Search

Eveline de Haan,1,2 Gert R Roukema,1 Veronique AJIM van Rijckevorsel,1 Tjallingius M Kuijper,3 Louis de Jong1 On behalf of Dutch Hip Fracture RegistryCollaboration1Surgery Department, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands; 2Surgery Department, Franciscus Hospital, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands; 3Science Board, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Eveline de Haan, Email e.eveline.de.haan@gmail.comPurpose: The primary objective of this study was to identify new risk factors and to confirm previously reported risk factors associated with 30-day mortality after hip fracture surgery.Patients and methods: A prospective hip fracture database was used to obtain data. In total, 3523 patients who underwent hip fracture surgery between 2011 and 2021 were included. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to screen and identify candidate risk factors. Twenty-seven baseline factors and 16 peri-operative factors were included in the univariable analysis and 28 of those factors were included in multivariable analysis.Results: 8.6% of the patients who underwent hip fracture surgery died within 30 days after surgery. Prognostic factors associated with 30-day mortality after hip fracture surgery were as follows: age 90– 100 years (OR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.07– 19.98, p = 0.041) and above 100 years (OR = 11.3, 95% CI: 1.28– 100.26, p = 0.029), male gender (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.97– 3.33, p < 0.001), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 3 and ASA 4 (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.44– 3.14, p < 0.001), medical history of dementia (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.25– 2.36, p = 0.001), decreased albumin level (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.92– 0.97, p < 0.001), decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.98– 0.99, p < 0.001), residential status of nursing home (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.44– 2.87, p < 0.001), higher Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (KATZ-ADL) score (OR = 1.1, 95% CI: 1.01– 1.16, p=0.018) and postoperative pneumonia (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.72– 3.38, p < 0.001).Conclusion: A high mortality rate in patients after acute hip fracture surgery is known. Factors that are associated with an increased mortality are age above 90 years, male gender, ASA 3 and ASA 4, medical history of dementia, decreased albumin, decreased GFR, residential status of nursing home, higher KATZ-ADL score and postoperative pneumonia.Keywords: hip fracture, mortality, independent risk factors, clinical outcomes

Eveline de Haan,1,2 Veronique AJIM van Rijckevorsel,1 Pepijn Bod,1 Gert R Roukema,1 Louis de Jong1 On behalf of Dutch Hip Fracture Registry Collaboration (DHFR)1Surgery Department, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 2Surgery Department, Franciscus Hospital, Rotterdam, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Eveline de Haan, Tel +31654922535, Email e.eveline.de.haan@gmail.comPurpose: The primary aim of this study was to identify risk factors for delirium after hip fracture surgery. The secondary purpose of this study was to verify peri-operative clinical outcomes, adverse events and mortality rates in delirium patients after hip fracture surgery.Patients and Methods: A prospective hip fracture database was used to obtain data. In total, 2051 patients older than 70 years undergoing a hip fracture surgery between 01– 01-2018 and 01– 01-2021 were included. A delirium was diagnosed by a geriatrician based on the DSM-V criteria.Results: The results showed that 16% developed a delirium during hospital admission. Multivariable analysis showed that male gender (OR: 1.99, p< 0.001), age (OR: 1.06, p< 0.001), dementia (OR: 1.66, p=0.001), Parkinson’s disease (OR: 2.32, p=0.001), Δhaemoglobin loss (OR: 1.19, p=0.022), pneumonia (OR: 3.86, p< 0.001), urinary tract infection (UTI) (OR: 1.97, p=0.001) and wound infection (OR: 3.02, p=0.007) were significant independent prognostic risk factors for the development of a delirium after hip surgery. The median length in-hospital stay was longer in patients with a delirium (9 days) vs patients without a delirium (6 days) (p< 0.001). The 30-day mortality was 7% (with delirium 16% vs with no delirium 6% (p< 0.001)).Conclusion: Significant independent prognostic factors associated with delirium after hip surgery were male gender, age, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Δhaemoglobin loss, pneumonia, UTI and wound infection.Keywords: geriatric patients, hip fractures, delirium, risk factors, clinical outcomes

