Blackburnthompson2650

Traumatic brain injury is an increasing cause of morbidity worldwide. Neuropsychiatric impairments, such as behavioral dysregulation and depression, have significant impacts on recovery, functional outcomes, and quality of life of patients with traumatic brain injuries. Three patient cases, existing literature, and expert opinion are used to select pharmacotherapy for the treatment of target symptoms while balancing safety and tolerability.Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent and excessive worry. Around half of the patients treated for GAD will fail to respond to initial treatment. Treatment-resistant (or refractory) GAD is defined as failure to respond to at least 1 trial of antidepressant therapy at adequate dose and duration. Review of the literature indicates several potential medication classes and individual agents that can be used as augmentation strategies to treat residual symptoms when recommended therapy per clinical practice guidelines fails. A thorough literature search revealed 2 medication classes with the largest amount of data to support their use in treatment-resistant GAD treatment gamma-aminobutyric acid-related agents and atypical antipsychotics. This article focuses on evidence-based recommendations for the use of these agents as adjunctive therapies for patients with treatment-resistant GAD. JAK inhibitor Different pharmacologic approaches to use these agents are demonstrated through 2 patient cases in which patients have failed first-line treatment options.Epilepsy, although common, remains difficult to treat with as much as 30% of patients having treatment-resistant conditions. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome are childhood-onset epilepsies and among the most difficult to treat. Cannabidiol has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat these conditions in individuals over 2 years of age; however, there is a great deal of interest in off-label use. This article examines 3 cases 1 of a patient with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, 1 of off-label use of cannabidiol to treat epilepsy, and 1 of nonprescription forms of cannabidiol to treat epilepsy.Ambulatory detoxification in alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder is an important component in the management of patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms from alcohol or opioids. link2 The goal of withdrawal management is ultimately to provide each patient with comfort and safety. Having the knowledge of the possible signs and symptoms of intoxication and withdrawal assists providers to institute the most appropriate treatment protocol and setting for the patient. Pharmacists play a vital role in choosing appropriate therapeutic management options for common or complex clinical situations involving ambulatory detoxification from alcohol and opioids. Ambulatory detoxification serves as an appealing option to many patients and helps save the limited inpatient resources that many institutions have for those patients with more severe withdrawal presentations.Iliac artery aneurysms (IAA) are a rare entity. The etiology behind IAA is unclear; however, it is typically degenerative or atherosclerotic in origin. In patients presenting with sudden rupture requiring emergent surgery, mortality rates are high, signifying the need for prompt diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of an incidentally found unruptured isolated left common iliac artery aneurysm in an 80-year-old man. Management with aortofemoral angioplasty was successfully performed for this patient.Autoimmune encephalitis is an immune-mediated syndrome, with sub-acute to chronic presentations, such as memory impairment, altered sensorium, behavioral abnormality, psychosis, and seizures. It poses a two-fold diagnostic challenge firstly, because of its variable clinical presentation and secondly, due to the wide variety of autoimmune antibodies causing it, which makes it difficult to identify the underlying etiology. Treatment should not be delayed due to pending laboratory workup, as early recognition and initiation of therapy prevents long term neurological sequelae. This is a case report of a 59-year-old female who presented with neuropsychiatric symptoms, which evolved into refractory status epilepticus and autonomic dysfunction, requiring anesthesia induced coma. While her MRI had positive findings of encephalitis, she tested negative for infectious diseases and antibody panels.A localized left atrial tamponade caused by left side pleural effusion is a rare finding that leads to hemodynamic instability. Here, we describe left atrial systolic and diastolic collapse resulting from left pleural effusion. An increase in intrapleural pressure by a pleural effusion can compress the pericardial space and lead to impaired cardiac filling and tamponade physiology. Here, we present a case of a 79-year old African American female who presented with shortness of breath and dry cough for a duration of one week. Chest radiograph and CT scan of the chest showed left pleural effusion. The echocardiogram revealed left atrial systolic and diastolic collapse due to pleural effusion, which triggered cardiac tamponade physiology. With the guidance of a bedside thoracic ultrasound, she underwent a diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis which resolved her symptoms. Repeat echocardiogram revealed resolution of the cardiac tamponade with no further indication of left atrial diastolic collapse. In conclusion, pleural effusions can cause tamponade physiology and can be resolved by thoracentesis. Early recognition by a bedside point-of-care ultrasound may help provide prompt relief of tamponade.Introduction Achieving durable local control (LC) for larger (e.g., >2-3 cm) brain metastasis whether newly diagnosed or recurrent remains problematic. Resection (R) alone is typically insufficient and adding radiation therapy (RT) still results in a 12-month recurrence rate of 20% or more in many series. Hypothesizing that R plus immediate radiation utilizing brachytherapy may improve outcomes for this cohort of patients, we designed and prospectively evaluated a permanently implanted surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) device consisting of cesium-131 (Cs-131) seeds positioned within a collagen carrier (GammaTile, GT Medical Technologies, Tempe, AZ). The device was designed to prevent direct source-to-brain contact and maintain inter-source spacing after closure. Methods This was a subgroup analysis of a cohort of patients with either recurrent or previously untreated brain metastases enrolled in a prospective, multi-histology single-arm trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT#03088579), conducted between FMeier (K-M) estimates for LC after R+STaRT for all tumors was 83%; for previously untreated tumors, LC at 12 months was 100% and for recurrent tumors, it was 80%. Two tumor beds (12.5%) experienced radiation brain changes one had grade two and the other grade three. No surgical adverse events occurred. Conclusion In this single-arm precommercial study, R+STaRT demonstrated excellent safety and LC in this cohort. The device has recently received FDA clearance for use in newly diagnosed and recurrent brain metastasis, and randomized clinical trials vs. standard of care treatments in both settings are scheduled to open in 2020.We report an unusual case of a 76-year-old woman with a necrotic perforated excluded gastric pouch who had stomach partitioning gastrojejunostomy 20 years earlier for morbid obesity. The necrotic mucosa of the excluded gastric pouch was seen on gastroscopy with retrograde cannulation from the pylorus. Laparotomy revealed a distended excluded stomach with full-thickness ischaemia of the posterior wall with perforation into the lesser sac. Partial gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy was performed. We strongly suggest early surgical exploration for these patients when they are hemodynamically unstable or do not have a precise diagnosis despite imaging to prevent potentially life-threatening gastric pouch necrosis. We advocate for avoiding risk factors like alcohol, nicotine, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and implement preoperative Helicobacter pylori testing and its eradication to reduce the incidence of perforation in the excluded pouch.

