SpringerPlus
-
OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA) was approved for treatment of chronic migraine (CM) after publication of PREEMPT trials. Thus, we set out to evaluate the efficacy of OnabotA in a series of patients with CM treated according to the PREEMPT protocol. In May 2012 we began to offer OnabotA to patients with CM who did not respond to topiramate and at least one other preventive therapy (beta blocker and/or calcium channel antagonist). ⋯ Twelve (23.1%) patients failed to perceive a positive effect after the first procedure and it was not repeated in 4 of them. By contrast, there was a significant decreasing in all the variables evaluated compared to the baseline in the 39 patients that received a second series of injections. The use of OnabotA according to the PREEMPT paradigm is an effective treatment in patients with chronic migraine in a real-life setting.
-
During resuscitation, when it is difficult or impossible to establish peripheral venous access, intraosseous route (IO) is considered as an alternative to a central venous line. However, it is sometimes difficult for obtain IO access with conventional manual bone puncture needle. Recently, powered mechanical bone marrow needle was developed. We compared the performance of the manual and mechanical bone marrow puncture needle for adult, child and infant simulation. ⋯ We conclude that in simulations managed by anesthesiologists who had no clinical experiences with bone marrow puncture, the mechanical bone puncture needle performed better than the manual one for emergency IO route access.
-
In the assessment of chest pain patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency department (ED), physicians rely on global diagnostic impressions ('gestalt'). The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of the ED physician's overall assessment of ACS likelihood, and the values of the main diagnostic modalities underlying this assessment, namely the chest pain history, the ECG and the initial troponin result. 1,151 consecutive ED chest pain patients were prospectively included. The ED physician's interpretation of the chest pain history, the ECG, and the global likelihood of ACS were recorded on special forms. ⋯ In patients with a normal TnT and non-ischemic ECG, chest pain history typical of AMI was not a significant predictor of AMI (LR 1.9) while pain history typical of unstable angina (UA) was a moderate predictor of UA (LR 4.7). Clinical gestalt was better than its components both at ruling in and at ruling out ACS, but overestimated the likelihood of ACS when cases were assessed as strong suspicion of ACS. Among the components of the gestalt, TnT and ECG were superior to the chest pain history for ruling in ACS, while pain history was superior for ruling out ACS.
-
Trigeminal neuralgia is an intense neuralgia involving facial areas supplied by trigeminal nerve. The pain is characterized by sudden onset, short persistence, sharp or lancinating. Trigeminal neuralgia commonly affects frontal areas, infraorbital or paranasal areas, mandibular areas and teeth. While Trigeminal neuralgia affecting merely the upper eyelid is rare. Here we report a case of atypical Trigeminal neuralgia confined to the upper eyelid. The patient was pain free during the follow-up period of 6 months after unusual ophthalmic branch radiofrequency thermocoagulation. ⋯ Radiofrequency thermocoagulation is an effective treatment option for trigeminal neuralgia. Peripheral branch radiofrequency thermocoagulation for trigeminal neuralgia should be considered preferentially due to its minimal invasiveness and convenience. Furthermore, as the sensory innervation of the upper eyelid is complex, the knowledge of peripheral distribution of trigeminal nerve is essential.
-
Different anesthetics are known to modulate different types of membrane-bound receptors. Their common mechanism of action is expected to alter the mechanism for consciousness. Consciousness is hypothesized as the integral of all the units of internal sensations induced by reactivation of inter-postsynaptic membrane functional LINKs during mechanisms that lead to oscillating potentials. ⋯ The pressure gradient reduce solubility and displace anesthetic molecules from the membranes into the paravenular space, explaining the pressure reversal of anesthesia. Changes in membrane composition and the conversion of membrane hemifusion to fusion due to defects in the checkpoint mechanisms can lead to cytoplasmic content mixing between neurons and cause neurodegenerative changes. The common mechanism of anesthetics presented here can operate along with the known specific actions of different anesthetics.