Critical neural targets for (the level of) human consciousness: Arousal arrest and unconsciousness after sumatriptan administration.

BACKGROUND: Insufficient understanding of the mechanisms of consciousness can make unconsciousness a diagnostic challenge, directly effecting the treatment and the outcome of the patient. Consciousness is a product of brainstem arousal (wakefulness, the level of consciousness) and cortical information integration (awareness, the contents of consciousness). The thalamus serves as a critical hub in the arousal pathway. The nuclei within the internal medullary lamina, together with the associated thalamocortical connections, have been implicated as being especially important for human consciousness. CASE STUDY: A 17-year old male migraineur developed a sudden episode of unconsciousness after receiving a single dose of intranasal sumatriptan for the treatment of prolonged migraine-associated symptoms. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed a small bilateral thalamic infarction affecting the centromedian and parafascicular nuclei and the associated non-specific thalamocortical connections as the likely reason for the impairment of consciousness. With the exception of occasional fatigue due to a persistent lesion on the left thalamus, the patient experienced full recovery. Corresponding to the injury, diffusion tensor tractography imaging revealed a distinctive defect on the thalamocortical fibres originating from the left centromedian/parafascicular nuclei complex. CONCLUSIONS: The presented case offers an outstanding example of the importance of the arousal system and non-specific thalamocortical connectivity for normal waking consciousness.

[Patient with high fever--the possibility of heatstroke should be kept in mind also in Finland]. / Korkeakuumeinen potilas--Muista lämpöhalvauksen mahdollisuus myös Suomessa.

In heatstroke, excessive exposure to heat causes the rise of core body temperature above 40 degrees C. A disturbed state of the central nervous system is regarded as another diagnostic criterion, varying from mild disorientation to coma. The recognition of this rare state is important also in Finland, since as many as 50 to 70% of cases are fatal. In addition to direct cellular damage caused by elevated temperature, an inflammation arising in the body will in the worst case lead to endothelial injury, microthromboses and eventually to multiorgan failure. We present a fatal case of heatstroke.

Treatment outcome of acne vulgaris with oral isotretinoin.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical efficacy of oral isotretinoin in the treatment of severe acne and assess its effect on total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and Low-Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol). STUDY DESIGN: A cohort, descriptive, hospital-based study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Al-Ain Medical District, Tawam Hospital, United Arab Emirates, from 1994 to 2002. METHODOLOGY: A total of 198 patients seen at Tawam Hospital, referred with acne vulgaris for a minimum of 6 weeks, were treated by isotretinoin for the first time, were included in the study. Variables studied were as per objectives apart from demographics and distribution. RESULTS: The study included 63 (32%) males and 135 (68%) females of mean age (+/-SD) of 21.3+/-5.6 years. Majority (81%) of patients was under 25 years. Of them, 26 patients had family history of acne. The most common site of acne was on face (66.7%), followed by trunk (26.2%) and neck (9.1%). Of 198 patients treated, 32.8% were cured, 19.1% markedly improved, 11.1% moderately improved and 24.2% of patients were advised for further treatment. There was no marked change in total and LDL-cholesterol, while LDL and triglycerides changed markedly. CONCLUSION: In acne patients, isotretinoin is effective in producing remission. In addition, it was safe and its effect on serum lipids was transient, especially in healthy and young patients with normal liver functions.

Reduced survival following resuscitation in patients with documented clinically abnormal observations prior to in-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) often have abnormal clinical observations documented prior to the arrest. This study assesses whether these patients have a less favourable outcome following IHCA. METHODS: A multiple logistic regression analysis of retrospectively collected hospital chart data and prospectively collected Utstein style resuscitation data. Patients were defined as having abnormal clinical observations if they had one of the following documented 8 h before the arrest: systolic arterial blood pressure below 90 or over 200, pulse rate below 40 or over 140 beats per min or oxygen saturation below 90% with or without supplemental oxygen. Pre-arrest variables included were: age, sex and functional status, co-morbidities, reason for hospital admission, days in the hospital before the arrest, witnessed or un-witnessed arrest, arrest occurring outside regular working hours, monitored or non-monitored ward, whether basic life support was performed before the arrival of the resuscitation team, delay to arrival of resuscitation team and initial rhythm. RESULTS: Survival to hospital discharge of patients with clinically abnormal observations was 9% and among those without 18% (p=0.037). Independent pre-arrest predictors of survival were: un-witnessed arrest (odds ratio [OR] 0.1, confidence interval (CI) 0.01-0.8), initial rhythm other than ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia (OR 0.13, CI 0.05-0.3), delay to arrival of the resuscitation team exceeding 2 min (median) (OR 0.4, CI 0.15-0.9) and the presence of documented clinical abnormal observations prior to the arrest (OR 0.3, CI 0.09-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with documented clinically abnormal observations before IHCA have a worse outcome than those without, despite prompt resuscitation. Efforts should be made to identify these patients in time, thereby possibly avoiding the arrest. This can also be used when assessing the prognosis in IHCA.

Cost-utility of first-line actinic keratosis treatments in Finland.

INTRODUCTION: Cost-utility assessment of first-line actinic keratosis (AK) treatments for max 25 cm2 AK field. METHODS: A probabilistic, 2-year decision tree model was used to assess costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), cost-effectiveness efficiency frontier, cost-effectiveness acceptability frontier (CEAF), and expected value of perfect information (EVPI) of AK treatments from the Finnish health care payer perspective with 3% discounting per annum. In the model, the first-line AK treatment resulted in complete clearance (CC) or non-CC with or without local skin responses (LSR), or AK recurrence. Non-CC AK was treated with methyl aminolevulinate+photodynamic therapy (MAL+PDT), and AK recurrence was retreated with the previous effective treatment. Costs included primary and secondary health care, outpatient drugs, and LSR management. QALYs were assessed with the EuroQol (EQ-5D-3L). Result robustness was assessed with sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: The mean simulated per patient QALYs (costs) were 1.526 (€982) for MAL+PDT, 1.524 (€794) for ingenol mebutate gel (IngMeb) 0.015% (3 days), 1.522 (€869) for IngMeb 0.05% (2 days), 1.520 (€1062) for diclofenac 3% (12 weeks), 1.518 (€885) for imiquimod 3.75% (6 weeks), 1.517 (€781) for imiquimod 5% (4/8 weeks), and 1.514 (€1114) for cryosurgery when treating AK affecting any body part. IngMeb 0.015% was less costly and more effective (dominating) than other AK treatments indicated for face and scalp area with the exception of imiquimod 5% for which the ICER was estimated at €1933/QALY gained and MAL+PDT, which had an ICER of €82,607/QALY gained against IngMeb 0.015%. With willingness-to-pay €2526-18,809/QALY gained, IngMeb 0.015% had >50% probability for cost-effectiveness on the CEAF. IngMeb 0.05% dominated AK treatments indicated for trunk and extremities. EVPIs for face and scalp (trunk and extremities) analyses were €26 (€0), €86 (€58), and €250 (€169) per patient with the willingness-to-pay of €0, €15,000, and €30,000 per QALY gained, respectively. CONCLUSION: IngMebs were cost-effective AK treatments in Finland. FUNDING: LEO Pharma.