Bmc Med
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Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are disorders of the lung parenchyma. The pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and prognosis of ILDs vary depending on the underlying disease. The onset of most ILDs is insidious, but they may also present subacutely or require hospitalization for management. ILDs that may present subacutely include acute interstitial pneumonia, connective tissue disease-associated ILDs, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, acute eosinophilic pneumonia, drug-induced ILDs, and acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Prognosis and response to therapy depend on the type of underlying ILD being managed. ⋯ This opinion piece discusses approaches to differentiating ILDs in the hospitalized patient, emphasizing the role of bronchoscopy and surgical lung biopsy. We then consider pharmacologic treatments and the use of mechanical ventilation in hospitalized patients with ILD. Finally, lung transplantation and palliative care as treatment modalities are considered. The diagnosis of ILD in hospitalized patients requires input from multiple disciplines. The prognosis of ILDs presenting acutely vary depending on the underlying ILD. Patients with advanced ILD or acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have poor outcomes. The mainstay treatment in these patients is supportive care, and mechanical ventilation should only be used in these patients as a bridge to lung transplantation.
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Previous studies have shown the prognostic value of stimulation elicited blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in traumatic patients in vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS). However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have focused on the relevance of etiology and level of consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) when explaining the relationship between BOLD signal and both outcome and signal variability. We herein propose a study in a large sample of traumatic and non-traumatic DOC patients in order to ascertain the relevance of etiology and level of consciousness in the variability and prognostic value of a stimulation-elicited BOLD signal. ⋯ The activation type and volume in auditory cortex elicited by SON-FV significantly correlated with VS/UWS patients' prognosis, particularly in patients with traumatic etiology, however, this could not be established in MCS patients. Repeated use of this simple fMRI task might help obtain more reliable prognostic information.
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Global mental health is a relatively new field that has focused on disparities in mental health services across different settings, and on innovative ways to provide feasible, acceptable, and effective services in poorly-resourced settings. Neuroethics, too, is a relatively new field, lying at the intersection of bioethics and neuroscience; it has studied the implications of neuroscientific findings for age-old questions in philosophy, as well as questions about the ethics of novel neuroscientific methods and interventions. ⋯ These different disciplines share a number of perspectives, and future dialogue between the two should be encouraged.
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Acute management of traumatic brain injury (TBI), in particular mild TBI, focuses on the detection of the 5-7 % who may be harboring potentially life-threatening intracranial hemorrhage (IH) using CT scanning. Guidelines intending to reduce unnecessary head CT scans using available clinical variables to detect those at high IH risk have shown varying results. Recently, the Scandinavian Neurotrauma Committee (SNC) derived a new set of high-IH risk variables for adults with TBI using an evidence-based literature review. Unlike previous guidelines, the SNC guideline incorporates serum values of the brain protein S100B with clinical variables. ⋯ Using the SNC guideline could save approximately one third of CT scans in a pre-selected cohort of mild TBI patients with little or no impact on patient outcome.
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Although prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening has improved the detection of prostate cancer, allowing for stage migration to less advanced disease, the precise mortality benefit of early detection is unclear. This is in part due to a discrepancy between the two large randomized controlled trials comparing PSA screening to usual care. The European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) found a survival benefit to screening, while the United States Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial did not. ⋯ The Prostate Cancer Intervention Versus Observation Trial (PIVOT) found no survival benefit for prostatectomy in PSA screened U. S. men, while the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number Four (SPCG-4) found a survival benefit for prostatectomy in clinically diagnosed prostate cancer. As a result of the controversy surrounding PSA screening and subsequent prostate cancer treatment, guidelines vary widely by organization.