Association between nocturnal hypoxemic burden and glucose metabolism.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between a novel integrated event-based and hypoxemia-based parameter of polysomnography (PSG), hypoxemic load or HL100, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. METHODS: Adult patients, who underwent an in-lab PSG at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with FBG or HbA1c levels, were included. Event-based parameter and hypoxemia-based parameter data were derived. HL100, defined as the integrated area of desaturation between the 100% oxygen saturation and the measured saturation levels during sleep divided by the total sleep time, was calculated by Python software. Demographic data and glycemic parameters within 1 year prior to PSG (FBG and HbA1c) were retrieved from chart review. Spearman correlation analysis and stepwise backward regression analysis were performed to determine independent predictors of FBG and HbA1c levels. RESULTS: Of the 467 patients who underwent an in-lab PSG, 218 had FBG levels, 84 had HbA1c levels, and 118 had both values. All event-based and hypoxemia-based parameters, including HL100, were significantly correlated to FBG and HbA1c levels. Stepwise backward regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and diabetes status, revealed that log HL100 was significantly related to FBG (B = 23.9, p = 0.010), but none of log event-based or hypoxemia-based parameters were found to be significantly related HbA1c levels. CONCLUSIONS: HL100 was shown to be an independent predictor of FBG in this cohort, implying that any degree of desaturation below 100% could adversely affect glucose metabolism. HL100 may be useful for interpretation of sleep studies, risk stratification, and patient management purposes in the future.

Home video prediction of epileptic vs. nonepileptic seizures in US veterans.

OBJECTIVE: Using video-EEG (v-EEG) diagnosis as a gold standard, we assessed the predictive diagnostic value of home videos of spells with or without additional limited demographic data in US veterans referred for evaluation of epilepsy. Veterans, in particular, stand to benefit from improved diagnostic tools given higher rates of PNES and limited accessibility to care. METHODS: This was a prospective, blinded diagnostic accuracy study in adults conducted at the Houston VA Medical Center from 12/2015-06/2019. Patients with a definitive diagnosis of epileptic seizures (ES), psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), or physiologic nonepileptic events (PhysNEE) from v-EEG monitoring were asked to submit home videos. Four board-certified epileptologists blinded to the original diagnosis formulated a diagnostic impression based upon the home video review alone and video plus limited demographic data. RESULTS: Fifty patients (30 males; mean age 47.7 years) submitted home videos. Of these, 14 had ES, 33 had PNES, and three had PhysNEE diagnosed by v-EEG. The diagnostic accuracy by video alone was 88.0%, with a sensitivity of 83.9% and specificity of 89.6%. Providing raters with basic patient demographic information in addition to the home videos did not significantly improve diagnostic accuracy when comparing to reviewing the videos alone. Inter-rater agreement between four raters based on video was moderate with both videos alone (kappa = 0.59) and video plus limited demographic data (kappa = 0.60). SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrated that home videos of paroxysmal events could be an important tool in reliably diagnosing ES vs. PNES in veterans referred for evaluation of epilepsy when interpreted by experts. A moderate inter-rater reliability was observed in this study.

Corticosteroids for parasitic eosinophilic meningitis.

BACKGROUND: Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the major cause of infectious eosinophilic meningitis. Dead larvae of this parasite cause inflammation and exacerbate symptoms of meningitis. Corticosteroids are drugs used to reduce the inflammation caused by this parasite. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids for the treatment of eosinophilic meningitis. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (2014, Issue 11), MEDLINE (1950 to November Week 3, 2014), EMBASE (1974 to December 2014), Scopus (1960 to December 2014), Web of Science (1955 to December 2014), LILACS (1982 to December 2014) and CINAHL (1981 to December 2014). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of corticosteroids versus placebo for eosinophilic meningitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors (SiT, SaT) independently collected and extracted study data. We graded the methodological quality of the RCTs. We identified and analysed outcomes and adverse effects. MAIN RESULTS: We did not identifiy any new trials for inclusion or exclusion in this 2014 update. One study involving 110 participants (55 participants in each group) met our inclusion criteria. The corticosteroid (prednisolone) showed a benefit in shortening the median time to resolution of headaches (five days in the treatment group versus 13 days in the control group, P value < 0.0001). Corticosteroids were also associated with smaller numbers of participants who still had headaches after a two-week course of treatment (9.1% versus 45.5%, P value < 0.0001). The number of patients who needed repeat lumbar puncture was also smaller in the treatment group (12.7% versus 40%, P value = 0.002). There was a reduction in the median time of analgesic use in participants receiving corticosteroids (10.5 versus 25.0, P value = 0.038). There were no reported adverse effects from prednisolone in the treatment group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids significantly help relieve headache in patients with eosinophilic meningitis, who have a pain score of four or more on a visual analogue scale. However, there is only one RCT supporting this benefit and this trial did not clearly mention allocation concealment and stratification. Therefore, we agreed to grade our included study as a moderate quality trial. Future well-designed RCTs are necessary.

Corticosteroids for parasitic eosinophilic meningitis.

