Inter-method reliability of the modified Rankin Scale in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

Journal of Neurology - The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) is one of the most frequently used outcome measures in trials in patients with an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). The assessment...     

Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome under antiplatelet therapy

Objective

Antiplatelet therapy is often instituted after cardiovascular or neurological ischemic events. In general, discontinuation of the antiplatelet medication for several days is warranted previous to surgery. However, discontinuation can lead to ischemic events. For some forms of surgery, the risks of an ischemic event, and especially, its consequences do not outweigh the benefit of discontinuation of the antiplatelet therapy. Retrospective analysis was done of a cohort of patients treated for carpal tunnel syndrome with special emphasis on postoperative hemorrhage in combination with antiplatelet medication.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of cohort consisting of 362 consecutive patients treated for carpal tunnel syndrome in the Neurosurgical Centre, Nijmegen was done.

Results

In 362 patients 423 operations on carpal tunnel release were done. Thirty-one patients were on antiplatelet therapy, of which 6 did not discontinue the medication before surgery. The remaining patients stopped at least seven days before surgery. A postoperative hemorrhage did not occur in any of the 423 operations.

Conclusion

There seems no reasonable evidence that discontinuation of aspirin for carpal tunnel syndrome is justified. Bleeding complications are considered rare, moreover the impact of an ischemic cardiovascular or a cerebral event would be far more severe than that of postoperative hemorrhage in the wrist.     

How to assess mean blood pressure properly at the brachial artery level

OBJECTIVES: Mean arterial pressure at the upper arm is traditionally calculated by adding one-third of the pulse pressure to the diastolic pressure. We questioned the general validity of this formula. METHODS: We used previously recorded resting intrabrachial pressure and Riva-Rocci Korotkoff blood pressure measurements in 57 subjects (study A) and 24-h intra-arterial recordings obtained in 22 ambulant subjects (study B). RESULTS: In study A the intra-arterially measured 'real' mean pressure was found at 39.5 +/- 2.5% of pulse pressure above diastolic pressure, namely at a level higher than the expected 33.3% of pulse pressure, in all individuals. Results were not related to age, blood pressure, pulse pressure or heart rate levels. Mean pressure calculated with the traditional one-third rule therefore underestimated 'real' mean pressure by 5.0 +/- 2.3 mmHg (P < 0.01) when calculated from intra-arterial pressure readings, and by 4.9 +/- 5.3 mmHg (P < 0.01) when calculated from Riva-Rocci Korotkoff readings. In study B we showed activity-related variations in the relative level of the 'real' mean pressure, which increased by 1.8 +/- 1.4% (P < 0.01) during sleep, and decreased by 0.5 +/- 0.9% during walking (P < 0.05) and by 0.8 +/- 1.3% during cycling (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The mean pressure at the upper arm is underestimated when calculated using the traditional formula of adding one-third of the pulse pressure to the diastolic pressure. This underestimation can be avoided by adding 40% of pulse pressure to the diastolic pressure. The proposed approach needs to be validated through larger scale studies.     

High plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) is related to low paraoxonase-I (PON-I) activity independently of high leptin and low adiponectin in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objectives In type 2 diabetes mellitus, circulating C‐reactive protein (CRP) is increased, whereas the high density lipoprotein (HDL)‐associated, anti‐oxidative and anti‐inflammatory enzyme, paraoxonase‐I, is decreased. Both high CRP and low paraoxonase‐I activity may predict cardiovascular disease. It is unknown whether lower paraoxonase‐I activity contributes to higher CRP levels in diabetes. In type 2 diabetic and control subjects, we determined the relationship of CRP with paraoxonase‐I when taking account of plasma levels of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory adipokines. Design and patients In 81 type 2 diabetic patients and 89 control subjects, plasma high‐sensitive CRP, serum paraoxonase‐I activity (arylesterase activity, assayed as the rate of hydrolysis of phenyl acetate into phenol), plasma leptin, adiponectin, resistin and lipids were determined. Results Body mass index (BMI), waist, insulin resistance, triglycerides, CRP, leptin and resistin levels were higher (P < 0·05 to P < 0·001), whereas HDL cholesterol, paraoxonase‐I activity and adiponectin levels were lower (P = 0·02 to P < 0·001) in diabetic compared to control subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that, after controlling for age and gender, CRP was inversely related to paraoxonase‐I activity (β = –0·15, P = 0·028) and adiponectin (β = –0·18, P = 0·009), and positively to leptin (β = 0·33, P < 0·001) and BMI (β = 0·22, P = 0·007), independently of the diabetic state (or of fasting glucose or HbA1c), insulin resistance and lipids (P > 0·20 for all). Conclusions low paraoxonase‐I activity is related to higher CRP, independently of adipokines, as well as of obesity and lipids. Low paraoxonase‐I activity in type 2 diabetes mellitus may contribute to increased cardiovascular risk via an effect on enhanced systemic low‐grade inflammation.