Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records for Quality Assessment and Review of Clinical Ethics Consultation.

Evolving practice requires peer review of clinical ethics (CE) consultation for quality assessment and improvement. Many institutions have identified the chart note as the basis for this process, but to our knowledge, electronic health record (EHR) systems are not necessarily designed to easily include CE consultation notes. This article provides a framework for the inclusion of CE consultation notes into the formal EHR, describing a developed system in the Epic EHR that allows for the elaborated electronic notation of the CE chart note. The implementation of the "meaningful use" criteria for EHR, mandated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, requires that health professionals meet certain standards for quality, efficiency, and safety, all of which overlap with the goals of standardization, peer review, and quality improvement within CE consultation.

A Case of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Presenting as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune systemic disease with multiple organ involvement with high morbidity and mortality rate. Among the severe potential fatal complications are those of the central and peripheral nervous system which usually develop during the course of the disease and very rarely from the outset of the disease. We are reporting a rare case of Miller-Fisher (MFS) variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as the first manifestation of SLE in a 41-year-old female who progressed to flaccid paralysis with no neurological improvement with initial immunosuppressive therapy, plasmapheresis, and first cycle of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) but with remarkable and complete recovery after the second 5-day course of IVIG.

Non-Systemic Vasculitic Neuropathy: An Enigmatic Clinical Entity.

BACKGROUND: Non-systemic vasculitic peripheral neuropathy is a rare condition characterized by necrotizing inflammation resulting in luminal narrowing of the vasa nervorum, leading to ischemic injury to peripheral nerves. Here, we present the case of 63-year-old woman with subacute onset of severe hyperesthesia of the lower extremities accompanied by foot drop. CASE REPORT: A 63-year-old woman with prolonged history of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus presented with subacute onset of severe bilateral lower extremity hyperesthesia and motor weakness along with left-sided foot drop. She had multiple emergency room visits with no relief of her symptoms. High doses of analgesics were insufficient to control pain. Laboratory tests were positive only for high erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. A skin biopsy obtained 5 cm above the left lateral malleolus revealed medium-sized dermal vasculitis with dense mononuclear infiltrate. Electromyography showed peripheral neuropathy. A nerve biopsy was needed to reveal the exact diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis of non-systemic vasculitic peripheral neuropathy can be delayed or missed in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, leading to significant morbidity. Elevated markers of inflammation in the absence of a possible explanation should prompt the clinician to perform a nerve biopsy; however, it is an invasive procedure and is associated with complications of post-neuropathic pain and delayed wound healing. Magnetic resonance angiography of the lower limbs, if combined with skin biopsy, can save the patient from undergoing nerve biopsy.

Finding the missing link in neuromyelitis optica presenting with recurrent transverse myelitis flares.

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a distinct clinical entity from multiple sclerosis with its own clinical, laboratory and pathological characteristics. Definitive diagnosis of NMO is challenging at times as there can be a long interval between the occurrence of the index event and other neurological deficits which would fulfill the diagnostic criteria. Detection of NMO antibody could serve as an early marker in the disease progression. We present a young woman previously identified to have NMO antibody with recurring episodes of transverse myelitis for 3 years before manifesting with optic neuritis.