Journal of medicine and life
-
Review
Actual data on epidemiological evolution and prevention endeavours regarding traumatic brain injury.
Knowledge of the epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is required both to prevent this disorder and to develop effective care and rehabilitation approaches for patients. ⋯ CNS = central nervous system, ED = emergency department, EU = European Union, FTE = Full Time Employees, GCS = Glasgow Coma Scale, TBI = traumatic brain injury, US = United States, WHO = World Health Organization.
-
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease worldwide, with a prevalence of 20%-40% in Western populations. The purpose of this article is to review data related to lifestyle changes in patients with NAFLD. ⋯ NAFL = Non-alcoholic fatty liver, NAFLD = non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NASH = non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, HCC = hepatocarcinoma, BEE = basal energy expenditure, CRT = A small clinical randomized trial showed that short-term carbohydrate restriction is more efficacious in reducing intrahepatic triglyceride, IHT = intrahepatic triglyceride, VLCD = Very low calorie diets, AST = aspartate aminotransferases, SFAs = saturated fatty acids.
-
There has been a large confirmation over the last decades that stroke may produce cardiac changes (echocardiographic, electrocardiographic, enzymatic). In ischemic stroke, systolic dysfunction is associated with a high risk of mortality during hospitalization. A recent study demonstrated that cardiac diastolic dysfunction could also accompany acute stroke besides the systolic dysfunction already pointed out by previous studies, being a predictive marker of acute cerebrovascular events. Increased sympathetic activity is contributory, inducing a reversible cardiac myocyte damage and cardiac enzyme surges. Some of the most frequent electrocardiographic abnormalities in stroke are ST segment abnormalities and various tachyarrhythmias (especially atrial fibrillation) and bradyarrhythmias. One can infer the importance of careful and continuous electrocardiographic monitoring of the stroke patient in order to identify these quite frequent electrocardiographic alterations, as it is well known that death due to cardiac arrhythmias is common among acute stroke patients. In order to increase the diagnostic yield, a high level of NTproBNP (N-terminal of the prohormone brain natriuretic peptide) may be used as a discriminant for the patients with a higher probability of cardiac arrhythmias and mortality at presentation, during hospitalization and on the long term. In such patients, cardiac monitoring techniques are more likely to reveal abnormalities. A high BNP level may have potentially important management implications as it may signal a worse prognosis and may prompt the undertaking of certain therapeutic measures. This review summarizes the possible pathological mechanisms of heart-brain connections and their clinical and therapeutical implications. ⋯ AF = atrial fibrillation, ECG = electrocardiography, HRV = heart rate variability, cTn = cardiac troponin, SAH = subarachnoid hemorrhage, CK-MB = creatine kinase-MB, BNP = brain natriuretic peptide, NT-proBNP = N-terminal of the prohormone brain natriuretic peptide, ANP = atrial natriuretic peptide, mRS = modified Rankin Scale, NIHSS = the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.
-
Muscle pain can be elicited by any irritation of the nociceptors in the muscle or central sensitization in the central nervous system. The most frequently described muscle pain syndromes are myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome. Myofascial pain syndrome has a more localized manifestation, the trigger points. ⋯ Infrared thermography could be a great asset for the monitoring of neuromusculoskeletal disorders and their dynamics, as well as an important aid for the initial diagnosis of conditions associated with tissue temperature alterations.
-
Background: Direct laryngoscopy (DL) is considered the most common method of tracheal intubation. On the other hand, evidence shows the growing role of video laryngoscopy in danger airway administration. Objectives: Due to the importance of a proper training to accomplish an accurate and fast intubation by the student of anesthesia, this research was conducted to assess the effects of DL and video laryngoscopy (Glidescope VL) training on the success rate of tracheal intubation by low-skill students. ⋯ In first five rounds of training, the glottis view in the DL group was significantly better than in the VL group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the result of today' study, routine airway intubation by using GlideScope VL is significantly faster than direct laryngoscopy. It seems that further studies are needed to investigate the effect of the educational program on different laryngoscopy and intubation situations.