Early post-traumatic seizures in children: Clinical and radiological aspects of injury

Objective : To determine the type and outcome of early post-traumatic seizures in children and the factors associated with it.
Methodology : A prospective observational study on all consecutive children with head injuries at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur between November 1993 and December 1994. The onset, type and frequency of seizures occurring within the first week of injury were documented. Using inpatients as a cohort, logistic regression analysis was used to determine clinical and radiological variables significantly associated with seizures. The outcome 6 months post-injury was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale.
Results : Fifty-three of 966 children (5.5%) developed seizures within the first week of trauma. Seven (13.2%) occurred within 1 h of injury, 30 (56.6%) between 1 and 24 h and 16 (30.2%) after 24 h. Factors significantly associated with early post-traumatic seizures were female sex, age less than 2 years, loss of consciousness for more than 24 h and acute subdural haematoma ( P <0.01). Children with seizures had a poorer outcome (death or severe disability) man inpatients without seizures (21/53 vs 19/182, P <0.001). The outcome was worst in children with recurrent partial seizures, who had a longer injury-seizure interval and were more likely to have focal neurologic deficits compared to those with sporadic or generalized seizures.
Conclusions : Anticonvulsant prophylaxis to minimize the adverse effects of early seizures in head injury should be considered for young children (less than 2 years old) with subdural haematoma and a prolonged duration of coma. Prompt and effective control of recurrent seizures is recommended.     

大剂量免疫球蛋白预防肾移植术后肺部感染:随机对照

目的:肾移植术后半年内发生的并发症主要为感染,尤以肺部感染为重。静脉注射大剂量免疫球蛋白预防肾移植术后早期肺部感染的效果值得临床应用中予以总结提高。方法:①实验对象及分组:选择2002-01/2006-12于海南省人民医院肾内科就诊的肾移植术后半年内患者40例,对实验及治疗方案均知情同意,且得到医院伦理道德委员会批准。按随机数字表法分为2组,免疫球蛋白组、对照组各20例。②实验分组:免疫球蛋白组在应用免疫抑制剂基础上用0.4g/(kg·d)免疫球蛋白治疗;对照组应用免疫抑制剂。③实验评估:观察两组患者普通肺炎、重症肺炎发生率及血清IgG和T淋巴细胞亚群水平变化。结果:40例患者全部进入结果分析。①免疫球蛋白组患者的普通肺炎感染率及重症肺炎感染率均低于对照组(P<0.01)。②免疫球蛋白组患者血IgG、T淋巴细胞亚群CD3 ,CD4 ,CD8 水平均高于对照组(P<0.05),用免疫球蛋白治疗未见副作用。结论:随机对照结果显示,肾移植术后早期应用大剂量免疫球蛋白能明显减少肺部感染发生,减少并发症,提高肾移植患者生存率。     

Differentiation of viable and nonviable myocardium by the use of three-dimensional tagged MRI in 2-day-old reperfused canine infarcts

BACKGROUND: To limit ischemic myocardial injury, it is important to differentiate viable from infarcted myocardium. Three dimensional (3D) tagged MRI has the ability to quantify myocardial 3D deformation and strain (noninvasively and precisely), and can achieve a true comparison of contraction not only from region to region, but also at different levels of function. In this study, we investigated whether regional strain mapping obtained by 3D-tagged MRI can differentiate between viable but stunned myocardium and nonviable myocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined 7 dogs 2 days after a 90-minute closed-chest left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by 48 hours of reperfusion. 3D-tagged MR images spanning the entire left ventricle were acquired both at rest and during dobutamine infusion (5 microg. kg-1. min-1 IV). Regional blood flow was measured with radioactive microspheres and used to define risk regions. Infarcted regions were defined as 2,3,5 triphenyltetrazolium chloride negative regions. Strains in infarcted regions were greatly impaired compared with remote regions (P<0.001) and remained unchanged during dobutamine stress. Risk regions showed a dysfunction at rest, with improved function during dobutamine infusion. Receiver operating characteristics analysis showed that radial strain was more accurate for identifying viable regions. CONCLUSIONS: When coupled with a stress test, 3D strain mapping by the use of tagged MRI is a sensitive and noninvasive method for characterizing ischemic injury. Regional strain can be used to differentiate between viable but stunned and nonviable myocardium within the postischemic injured myocardium.     

Translocation (14;18)-positive cells are present in the circulation of the majority of patients with localized (stage I and II) follicular non- Hodgkin's lymphoma

Stage I and II follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is clinically defined as a localized disease. To study the possibility that this disease is in fact disseminated, we used the sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using translocation (14;18) as marker. Samples from 21 patients who were clinically diagnosed with stage I or II follicular NHL were analyzed for the presence of t(14;18)-positive cells using PCR. We analyzed (1) the diagnostic lymph node biopsy and (2) the peripheral blood or bone marrow samples from these patients. Translocation (14;18) cells were detected in the diagnostic lymph node biopsies of 12 patients. In 9 of these patients, t(14;18)-positive cells were detected in peripheral blood and/or bone marrow samples at diagnosis and/or after therapy. Thus, in 75% of the follicular NHL patients carrying the t(14;18) as a marker for lymphoma cells, t(14;18)- positive cells were detected in peripheral blood and bone marrow at diagnosis and after therapy. Our results show that t(14;18)-positive cells can be detected in the circulation of patients with stage I and II follicular NHL, indicating that, although diagnosed as localized, the disease is disseminated.