Migraine in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Multinational Study of Patient Characteristics, Management, and Outcomes

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Tissa Wijeratne ◽  
Win Sen Kuan ◽  
Anne Maree Kelly ◽  
Kevin H. Chu ◽  
Frances B. Kinnear ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background and Aim:</i></b> Migraine headache is commonly diagnosed in emergency departments (ED). There is relatively little real-world information about the epidemiology, investigation, management, adherence to therapeutic guidelines and disposition of patients treated in ED with a final diagnosis of migraine. The primary aim of the current study is to get a snapshot of assessment and management patterns of acute migraine presentations to the different settings of EDs with a view to raise awareness. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a planned sub-study of a prospective study conducted in 67 health services in 10 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the UK investigating the epidemiology and outcome of adult patients presenting to ED with nontraumatic headache. Outcomes of interest for this study are demographics, clinical features (including severity), patterns of investigation, treatment, disposition, and outcome of patients diagnosed as having migraine as their final ED diagnosis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The cohort comprises 1,101 patients with a mean age of 39 years (SD ± 13.5; 73.7% [811]) were female. Most patients had had migraine diagnosed previously (77.7%). Neuroimaging was performed in 25.9% with a very low diagnostic yield or significant findings (0.07%). Treatment of mild migraine was in accordance with current guidelines, but few patients with moderate or severe symptoms received recommended treatment. Paracetamol (46.3%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (42.7%) were the most commonly prescribed agents. Metoclopramide (22.8%), ondansetron (19.2%), chlorpromazine (12.8%), and prochlorperazine (12.8%) were also used. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This study suggests that therapeutic practices are not congruent with current guidelines, especially for patients with severe symptoms. Efforts to improve and sustain compliance with existing management best practices are required.

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (6S) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
A Gangloff ◽  
L Nadeau

Objective: Evaluation of the UK NEQAS 2008 guidelines for the interpretation of spectrophotometric xanthochromia. Method: A search of the laboratory database for all the xanthochromia test results between May 1st 2008 and May 1st 2009 was performed. Medical charts were reviewed for patients of Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus (HEJ) that had at least one detectable pigment (bilirubin, oxyhemoglobin, or methemoglobin). Xanthochromia results obtained with 4 different criteria (Chalmers original, Modified Chalmers, Duiser and UK NEQAS 2008) were compared. Results: We reviewed 41 medical charts (2 patients with duplicate lumbar punctures (LP) for a total of 43 LP). For these 41 patients there were 11 positive xanthochromia results, 5 of which were in concordance with a final diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The diagnosis of the 6 other positive xanthochromia results were as follow: meningeal spread of a lymphoma, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, exertional headache, viral encephalitis with a possibility of petechiaes on the cerebral CT and second LP. Interpretation (negative/positive) of 40/43 LP was identical for the 4 methods. 2 LP were positive with Duiser and UK NEQAS 2008 but negative with Chalmers approaches (final diagnosis: SAH and cerebral amyloid angiopathy). 1 LP was positive only by the Duiser method (viral encephalitis). Conclusions: UK NEQAS 2008 guidelines identified all SAH but are sensitive to traumatic and pathologic meningeal lesions. Except for a case of viral encephalitis with a suspicion of cerebral petechiaes on CT, UK NEQAS 2008 gave xanthochromia results similar to the one in use at HEJ (Duiser). Chalmers original and Modified Chalmers methods missed one of the five SAH.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T Zimmermann ◽  
J Du Fay De Lavallaz ◽  
T Nestelberger ◽  
D Gualandro ◽  
P Badertscher ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The incidence, characteristics, determinants, and prognostic impact of recurrent syncope are largely unknown, causing uncertainty for both patients and physicians. Methods We characterized recurrent syncope including sex-specific aspects and its impact on death and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a large prospective international multicenter study enrolling patients ≥40 years presenting with syncope to the emergency department (ED). Syncope etiology was centrally adjudicated by two independent and blinded cardiologists using all information becoming available during syncope work-up and 12-month follow-up. MACE were defined as a composite of all-cause death, acute myocardial infarction, surgical or percutaneous coronary intervention, life-threatening arrhythmia including cardiac arrest, pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation, valve intervention, heart-failure, gastrointestinal bleeding or other bleeding requiring transfusion, intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, sepsis and pulmonary embolism. Results Incidence of recurrent syncope among 1790 patients was 20% (95%-confidence interval (CI) 18% to 22%) within 24 months. Patients with an adjudicated final diagnosis of cardiac syncope (hazard ratio (HR) 1.50, 95%-CI 1.11 to 2.01) or syncope of unknown etiology even after central adjudication (HR 2.11, 95%-CI 1.54 to 2.89) had an increased risk for syncope recurrence (Figure). LASSO regression fit on all patient information available early in the ED identified more than three previous episodes of syncope as the only independent predictor for recurrent syncope (HR 2.13, 95%-CI 1.64 to 2.75). Recurrent syncope within the first 12 months after the index event carried an increased risk for all-cause death (HR 1.59, 95%-CI 1.06 to 2.38) and MACE (HR 2.24, 95%-CI 1.67 to 3.01), whereas recurrences after 12 months did not have a significant impact on outcome measures. Conclusion Recurrence rates of syncope are substantial and vary depending on syncope etiology. There seem to be no reliable patient characteristics available early on the ED that allow for the prediction of recurrent syncope with only a history of more than three previous syncope being associated with a higher risk for future recurrences. Importantly, recurrent syncope within the first 12 months carries an increased risk for death and MACE. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Heart Foundation


