Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research
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Comparative Study
Arterial distensibility in patients with ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms: is it a predisposing factor for rupture risk?
A risk factor assessment that reliably predicts whether patients are predisposed to intracranial aneurysm (IA) rupture has yet to be formulated. As such, the clinical management of unruptured IA remains unclear. Our aim was to determine whether impaired arterial distensibility and hypertrophic remodeling might be indicators of risk for IA rupture. ⋯ Patients with ruptured IAs demonstrated decreased arterial distensibility and increased intima-media thickness at the level of the carotid arteries. By measuring these parameters via ultrasound, it may be possible to predict whether patients with existing IAs might rupture and hemorrhage into the subarachnoid space.
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Pain catastrophizing, appraisals of pain control, styles of coping, and social support have been suggested to affect functioning in patients with low back pain. We investigated the relation of chronic pain coping strategies to psychological variables and clinical data, in patients treated surgically due to lumbar disc herniation and coexisting spondylotic changes. ⋯ Back pain characteristics, depressive mood, disability, and beliefs about personal control of pain are related to chronic LBP coping styles. Most of the variables related to advancement of degenerative changes were not associated with coping efforts.
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The aim of this study was to identify predictors of repeated admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of patients who underwent cardiac surgery procedures. ⋯ Identification of patients at risk of ICU readmission should focus on older patients, those who have higher BMI, who underwent non-elective surgery, whose operation time was more than 4 hours, and who have postoperative CNS disorders. Careful optimization of these high-risk patients and caution before discharging them from the ICU may help reduce the rate of ICU readmission, mortality, length of stay, and cost.