2010 August 10

The evaluation and management of bacterial meningitis: current practice and emerging developments.

Aug 102010

The evaluation and management of bacterial meningitis: current practice and emerging developments.

Neurologist. 2010 May;16(3):143-51

Authors: Lin AL, Safdieh JE

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Bacterial meningitis is a serious neurologic illness with significant morbidity and mortality if not recognized and treated promptly and appropriately. The presentation and management are influenced by host factors and the pathogenic organism; the purpose of this review is to highlight those differences and to survey the literature on current practices and emerging developments in evaluation and management. REVIEW SUMMARY: Clinicians must have a high index of suspicion for bacterial meningitis. The classic symptoms of bacterial meningitis are fever, neck stiffness, altered mental status, and headache. Certain patient populations, such as the young and the immunocompromised, may have a blunted presentation, and for these patients, clinicians must have an especially low threshold for obtaining a lumbar puncture. When bacterial meningitis is suspected, antibiotic therapy should be initiated as soon as possible because early treatment is associated with a better outcome. In addition, the use of the corticosteroid dexamethasone has been shown to be helpful as an adjuvant therapy in specific clinical situations. New adjuvant therapies are being developed to lower the high rate of complications that currently occur in patients with bacterial meningitis. CONCLUSIONS: Recent studies have altered the evaluation and management of bacterial meningitis. In addition, they have elucidated the mechanisms through which bacterial meningitis causes complications and have identified new targets for treatment.

PMID: 20445424 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Link to Article at PubMed

Randomised, parallel-group, multicentre, multinational phase 2 study comparing edoxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, with warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Thromb Haemost Start a Discussion »

Aug 102010

Randomised, parallel-group, multicentre, multinational phase 2 study comparing edoxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, with warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Thromb Haemost. 2010 Aug 5;104(3)

Authors: Weitz JI, Connolly SJ, Patel I, Salazar D, Rohatagi S, Mendell J, Kastrissios H, Jin J, Kunitada S

The primary objective of this study was to compare the safety of four fixed-dose regimens of edoxaban with warfarin in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). In this 12-week, parallel-group, multicentre, multinational study, 1,146 patients with AF and risk of stroke were randomised to edoxaban 30 mg qd, 30 mg bid, 60 mg qd, or 60 mg bid or warfarin dose-adjusted to a target international normalised ratio of 2.0-3.0. The study was double-blind to edoxaban dose, but open-label to warfarin. Primary outcomes were occurrence of major and/or clinically relevant non-major bleeding and elevated hepatic enzymes and/or bilirubin. Mean age was 65 +/- 8.7 years and 64.4% were warfarin-naÃ¯ve. Whereas major plus clinically relevant non-major bleeding occurred in 3.2% of patients randomised to warfarin, the incidence of bleeding was significantly higher with the edoxaban 60 mg bid (10.6%; p=0.002) and 30 mg bid regimens (7.8%; p=0.029), but not with the edoxaban 60 mg qd (3.8%) or 30 mg qd regimens (3.0%). For the same total daily dose of 60 mg, both bleeding frequency and trough edoxaban concentrations were higher in the 30-mg bid group than in the 60-mg qd group. There were no significant differences in hepatic enzyme elevations or bilirubin values among the groups. The safety profiles of edoxaban 30 and 60 mg qd in patients with AF were similar to warfarin. In contrast, the edoxaban bid regimens were associated with more bleeding than warfarin. These results suggest that in this three-month study, edoxaban 30 or 60 mg qd are safe and well-tolerated.

PMID: 20694273 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Link to Article at PubMed

Predictors of early readmission or death in elderly patients with heart failure.

Am Heart J Start a Discussion »

Aug 102010

Predictors of early readmission or death in elderly patients with heart failure.

Am Heart J. 2010 Aug;160(2):308-314

Authors: Muzzarelli S, Leibundgut G, Maeder MT, Rickli H, Handschin R, Gutmann M, Jeker U, Buser P, Pfisterer M, Brunner-La Rocca HP,

BACKGROUND: Contemporary heart failure (HF) patients are elderly and have a high rate of early rehospitalization or death, resulting in a high burden for both the patients and the health care system. Prior studies were focused on younger and less well-characterized patients. We aimed to identify predictors of early hospital readmission and death in elderly patients with HF. METHODS: Patients with chronic HF taking part in the TIME-CHF study (n = 614, age 77 +/- 8 years, 41% female, left ventricular ejection fraction 35% +/- 13%) were evaluated with respect to predictors of hospital readmission or death 30 and 90 days after inclusion. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, echocardiographic, and social variables were obtained at baseline and included in a multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of early events. RESULTS: The rate of hospital readmission or death was high at 30 (11%) and 90 days (26%). The reason for hospitalization was HF in 33%, other cardiovascular in 32%, and noncardiovascular in 45% of the cases, respectively. Predictors of readmission or death at 30 days were angina, lower systolic blood pressure, anemia, more extensive edema, higher creatinine levels, and dry cough; and at 90 days were coronary artery disease, prior pacemaker implantation, high jugular venous pressure, pulmonary rales, prior abdominal surgery, older age, and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Early hospital readmission or death was frequent among elderly HF patients. A very large proportion of readmissions were due to noncardiovascular causes. In addition to clinical signs of HF, comorbidities are important predictors of early events in elderly HF patients.

PMID: 20691837 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Link to Article at PubMed

August 2010
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