Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Mar 1995
Biography Historical ArticleThomas Sydenham "The British Hippocrates".
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Mar 1995
Detection of subarachnoid haemorrhage on early CT: is lumbar puncture still needed after a negative scan?
Computed tomography may be normal in up to 5% of patients who are investigated within one or two days after subarachnoid haemorrhage. This study investigated the need for further diagnostic evaluation after a normal CT scan was found very early (within 12 hours) in patients suspected of subarachnoid haemorrhage. A consecutive series of 175 patients with sudden headache and a normal neurological examination who had first CT within 12 hours after the onset of headache were investigated. ⋯ Spectrophotometric analysis of CSF gave evidence for a subarachnoid haemorrhage in two of these 58 patients (3%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.4-12%); a ruptured aneurysm was found in both. Thus CT was normal in two of 119 patients with a definite subarachnoid haemorrhage (2%; 95% CI 0.2-6%). It is concluded that in patients with sudden headache but normal CT a deferred lumbar puncture is necessary to rule out subarachnoid haemorrhage, even if CT is performed within 12 hours after the onset of symptoms.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Mar 1995
Multivariate analysis of predictive factors of multiple sclerosis course with a validated method to assess clinical events.
The clinical data of 309 patients with definite multiple sclerosis were recorded in the European data base for multiple sclerosis (EDMUS) to determine the prognostic significance of several demographic and clinical variables. An interview with closed questions structured according to standardised criteria of disease phases and courses was used to assess the clinical course. The reliability was evaluated by four trained neurologists in a sample of 33 patients with multiple sclerosis. ⋯ The predictive model for the time to reach a secondary progression showed that an age at onset older than 25 (p = 0.006) and an event at onset followed by disability > or = 3 on the Kurtzke expanded disability status scale (EDSS; p = 0.004) were the most unfavourable clinical variables in 249 patients with relapsing remitting (180) or relapsing progressive (69) courses. In the 69 patients with relapsing progressive disease, the time to reach severe disability (EDSS > or = 6) was negatively influenced by a first interval between attacks shorter than one year, a number of bouts with EDSS > 2 in the first two years of the disease, and involvement of the pyramidal system at onset (p < 0.05). In 60 patients with chronic progressive disease this outcome was negatively influenced by pyramidal, brainstem, and sensory involvement at onset (p < 0.01).