Search

This case report describes successful maintenance treatment with oral S-ketamine in a patient with severe depression, who previously was resistant to electroconvulsive therapy and deep brain stimulation, and who also had comorbid psychotic and obsessive compulsive symptoms. more...

Post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) is a small airways disease characterized by fixed airflow limitation. Therefore, inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids are not recommended as maintenance therapy options. The management of PIBO currently consists only of close monitoring of affected patients, aimed at the prevention and early treatment of pulmonary infections. In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of PIBO in the pediatric population. Patients with PIBO are characterized by a progressive decline in lung function, accompanied by a decrease in overall functional capacity. Here, we report the case of a relatively young man diagnosed with PIBO and followed for three years. After short- and long-term therapy with an inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting 2 agonist combination, together with an inhaled long-acting antimuscarinic, the patient showed relevant improvement of airway obstruction that had been irreversible at the time of the bronchodilator test. The lung function of the patient worsened when he interrupted the triple inhaled therapy. In addition, a 3-week pulmonary rehabilitation program markedly improved his physical performance. RESUMO A bronquiolite obliterante pos-infecciosa (BOPI) e uma doenca das pequenas vias aereas caracterizada por limitacao fixa do fluxo aereo. Portanto, os broncodilatadores e os corticosteroides inalatorios nao sao recomendados como opcoes de terapia de manutencao. Atualmente, o manejo da BOPI consiste apenas de um acompanhamento rigoroso dos pacientes afetados, visando a prevencao e ao tratamento precoce de infeccoes pulmonares. A incidencia de BOPI tem aumentado na populacao pediatrica nos ultimos anos. Os pacientes com BOPI caracterizam-se por um declinio progressivo da funcao pulmonar, associado a uma diminuicao da capacidade funcional global. Relatamos aqui o caso de um homem relativamente jovem diagnosticado com BOPI, acompanhado por tres anos. Apos terapia de curto e de longo prazo com uma combinacao de corticosteroide/2-agonista de longa duracao inalatorios, associada a um agente antimuscarinico de longa duracao inalatorio, o paciente apresentou uma melhora relevante da obstrucao das vias aereas, a qual fora irreversivel durante o teste de broncodilatacao. A funcao pulmonar do paciente piorou quando ele interrompeu a terapia inalatoria tripla. Alem disso, um programa de reabilitacao pulmonar de tres semanas significativamente melhorou seu desempenho fisico. more...

Post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) is a small airways disease characterized by fixed airflow limitation. Therefore, inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids are not recommended as maintenance therapy options. The management of PIBO currently consists only of close monitoring of affected patients, aimed at the prevention and early treatment of pulmonary infections. In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of PIBO in the pediatric population. Patients with PIBO are characterized by a progressive decline in lung function, accompanied by a decrease in overall functional capacity. Here, we report the case of a relatively young man diagnosed with PIBO and followed for three years. After short- and long-term therapy with an inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting 2 agonist combination, together with an inhaled long-acting antimuscarinic, the patient showed relevant improvement of airway obstruction that had been irreversible at the time of the bronchodilator test. The lung function of the patient worsened when he interrupted the triple inhaled therapy. In addition, a 3-week pulmonary rehabilitation program markedly improved his physical performance. RESUMO A bronquiolite obliterante pós-infecciosa (BOPI) é uma doença das pequenas vias aéreas caracterizada por limitação fixa do fluxo aéreo. Portanto, os broncodilatadores e os corticosteroides inalatórios não são recomendados como opções de terapia de manutenção. Atualmente, o manejo da BOPI consiste apenas de um acompanhamento rigoroso dos pacientes afetados, visando à prevenção e ao tratamento precoce de infecções pulmonares. A incidência de BOPI tem aumentado na população pediátrica nos últimos anos. Os pacientes com BOPI caracterizam-se por um declínio progressivo da função pulmonar, associado a uma diminuição da capacidade funcional global. Relatamos aqui o caso de um homem relativamente jovem diagnosticado com BOPI, acompanhado por três anos. Após terapia de curto e de longo prazo com uma combinação de corticosteroide/2-agonista de longa duração inalatórios, associada a um agente antimuscarínico de longa duração inalatório, o paciente apresentou uma melhora relevante da obstrução das vias aéreas, a qual fora irreversível durante o teste de broncodilatação. A função pulmonar do paciente piorou quando ele interrompeu a terapia inalatória tripla. Além disso, um programa de reabilitação pulmonar de três semanas significativamente melhorou seu desempenho físico. more...

BACKGROUND: Most guidelines recommend either a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) plus an inhaled glucocorticoid or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) as the first-choice treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have a high risk of exacerbations. The role of treatment with a LABA-LAMA regimen in these patients is unclear. METHODS: We conducted a 52-week, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, noninferiority trial. Patients who had COPD with a history of at least one exacerbation during the previous year were randomly assigned to receive, by inhalation, either the LABA indacaterol (110 μg) plus the LAMA glycopyrronium (50 μg) once daily or the LABA salmeterol (50 μg) plus the inhaled glucocorticoid fluticasone (500 μg) twice daily. The primary outcome was the annual rate of all COPD exacerbations. RESULTS: A total of 1680 patients were assigned to the indacaterol-glycopyrronium group, and 1682 to the salmeterol-fluticasone group. Indacaterol-glycopyrronium showed notonly noninferiority but also superiority to salmeterol-fluticasone in reducing the annual rate of all COPD exacerbations; the rate was 11% lower in the indacaterol-glycopyrronium group than in the salmeterol-fluticasone group (3.59 vs. 4.03; rate ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.96; P=0.003). The indacaterol-glycopyrronium group had a longer time to the first exacerbation than did the salmeterol-fluticasone group (71 days [95% CI, 60 to 82] vs. 51 days [95% CI, 46 to 57]; hazard ratio, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.78 to 0.91], representing a 16% lower risk; P more...

Primary vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is the most common inherited structural urinary tract disorder, conforming closely to autosomal dominant transmission. A pair of monozygotic siblings is described exhibiting a remarkably parallel clinical course. VUR grade II was diagnosed in girl A during urinary tract infection at the age of 2 yr; screening of her asymptomatic sister (girl B) revealed the same. Renal cortical scintigraphy unveiled unilateral hypo-dysplasia in both the twins. Despite trimethoprime-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis, infection recurred in girl A after 7 months, while girl B had a first episode 2 months later that prompted regimen switch to nitrofurantoin. Follow-up at the age of 4 depicted bilateral reflux deterioration; an urodynamics study that followed revealed functional bladder instability in both girls and the oral antispasmodic oxybutynin was initiated with good results. Evaluation for reflux should be prompt in infants with urinary infection. Patient siblings display a higher relative reflux risk, being highest in identical twins. Heredity issues, the impact of age and dysfunctional voiding in the clinical course, and the contribution of nuclear medicine in VUR management are discussed. Indian J Pediatr more...

Treating patients with Parkinson's disease is not an easy task for the physician who is facing a disease well responsive to symptomatic therapy, yet escaping any curative approaches. In spite of the large therapeutic armamentarium available, many issues remained unsolved, as indications of a particular therapeutic agent are only loosely defined and evolving according to various parameters such as disease progression and severity, the profile of potentially serious adverse effects, the physician's level of expertise and patient's expectations. The growing experience acquired with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation has shown that indications for such a surgery have to be cautiously examined. After initial therapeutic enthusiasm, we are now at a time of problems and controversies. more...