Apathy is common after stroke and has been associated with cognitive impairment. However, causality between post-stroke apathy and cognitive impairment remains unclear. We assessed the course of apathy in relation to changes in cognitive functioning in stroke survivors. Using the Apathy Scale (AS) and cognitive tests on memory, processing speed and executive functioning at six- and 15 months post-stroke we tested for associations between (1) AS-scores and (change in) cognitive scores; (2) apathy course (persistent/incident/resolved) and cognitive change scores. Of 117 included participants, 29% had persistent apathy, 13% apathy resolving over time and 10% apathy emerging between 6-15 months post-stroke. Higher AS-scores were cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with lower cognitive scores. Relations between apathy and cognitive change scores were ambiguous. These inconsistent relations between apathy and changes in cognition over time suggest that post-stroke apathy does not directly impact cognitive performance. Both these sequelae of stroke require separate attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This was an 8-year follow-up of an RCT comparing ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) with high ligation and surgical stripping (HL/S) of the great saphenous vein (GSV). Methods: Patients were randomized to UGFS or HL/S of the GSV. The primary outcome was the recurrence of symptomatic GSV reflux. Secondary outcomes were patterns of reflux according to recurrent varices after surgery, Clinical Etiologic Anatomic Pathophysiologic (CEAP) classification, Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) and EuroQol Five Dimensions (EQ-5D™) quality-of-life scores. Results: Of 430 patients originally randomized (230 UGFS, 200 HL/S), 227 (52.8 per cent; 123 UGFS, 103 HL/S) were available for analysis after 8 years. The proportion of patients free from symptomatic GSV reflux at 8 years was lower after UGFS than HL/S (55.1 versus 72.1 per cent; P = 0.024). The rate of absence of GSV reflux, irrespective of venous symptoms, at 8 years was 33.1 and 49.7 per cent respectively (P = 0.009). More saphenofemoral junction (SFJ) failure (65.8 versus 41.7 per cent; P = 0.001) and recurrent reflux in the above-knee GSV (72.5 versus 20.4 per cent; P = 0.001) was evident in the UGFS group. The VCSS was worse than preoperative scores in both groups after 8 years; CEAP classification and EQ-5D® scores were similar in the two groups. Conclusion: Surgical stripping had a technically better outcome in terms of recurrence of GSV and SFJ reflux than UGFS in the long term. Long-term follow-up suggests significant clinical progression of venous disease measured by VCSS in both groups, but less after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The long term outcome after a single symptomatic lacunar infarct may be less favourable than is generally assumed. Patients often present with complaints such as fatigue or "being different from before the stroke", for which there are no obvious physical explanations. Although cognitive functioning is considered normal in most patients with lacunar infarction in the internal capsule or corona radiata, a study was carried out to determine if subclinical changes in mental or emotional function can explain these vague complaints characteristic for their disablement.Methods: Sixteen patients, each with a single symptomatic supratentorial lacunar infarct, and 16 matched healthy controls were examined with an extensive neuropsychological screening battery and a standardised questionnaire aimed at emotional problems. The mean number of correct responses was calculated for each subject and averaged within each group.Results: Although, on the whole, there were no differences in performance, patients' results on the following tasks in different modalities showed evidence for decreased performance under relatively more demanding conditions: line orientation task (mean difference (MD) 261 ms; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 94 to 428), Rey-Osterrieth delayed recall (MD-3.8, 95% CI -7.5 to 0.0), visual elevator subtest of the everyday attention task (EAT) (MD -0.7, 95% CI -1.5 to 0.1), lottery subtest of the EAT (MD -0.6, 95% CI -1.3 to 0.1) and WAIS similarities (MD -3.2 95% CI -6.3 to 0.1). Patients also more often had emotional disturbances than controls.Conclusion: Both subtle cognitive impairments and emotional disturbances may play a part in the decreased competence in everyday life of patients with a supratentorial lacunar infarct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies addressing healthy subjects point towards posterior parietal cortex (PPC) involvement in episodic memory tasks. This is noteworthy, since neuropsychological studies usually do not connect parietal lesions to episodic memory impairments. Therefore an inventory of the possible factors behind this apparent paradox is warranted. This review compared fMRI studies which demonstrated PPC activity in episodic memory tasks, with findings with studies of patients with PPC lesions. A systematic evaluation of