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Radenkovic ◽  
S.C Chawla ◽  
G Botta ◽  
A Boli ◽  
M.B Banach ◽  
...  

Abstract   The two leading causes of mortality worldwide are cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. The annual total cost of CVD and cancer is an estimated $844.4 billion in the US and is projected to double by 2030. Thus, there has been an increased shift to preventive medicine to improve health outcomes and development of risk scores, which allow early identification of individuals at risk to target personalised interventions and prevent disease. Our aim was to define a Risk Score R(x) which, given the baseline characteristics of a given individual, outputs the relative risk for composite CVD, cancer incidence and all-cause mortality. A non-linear model was used to calculate risk scores based on the participants of the UK Biobank (= 502548). The model used parameters including patient characteristics (age, sex, ethnicity), baseline conditions, lifestyle factors of diet and physical activity, blood pressure, metabolic markers and advanced lipid variables, including ApoA and ApoB and lipoprotein(a), as input. The risk score was defined by normalising the risk function by a fixed value, the average risk of the training set. To fit the non-linear model &gt;400,000 participants were used as training set and &gt;45,000 participants were used as test set for validation. The exponent of risk function was represented as a multilayer neural network. This allowed capturing interdependent behaviour of covariates, training a single model for all outcomes, and preserving heterogeneity of the groups, which is in contrast to CoxPH models which are traditionally used in risk scores and require homogeneous groups. The model was trained over 60 epochs and predictive performance was determined by the C-index with standard errors and confidence intervals estimated with bootstrap sampling. By inputing the variables described, one can obtain personalised hazard ratios for 3 major outcomes of CVD, cancer and all-cause mortality. Therefore, an individual with a risk Score of e.g. 1.5, at any time he/she has 50% more chances than average of experiencing the corresponding event. The proposed model showed the following discrimination, for risk of CVD (C-index = 0.8006), cancer incidence (C-index = 0.6907), and all-cause mortality (C-index = 0.7770) on the validation set. The CVD model is particularly strong (C-index &gt;0.8) and is an improvement on a previous CVD risk prediction model also based on classical risk factors with total cholesterol and HDL-c on the UK Biobank data (C-index = 0.7444) published last year (Welsh et al. 2019). Unlike classically-used CoxPH models, our model considers correlation of variables as shown by the table of the values of correlation in Figure 1. This is an accurate model that is based on the most comprehensive set of patient characteristics and biomarkers, allowing clinicians to identify multiple targets for improvement and practice active preventive cardiology in the era of precision medicine. Figure 1. Correlation of variables in the R(x) Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Dutt ◽  
Rebecca J Shaw ◽  
Matthew James Stubbs ◽  
Jun Yong ◽  
Benjamin Bailiff ◽  
...  