BACKGROUND: Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the major cause of infectious eosinophilic meningitis. Dead larvae of this parasite cause inflammation and exacerbate symptoms of meningitis. Corticosteroids are drugs used to reduce inflammation caused by this parasite. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects and adverse events of corticosteroids in patients with eosinophilic meningitis. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 6), MEDLINE (1950 to July Week 4, 2012), EMBASE (1974 to July 2012), Scopus (1960 to July 2012), Web of Science (1955 to July 2012), LILACS (1982 to July 2012), and CINAHL (1981 to July 2012). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of corticosteroids versus placebo for eosinophilic meningitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors (SiT, SaT) independently collected and extracted study data. We graded the methodological quality of the RCTs. We identified and analyzed outcomes and adverse effects. MAIN RESULTS: One study involving 110 participants (55 participants in each group) met our inclusion criteria. The corticosteroid (prednisolone) showed a benefit in shortening the median time to resolution of headaches (five days in the treatment group versus 13 days in the control group, P < 0.0001). Corticosteroids were also associated with smaller numbers of participants who still had headaches after a two-week course of treatment (9.1% versus 45.5%, P < 0.0001). There was a reduction in median time of analgesics use in participants receiving corticosteroids (10.5 versus 25.0, P = 0.038). There were no reported adverse effects from prednisolone in the treatment group. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids significantly help relieve headache in patients with eosinophilic meningitis. However, there is only one RCT supporting this benefit and this trial did not clearly mention allocation concealment and stratification. Future well-designed RCTs may be necessary.

Unihemispheric central nervous system vasculitis.

Patients with primary central nervous system vasculitis (PCNSV) usually manifest with multiple enhancing bilateral hemispheric lesions. We presented an extremely rare clinical course and follow-up of a patient with PCNSV affecting only a single (right) hemisphere. A 33-year-old previously healthy man presented with a left hand clonic seizure followed by a secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizure and dysarthria. MRI brain revealed multiple hyperintense lesions confined to only the right hemisphere with contrast enhancement, involving both white and grey matters. He was treated with a methylprednisolone for 5 days followed by prednisone for suspected acute disseminated encephalomyelitis without improvements. He was presented again with left-sided weakness, transient dysarthria and black objects in left visual field. MRI brain was unchanged. MR angiogram and conventional cerebral angiogram were normal. Autoimmune work-ups were all negative. A brain biopsy showed evidence of PCNSV. He was then successfully treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide followed by oral azathioprine. On a follow-up 3 years later, he remains asymptomatic on azathioprine and a repeat MRI showed all areas of enhancement were gone.

Broken heart syndrome during myasthenic crisis.

OBJECTIVES: Myocardial pathology is rarely associated with myasthenia gravis (MG). We describe a case of newly diagnosed MG with decompensated heart failure [stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM)] that occurred during the crisis phase. METHODS: Case report and review of literature. RESULTS: A 42-year-old woman underwent chemotherapy followed by a transsternal resection of a malignant epithelioid thymoma invading the pericardium. A month after surgical resection, she developed progressive oropharyngeal symptoms with respiratory distress requiring tracheal intubation. Cardiac evaluation on the day of admission showed a normal ejection fraction, which rapidly decreased to 15% on the second hospital day and recovered to 45% after 1 week. Review of the literature revealed 4 myasthenic patients who developed SICM in the crisis phase; all improved with treatment. CONCLUSIONS: SICM may occur in MG crisis, especially in the presence of malignant thymoma. All previous cases including our patient had improved myocardial function and clinical outcomes.

Risk factors associated with death in in-hospital pediatric convulsive status epilepticus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in-patient mortality and predictors of death associated with convulsive status epilepticus (SE) in a large, multi-center, pediatric cohort. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified our cohort from the KID Inpatient Database for the years 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006. We queried the database for convulsive SE, associated diagnoses, and for inpatient death. Univariate logistic testing was used to screen for potential risk factors. These risk factors were then entered into a stepwise backwards conditional multivariable logistic regression procedure. P-values less than 0.05 were taken as significant. RESULTS: We identified 12,365 (5,541 female) patients with convulsive SE aged 0-20 years (mean age 6.2 years, standard deviation 5.5 years, median 5 years) among 14,965,571 pediatric inpatients (0.08%). Of these, 117 died while in the hospital (0.9%). The most frequent additional admission ICD-9 code diagnoses in addition to SE were cerebral palsy, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. Independent risk factors for death in patients with SE, assessed by multivariate calculation, included near drowning (Odds ratio [OR] 43.2; Confidence Interval [CI] 4.4-426.8), hemorrhagic shock (OR 17.83; CI 6.5-49.1), sepsis (OR 10.14; CI 4.0-25.6), massive aspiration (OR 9.1; CI 1.8-47), mechanical ventilation >96 hours (OR9; 5.6-14.6), transfusion (OR 8.25; CI 4.3-15.8), structural brain lesion (OR7.0; CI 3.1-16), hypoglycemia (OR5.8; CI 1.75-19.2), sepsis with liver failure (OR 14.4; CI 5-41.9), and admission in December (OR3.4; CI 1.6-4.1). African American ethnicity (OR 0.4; CI 0.2-0.8) was associated with a decreased risk of death in SE. CONCLUSION: Pediatric convulsive SE occurs in up to 0.08% of pediatric inpatient admissions with a mortality of up to 1%. There appear to be several risk factors that can predict mortality. These may warrant additional monitoring and aggressive management.