的诊疗方式,加大宣传,着力改善癫(痫)患者的生活品质.目前几种常用的二线抗癫(痫)药物对于难治性癫(痫)的疗效比较差异无显著意义.     

The postmortem proxy-based interview—future directions

The present study aims to provide an overview of the procedural and methodological challenges that need to be addressed when determining the content and application of postmortem proxy-based interviews and recommendations for meeting these challenges in future death investigations are outlined. Preliminary interview considerations are discussed and a step-by-step procedural algorithm for applying proxy-based interview protocol is supplied. A vulnerability-stress model is used for organizing the conceptualization of risk and protective factors into domains of theoretically similar factors. Techniques to improve data collected about mental disorders and stressful life events—variables addressed in nearly all psychological autopsy studies—are suggested, and the importance of examining certain understudied constructs (e.g., psychological factors, family history, select situational factors, childhood adversity, and protective factors) is emphasized. Given the convergence of findings across postmortem proxy-based interviews, whereby extracting postmortem psychiatric diagnoses is the rule, the next generation of studies must offer a point of departure from univariate models, by studying how and why well known exposures interact to produce suicide. In practical terms, targeting specific sub-populations and high-risk individuals can serve as the basis for constructing and testing different clinical hypothesis, which in turn may yield insights into the underlying etiological heterogeneity of suicide.     

Outcome of patients with dual diagnosis in secondary psychiatric care

Background: Dual diagnosis (DD) is a common co-morbidity of mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD) and patients with DD are prone to complications. Better knowledge on the outcome, mortality and management of patients with DD in usual secondary psychiatric care would help to inform improved treatment strategies in the future. Aims: To explore the functional outcome and mortality of patients with DD receiving psychiatric treatment. To assess the recognition of substance use disorders (SUDs) in terms of diagnosis, and the associations of clinically diagnosed SUDs with treatment-related variables. Methods: The sample of 330 patients was collected by screening all currently treated patients with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a question about other substances used. The inclusion criteria were AUDIT?>7 and/or reported use of other substances during the preceding 12 months. The Global Assessment of Functioning scale was used to assess functional outcomes during a 2-year follow-up. Information concerning treatment and patient characteristics was collected retrospectively. Results: Level of functioning remained stable among all study patients during follow-up. The mortality rate was not increased. Effective medication use was associated with improved functional outcomes. SUDs were underdiagnosed. A clinically diagnosed SUD seemed to have an impact on the regularity of appointments and the doses of prescribed medications. Conclusions: Given our results suggesting a stable level of functioning, patients with DD appear to be well managed within secondary psychiatric care. Attention should be paid to more precise diagnostics of SUDs and to effective use of medication.     

“由于其他躯体疾病所致的人格改变”的访谈与诊疗

患者为年近30岁的已婚女性,本科毕业,目前从事教师职业。几年前,患者在接受器官移植后出现明显的人格改变。在手术之前,她性情平和,无人格方面的异常。手术之后,虽然她的丈夫对她呵护备至,并且甘于接受他们没有孩子的事实,但她变得好与人争辩、容易嫉妒、高兴不起来、缺乏自信,并常做噩梦。患者的公婆一直不知道她的真实病情,更不知道她在服用免疫抑制剂因而不能生育。患者对这种隐瞒行为感到内疚,也尤为感到无助。患者除了发生人格改变以外,还经常感觉乏力并且近期查出有畸胎瘤。医生对患者的诊断是"由于其他躯体疾病所致的人格改变"。对这位患者不需要药物治疗,但心理治疗和认知行为治疗可以使她重新把自身的想法聚焦在生活的积极面,并学会如何处理不能改变的现状。医生还建议患者避免从事对体力或智力要求较高的工作,以免给免疫系统增加负担。     

阿尔茨海默病神经影像学研究进展

阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer Disease,AD),又称老年性痴呆,是一种病因复杂、隐匿起病的神经退行性疾病,主要临床表现为记忆障碍,同时伴有人格改变及思维语言障碍等神经精神症状,AD的特征性病理改变为β淀粉样蛋白(Aβ)沉积和神经元纤维缠结,以及神经元丢失伴胶质细胞增生等,这些病理改变破坏了大脑结构和功能.AD发病率高,平均生存周期只有5.5年.随着我国人口老龄化的快速发展,AD患者数量逐年增加,给家庭及社会带来越来越沉重的负担,因此,对AD做出早期诊断变得尤为重要.然而,AD起病隐匿,早期的临床表现并不突出,且实验室检查也缺乏足够的特异性,早期容易被漏诊和误诊,当临床医生做出明确诊断时,多数患者已处于AD的中晚期,这在一定程度上延误了AD的治疗,因此,对AD进行早期诊断,尽早进行治疗具有非常重要的意义.近年来,随着影像学技术的不断发展,为AD的早期诊断提供重要的影像学依据.现分别从结构性磁共振(sMRI)、静息态功能磁共振成像(Rs-fMRI)、磁共振弥散张量成像(DTI)、正电子发射计算机断层显像(PET)等几个方面,阐述影像学技术在AD早期诊断的研究进展.     

Hypochondriasis as an early manifestation of dementia with Lewy bodies: an autopsied case report

Discrepancies between clinical and pathological diagnoses of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may occur because the full disease progression remains unclear, especially during the early stage. Herein, we report the case of a 78‐year‐old Japanese man with hypochondriasis who had autopsy‐confirmed limbic‐type DLB pathology. He exhibited no core clinical features of DLB. We attempted to identify the clinicopathological correlations in the early stages of DLB. At the age of 77, he became hypochondriacal and exhibited progressive cognitive decline after the death of his wife. He was concerned about his poor physical condition, but hospital examinations did not identify any overtly abnormal findings. At 78 years of age, he consulted a neurologist with complaints of facial numbness and irritability. Neurological examination revealed no overt abnormality, and he scored 21 points on the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed mild bilateral ventricular enlargement. The patient was clinically diagnosed as having possible Alzheimer's disease. Approximately 1 month after his consult, he died of acute pneumonia in a psychiatric hospital to which he had been admitted for severe aggressive behaviour. He exhibited no core clinical features pointing towards a clinical diagnosis of DLB. Neuropathological investigation revealed limbic‐type Lewy body disease with concurrent minimum Alzheimer‐type pathology, which corresponds to high‐likelihood DLB pathology based on the Third Consortium DLB pathological criteria. The patient had minimum nigral degeneration, which is consistent with the absence of parkinsonism. This autopsied case suggests that some DLB patients exhibit hypochondriasis in the early stage of the disease, even if they lack the core clinical features of DLB.     

“Red‐flag” symptom clusters in transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy

Transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR‐FAP) is a rare, progressive, life‐threatening, hereditary disorder caused by mutations in the transthyretin gene and characterized by extracellular deposition of transthyretin‐derived amyloid fibrils in peripheral and autonomic nerves, heart, and other organs. TTR‐FAP is frequently diagnosed late because the disease is difficult to recognize due to phenotypic heterogeneity. Based on published literature and expert opinion, symptom clusters suggesting TTR‐FAP are reviewed, and practical guidance to facilitate earlier diagnosis is provided. TTR‐FAP should be suspected if progressive peripheral sensory‐motor neuropathy is observed in combination with one or more of the following: family history of a neuropathy, autonomic dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy, gastrointestinal problems, inexplicable weight loss, carpal tunnel syndrome, renal impairment, or ocular involvement. If TTR‐FAP is suspected, transthyretin genotyping, confirmation of amyloid in tissue biopsy, large‐ and small‐fiber assessment by nerve conduction studies and autonomic system evaluations, and cardiac testing should be performed.