The cornerstone of life-saving therapy in immune mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) has been plasma exchange (PEX) combined with immunomodulatory strategies. Caplacizumab, a novel anti-von Willebrand factor nanobody, trialled in two multicentre, randomised-placebo-controlled trials leading to EU and FDA approval, has been available in the UK through a patient-access scheme. Data was collected retrospectively from 2018-2020 for 85 patients receiving caplacizumab, including 4 children, from 22 UK hospitals. Patient characteristics and outcomes in the real-world clinical setting were compared with caplacizumab trial endpoints and historical outcomes in the pre-caplacizumab era. 84/85 patients received steroid and rituximab alongside PEX; 26% required intubation. Median time to platelet count normalisation (3 days), duration of PEX (7 days) and hospital stay (12 days) was comparable with RCT data. Median duration of PEX and time from PEX initiation to platelet count normalisation was favourable compared with historical outcomes (p&lt;0.05). TTP recurrence occurred in 5/85 patients; all with persistent ADAMTS13 activity &lt;5iu/dL. Of 31 adverse events in 26 patients, 17/31 (55%) were bleeding episodes and 5/31 (16%) were thrombotic events (two unrelated to caplacizumab); mortality was 6% (5/85), with no deaths attributed to caplacizumab. In 4/5 deaths caplacizumab was introduced &gt;48 hours after PEX initiation (3-21 days). This real-world evidence represents the first and largest series of TTP patients receiving caplacizumab outside clinical trials, including paediatric patients. Representative of true clinical practice, the findings provide valuable information for clinicians treating TTP globally.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii340-iii340
Author(s):  
Thankamma Ajithkumar ◽  
Henry Mandeville ◽  
Fernando Carceller ◽  
Milind Ronghe ◽  
Tina Foord ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND There are global variations in radiotherapy approaches for icGCT. An understanding of patterns of disease recurrence correlated with radiation techniques and doses is important in standardising and improving the quality of radiotherapy using high-precision techniques. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from 20 patients with tumour recurrence after treatment within the SIOP GCT96 study in the UK were analysed. Seven (35%) patients had germinoma and 13 (65%) had non-germinoma. Twelve patients had local recurrence, 5 had metastatic and 3 had local and metastatic disease. Radiotherapy details were retrieved in only 8 patients (40%). Six patients had received focal radiotherapy and two craniospinal radiotherapy. Of the patients who received focal radiotherapy, 4 had recurrence within the radiation portal, one had periventricular recurrence and one had marker-positive recurrence with no radiological lesions. Both patients who received CSI recurred within the CSF space. The main reasons for poor retrieval of treatment details were difficulty in retrieving archived information and that the study was conducted during a period before PACS or electronic radiotherapy records. CONCLUSION This study highlights the importance prospective data collection and analysis to understand the patterns of recurrence in icGCT. Even within a prospective study, radiotherapy techniques varied between centres. There is therefore an urgent need for centralised radiological review and prospective radiotherapy quality assurance measures in future clinical trials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan H. Creed ◽  
Stephanie A. Smith-Warner ◽  
Travis A. Gerke ◽  
Kathleen M. Egan

2019 ◽  
pp. jramc-2018-001132
Author(s):  
Pierre Perrier ◽  
J Leyral ◽  
O Thabouillot ◽  
D Papeix ◽  
G Comat ◽  
...  

IntroductionTo evaluate the usefulness of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) performed by young military medicine residents after short training in the diagnosis of medical emergencies.MethodsA prospective study was performed in the emergency department of a French army teaching hospital. Two young military medicine residents received ultrasound training focused on gall bladder, kidneys and lower limb veins. After clinical examination, they assigned a ‘clinicaldiagnostic probability’ (CP) on a visual analogue scale from 0 (definitely not diagnosis) to 10 (definitive diagnosis). The same student performed ultrasound examination and assigned an ‘ultrasounddiagnostic probability’ (UP) in the same way. The absolute difference between CP and UP was calculated. This result corresponded to the Ultrasound Diagnostic Index (UDI), which was positive if UP was closer to the final diagnosis than CP (POCUS improved the diagnostic accuracy), and negative conversely (POCUS decreased the diagnostic accuracy).ResultsForty-eight patients were included and 48 ultrasound examinations were performed. The present pathologies were found in 14 patients (29%). The mean UDI value was +3 (0–5). UDI was positive in 35 exams (73%), zero in 12 exams (25%) and negative in only one exam (2%).ConclusionPOCUS performed after clinical examination increases the diagnostic accuracy of young military medicine residents.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenric Ware ◽  
Erika Tillery ◽  
Lauren Linder

