Utility of Automated Infrared Pupillometry in Assessing the Prolonged Course of Organophosphate Poisoning: A Case Report.

Central and autonomic nervous system signs of organophosphate poisoning (OP), such as altered consciousness, noticeable lacrimation, and salivation, can be influenced by medications used in intensive care settings, such as atropine and pralidoxime methyl (PAM). Because of this, there are no established methods for assessing the duration of OP while receiving antidotal treatment. In the present case, we used the Neurological Pupil Index (NPi) to evaluate the duration of OP in an 82-year-old woman who attempted suicide by ingesting up to 100 mL of fenitrothion. Until hospitalization day (HD) 20, discontinuation of atropine led to the recurrence of altered consciousness, while its reinstatement resulted in improvement; this made it difficult to assess the prolongation of OP based on signs and symptoms. Until HD 20, the NPi remained at 0/0, and subsequently, it increased. Additionally, even after discontinuing atropine, consciousness, tearing, and salivation did not worsen, indicating recovery from OP. On HD 26, serum acetylcholinesterase (AChE) levels were elevated above the measurable level for the first time, following an increase in the NPi. In this case, assessing the persistence of OP based on signs was challenging because these signs improved with atropine and PAM treatment. The improvement in NPi levels coincided with an improvement in poisoning, suggesting that NPi is useful for evaluating the duration of OP. NPi is noninvasive and sensitive compared to AChE, which is used to gauge the persistence of OP and could be used to allow earlier cessation of medication and guide appropriate treatment durations.

A case of diabetic ketoacidosis in a patient with COVID-19 and newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.

To improve severe ketoacidosis with COVID-19, insulin treatment, invasive mechanical ventilation therapy, and continuous hemodiafiltration with sodium bicarbonate infusion were effective.

Radio-frequency single electron transistors in physically defined silicon quantum dots with a sensitive phase response.

Radio-frequency reflectometry techniques are instrumental for spin qubit readout in semiconductor quantum dots. However, a large phase response is difficult to achieve in practice. In this work, we report radio-frequency single electron transistors using physically defined quantum dots in silicon-on-insulator. We study quantum dots which do not have the top gate structure considered to hinder radio frequency reflectometry measurements using physically defined quantum dots. Based on the model which properly takes into account the parasitic components, we precisely determine the gate-dependent device admittance. Clear Coulomb peaks are observed in the amplitude and the phase of the reflection coefficient, with a remarkably large phase signal of ∼45°. Electrical circuit analysis indicates that it can be attributed to a good impedance matching and a detuning from the resonance frequency. We anticipate that our results will be useful in designing and simulating reflectometry circuits to optimize qubit readout sensitivity and speed.