Hospital-based care utilization of children with medical complexity in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the hospital-based care utilization of children with medical complexity (CMC) in Japan. This study examined the frequency and differences in hospital-based care utilization for CMC according to the level of medical complexity (moderate and severe). METHODS: Medical records of three pediatric tertiary hospitals in one prefecture were examined in 2014. We examined the number of outpatient visits and of admissions to the hospital for CMC in the 5 years after the introduction of home medical care. RESULTS: Of 92 CMC, 55 had medical complexity that was moderate (CMC-moderate) and 37 had medical complexity that was severe (CMC-severe). The number of CMC who had medical care introduced at home had increased year by year, especially that of CMC <2 years old; the number of older CMC (i.e. 7-17 years old) had also increased in 2010-2014. The median total outpatient visits was 20 (IQR, 13-29 visits) for CMC-moderate and 20 (IQR, 17-26 visits) for CMC-severe in the first year. CMC-severe had significantly longer length of admissions in the 5 years than CMC-moderate. The number of total visits and admissions during the subsequent 4 years (from the second to the fifth year) was slightly decreased compared with the first year, but this was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: CMC had high utilization of hospital-based care, and consistently utilized hospital-based care in the 5 years after the introduction of home medical care. Further study is needed to examine both hospital-based and home/community-based services use.

KCNT1-positive epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures successfully treated with nonnarcotic antitussive drugs after treatment failure with quinidine: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS) is one of the early-onset epileptic encephalopathies resistant to antiepileptic drugs, therefore carrying an extremely poor neurodevelopmental outcome. KCNT1, encoding for a sodium-activated potassium channel (KCa4.1 channel), has recently been reported as the major gene responsible for EIMFS. Since gain of function is the only type of mutation identified in patients with EIMFS, quinidine, a partial antagonist of KCa4.1 channel, is considered as a potential candidate for targeted treatment of EIMFS. However, treatment results reported so far vary from seizure-free state to no response, and cardiac side effect remains a challenge for dose titration and long-term treatment. CASE REPORT: Our case was an infant diagnosed with EIMFS with confirmed mutation in KCNT1 gene. Quinidine therapy was started as early as 9 months old. Within the first month of treatment, the number of seizures reduced to about one third. However, seizure-free state was not obtained and his neuropsychological development remained severely delayed. After 16 months of treatment, quinidine had to be discontinued because of cardiac side effects. At 27 months of age, however, his seizures suddenly stopped and he remained seizure-free for five days. This coincided with the prescription of tipepidine, a commonly used antitussive, administered for his persistent cough. Reduction in seizure frequency was also observed with dextromethorphan, another conventional antitussive drug. Although the relation between these treatments and his symptom improvement is a matter of elucidation, there is a possibility that these nonnarcotic antitussive drugs might play a role in the treatment of EIFMS.

[Fulminating meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae with rapid progression of severe brain edema similar to acute encephalopathy].

We report a 4-year-old boy with fulminating meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae (Hib). He suddenly developed fever, vomiting and then somnolence. As bacterial meningitis was suspected, treatment with antibiotics was started at 12 hours after the onset. However, there was a rapid progression of severe brain edema and brain hernia, leading to clinical brain death. His clinical course and neuroradiological findings mimicked those in patients with acute encephalopathy, with cytokine profiles in cerebrospinal fluid demonstrating a marked increase of inflammatory cytokines. From a review of the literature, fulminating Hib meningitis may be classified into two disease types: DIC plus multiple organ failure and acute brain swelling types. The present case belongs to the latter type, in which cytokine storm seems to play an important pathogenic role.

[Hiccup treated by administration of intranasal vinegar].

A three-year old girl, who had severe cerebral palsy, severe mental retardation, and symptomatic epilepsy, was suffering from intractable hiccup that lasted for more than an hour since she was 2 years and 10 months old when she undertook tracheotomy and laryngotracheal separation. Sometimes this intractable hiccup was followed by respiratory arrest. Although the hiccup was resistant to conventional medications, the nose drops of small amount of vinegar showed a favorable effect on the hiccup. Intranasal vinegar might stimulate dorsal wall of nasopharynx where the pharyngeal branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve, which is thought as an afferent of the reflex arch of hiccup, is distributed. The administration of intranasal vinegar is a safe and handy method to stimulate dorsal wall of nasopharynx. We believe that intranasal vinegar administration could be a useful nonpharmacologic therapy to cease intractable hiccup.