Abstract Introduction Mood stabilizers are the recommended treatment for patients who receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Because of the necessity of mood stabilizer treatment in patients with bipolar disorder and the extent of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles involved, the purpose of this review is to summarize the pharmacokinetic principles of lithium in addition to the pharmacodynamics of lithium, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, and valproic acid/valproate. Methods Practice guidelines, review articles, and clinical trials were located using online databases PubMed, CINAHL, IDIS, and Medline. Search terms included at least one of the following: bipolar disorder, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, lithium, mood stabilizers, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, valproate, and valproic acid. Online clinical databases Dynamed® and Lexicomp® were also used in the study. Results Mood stabilizers collectively possess distinct qualities that are closely regarded before, during, and after therapeutic initiation. Individual patient characteristics, coupled with these observed traits, add to the complexity of selecting the most optimal neurologic agent. Each medication discussed uniquely contributes to both the maintenance and restoration of overall patient well-being. Discussion Introduction of mood stabilizers into drug regimens is often done in the presence of an array of mitigating factors. Safety and efficacy measures are commonly used to gauge desired results. Careful monitoring of patients' responses to selected therapies is paramount for arriving at appropriate clinical outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1114
Author(s):  
K. Ravichandran ◽  
R. Jayaraman ◽  
K. Nithya

Background: The immediate management of appendicular mass have always been controversial. Early appendicectomy (within 72 hours of presentation) is preferred in some cases, while in others non operative conservative management is advocated. Usually successful conservative management (Ochsner Sherren regimen) is followed by interval appendicectomy (6-8 weeks later). This study determines the outcome of different modalities of intervention in patients with appendicular mass.Methods: A prospective study was conducted in Rajah Muthiah medical college hospital in department of general surgery from June 2018 to December 2020, in cases diagnosed to have appendicular mass. A total of 116 patients were included. After taking detailed history and clinical examination, relevant blood and radiological investigations, were done to achieve the final diagnosis. Presentation, examination findings, investigations, type of surgery, duration of surgery, post-operative complications and duration of hospital stay were studied. Data was collected, compiled, tabulated and analysed.Results: Conservative management followed by interval appendicectomy had lesser incidence of complications like Intraoperative adhesions, surgical site infection, wound dehiscence and enterocutaneous fistula. It also had relatively lesser operative time and lesser period of hospital stay.Conclusions: On comparing the different modalities of intervention, conservative management followed by interval appendicectomy is quite effective and safe method of treatment, with less operative difficulties and better outcome.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S96-S96
Author(s):  
Adaora Obiekezie ◽  
Roohi Afshan ◽  
Jack Healy

AimsA 2009 independent review commissioned by the UK government to review the use of antipsychotic medication in patients diagnosed with dementia produced the Time for Action report, often referred to as the Banerjee Report. It highlighted the common practise of using antipsychotics in the treatment of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) and the clinical issues this could raise especially when these medications were not being regularly reviewed. The audti was therefore carried out to determine whether patinets with BPSD in a Community Mental Health Team for Older adults (CMHTOA) in Mid Surrey, who had been diagnosed with BPSD, were being adequately assessed and managed in line with the current guidelines.MethodPatients with a diagnosis of dementia open to one of three teams in the CMHTOA during the months of October and November 2019 were identified, those being prescribed antipsychotic medication were selected and data from their electronic records collected and analysed to determine if clinicians: a) identified and documented the target behaviours, b) carried out a structured assessment using an ABC chart before commencing medication, c) reviewed the antipsychotic medication 6 weeks after it was commenced.ResultOf the 87 patients with a diagnosis of Dementia from October to November 2019, 18 were on antipsychotic medication. 100% of these had target behaviours identified and clearly documented, a sixth had a structured assessment prior to starting medication and 61% had been reviewed after the first 6 weeks of starting antipsychotics.ConclusionThe findings showed that a good proprotion of patients did not have the required structured assessment before commencement of treatment and that more needed to be done by way of improving regular reviews after antipsychotic treatment is commenced.


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