To characterize and describe clinical experience with childhood-onset non-infectious uveitis.
A multicenter retrospective multidisciplinary national web-based registry of 507 patients from 21 ...hospitals was analyzed. Cases were grouped as immune disease-associated (IMDu), idiopathic (IDIu) or ophthalmologically distinct. Characteristics of juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated (non-HLA-B27-related) uveitis (JIAu), IDIu, and pars planitis (PP) were compared.
IMDu (62.3%) and JIAu (51.9%) predominated in young females; and IDIu (22.7%) and PP (13.6%) in older children, without sex imbalance. Ocular complications occurred in 45.3% of cases (posterior synechiae 28%, cataracts 16%, band keratopathy 14%, ocular hypertension 11% and cystoid macular edema 10%) and were associated with synthetic (86%) and biologic (65%) disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) use. Subgroups were significantly associated (
< 0.05) with different characteristics. JIAu was typically anterior (98%), insidious (75%), in ANA-positive (69%), young females (82%) with fewer complications (31%), better visual outcomes, and later use of uveitis-effective biologics. In contrast, IDIu was characteristically anterior (87%) or panuveitic (12.1%), with acute onset (60%) and more complications at onset (59%: synechiae 31% and cataracts 9.6%) and less DMARD use, while PP is intermediate, and was mostly bilateral (72.5%), persistent (86.5%) and chronic (86.8%), with more complications (70%; mainly posterior segment and cataracts at last visit), impaired visual acuity at onset, and greater systemic (81.2%), subtenon (29.1%) and intravitreal (10.1%) steroid use.
Prognosis of childhood uveitis has improved in the "biologic era," particularly in JIAu. Early referral and DMARD therapy may reduce steroid use and improve outcomes, especially in PP and IDIu.
To compare intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements obtained using the new rebound tonometer Icare-Pro (Icare, Tiolat Oy, Helsinki, Finland) and the hand-held version of the Goldmann applanation ...tonometer (Perkins; Clement Clarke, Haag-Streit, Harlow, United Kingdom) in healthy children during clinical practice.
In this prospective study, three IOP measurements were made using each tonometer in a single session, starting with the Icare-Pro. Participants were 173 non-anesthetized patients aged 1 to 16 years. Measurements were made in both eyes but only data for the right eye were entered in the analysis. Central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, and axial length were also measured in each patient. Data were compared by determining interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for each tonometer and representing the differences detected as Bland-Altman plots.
Good linear correlation was observed between IOP readings obtained using the Perkins and Icare-Pro tonometers (r = 0.87, P < .001), although the Icare-Pro readings were slightly higher (mean IOP difference: 0.26 ± 1.58 mm Hg, P = .037). The 95% limits of agreement between the two methods were 2.8 to -3.4 mm Hg. The ICC was 0.857 (95% confidence interval: 0.810 to 0.893), indicating good agreement. For both tonometers, a low but significant correlation was detected between IOP and central corneal thickness or age. However, no correlation of IOP was found with axial length or anterior chamber depth.
Pediatric IOP measurements determined using the new Icare-Pro rebound tonometer showed good correlation with those obtained using the hand-held Perkins applanation tonometer in a routine clinical examination with no need for general anesthesia. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2018;55(6):382-386..
External trigeminal nerve stimulation (ETNS) is an emergent, non-invasive neurostimulation therapy delivered bilaterally with adhesive skin electrodes. In previous studies, ETNS was associated to a ...decrease in seizure frequency in patients with focal drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE).
To determine the long-term efficacy and tolerability of ETNS in patients with focal DRE. Moreover, to explore whether its efficacy depends on the epileptogenic zone (frontal or temporal), and its impact on mood, cognitive function, quality of life, and trigeminal nerve excitability.
Forty consecutive patients with frontal or temporal DRE, unsuitable for surgery, were randomized to ETNS or usual medical treatment. Participants were evaluated at 3, 6 and 12 months for efficacy, side effects, mood scales, neuropsychological tests and trigeminal nerve excitability.
Subjects had a median of 15 seizures per month and had tried a median of 12.5 antiepileptic drugs. At 12 months, percentage of responders was 50% in ETNS group and 0% in control group. Seizure frequency in ETNS group decreased by −43.5% from baseline. Temporal epilepsy subgroup responded better than frontal epilepsy subgroup (55.56% vs. 45.45%, respectively). Median stimulation intensity was 6.2 mA. ETNS improved quality of life, but not anxiety or depression. Long-term ETNS affected neither neuropsychological function, nor trigeminal nerve excitability. No relevant adverse events were observed.
ETNS is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for focal DRE. Patients with temporal epilepsy showed a better response than those with frontal epilepsy. Future studies with larger populations may define its role compared to other neurostimulation techniques.
This study provides Class II evidence that ETNS reduces seizure frequency in patients with focal DRE.
•External trigeminal nerve stimulation (ETNS) is effective to treat focal DRE.•Percentage of responders at 12 months was 50% in ETNS group.•Temporal epilepsy responded better than frontal epilepsy (55.56% vs. 45.45%).•ETNS was non-invasive, safe, well tolerated, and improved quality of life.•The role of ETNS compared to other neurostimulation techniques is still undefined.
An analysis of cardiac injury markers in patients with OSA who sustain an episode of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may contribute to a better understanding of the interactions and impact of OSA in ...subjects with ACS. We compared peak cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in patients with OSA and patients without OSA who were admitted for ACS.
