Successful delivery in a morbidly obese patient after failed intubation and regional technique

Editor—We read with interest the letter describing a Caesareansection under local anaesthetic infiltration in a patient witha BMI of 49 after failed intubation and subsequent failed neuraxialblockade.¹ Although successful, we cannot agree with the authorsthat local infiltration is an appropriate de novo techniqueto carry out a Caesarean section in the UK in any patient, butparticularly in a morbidly obese woman. The most recent report into maternal mortality in the UK 2003–05,‘Saving mothers’     

Long term outcomes following pretibial injury: mortality and effects on social care

INTRODUCTION: Pretibial injuries are common, and those patients requiring hospital admission are often elderly with significant comorbidity. The long term impact on social care and associated mortality seen in this patient group has not been reported previously. It was our impression that pretibial injury is often a marker of increasing social and/or medical needs of the patient, and that a significant proportion of these patients underwent long term changes in social circumstances following injury. METHODS: A review of 109 patients with pretibial injuries over a 3-year period admitted to the Plastic Surgery Unit at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK. Overall mortality and changes in social circumstances within a 6-month period following discharge from hospital were recorded. RESULTS: The overall mortality was 11%. Twenty-five percent of patients underwent an escalation of their social care requirements immediately on discharge from hospital. At 6 months only 78% of patients who were living independently at home prior to admission had returned home. Increasing age, cardiovascular comorbidities, length of time to operation were significantly associated with deterioration in social circumstances and death. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality following pretibial injury is higher than that expected for the population. A sizeable proportion of patients with pretibial injuries can be expected to need significant long term changes in social input after injury. Whether this change is directly due to injury, or is a reflection of underlying medical and social deterioration identified by the hospital admission process is unclear. In either respect, close liaison with medical and social care teams is essential to facilitate optimum care in this patient group.     

Midlife predictors of Alzheimer's disease

Factors contributing to increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) include age, sex, genes, and family history of AD. Several risk factors for AD are endogenous; however, accumulating evidence implicates modifiable risk factors in the pathogenesis of AD. Although the continued task of identifying new genes will be critical to learning more about the disease, several research findings suggest that potentially alterable environmental factors influence genetic contributions, providing targets for disease prevention and treatment. Here, we review midlife risk factors for AD, and address the potential for therapeutic intervention in midlife.     

The rising prevalence of asthma in young Melbourne adults is associated with improvement in treatment.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a common source of morbidity and is now recognized as a national health priority in Australia. Although a number of epidemiologic studies have been conducted in Australia to determine the prevalence of asthma in adults, it is unclear whether the prevalence is changing. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence in 1998 of self-reported asthma and respiratory symptoms among young adults and changes in prevalence between 1990 and 1999. METHODS: Cross-sectional postal survey to 4,455 young adults (aged 20 to 44 years) randomly selected from the electoral rolls of the inner southeastern suburbs of metropolitan Melbourne. The survey instrument was the validated European Community Respiratory Health Survey screening questionnaire, which gathered data on self-reported respiratory symptoms, including whether asthma had been diagnosed. Identically worded questions from similar surveys conducted in 1990, 1992, and 1999 were used to compare changes in prevalence. RESULTS: A response rate of 72% was achieved in 1998 after three mailings and telephone followup. Forty-two percent reported nasal allergies, 26% wheezed within the past 12 months, and 20% ever had asthma. The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was 18%, whereas 10% reported using asthma medications within the past 12 months. Nine percent of respondents reported an asthma attack within the past 12 months. The prevalence of having ever had asthma, doctor-diagnosed asthma, and using asthma medications had increased significantly since 1990. However, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms did not significantly change over this time. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of asthma is likely to be rising, but the symptoms of asthma are being better managed in young Melbourne adults.     

BMP/TGF-β signaling as a modulator of neurodegeneration in ALS

This commentary focuses on the emerging intersection between BMP/TGF-β signaling roles in nervous system function and the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease state. Future research is critical to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of this intersection of the cellular processes disrupted in ALS and those influenced by BMP/TGF-β signaling, including synapse structure, neurotransmission, plasticity, and neuroinflammation. Such knowledge promises to inform us of ideal entry points for the targeted modulation of dysfunctional cellular processes in an effort to abrogate ALS pathologies. It is likely that different interventions are required, either at discrete points in disease progression, or across multiple dysfunctional processes which together lead to motor neuron degeneration and death. We discuss the challenging, but intriguing idea that modulation of the pleiotropic nature of BMP/TGF-β signaling could be advantageous, as a way to simultaneously treat defects in more than one cell process across different forms of ALS.     

Sildenafil in pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening disease of varied etiologies. Although PAH has no curative treatment, a greater understanding of pathophysiology, technological advances resulting in early diagnosis, and the availability of several newer drugs have improved the outlook for patients with PAH. Sildenafil is one of the therapeutic agents used extensively in the treatment of PAH in children, as an off-label drug. In 2012, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued a warning regarding the of use high-dose sildenafil in children with PAH. This has led to a peculiar situation where there is a paucity of approved therapies for the management of PAH in children and the use of the most extensively used drug being discouraged by the regulator. This article provides a review of the use of sildenafil in the treatment of PAH in children.KEY WORDS: Child, phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitor, Pulmonary hypertension therapy