Pediatric Functional Neurological Disorder: Demographic and Clinical Factors Impacting Care.

This is a multicenter retrospective EMR-based chart review of 88 patients aged 3-21 years admitted for evaluation of functional neurologic disorder (FND). We sought to establish characteristics associated with FND, calculate incidence of abnormal neurodiagnostic findings, and determine features associated with variability in workup and treatment. FND patients were 65% female, 40% White, 33% Hispanic, and 88% primarily English speaking with median 13.9 years. We detected variability in management by age, ethnicity, psychiatric comorbidity, and hospital site. Our findings suggest limited utility to CTs in this setting (100% normal) and that workup can be safely informed by physical exam, which predicted abnormal MRI and LP results. We favor screening for adverse childhood experiences in FND patients. Hospitalization may be a rare opportunity for psychiatry contact.

An Unusual Case of Abdominal Pain and Hyponatremia in a 16-Year-Old Girl With Disordered Eating.

A previously healthy 16-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with 1 week of severe, diffuse abdominal pain and constipation, as well as several episodes of nonbloody, nonbilious emesis. Her symptoms began several days after she decreased her caloric intake in an attempt to lose weight. She had been drinking 48 to 60 oz of water per day for several days before admission in an attempt to ameliorate her constipation. She also admits to drinking alcohol the night before her pain began. She had visited several other emergency departments before her presentation to our hospital, and she had been sent home on a bowel regimen without amelioration of her symptoms. On arrival to our emergency department, she described severe diffuse abdominal pain. Her abdomen was tender to palpation throughout but soft with no rebound tenderness or peritoneal signs. The remainder of her physical examination yielded normal results. She was found to have hyponatremia with a sodium level of 122 and no neurologic sequelae. Abdominal radiograph showed moderate constipation but her abdominal pain continued even after bowel cleanout. The home, education, activities, drugs, sex, suicide, and safety assessment revealed several stressors, including a recent suicide in the family and a history of disordered eating and anxiety. Here, we present her case, diagnostic evaluation, ultimate diagnosis, and complications.

Attitudes Toward Smoking Cessation Among Sheltered Homeless Parents.

The prevalence of smoking among homeless adults is approximately 70 %. Cessation programs designed for family shelters should be a high priority given the dangers cigarette smoke poses to children. However, the unique nature of smoking in the family shelter setting remains unstudied. We aimed to assess attitudes toward smoking cessation, and unique barriers and motivators among homeless parents living in family shelters in Northern California. Six focus groups and one interview were conducted (N = 33, ages 23-54). The focus groups and interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and a representative team performed qualitative theme analysis. Eight males and 25 females participated. The following major themes emerged: (1) Most participants intended to quit eventually, citing concern for their children as their primary motivation. (2) Significant barriers to quitting included the ubiquity of cigarette smoking, its central role in social interactions in the family shelter setting, and its importance as a coping mechanism. (3) Participants expressed interest in quitting "cold turkey" and in e-cigarettes, but were skeptical of the patch and pharmacotherapy. (4) Feelings were mixed regarding whether individual, group or family counseling would be most effective. Homeless parents may be uniquely motivated to quit because of their children, but still face significant shelter-based social and environmental barriers to quitting. Successful cessation programs in family shelters must be designed with the unique motivations and barriers of this population in mind.

Long-term outcome following pediatric liver transplantation for metabolic disorders.

In order to determine long-term outcome, including survival, growth and development, following liver transplantation in children with metabolic disorders, we retrospectively reviewed charts of 54 children with metabolic disorders evaluated from 1989-2005 for presenting symptoms, transplantation timing and indications, survival, metabolic parameters, growth, and development. Thirty-three patients underwent liver transplantation (12 received combined liver-kidney transplants) at a median age of 21 months. At a median follow-up of 3.6 yr, patient survival was 100%, and liver and kidney allograft survival was 92%, and 100%, respectively. For the group as a whole, weight Z scores improved and body mass index at follow-up was in the normal range. Two yr post-transplantation, psychomotor development improved significantly (p < 0.01), but mental skills did not; however, both indices were in the low-normal range of development. When compared to patients with biliary atresia, children with metabolic disorders showed significantly lower mental developmental scores at one and two yr post-transplantation (p < 0.05), but psychomotor developmental scores were not significantly different. We conclude that, in patients with metabolic disorders meeting indications for transplantation, liver transplantation or combined liver-kidney transplantation (for those with accompanying renal failure) is associated with excellent long-term survival, improved growth, and improved psychomotor development.

The secret and soul of Marlboro: Phillip Morris and the origins, spread, and denial of nicotine freebasing.

Philip Morris and other tobacco companies have been using ammonia in their manufacturing for more than half a century, and for a variety of purposes: to highlight certain flavors, to expand or "puff up" the volume of tobacco, to prepare reconstituted tobacco sheet ("recon"), to denicotinize (reduce the amount of nicotine in) tobacco, and to remove carcinogens. By the early 1960s, however, Philip Morris had also begun using ammonia to "freebase" the nicotine in cigarette smoke, creating low-yield (reduced-tar or -nicotine) cigarettes that still had the nicotine kick necessary to keep customers "satisfied" (i.e., addicted). We show that Philip Morris discovered the virtues of freebasing while analyzing the impact of the ammoniated recon used in Marlboro cigarettes. We also show how Marlboro's commercial success catalyzed efforts by the rest of the tobacco industry to discover its "secret," eventually identified as ammonia technology, and how Philip Morris later exploited the myriad uses of ammonia (e.g., for flavoring and expanding tobacco volume) to defend itself against charges of manipulating the nicotine deliveries of its cigarettes.