Diagnostic approach to pleural effusion in adults

The first step in the evaluation of patients with pleural effusion is to determine whether the effusion is a transudate or an exudate. An exudative effusion is diagnosed if the patient meets Light's criteria. The serum to pleural fluid protein or albumin gradients may help better categorize the occasional transudate misidentified as an exudate by these criteria. If the patient has a transudative effusion, therapy should be directed toward the underlying heart failure or cirrhosis. If the patient has an exudative effusion, attempts should be made to define the etiology. Pneumonia, cancer, tuberculosis, and pulmonary embolism account for most exudative effusions. Many pleural fluid tests are useful in the differential diagnosis of exudative effusions. Other tests helpful for diagnosis include helical computed tomography and thoracoscopy.     

Diagnostic approach to constipation impacts pediatric emergency department disposition

Objectives

Constipation is a common cause of abdominal pain in children presenting to the emergency department (ED). The objectives of this study were to determine the diagnostic evaluation undertaken for constipation and to assess the association of the evaluation with final ED disposition.

Pharmacological management of chronic constipation in older adults

Chronic constipation in older adults has multiple etiologies, and many of these factors are interrelated. An initial medical history and physical examination can provide relevant clues to the causes of the problem. The Rome III classification system of functional constipation is useful in clinical practice to help clinicians identify symptoms and confirm a diagnosis. Additionally, the Bristol Stool Scale is a valuable medical aid designed to assist patients in describing bowel patterns in a way that is more useful for diagnosis and evaluation of treatment methods. Pharmacological management, along with dietary changes and patient education, is the initial approach to treat patients with idiopathic chronic constipation. Consensus statements support a five-step care approach for patients with constipation. Knowledge of this approach will help clinicians in prescribing the appropriate medications along with patient education.     

Non-pharmacologic approach to pediatric constipation

Functional constipation (FC) is a pervasive problem in pediatrics. Although pharmaceuticals are commonly used for FC, parents and patients show reluctance or find dissatisfaction with available medications at times. Further, patients often have interest in utilizing nutraceutical supplements and botanicals that are available over the counter. This literature review aims to summarize research studies performed on non-pharmacologic approaches to constipation and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these modalities. Overall data on non-pharmacologic treatments for childhood constipation were sparse, and though some studies were available for adult populations, pediatrics studies were generally limited, lacking or flawed. Certain supplements, such as prebiotics, probiotics and fiber, are safe and are without significant side effects. Though fiber supplements such as glucomannan, green banana mass, cocao husk and various fiber blends have emerging evidence in children, evidence for psyllium, cellulose and flaxseed only have supportive studies in adults. Other than senna, studies of botanicals indicate significant safety concerns (in particular with Aloe vera with aloin and Cascara sagrada) and insufficient evidence. For patients with a significant behavioral or anxiety component to their FC and exhibit dyssynergia, mind-body interventions (e.g. diaphragmatic breathing, biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, and behavioral modifications) are certainly safe and effective. Finally, movement and manipulative interventions such as abdominal massage, reflexology, acupuncture and transcutaneous nerve stimulation show promise in the field of pediatric constipation, and data is accumulating for efficacy. These modalities require further study to determine mechanisms of action and which populations may benefit the most from these therapies.     

Diagnostic approach to the patient with a chronic diarrheal disorder

Chronic diarrhea is a common problem facing the practitioner of medicine. Despite impressive advances in diagnostic technology, many patients continue to have chronic diarrhea without a firm diagnosis being established. Most important, the history and physical examination are often perfunctory and the patient undergoes a number of contrast and imaging studies, endoscopic procedures, and laboratory investigations which may still be non-diagnostic. In all patients with chronic diarrhea, which I will arbitrarily define as diarrhea that has persisted over at least 2 months, there is a need for a careful orderly approach to the differential diagnosis. In this paper I will detail a method that I have used in evaluating such patients. The method emphasizes a careful history and physical examination, judicious and sequential use of laboratory investigations, contrast studies, and endoscopic procedures, and calls attention to special situations where more detailed investigations are required. I have found that unless I go through this detailed diagnostic approach, I will miss disorders that can be readily diagnosed and, more importantly, such patients may not be given appropriate treatment.     

A unique approach to severe constipation

Sacral neuromodulation used for urge urinary incontinence, urgency-frequency, and nonobstructive urinary retention, has incidentally been noted to normalize bowel function. This 48-year old female with severe constipation who had failed all conservative treatment measures returned to normal defecatory function after sacral neuromodulation under the supervision of a nurse practitioner.     

