Ramona Lucchetti MD, Fulvia Ceccarelli MD PhD, Enrica Cipriano MD, Carlo Perricone MD PhD, Francesca Romana Spinelli MD PhD, Cristiano Alessandri MD, and Fabrizio Conti MD
Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory rheumatic disease characterized by different phenotypes in terms of joint involvement. The so-called oligoarticular pattern involves fewer than five active joints at a different time points. The evaluation of disease activity in this subset of patients is an unmet need due to the lack of specific indices able to capture modifications over time.
Objectives: To evaluate the ability of musculoskeletal ultrasound to monitor the response to apremilast treatment in oligoarticular PsA patients.
Methods: We evaluated 24 oligoarticular patients (19 women, 5 men; median age 56 years, interquartile range (IQR) 19; median disease duration 5 years, IQR 5.75). All patients were assessed at baseline (T0), and after 6 (T1), 12 (T2), and 24 (T3) weeks. Clinical assessment included evaluation of 66 swollen joints and patient global health assessment. All the patients underwent ultrasound assessment of the clinically involved joints. Synovial effusion/hypertrophy and power Doppler were scored with a semi-quantitative scale (0–3). The total inflammatory score was the sum of the scores.
Results: We found a reduction in the ultrasound inflammatory score at all time points, with a significant improvement at 6 and 12 weeks of treatment compared with baseline: T0 median 8.5 (IQR 5.0); T1 3.5 (3.0); T2 2.0 (3.5); P = 0.01. We observed a significant reduction of patient global health assessment after 24 weeks (T0 median 50 (32.5); T3 40 (57.5); P = 0.01).
Conclusions: Musculoskeletal ultrasound could be useful in the assessment of treatment response in PsA patients with oligoarticular subset
Miri Dotan MD, Elena Zion MD, Haim Ben-Zvi PhD, Havatzelet Yarden-Bilavsky MD, and Efraim Bilavsky MD
Background: Adenovirus infections are prevalent in children. They usually cause a mild self-limited disease. However, this infection can be associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in specific populations, especially among immunocompromised children. Children with Down syndrome are susceptible to a higher frequency and increased severity of viral infections. Little is known about the severity and clinical course of adenovirus infections in children with Down syndrome.
Objectives: To characterize hospitalized children diagnosed with Down syndrome and presenting with adenovirus infection.
Methods: We performed a retrospective review of children admitted with adenovirus from January 2005 to August 2014 from a single tertiary pediatric medical center in Israel. Data were compared between patients with and without Down syndrome.
Results: Among the 486 hospitalized children with adenoviral infection, 11 (2.28%) were diagnosed with Down syndrome. We found that children with Down syndrome were more likely to experience a higher incidence of complications (18.2% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.008), a higher rate of admissions to the intensive care unit (36.4% vs. 2.4%, P < 0.001), and more prolonged hospitalizations (17 ± 15.9 days compared to 4.46 ± 3.16, P = 0.025).
Conclusions: Children with Down syndrome who were hospitalized with adenovirus infection represent a high-risk group and warrant close monitoring. If a vaccine for adenovirus becomes available, children with Down syndrome should be considered as candidates
Osama Muhtaseb MD, Evan Avraham Alpert MD, and Shamai A. Grossman MD MS
Background: Syncope is a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits; however, the decision to admit or discharge patients after a syncopal episode remains challenging for emergency physicians. Decision rules such as the Boston Syncope Criteria have been developed in an attempt to aid clinicians in identifying high-risk patients as well as those who can be safely discharged, but applying these rules to different populations remains unclear.
Objectives: To determine whether the Boston Syncope Criteria are valid for emergency department patients in Israel.
Methods: This retrospective cohort convenience sample included patients who visited a tertiary care hospital in Jerusalem from August 2018 to July 2019 with a primary diagnosis of syncope. Thirty-day follow-up was performed using a national health system database. The Boston Syncope Criteria were retrospectively applied to each patient to determine whether they were at high risk for an adverse outcome or critical intervention, versus low risk and could be discharged.
Results: A total of 198 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and completed follow-up. Of these, 21 patients had either an adverse outcome or critical intervention. The rule detected 20/21 with a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 66%, and a negative predictive value of 99%.
Conclusions: The Boston Syncope Criteria may be useful for physicians in other locations throughout the world to discharge low-risk syncope patients as well as identify those at risk of complications
Sharon Tamir MA, Daniel Kurnik MD, Myriam Weyl Ben-Arush MD, and Sergey Postovsky MD
Background: Decisions on medication treatment in children dying from cancer are often complex and may result in polypharmacy and increased medication burden. There is no information on medication burden in pediatric cancer patients at the end of life (EOL).
Objectives: To characterize medication burden during the last hospitalization in children dying from cancer
Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study based on medical records of 90 children who died from cancer in hospital between 01 January 2010 and 30 December 2018. Demographic and clinical information were collected for the last hospitalization. We compared medication burden (number of medication orders) at hospitalization and at time of death and examined whether changes in medication burden were associated with clinical and demographic parameters.
Results: Median medication burden was higher in leukemia/lymphoma patients (6 orders) compared to solid (4 orders) or CNS tumor patients (4 orders, P = 0.006). Overall, the median number of prescriptions per patient did not change until death (P = 0.42), while there was a significant reduction for some medication subgroups (chemotherapy [P = 0.035], steroids [P = 0.010]).Patients dying in the ICU (n=15) had a higher medication burden at death (6 orders) than patients dying on wards (3 orders, P = 0.001). There was a trend for a reduction in medication burden in patients with “Do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders (P = 0.055).