possible explanations for the posterior parietal paradox indicates that PPC activation in fMRI studies does not appear to be attributable to confounding cognitive/psychomotor processes, such as button pressing or stimulus processing. What may be of more importance is the extent to which an episodic memory task loads on three closely related cognitive processes: effort and attention, self-related activity, and scene and image construction. We discuss to what extent these cognitive processes can account for the paradox between lesion and fMRI results. They are strongly intertwined with the episodic memory and may critically determine in how far the PPC plays a role in a given memory task. Future patient studies might profit from specifically taking these cognitive factors into consideration in the task design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: At present, prism adaptation is probably the most promising rehabilitation procedure for hemi-neglect. However, randomised controlled trials are lacking and no data are available on the effectiveness of prism adaptation in the treatment of acute neglect. Methods: We followed sixteen neglect patients using a randomised controlled design in which six patients received four-day-in-a-row placebo treatment (CG) and ten patients received four-day-in-a row experimental treatment with 10° rightward deviating prisms (EG) during their stay on the stroke unit. We examined whether patients in the EG improved faster than the CG by administering three neglect tasks (Schenkenberg Line Bisection, Letter Cancellation, Gainotti Scene Copying) immediately before and after each treatment. Second, we examined whether patients in the EG demonstrated a better long-term outcome at one month post-treatment (Behavioural Inattention Test). Results: Patients in the EG improved faster on spatial tasks (line bisection, cancellation) than the CG but not on visuo-construction. Patients in the EG showed no differences with the CG in neglect outcome at one month post-treatment. Conclusions: Four consecutive prism sessions produced beneficial effects in patients with acute neglect. However, prism effects were either short-term, or placebo treatment with repeated pointing and/or repeated neglect testing was more helpful than we anticipated. Our results emphasize the importance of a placebo condition and a follow-up in rehabilitation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real-time RT-PCR protocol of Boonham and coworkers performed extremely well in a recent ring test, comparing different methods for detection ofPotato spindle tuber pospiviroid(PSTVd) in several laboratories. Since, in addition, real-time PCR technology has proved suitable for high-throughput testing, this method was chosen as the starting point for the development of a protocol for the large-scale testing of potato. The initial experiments focused on the specificity of the primers and probes with regard to different isolates of PSTVd and other (pospi-) viroids. Further experiments were performed with leaf material from both primarily and secondarily infected plants. The parameters studied were sampling position, growing-on temperature and bulking rate. In addition, different grinding, nucleic-acid extraction and disinfection methods were compared. To monitor false negatives and positives, different controls were included and tested in duplex and triplex formats. The final protocol was tested using a hundred samples from the Dutch potato-monitoring programme. The results of this pilot experiment were promising. Future plans include the development of a protocol for direct tuber testing and inter-laboratory ring testing of the protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, perceptual and visuomotor spatial localization were examined in patients with unilateral right (RH) or left (LH) hemisphere lesions and in a group of control subjects. Perceptual localization was measured with a position-discrimination task; in the visuomotor localization task, subjects had to point to a visual target. Both tasks were investigated in conditions with or without background visibility and with central and peripheral targets. In the visuomotor task, hand visibility was also manipulated. In both tasks, targets were presented in the left and right visual hemifield. The perceptual task revealed impairments for both LH and RH patients in the contra-lateral visual hemifield. RH patients also revealed slightly larger impairments in conditions without a visual background. In the visuomotor task, the LH patients were not impaired, whereas the RH patients were impaired in conditions without hand visibility and/or background visibility. Hence, our data strengthen the idea that spatial localization is not a unitary function and that perceptual and visuomotor localization can be selectively impaired. We suggest that one of the important factors distinguishing between localization