The high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea among patients with bipolar disorders

Introduction: Sleep plays an important role in maintaining stability in bipolar disorders, and sleep disturbances can trigger mood episodes. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder, yet the co-occurrence with bipolar disorder has not been methodically studied. Methods: This is a chart review of 482 consecutively seen patients with a bipolar disorder who underwent routine screening for OSA using a self-report sleep apnea questionnaire. Positive screens were referred for a sleep study. Results: A positive screen was found in 214 (44.4%) patients. Sleep studies were obtained on 114 patients, and 101, were diagnosed with OSA: point prevalence 21%. Discussion: The 21% prevalence fails to consider the false negative rate of the questionnaire, or the exclusion of patients who screened positive but failed to get a sleep study. Taking these into consideration it is estimated that the true prevalence of OSA in this study may be as high as 47.5%. The co-occurrence of OSA and bipolar disorders is markedly higher than previously thought. Of note, OSA may play a role in refractory bipolar, disorders, and carries significant mortality and morbidity that overlap, with the mortality and morbidity found with bipolar disorders. Limitations: This was a retrospective study based on a self-report questionnaire. Polysomnographic confirmation was performed in only a subgroup of subjects. Conclusions: The data suggest that unrecognized OSA may play a major role in the mortality and morbidity of bipolar disorders. All patients diagnosed with a bipolar disorder should be screened with an OSA questionnaire.     

Procedural sedation use in the ED: management of pediatric ear and nose foreign bodies

This is the first report of which we are aware that describes the use of procedural sedation for the emergency department management of ear and nose foreign bodies in children < 18 years of age. During a 5.5-year period, we identified 312 cases of children with a foreign body in a single orifice (174 ear, 138 nose). Procedural sedation was performed in 23% of cases (43 ear, 28 nose) and ketamine was used most commonly (92%). Emergency physicians had a high rate of success in removing foreign bodies (84% ear, 95% nose) and a low complication rate. Procedural sedation had a positive effect on the success rate as more than half of the sedation cases had undergone failed attempts without sedation by the same physician. Emergency physicians should have familiarity with this indication for procedural sedation.     

Adjunctive Atropine Is Unnecessary during Ketamine Sedation in Children

Background:  The prophylactic coadministration of atropine or other anticholinergics during dissociative sedation has historically been considered mandatory to mitigate ketamine-associated hypersalivation. Emergency physicians (EPs) are known to omit this adjunct, so a prospective study to describe the safety profile of this practice was initiated.
Objectives:  To quantify the magnitude of excessive salivation, describe interventions for hypersalivation, and describe any associated airway complications.
Methods:  In this prospective observational study of emergency department (ED) pediatric patients receiving dissociative sedation, treating physicians rated excessive salivation on a 100-mm visual analog scale and recorded the frequency and nature of airway complications and interventions for hypersalivation.
Results:  Of 1,090 ketamine sedations during the 3-year study period, 947 (86.9%) were performed without adjunctive atropine. Treating physicians assigned the majority (92%) of these subjects salivation visual analog scale ratings of 0 mm, i.e., "none," and only 1.3% of ratings were ≥ 50 mm. Transient airway complications occurred in 3.2%, with just one (brief desaturation) felt related to hypersalivation (incidence 0.11%, 95% confidence interval = 0.003% to 0.59%). Interventions for hypersalivation (most commonly suctioning) occurred in 4.2%, with no occurrences of assisted ventilation or intubation.
Conclusions:  When adjunctive atropine is omitted during ketamine sedation in children, excessive salivation is uncommon, and associated airway complications are rare. Anticholinergic prophylaxis is not routinely necessary in this setting.     

Tuberous sclerosis presenting as a suspicious sudden death--a case report and review of sudden deaths in epilepsy.

A case of a suspicious sudden death in a 19-year-old Caucasian female epileptic is presented. The brain showed characteristic lesions of tuberous sclerosis. In most sudden deaths in idiopathic epilepsy no causative lesion is found in the brain. A review of the past five years' cases attributed to sudden deaths in epilepsy from our department is presented, with particular reference to findings which might be construed as suspicious, e.g., signs of asphyxia and bruising in neck muscles, and to findings which support the diagnosis, e.g. biting of the tongue, voiding of urine, low levels of medication.     

Ketamine to avoid mechanical ventilation in severe pediatric asthma

Children experiencing severe asthma exacerbations may deteriorate to respiratory failure requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation is often life saving in this setting, but also exposes the asthmatic child to substantial iatrogenic risk. We present two cases of severe asthma exacerbations in prepubertal children for whom the administration of a bolus of intravenous ketamine followed by a continuous infusion of a relatively large dose of ketamine led to prompt improvement, obviating the need for mechanical ventilation. These cases suggest that for children experiencing severe asthma exacerbations, intravenous ketamine may be an effective temporizing measure to avoid exposing these children to the risks associated with mechanical ventilation.     

Investigating the underlying causes of SLI: A non-sign repetition test in British Sign Language

There is controversy over the specificity of Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and whether it is caused by a deficit general to cognition or in mechanisms specific to language itself. We argue that evidence to resolve these conflicting positions could come from the study of children who are acquiring sign language and have SLI. Whereas speech is characterized by rapid temporal changes, the phonology of sign languages relies on the integration of visual information that is often produced simultaneously. These differences in the way linguistic information is processed can allow us to investigate whether SLI is caused by a sensory processing deficit, by a deficit specific to language, or by a deficit in phonological short term memory. One marker for SLI in spoken languages is difficulty repeating non-words, particularly those with complex phonological structures. We report on the development of a non-sign repetition task for BSL users, piloted on deaf children, which is sensitive to age. Non-sign items were graded in terms of phonological complexity, and reveal systematic error patterns as a function of that complexity. We conclude by discussing how this test can be used to probe the underlying nature of language impairments.     

Timing of elective surgery and risk assessment after SARS-CoV-2 infection: an update

The impact of vaccination and new SARS-CoV-2 variants on peri-operative outcomes is unclear. We aimed to update previously published consensus recommendations on timing of elective surgery after SARS-CoV-2 infection to assist policymakers, administrative staff, clinicians and patients. The guidance remains that patients should avoid elective surgery within 7 weeks of infection, unless the benefits of doing so exceed the risk of waiting. We recommend individualised multidisciplinary risk assessment for patients requiring elective surgery within 7 weeks of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This should include baseline mortality risk calculation and assessment of risk modifiers (patient factors; SARS-CoV-2 infection; surgical factors). Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection with previous variants increased peri-operative mortality risk three-fold throughout the 6 weeks after infection, and assumptions that asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection does not add risk are currently unfounded. Patients with persistent symptoms and those with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 may require a longer delay than 7 weeks. Elective surgery should not take place within 10 days of diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, predominantly because the patient may be infectious, which is a risk to surgical pathways, staff and other patients. We now emphasise that timing of surgery should include the assessment of baseline and increased risk, optimising vaccination and functional status, and shared decision-making. While these recommendations focus on the omicron variant and current evidence, the principles may also be of relevance to future variants. As further data emerge, these recommendations may be revised.