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Status epilepticus (SE) and acute repetitive seizures (ARSs) frequently result in emergency visits. Wide variations in response are seen with standard antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Oral and intravenous (IV) formulations of lacosamide are approved as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults and adolescents. The aim of the retrospective multicenter observational study (LACO-IV) was to analyze data from a large cohort of patients with SE or ARSs of varying severity and etiology, who received IV lacosamide in the emergency setting. Patient clinical data were entered into a database; lacosamide use and efficacy and tolerability variables were analyzed. In SE, IV lacosamide tended to be used mainly in nonconvulsive status epilepticus as second- or third-line treatment. The proportion of patients with no seizures when IV lacosamide was the last drug administered was 76.5% (70.9% SE and 83.7% ARSs). The rate of seizure cessation 200 mg versus

Stress induced by the events of daily life is considered a major factor in pathogenesis of primary tension-type headache. Little is known about the impact that could have a more stressful event, like a natural disaster, both in patients with chronic headache, both in people that do not had headache previously. The aim of the present study was to observe the prevalence of headache in the population following the devastating earthquake that affected the province of L’Aquila on April 6, 2009. The study population was conducted in four tent cities (Onna, Bazzano, Tempera-St. Biagio, Paganica). Sanitary access is recorded in the registers of medical triage, in the first 5 weeks, after the April 6, 2009. The prevalence of primary headache presentation was 5.53% (95% CI 4.2–7.1), secondary headache was 2.82% (95% CI 1.9–4.9). Pain intensity, assessed by Numerical Rating Scale score showed a mean value of 7 ± 1.1 (range 4–10). The drugs most used were the NSAIDs (46%) and paracetamol (36%), for impossibility of finding causal drugs. This study shows how more stressful events not only have an important role in determining acute exacerbation of chronic headache, but probably also play a pathogenic role in the emergence of primary headache. Also underlines the lack of diagnostic guidelines or operating protocols to early identify and treat headache in the emergency settings.

Objectives: The treatment of acute pain in the prehospital emergency setting remains a significant problem. We evaluated the incidence, site, and possible cause of acute pain in the prehospital period and also the current state of prehospital pain management by evaluating analgesic availability in emergency vehicles in Italy. Methods: First aid volunteers documented the presence, intensity, and site of acute pain by questionnaire for over 3 months. Emergency service operations completed a questionnaire on analgesic availability in ambulances and helicopters. Results: Pain symptoms were present in two-thirds of the patients (n = 383) and ranked as moderate to unbearable in 41.75%. Results of the analgesic availability survey indicate that 10.6% of the ambulance services carry no pain killers (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs]and/or paracetamol) and 11.5% are without an opioid. The emergency helicopter survey showed a significant difference in analgesic availability compared with ambulances, with 97.6% having at least one opioid agent available (weak or strong). A wide geographical variation in the availability of analgesic agents in ambulance and helicopter services was seen. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of pain among patients receiving prehospital emergency treatment in Italy and treatment for acute pain during emergency treatment of trauma patients is inadequate. All emergency vehicles, without distinction, should carry opioids and other analgesic drugs (NSAIDs and paracetamol) and there should be no geographic differences in the availability of pain medications. © Journal compilation © 2009 World Institute of Pain.

Background In resource-poor settings, treatment adherence is a major determinant of response to anti-malarial drugs as most are taken at home without medical supervision. Evidence on adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is limited. The study aimed to measure adherence and identify reasons for non-adherence to a 3-day, fixed-dose combination (FDC) of artesunate–amodiaquine (ASAQ), the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in the Médecins Sans Frontières project in the Shabunda Health Zone, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, a highly malarious and conflict-affected area. Methods The study took place in the health centres/outpatient departments of the Shabunda general hospital, the quarter Mbangayo, and participant households. Patients prescribed FDC ASAQ were visited at home on the day after their regimen finished and asked to complete an adherence questionnaire. Patients/caretakers were also interviewed when exiting the outpatient department to understand their attitude towards FDC ASAQ and assess the quality of the prescribing process. Results 148 patients/caretakers completed the adherence questionnaire: 11.5 % (17/148, 95 % CI 7–17) had ≥1 tablet left at the time of the home visit and were defined as certainly non-adherent; 13.5 % (20/148, 95 % CI 8–19) were probably non-adherent; thus total non-adherence was 25.0 % (37/148, 95 % CI 18–32). 75 % (111/148, 95 % CI 68–82) were defined as probably adherent. In exit interviews, 87.5 % (105/120) knew they had malaria or could name the correct signs/symptoms. 89 % (107/120) could identify FDC ASAQ as anti-malarials among all tablets given and correctly repeat the intake instructions given at the outpatient department. Conclusions This is the first study to assess adherence to an FDC of ACT under real treatment conditions in a context of high instability. High quality prescribing of anti-malarials at health centre level and patient adherence to the correct intake of ACT were possible in this setting. Adherence to treatment regimen requires careful and constant monitoring which might be better guaranteed at health centre rather than community level. It could, nevertheless, be a precondition to the successful introduction of home- or community based management of malaria.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is potentially fatal and often requires emergency management. Because PE associated with shock and/or hypotension carries a high risk of sudden death, emergency clinicians must rapidly make a diagnosis and initiate appropriate therapeutic strategies, usually involving anticoagulant treatment. Traditional anticoagulants, such as heparins and vitamin K antagonists, although effective and recommended by guidelines, are associated with limitations. Several targeted, orally administered anticoagulants that may overcome some of these constraints have been developed recently and undergone analysis in randomised, phase III clinical trials. Rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, was non-inferior to standard therapy with enoxaparin plus a vitamin K antagonist for the prevention of recurrent, symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with acute PE and led to a 50% reduction in major bleeding. Dabigatran, a direct thrombin inhibitor, was also non-inferior to standard therapy for the prevention of recurrent VTE or VTE-related death when given after a parenteral anticoagulant and had a similar incidence of major bleeding. The results of a phase III study of apixaban, another direct factor Xa inhibitor, for the acute treatment of VTE are expected in the near future. Rivaroxaban is now approved in Europe and the US for the treatment of acute PE and prevention of recurrent VTE. This article reviews the current guidance on the treatment of PE with special focus on the emergency setting, and considers data regarding rivaroxaban and the other non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and their potential role, including patients who are and are not appropriate for treatment with these agents. Issues such as drug interactions, reversal of anticoagulant effect and coagulation monitoring are also discussed.