A review of laxative therapies for treatment of chronic constipation in older adults

Background: Multiple studies have addressed the treatment of chronic constipation in adults in general; however, less guidance is available for treating this condition in older patients.Objective: The aim of this paper was to review the effectiveness of laxatives for chronic constipation in the elderly.Methods: Medline, Web of Science, international Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and the Cochrane database of Systematic Reviews were searched for english-language articles evaluating the treatment of chronic constipation in older individuals from the inception of the databases until October 2010. Search terms included constipation, treatment, laxative, elderly, and geriatric. Articles were excluded if the mean age was <65 years.Results: Thirty-one trials were identified. These studies varied widely in terms of methodology, quality, sample size, efficacy end points, and duration. Mean stool frequency was 9.08 bowel movements per week with psyllium and 8.29 per week with calcium polycarbophil (P = 0.04). docusate sodium daily, docusate sodium q12h, and docusate calcium daily for 3 weeks produced a mean stool frequency of 1.95 bowel movements per week versus 1.50 for placebo (P = NS), 2.29 versus 1.76 (P = NS), and 2.83 versus 1.75 (P<0.02), respectively. Mean stool frequency with lactulose versus placebo was 0.7 and 0.5 bowel movements per day (P<0.02). in patients receiving polyethylene glycol or lactulose, mean stool frequency was 1.3 and 0.9 bowel movements per day (P = 0.005). in a study comparing senna plus a bulking agent with lactulose, mean stool frequency was 4.5 per week for the combination product versus 2.2 per week for lactulose (P<0.001). A study comparing sodium picosulfate with senna reported a mean stool frequency of 0.71 and 0.63 per day (P value not reported). Lubiprostone was associated with 5.69 spontaneous bowel movements per week versus 3.46 per week for placebo (P = 0.001).Conclusions: Higher-quality trials evaluating the treatment of constipation in older patients are needed to create a basis for more definitive recommendations in this population. The approach to older adults with constipation should be individualized.     

Diagnostic approach to tinnitus

Tinnitus is a common disorder with many possible causes. Most cases of tinnitus are subjective, but occasionally the tinnitus can be heard by an examiner. Otologic problems, especially hearing loss, are the most common causes of subjective tinnitus. Common causes of conductive hearing loss include external ear infection, cerumen impaction, and middle ear effusion. Sensorineural hearing loss may be caused by exposure to excessive loud noise, presbycusis, ototoxic medications, or Meniere's disease. Unilateral hearing loss plus tinnitus should increase suspicion for acoustic neuroma. Subjective tinnitus also may be caused by neurologic, metabolic, or psychogenic disorders. Objective tinnitus usually is caused by vascular abnormalities of the carotid artery or jugular venous systems. Initial evaluation of tinnitus should include a thorough history, head and neck examination, and audiometric testing to identify an underlying etiology. Unilateral or pulsatile tinnitus may be caused by more serious pathology and typically merits specialized audiometric testing and radiologic studies. In patients who are discomforted by tinnitus and have no remediable cause, auditory masking may provide some relief.     

A prognostic approach to defining chronic pain: application to knee pain in older adults

A prognostic approach to defining chronic pain has been proposed as an alternative to traditional definitions based on retrospective duration of pain. While this new approach performs well in low back pain (LBP), headache and orofacial pain, it is not known whether it translates to regional pain syndromes with an underlying pathological component, such as osteoarthritis (OA). We investigated the performance of this approach in a population-based cohort of older adults reporting knee pain, with a spectrum of radiographic knee OA. 676 adults (50 years+) attended a research clinic and were followed up at 18 months and 3 years. Risk scores were calculated using pain intensity, pain duration, pain-related activity, number of pain sites and depressive symptoms, measured at baseline and at 18 months. These scores were used to determine the probability of future clinically significant knee pain, defined as Chronic Pain Grade II-IV, at 18 months and at 3 years using logistic regression. Cut-points on the risk score were applied to determine groups at intermediate (probability >or=0.2), possible (>or=0.5) and probable (>or=0.8) risk of clinically significant knee pain. Discriminative ability of the risk scores, determined by area under the ROC curve, was high (0.78-0.82), varied little by radiographic severity and was superior to pain duration alone. The derived cut-points suggested a lower threshold for each of the risk groups than the previous LBP work. This prognostic approach to defining chronic pain appears to translate well to knee pain. Different cut-points for defining risk groups may be needed for different pain syndromes.