Conclusions: Polypharmacy is ubiquitous among pediatric oncology patients at EOL. Disease type and DNR status may affect medication burden and deprescribing during the last hospitalization.
Nadav Yehoshua Schacham MD, Arkady Schwarzman MD, Adi Brom MD, Mayan Gilboa MD, Asnat Groutz MD, and Dan Justo MD
Background: Screening for asymptomatic urinary retention (AUR) in older adult men at hospital admission to the internal medicine department has never been studied.
Objectives: To assess the incidence of AUR in older adult men at hospital admission, its risk factors, and its outcome.
Methods: The study comprised 111 older adult men aged ≥ 75 years who were admitted to three internal medicine departments. All men underwent post-void residual (PVR) urine volume measurement on the morning following admission by using a portable ultrasound bladder scan. AUR was defined as a PVR urine volume of ≥ 200 ml without symptoms. Men with AUR had a follow-up phone call concerning symptoms and urinary catheter status30 days following hospitalization.
Results: Seven (6.3%) men had AUR. Relative to the 104 men without AUR, they had significantly higher prevalence of severe dependency (6/7 vs. 33/104, 85.7% vs. 31.7%, (P = 0.007), cognitive impairment (5/7 vs. 19/104, 71.4% vs. 18.3%, P = 0.005), and use of anticholinergic agents (4/7 vs. 19/104, 57.1% vs. 18.3%, P = 0.033). A urinary catheter was inserted in one man (14.3%), but it was removed later during hospitalization. No symptoms were reported and no urinary catheter was inserted following hospitalization in men with AUR.
Conclusions: AUR in older adult men at hospital admission is uncommon and has a favorable outcome. Hence, screening for AUR in all older adult men at admission is not recommended, but it may be considered in severely dependent older adult men with cognitive impairment who use anticholinergic agents
Jacob Weinstein MD, Amichai Shinfeld MD, Michal Simchen MD, Tal Cahan MD, Jonathan Frogel MD, Michael Arad MD, Haim Berkenstadt MD, and Rafael Kuperstein MD
Background: Pregnant women with Marfan syndrome (MS) have a high risk of aortic dissection around delivery and their optimal management requires a multi-disciplinary approach, including proper cardio-obstetric care and adequate pain management during labor, which may be difficult due to the high prevalence of dural ectasia (DE) in these patients.
Objectives: To evaluate the multidisciplinary management of MS patients during labor.
Methods: Nineteen pregnant women (31 pregnancies) with MS were followed by a multi-disciplinary team (cardiologist, obstetrician, anesthesiologist) prior to delivery.
Results:. Two patients had kyphoscoliosis; none had previous spine surgery nor complaints compatible with DE. In eight pregnancies (7 patients), aortic root diameter (ARd) before pregnancy was 40 to 46 mm. In this high-risk group, one patient underwent elective termination, two underwent an urgent cesarean section (CS) under general anesthesia, and five had elective CS; two under general anesthesia (GA), and three under spinal anesthesia. In 23 pregnancies (12 patients), ARd was < 40 mm. In this non-high-risk group three pregnancies (1 patient) were electively terminated. Of the remaining 20 deliveries (11 patients), 14 were vaginal deliveries, 9 with epidural analgesia and 5 without. Six patients had a CS; four under GA and two2 under spinal anesthesia. There were no epidural placement failures and no failed responses. There were 2 cases of aortic dissection, unrelated to the anesthetic management.
Conclusions: The optimal anesthetic strategy during labor in MS patients should be decided by a multi-disciplinary team. Anesthetic complications due to DE were not encountered during neuraxial block
Ben Sadeh MD, Tamar Itach MD, Ilan Merdler MD MHA, Shir Frydman MD, Samuel Morgan BSc, David Zahler MD, Yogev Peri MD, Aviram Hochstadt MD, Yotam Pasternak MD MSc, Yan Topilsky MD, Shmuel Banai MD, and Yacov Shacham MD
Background: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with adverse prognosis in various patient populations but currently no data is available about the prevalence and prognostic implication of TR in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.
Objectives: To investigate the possible implication of TR among STEMI patients.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and its relation to major clinical and echocardiographic parameters. Patient records were assessed for the prevalence and severity of TR as well as the relation to the clinical profile, key echocardiographic parameters, in-hospital outcomes, and long-term mortality. Patients with previous myocardial infarction or known previous TR were excluded.
Results: The study included 1071 STEMI patients admitted between September 2011 and May 2016 (age 61 ± 13 years; predominantly male). A total of 205 patients (19%) had mild TR while another 32 (3%) had moderate or greater TR. Patients with significant TR demonstrated worse echocardiographic parameters, were more likely to have in-hospital complications, and had higher long-term mortality (28% vs. 6%, P < 0.001). Following adjustment for significant clinical and echocardiographic parameters, mortality hazard ratio of at least moderate to severe TR remained significant (2.44, 95% confidence interval 1.06–5.6, P = .036) for patients with moderate to severe TR.
Conclusions: Among STEMI patients after primary PCI, the presence of moderate to severe TR was independently associated with adverse outcomes and significantly lower survival rate