Blood samples were collected every 6 hours from the time of admission until two consecutive assays showed a downward trend in the cTnI assay. The highest value obtained defined the peak cTnI value, which provides an estimate of infarct size.
We included 89 patients with OSA and 38 patients without OSA with an apnea-hypopnea index of a median of 32 (interquartile range IQR, 20.8-46.6/h and 4.8 IQR, 1.6-9.6/h, respectively. The peak cTnI value was significantly higher in patients without OSA than in patients with OSA (median, 10.7 ng/mL IQR, 1.78-40.1 ng/mL vs 3.79 ng/mL IQR, 0.37-24.3 ng/mL; P = .04). The multivariable linear regression analysis of the relationship between peak cTnI value and patient group, age, sex, and type of ACS showed that the presence or absence of OSA significantly contributed to the peak cTnI level, which was 54% lower in patients with OSA than in those without OSA.
The results of this study suggest that OSA has a protective effect in the context of myocardial infarction and that patients with OSA may experience less severe myocardial injury. The possible role of OSA in cardioprotection should be explored in future studies.
Background
Two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic no predictive algorithm has been generally adopted for clinical management and in most algorithms the contribution of laboratory ...variables is limited.
Objectives
To measure the predictive performance of currently used clinical laboratory tests alone or combined with clinical variables and explore the predictive power of immunological tests adequate for clinical laboratories. Methods: Data from 2,600 COVID-19 patients of the first wave of the pandemic in the Barcelona area (exploratory cohort of 1,579, validation cohorts of 598 and 423 patients) including clinical parameters and laboratory tests were retrospectively collected. 28-day survival and maximal severity were the main outcomes considered in the multiparametric classical and machine learning statistical analysis. A pilot study was conducted in two subgroups (n=74 and n=41) measuring 17 cytokines and 27 lymphocyte phenotypes respectively.
Findings
1) Despite a strong association of clinical and laboratory variables with the outcomes in classical pairwise analysis, the contribution of laboratory tests to the combined prediction power was limited by redundancy. Laboratory variables reflected only two types of processes: inflammation and organ damage but none reflected the immune response, one major determinant of prognosis. 2) Eight of the thirty variables: age, comorbidity index, oxygen saturation to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio, fibrinogen, and glomerular filtration rate captured most of the combined statistical predictive power. 3) The interpretation of clinical and laboratory variables was moderately improved by grouping them in two categories i.e., inflammation related biomarkers and organ damage related biomarkers; Age and organ damage-related biomarker tests were the best predictors of survival, and inflammatory-related ones were the best predictors of severity. 4) The pilot study identified immunological tests (CXCL10, IL-6, IL-1RA and CCL2), that performed better than most currently used laboratory tests.
Conclusions
Laboratory tests for clinical management of COVID 19 patients are valuable but limited predictors due to redundancy; this limitation could be overcome by adding immunological tests with independent predictive power. Understanding the limitations of tests in use would improve their interpretation and simplify clinical management but a systematic search for better immunological biomarkers is urgent and feasible.
COVID-19 pneumonia is a manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and in most cases involves hospital admission. There are recommendations according to which these patients can be discharged without ...hospital admission, but there is no evidence regarding the revisit and the most appropriate type of follow-up. The objective of the RESALSEVID study was to investigate the variables associated with the 30-day revisit (Rev30d) in a group of patients discharged directly from 4 emergency departments (ED) with COVID-19 pneumonia, and analyze whether there were differences based on 4 different tracking devices.
Analysis of a prospective cohort of patients discharged directly from the ED with COVID-19 pneumonia in 4 hospital with different models of follow-up at discharge (primary care, hospitalization at home HaH phone and in person, HaH phone, hospital phone).
Five hundred twenty patients were included, with a mean age of 50.1 years and 51% men. Rev30d was 18.3% and was related only to immunosuppression, odds ratio 4.49 (95% confidence interval 1.10-18.24); p=0.022. There was no difference in Rev30d based on the follow-up model used at discharge from the ED.
There are some recommendations that allow the safe discharge of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, with no differences in Rev30d depending on the type of follow-up.
An analysis of cardiac injury markers in patients with OSA who sustain an episode of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may contribute to a better understanding of the interactions and impact of OSA in ...subjects with ACS. We compared peak cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in patients with OSA and patients without OSA who were admitted for ACS.
Blood samples were collected every 6 hours from the time of admission until two consecutive assays showed a downward trend in the cTnI assay. The highest value obtained defined the peak cTnI value, which provides an estimate of infarct size.
We included 89 patients with OSA and 38 patients without OSA with an apnea-hypopnea index of a median of 32 (interquartile range IQR, 20.8-46.6/h and 4.8 IQR, 1.6-9.6/h, respectively. The peak cTnI value was significantly higher in patients without OSA than in patients with OSA (median, 10.7 ng/mL IQR, 1.78-40.1 ng/mL vs 3.79 ng/mL IQR, 0.37-24.3 ng/mL; P = .04). The multivariable linear regression analysis of the relationship between peak cTnI value and patient group, age, sex, and type of ACS showed that the presence or absence of OSA significantly contributed to the peak cTnI level, which was 54% lower in patients with OSA than in those without OSA.
The results of this study suggest that OSA has a protective effect in the context of myocardial infarction and that patients with OSA may experience less severe myocardial injury. The possible role of OSA in cardioprotection should be explored in future studies.
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