International journal of general medicine
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Currently, there are no valid and reliable biomarkers to identify delirious patients predisposed to longer delirium duration. We investigated the hypothesis that elevated S100 calcium binding protein B (S100β) levels will be associated with longer delirium duration in critically ill patients. ⋯ This preliminary investigation identified a potentially novel role for S100β as a biomarker for delirium duration in critically ill patients. This finding may have important implications for refining future delirium management strategies in ICU patients.
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The efficacy of systemic corticosteroids in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has not yet been confirmed. We prospectively investigated the clinical features of patients treated with early adjunctive systemic corticosteroids and its clinical impact in very severe CAP. ⋯ Early adjunctive systemic corticosteroids may have an effect to reduce the mortality in very severe CAP, although a larger-scale study is necessary.
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Pain control is an important first step in the treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) because fear of pain must be removed as an obstacle to participation in an appropriate physical therapy program. ⋯ Patients treated with the HLT patch for 14 days demonstrated clinically meaningful improvement in pain intensity and range of motion. Further controlled research is necessary to characterize the efficacy and tolerability of the HLT patch in the treatment of SIS.
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Practical knowledge of emergency medical care among physicians seems to be insufficient worldwide. Research specifically aimed at family physicians is rather scarce. Additionally, in Belgium there are no data on this subject. ⋯ Almost half of the Dutch-speaking family physicians in Belgium felt insufficiently competent to offer emergency medical care.
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Neuropathic pain is intense in nature and difficult to manage. Thus, the primary goal is maximum relief from pain. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of a fixed-dose combination of sustained-release pregabalin and methylcobalamin in reducing neuropathic pain in Indian patients, in the real-life situation. ⋯ Fixed dose combination of sustained-release pregabalin and methylcobalamin significantly reduced neuropathic pain, with significant improvement in both the positive and negative symptoms associated with neuropathy, in Indian patients and was well tolerated.