impairments in RH and LH patients might be absolute versus relative localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty obsessive-compulsives were treated by behavioural therapy (self-exposure in vivo and response prevention) either with their partner directly involved in all aspects of treatment or without their partner. The two treatment formats were equally effective. Although a substantial number of obsessive-compulsives were found to have marital problems, behavioural treatment directed at the obsessive-compulsive disorder resulted in improvement irrespective of marital quality and partner involvement in the therapy. The effects of treatment led neither to a deterioration of the marriage nor to adjustment problems in the partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of agnosia as a higher order functional impairment, which can occur in the absence of low level visual perceptual deficits, continues to provoke debate. This controversy is complicated by the fact that, on close examination, agnosic patients do tend to have some perceptual difficulties. Thus the issue centres around the question as to whether these deficits play a causal part in the aetiology of agnosia or whether they are functionally independent, with both impairments resulting from the substantial cerebral lesions involved in agnosia. In 1956, Ettlinger published a study in which he compared the performance of patients with visual recognition deficits and patients with posterior brain lesions whose recognition abilities were intact. He argued that visual perceptual problems could not explain the recognition deficit in agnosia as he saw far worse perceptual impairments in patients who did not experience any problems in visual recognition. Although the logic of Ettlinger's argument is not disputed, some criticisms have arisen concerning the study, such as the fact that his experimental group did not include a truly object agnosic patient. In addition, Ettlinger's visual-sensory assessment can no longer be considered comprehensive in the light of present day knowledge of the cerebral visual apparatus. This study therefore investigated three (prosop)agnosic patients and five patients with unilateral brain lesions without recognition deficits on an extensive battery of visual sensory tests. The results support Ettlinger's original claim that (in some cases) agnosia cannot be explained as resulting from lower level visual impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human spatial memory can be divided into multiple, partly separate cognitive processes. In this study, object location memory was studied using a set of tasks that assessed three different spatial memory aspects: positional memory, object location binding, and a combined process. Also, maze learning and spatial span memory were measured. Ten patients who had undergone intracranial tumour resection participated, and their individual results were compared with control data from 24 healthy subjects. Four patients showed selective spatial memory impairments; two patients were impaired at positional memory, and two other patients were impaired on object location binding and the combined process. This double dissociation provides further evidence for the notion that object location memory is not a unitary system, but consists of at least two separate mechanisms. In addition, spatial memory problems were predominantly present in the patients with lesions in either the right hemisphere or in the parietal lobe. These results are in agreement with previous findings on the involvement of the right hemisphere and the posterior parietal cortices in spatial processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare, via a pilot study, the effectiveness of behavior therapy and of drug treatment in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder.Method: Twenty-two children aged between 8 and 18 years were randomly assigned to behavior therapy (n = 12) or open clomipramine (n = 10) in a parallel design lasting 12 weeks. Behavior therapy included exposure and response prevention administered in weekly sessions. The mean dosage of clomipramine was 2.5 mg/kg (range = 1.4-3.3 mg/kg). The main outcome variables were the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) and the Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version (LOI-CV).Results: Significant improvement was obtained in both treatment conditions. Behavior therapy produced stronger therapeutic changes than clomipramine on the CY-BOCS (p < .05), whereas on the LOI-CV no significant differences between the results of the two treatments were found. Five of the nine initial nonresponders showed significant changes after extension of treatment for another 12 weeks.Conclusion: Behavior therapy is shown to be a good alternative for drug treatment and deserves further study in larger samples of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]