Scoliosis is a spinal deformity consisting of lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebrae. The goal of corrective scoliosis surgery is to restore alignment ofthe spine and maintain motion. However, there is no global agreement among spine surgeons on the best method of surgical intervention, and little is known about the variations in practice among spine surgeons in Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this study is to examine the current surgical practices relating to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and to establish the degree of variation and consensus among spine surgeons in Saudi Arabia.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted among spine surgeons in Saudi Arabia, using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed four areas surgeons' demographics, pre-operative assessment, operative assessment, and infection control practices. There were a total of 27 questions. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

A total of e use of cross-links, intra-operative cell salvage, and the intra-operative use of traction. Some degree of variation was observed in pre-operative imaging assessment practices. Surgical guidelines should be developed to build a consensus among surgeons. A unified surgical training curriculum may help in achieving this goal.

A large variation in surgical practices was observed. This was especially apparent in practices including the use of cross-links, intra-operative cell salvage, and the intra-operative use of traction. Some degree of variation was observed in pre-operative imaging assessment practices. Surgical guidelines should be developed to build a consensus among surgeons. link3 A unified surgical training curriculum may help in achieving this goal.Tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease that is still endemic in developing countries. We discuss two cases of tetanus in unvaccinated individuals. The first case was a young goat herder who was initially started on benzodiazepine and muscle relaxants. Magnesium sulphate was added later on due to inadequate control after which the patient improved significantly. The second case was an old farmer who was started on magnesium sulphate along with benzodiazepine from the outset. His clinical recovery was faster compared to the first case. We report these cases to discuss the pharmacological options in the management of generalized tetanus with particular reference to magnesium sulphate.Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma is a multi-centric adenocarcinoma that accounts for less than 5% of all lung cancer diagnoses. The most common presenting symptoms (cough, sputum production, and chest pain) in conjunction with its radiographic findings (patchy, multi-lobar infiltrates) make invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma challenging to distinguish from both infectious and inflammatory pneumonia. However, due to its aggressive nature, invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma should be considered if a presumed case of pneumonia lacks symptoms of infection (e.g., fever, leukocytosis) and/or does not respond to antibiotics. We report the case of a 75-year-old male who was admitted in the setting of a presumed case of recurrent pneumonia, which had failed to respond to prior antibiotic therapy. Further workup, including trans-bronchial biopsy, confirmed mucinous adenocarcinoma with a lepidic pattern. This case highlights the importance of establishing a broad differential in the setting of unresolved pneumonia following appropriate antibiotic coverage.