Impact of psychotropic medications on cognition among older adults: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review is to examine the cognitive impact of psychotropic medications including benzodiazepines, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, or a combination of these drugs on older adults. DESIGN: Systematic review. SETTING: We searched Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase through the Ovid platform, CINAHL through EBSCO, and Web of Science. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Randomized control trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that used a validated scale to measure cognition with a follow-up period of at least six months were included. MEASUREMENT: The primary outcome of interest was cognitive change associated with psychotropic medication use. RESULTS: A total of 7551 articles were identified from the primary electronic literature search across the five databases after eliminating duplicates. Based on full-text analysis, 27 articles (two RCTs, 25 cohorts) met the inclusion criteria. Of these, nine each examined the impact of benzodiazepines and antidepressants, five examined psychotropic combinations, three on antipsychotic drugs, and one on the effects of mood stabilizers. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first systematic review to examine the cognitive impact of multiple psychotropic drug classes in older adults over an extended follow-up period (six months or more) using robust sample sizes, drug-free control groups, and validated cognitive instruments. We found evidence to indicate cognitive decline with the cumulative use of benzodiazepines and the use of antidepressants, especially those with anticholinergic properties among older adults without cognitive impairment at baseline. Further, the use of antipsychotics and psychotropic combinations is also associated with cognitive decline in older adults.

Image-guided chest tube drainage in the management of chylothorax post cardiac surgery in children: a single-center case series.

BACKGROUND: In children, chylothorax post cardiac surgery can be difficult to treat, may run a protracted course, and remains a source of morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the experience with percutaneous image-guided chest-tube drainage in the management of post-cardiac-surgery chylothoraces in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective case series of 37 post-cardiac-surgery chylothoraces in 34 children (20 boys; 59%), requiring 48 drainage procedures with placement of 53 image-guided chest tubes over the time period 2004 to 2015. We analyzed clinical and procedural details, adverse events and outcomes. Median age was 0.6 years, median weight 7.2 kg. RESULTS: Attempted treatments of chylothoraces prior to image-guided chest tubes included dietary restrictions (32/37, 86%), octreotide (12/37, 32%), steroids (7/37, 19%) and thoracic duct ligation (5/37, 14%). Image-guided chest tubes (n=43/53, 81%) were single unilateral in 29 children, bilateral in 4 (n=8/53, 15%), and there were two ipsilateral tubes in one (2/53, 4%). Effusions were isolated, walled-off, in 33/53 (62%). In 20/48 procedures (42%) effusions were septated/complex. The mean drainage through image-guided chest tubes was 17.3 mL/kg in the first 24 h, and 13.4 mL/kg/day from diagnosis to chest tube removal; total mean drainage from all chest tubes was 19.6 mL/kg/day. Nine major and 27 minor maintenance procedures were required during 1,207 tube-days (rate: 30 maintenance/1,000 tube-days). Median tube dwell time was 21 days (range 4-57 days). There were eight mild adverse events, three moderate adverse events and no severe adverse events related to image-guided chest tubes. Radiologic resolution was achieved in 26/37 (70%). Twenty-three children (68%) survived to discharge; 11 children (32%) died from underlying cardiac disease. CONCLUSION: Management of chylothorax post-cardiac-surgery in children is multidisciplinary, requiring concomitant multipronged approaches, often through a protracted course. Multiple image-guided chest tube drainages can help achieve resolution with few complications. Interventional radiology involvement in tube care and maintenance is required. Overall, mortality remains high.

Four-Duct Ligation for the Treatment of Sialorrhea in Children.

IMPORTANCE: The 4-duct ligation procedure has appeal for its surgical simplicity and limited invasiveness in the management of pediatric sialorrhea. However, more information is required to understand the benefits, risks, success rates, and long-term effects of this intervention. OBJECTIVES: To report the clinical outcomes of the 4-duct ligation procedure in pediatric patients diagnosed as having sialorrhea and the associated complication rates and to characterize patient and caregiver satisfaction in a consecutive series. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This investigation was a retrospective cohort study at an academic tertiary pediatric center and pediatric rehabilitation hospital. Patients included 38 children with neurological impairment who underwent a 4-duct salivary gland ligation (parotid and submandibular glands) between January 1, 2004, and July 31, 2012. The dates of the analysis were August 2013 through February 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Posttreatment assessments included duration of effect, severity and frequency of drooling before and after the procedure, patient complications, caregiver satisfaction, caregiver recommendation of the procedure, and caregiver overall assessment of the child's quality of life. Clinical and outcome measures were collected before the procedure, 1 month after the procedure, 1 year after the procedure, and at the most recent follow-up (range, 3-8 years). RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 38 participants. Their median age was 11 years (age range, 5-17 years), and 37% (14 of 38) were female. The mean (SD) duration of effect was 52.6 (20.4) months. Patients with previous sialorrhea management were more likely to demonstrate an improvement in their drooling frequency score at 1 year. Thirteen complications were documented in 12 patients. The most common complications were persistent facial swelling and aspiration pneumonia. Eighty percent (28 of 35) of caregivers reported an improvement in their child's drooling at 1 month, while 69% (25 of 36) and 71% (24 of 34) stated that there was an improvement at the 1-year follow-up and the most recent follow-up, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The 4-duct ligation procedure offers a simple, effective, and minimally invasive approach to the management of sialorrhea in children.

Research of the Holiday kind: Tabulating Ingestion of Mocha Solution (TIMS): a longitudinal prospective cohort study.

The annual "Roll Up the Rim to Win" contest at Tim Hortons restaurants provides customers the opportunity to win prizes. This study investigated win ratios, prize types and patterns of coffee consumption.