Psychological Traits and Behavioural Influences in Patients with Dystonia—An Observational Cohort Study in a Romanian Neurology Department

(1) Background: Emerging evidence indicates that non-motor symptoms significantly influence the quality of life in dystonic patients. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate their psychological characteristics and personality traits. (2) Methods: Subjects with idiopathic dystonia and a matched control group were enrolled in this prospective observational cohort study. Inclusion criteria for patient group included idiopathic dystonia diagnosis, evolution exceeding 1 year, and signed informed consent. Inclusion criteria for the control group included lack of neurological comorbidities and signed informed consent. All subjects completed the DECAS Personality Inventory along with an additional form of demographic factors. Data (including descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate analysis) were analyzed with SPSS. (3) Results: In total, 95 participants were included, of which 57 were in the patient group. Females prevailed (80%), and the mean age was 54.64 ± 12.8 years. The most frequent clinical features of dystonia were focal distribution (71.9%) and progressive disease course (94.73%). The patients underwent regular treatment with botulinum toxin (85.95%). In addition, patients with dystonia obtained significantly higher openness scores than controls, even after adjusting for possible confounders (p = 0.006). Personality traits were also different between the two groups, with patients more often being fantasists (p = 0.007), experimenters (p = 0.022), sophists (p = 0.040), seldom acceptors (p = 0.022), and pragmatics (p = 0.022) than control subjects. (4) Conclusion: Dystonic patients tend to have different personality profiles compared to control subjects, which should be taken into consideration by the treating neurologist.

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Failed Foramen Magnum Decompression in Chiari I Malformation Is Associated With Failure to Restore Normal Intracranial Compliance: An Observational Cohort Study

Neurosurgery ◽

10.1093/neuros/nyaa079 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 86 (6) ◽

pp. E552-E557

Author(s):

Edward W Dyson ◽

Aswin Chari ◽

Ahmed K Toma ◽

Lewis W Thorne ◽

Laurence D Watkins

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Normal Control ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Foramen Magnum ◽

Observational Cohort Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Foramen Magnum Decompression ◽

Persistent Symptoms ◽

Intracranial Compliance ◽

Observational Cohort

Abstract BACKGROUND The standard treatment for symptomatic Chiari malformation (CM) I is foramen magnum decompression (FMD) to facilitate cerebral spinal fluid flow through the foramen magnum, improve intracranial compliance, and alleviate symptoms (commonly headache). This procedure has a variable success rate, with a significant proportion of patients having persistent symptoms after surgery. OBJECTIVE To investigate intracranial pressure (ICP) hydrodynamics in symptomatic surgery-naïve patients with CM I and symptomatic patients who have had prior FMD. METHODS We undertook a retrospective, observational cohort study, extracting data from our departmental ICP database. Patients with untreated (“Virgin”) Chiari malformations (VCM), patients with previous “failed” FMD (ie, with persistent classical Chiari symptoms) (fFMD) and a normal control group, all with existing continuous ICP monitoring date were included. Median ICP (mICP) and median pulse amplitude (mPA) were compared between the groups. RESULTS A total of 33 CM patients (22 VCM and 11 fFMD) and 42 normal controls were included for analysis. mICP did not differ significantly between the normal control, VCM, and fFMD groups. mPA in the VCM and fFMD groups was significantly higher than the control group (P < .01 and P < .05, respectively). CONCLUSION In this cohort, patients with persistent symptoms after FMD have persistently impaired intracranial compliance, similar to patients who have not undergone surgery at all when compared with a control group. The reasons for this are not clear, and further research is required to establish the causation and optimum management for failed FMD.

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Effects of Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution on Post-Cardiopulmonary Bypass Coagulation Tests and Allogeneic Blood Transfusion in Thoracic Aortic Repair Surgery: An Observational Cohort Study

10.1101/2021.06.01.21258155 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Domagoj Mladinov ◽

Kyle W Eudailey ◽

Luz A Padilla ◽

Joseph B Norman ◽

Benjamin Leahy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Blood Transfusion ◽

Observational Cohort Study ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Control Group ◽

Blood Conservation ◽

Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution ◽

Coagulation Tests ◽

Observational Cohort ◽

Normovolemic Hemodilution

Background and Aim: Perioperative blood transfusion is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) is a blood conservation strategy associated with variable success, and rarely studied in more complex cardiac procedures. The study aim was to evaluate whether acute ANH improves coagulopathy and reduces blood transfusions in thoracic aortic surgeries. Methods: Single-center observational cohort study comparing ANH and standard institutional practice in patients who underwent thoracic aortic repair from 2019 to 2021. Results: 89 patients underwent ANH and 116 standard practice. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of demographic or major perioperative characteristics. In the ANH group coagulation tests before and after transfusion of autologous blood showed decreased INR and increased platelets, fibrinogen, all with p<0.0005. Coagulation results in the ANH and control groups were not statistically different. The average number of transfused allogeneic products per patient was lower in the ANH vs control group: FFP 1.1 +/-1.6 vs 1.9 +/-2.3 (p=0.003), platelets 0.6 +/-0.8 vs 1.2 +/-1.3 (p=0.0008), and cryoprecipitate 0.3 +/-0.7 vs 0.7 +/-1.1 (p=0.008). Reduction in RBC transfusion was not statistically significant. The percentage of patients who received any transfusion was 53.9% in ANH and 59.5% in the control group (p=0.42). There was no significant difference in major adverse outcomes. Conclusions: ANH is a safe blood conservation strategy for surgical repairs of the thoracic aorta. Laboratory data suggests that ANH can improve coagulopathy after separation from CPB, and significantly reduce the number of transfused FFP, platelets and cryoprecipitate.

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IP-10 as a Non Sputum Biomarker in TB Treatment Monitoring

Majalah Kedokteran Bandung ◽

10.15395/mkb.v53n1.2161 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yuhpita Indah Efriyani ◽

◽

Ida Parwati ◽

Nina Tristina ◽

Anna Tjandrawati

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Inflammatory Cells ◽

Treatment Monitoring ◽

Observational Cohort Study ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Pulmonary Tb ◽

Tb Treatment ◽

Before And After ◽

Observational Cohort ◽

High Level

There are currently still limitations in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). Sputum collection as specimen for diagnosis is not only difficult but also has low sensitivity.In blood, IP-10/CXCL-10 chemokine plays a role in inducing the movements of chemotactic inflammatory cells towards the sites of inflammation. A high level of IP-10 is found in active pulmonary TB patients and significantly decline after the patients have completed the TB treatments. The aim of this study was to analyze the decline of the IP-10 level before and after 2 months of TB treatment. This study was conducted from March toJuni 2020. This was a comparative observational cohort study on active pulmonary TB patients who were >18 years old at the DOTS Clinic of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung. Thirty patients who met the inclusion criteria were followed up until 2 months of TB treatment. Serum of these patients were collected and examined for the IP-10 level before and after 2 months of TB treatment. It was demonstrated that the median IP-10 level in new active pulmonary TB patients was 384.1 pg/mL (136.70–779.80) and dropped to 251.85 pg/mL (91.10–698.30) (p<0l001) two months of TB treatment. Thus, the IP-10 level in the active pulmonary TB patients is significantly declined (p<0.001) after 2 months of TB treatment and that serum IP-10 level could be considered as a non-sputum-based marker to monitor TB treatment.

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