A negative cranial computed tomographic scan is not adequate to support a diagnosis of pseudotumor cerebri

A 10-year-old boy with daily headache for 1 month and intermittent diplopia for 1 week was found to have a unilateral partial abducens palsy and bilateral papilledema; otherwise, his neurologic examination showed no abnormalities. A cranial computed tomographic (CT) scan was normal. Lumbar puncture disclosed a markedly elevated opening pressure of > 550 mm of cerebrospinal fluid with normal cerebrospinal fluid. Medical therapy with acetazolamide for presumed pseudotumor cerebri was begun. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, done several days later because of continuing symptoms, unexpectedly showed multiple hyperintensities of cerebral white matter on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Despite high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone for possible demyelinating disease, he failed to improve. A left temporal brain biopsy followed and disclosed an anaplastic oligodendroglioma. In a patient with features indicating pseudotumor cerebri, a negative cranial CT scan is not adequate to rule out underlying pathology; thus, MRI of the brain should probably always be performed. A revised definition of pseudotumor cerebri could better include "normal MRI of the brain" rather than "normal neuroimaging."     

Preferred mesh-based inguinal hernia repair in a teaching setting: results of a randomized study

HYPOTHESIS: Surgeons' preferences for any of 3 methods of inguinal hernia repair are comparable in terms of operating time, incision length, perceived difficulty, and surgeon's satisfaction. DESIGN: Randomized patient-blinded study. SETTING: Teaching hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 334 patients randomized to receive 1 of the 3 repairs. INTERVENTIONS: Patients underwent hernia repair with the Prolene Hernia System, mesh plug repair, or Lichtenstein technique. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Operating variables, surgeon's rating of satisfaction and difficulty, grade and experience of the operating team, and complications. RESULTS: The Lichtenstein technique took significantly the longest operating time (52 minutes vs 41 or 42 minutes; P<.001). The mesh plug repair scored the best results in difficulty and satisfaction. Overall, surgeons having performed more than 5 procedures rated the repairs less difficult and with significantly more satisfaction (P<.001 and P = .001, respectively). The complication rate did not differ between the treatment groups. None of the operative findings was correlated to the outcome, except for adverse correlation with the body mass index. CONCLUSION: From a surgeon's point of view, the mesh plug repair is superior to the Lichtenstein technique and the Prolene Hernia System in terms of operating time, incision length, perceived difficulty, and surgeon's satisfaction.     

A community based study of failure to thrive in Israel

OBJECTIVE: To examine the characteristics of infants suffering from failure to thrive in a community based cohort in Israel and to ascertain the effect of failure to thrive on their cognitive development. METHODS: By review of records maintained at maternal and child health clinics in Jerusalem and the two of Beit Shemesh, epidemiological data were obtained at age 15 months on a cohort of all babies born in 1991. For each case of failure to thrive, a matched control was selected from the same maternal and child health clinic. At age 20 months, cognitive development was measured, and at 25 months a home visit was carried out to assess maternal psychiatric status by questionnaire, and the HOME assessment was performed to assess the home environment. RESULTS: 3.9% of infants were found to have fallen below the third centile in weight for at least three months during the first year of life. Infants with failure to thrive did not differ from the general population in terms of obstetric or neonatal complications, birth order, or parents' ethnic origin, age, or years of education. The infants with failure to thrive did have lower birthweights and marginally smaller head circumferences at birth. Developmental assessment at 20 months of age showed a DQ of 99.7 v 107.2 in the matched controls, with 11.5% having a DQ below 80, as opposed to only 4.6% of the controls. No differences were found in maternal psychiatric problems as measured by a self report questionnaire. There were, however, significant differences in subscales of the HOME scale. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Infants who suffered from failure to thrive had some physiological predispositions that put them at risk; (2) failure to thrive may be an early marker of families providing suboptimal developmental stimulation.     

塞来昔布在类风湿性关节炎中对甲氨喋呤的药代动力学影响

目的：确定塞来昔布对于经常服用稳定剂量甲氨喋呤（ＭＴＸ）治疗类风湿性关节炎（ＲＡ）患者的肾脏清除率和血浆药代动力学方面的影响。方法：选取１４例至少已服用ＭＴＸ３个月,且每个星期的剂量稳定在５－１５ｍｇ,有类风湿关节炎的成年妇女,随机给予塞来昔布（２００ｍｇ．ｂｉｄ）或安慰剂单盲治疗,每一阶段７,分二阶段交叉试验,研究ＭＴＸ的药代动力学和肾脏平均清除率。结果：当ＭＴＸ和塞来昔布或安慰剂合用时,ＭＴＸ     

Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction induced by dobutamine stress echocardiography leading to myocardial ischemia and infarction

Left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction occurring during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) occurs in approximately 15-20% of patients undergoing DSE. The clinical significance and mechanism of LVOT obstruction has been debated, but is now generally felt to result from the pharmacological effects of dobutamine in increasing inotropy and causing peripheral vasodilation. It must be realized that in rare instances, ischemia may occur and lead to wall motion abnormalities and eventually myocardial infarction. We present the case of a 70-year-old asymptomatic woman who underwent a routine pre-operative cardiac stress evaluation and was found to develop a dynamic outflow tract obstruction leading to myocardial ischemia and infarction.     

Prevalence and causes of amblyopia in a population-based study of young adult men in Singapore

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and causes of amblyopia in young adult Chinese, Indian, and Malay men in Singapore. DESIGN: A population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: Best-corrected visual acuities of all Singaporean men born in the years 1978 to 1983 were measured before enlistment into military service. Those with BCVA of 6/12 or worse were examined by an ophthalmologist for the presence of amblyopia and other causes. RESULTS: Of the 122,596 men examined, there were 428 with amblyopia, an overall prevalence of 0.35%. The prevalence was similar among Chinese (0.34%), Malays (0.37%), and Indians (0.41%, P = .52). Anisometropic amblyopia was the most common type of amblyopia and strabismic amblyopia was more common in Indians. There were little racial differences in the prevalence of meridional or form deprivation amblyopia. CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of amblyopia was low and was similar among the three racial groups in young adult Singaporean males.     

Periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome in dialysis patients

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances, in particular restless legs or limb movements, during the night are often reported by uremic patients. However, polysomnography (PSG) studies have never been carried out to confirm the actual occurrence of these disorders and the association with other objective and self-reported sleep-wake data. METHODS: Forty-eight participants were subjected to a 2-day PSG. These data on sleep including periodic limb movements, which are associated with restless legs, were correlated with clinical observations, quality of sleep-wake and life questionnaires, and with biochemical and neurographical measures. RESULTS: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) was observed in 58.3% of the patients and periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) occurred in 70.8% of the patients. PLMD was revealed polysomnographically in almost 90% of the RLS patients. Patients with both PLMD and RLS had significantly poorer sleep quality than those with neither disorder or with PLMD alone, both in terms of self-reported data and the PSG. Quality of life was significantly worse in patients with RLS and PLMD compared to those patients with neither disorder. PLMD patients also tended to have a lower quality of life. All other metabolic measures and the results of a nerve conduction test were not correlated with RLS and/or PLMD. CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of severe RLS and PLMD in the present sample of uraemia patients. Nearly all RLS patients had severe PLMD. RLS (in combination with PLMD) in dialysis is associated with poor sleep quality, insomnia complaints, depression and emotional distress. Our results suggest that PLMD per se is also clinically relevant.