[Neurophysiolgical analysis in an 18-month-old girl with Gaucher's disease type 2].

Gaucher's disease is caused by a lack of glucocerebrosidase, and in type 2 various neurological symptoms can occur;however, the detailed pathogenesis of the condition remains undetermined. Here we performed neurophysiological examinations in an 18-month-old girl with Gaucher's disease type 2 to specify the brainstem lesions. Developmental delay occurred from the age of 8 months, and the patient subsequently showed strabismus, loss of head control, failure to thrive and irregular respiration. She was admitted to our hospital at the age of 18 months. A definite diagnosis of Gaucher's disease type 2 was made from the presence of Gaucher cells and reduced glucocerebrosidase activity. Clinically, limited ocular movements, poor facial expression and bulbar palsy indicated disturbances in the nuclei of oculomotor, trochlear, abducent, facial and ambiguous nerves, although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) failed to visualize any structural changes in the brain including the brainstem. Neurophysiologically, auditory brainstem response and somatosensory evoked potential demonstrated lesions in the cochlear nucleus and medial lemniscus, respectively. On polysomnography, disturbed sleep parameters during rapid eye movement sleep, in addition to the lack of modification of respiratory patterns by sleep stage, suggested dysfunctions in the locus ceruleus, raphe nuclei and pontine reticular formations. It is likely that these neurophysiological tests can be useful to identify functional lesions that are not detectable by MRI, and should help exploit new treatments for child-onset neurodegenerative disorders such as Gaucher's disease.

[A case of acute encephalitis with refractory, repetitive partial seizures (AERRPS) showing transient disappearance of the seizure with occurrence of choreo-ballistic movement].

We present here a 5-year-old girl with acute encephalities with refractory, repetitive partial seizures (AERRPS), a new clinical entity defined by the following five criteria: 1. acute encephalitis with a prolonged acute phase of more than 2 weeks, 2. persistent partial seizures with identical phenotype both in the acute and recovery phase, 3. seizures frequently evolving into convulsive status especially during the acute phase, 4. extremely intractable, and 5. no causative lesion or agent is identified. Interestingly, her seizures had completely diminished from the fifty-sixth day of her illness with concomitant appearance of choreo-ballistic involuntary movements. After the 120th day of the illness, seizures evolved again, though the involuntary movements persisted. This transient disappearance of intractable seizures might provide a clue to the pathophysiology of seizures in AERRPS.

Late delirious behavior with 2009 H1N1 influenza: mild autoimmune-mediated encephalitis?

Delirious behavior associated with influenza usually has an onset within a few days after fever and lasts <24 hours. As we encountered several patients with 2009 H1N1 influenza who presented with late-onset and long-standing delirious behavior, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical, radiologic, and laboratory features to elucidate the possible pathophysiology. This information was collected on 5 previously healthy patients (2 boys and 3 girls, aged 10-15 years) with 2009 H1N1 influenza who presented with late onset (>3 days after fever) and long-standing (>48 hours) delirious behavior. Each exhibited mild to moderate drowsiness between the episodes of delirious behavior. Electroencephalography was normal except for 1 patient with high voltage and slow activity bilaterally in the occipital regions. Brain MRI was normal. The outcome was excellent with no neurologic sequel in 4 of the 5 patients. In all 5 patients, autoantibodies against N-methyl-D-aspartate type glutamate receptor were elevated or positive in cerebrospinal fluid or serum; the autoantibody levels normalized in the 3 patients who had follow-up studies. This study indicates that 2009 H1N1 influenza has a tendency to cause late-onset and long-standing delirious behavior, at least in Japanese children. Mild autoimmune-mediated encephalitis should be considered as an underlying cause.