Search

Objective: The current study was planned to investigate the relationship of serum level of pentraxine-3 with various clinical and neurological scales and scores., Methods: The prospective case-control study was conducted at the Emergency Department of the Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey, from March 2013 to June 2014, and comprised subarachnoid haemorrhage patients and healthy. Pentraxine-3levels were measured from serum samples and compared with sub-groups of the various scales and scores used in the study. Data was analysed using SPSS 15., Results: Of the 77 subjects, 40(52%) were patients and 37(48%) were controls. Pentraxine-3levels in the cases were significantly higher than the controls (p<0.001). Among the cases, pentraxine-3level of the Glasgow Coma Scale sub-group was significantly different between the severe and mild categories (p=0.048). Likewise, pentraxine-3 levels were significantly different in terms of Fisher scale in patients with minor haemorrhage compared to those with massive haemorrhage (p=0.026). Also, pentraxine-3 levels were significantly higher in patients who died compared to those who fully recovered (p=0.042)., Conclusions: There was found to be a relationship between pentraxine-3 level and the clinical severity of subarachnoid haemorrhage patients.

Objective: To evaluate the value of electroencephalography in patients with altered mental status in emergency departments., Methods: Demographical characteristics, types and aetiologies of seizures, and clinical outcomes of the patients were recorded. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to the complaints of admission: findings and symptoms of seizure; stroke and symptoms of stroke-related seizures; syncope; and metabolic abnormalities and other causes of altered mental status. The electroencephalography findings were classified into 3 groups: epileptiform discharges; paroxysmal electroencephalography abnormalities; and background slowing. Electroencephalography abnormalities in each subgroup were evaluated. SPSS 21 was used for statistical analysis., Results: Of the total 190 patients in the study, 117 (61.6%) had pathological electroencephalography findings. The main reason for electroencephalography in the emergency department was the presence of seizure findings and symptoms in 98 (51.6%) patients. The ratio of electroencephalography abnormality was higher in patients who were admitted with complaints of metabolic abnormality-related consciousness disturbances (p < 0.001). A total of 124 (65.3%) patients had neuroimagings. Electroencephalography abnormalities were found to be significantly higher in patients with neuroimagings compared to those without neuroimagings (p < 0.003)., Conclusion: Despite advanced neuroimaging techniques, electroencephalography is still an important tool in the differential diagnosis of altered mental status such as epileptic seizures, metabolic abnormalities, pseudo-seizures and syncope.

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of plasma glucose and serum cholinesterase levels as predictors of organophosphate-induced intermediate syndrome., Materials and Methods: Seventy-one organophosphate poisoning patients who were admitted to our emergency department during a 4-year period were evaluated retrospectively. Four patients were excluded from the study due to a lack of medical records. Categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test and nonparametric variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test., Results: Thirty-five (52.2%) patients were male and 32(47.8%) were female. Patients had a mean age of 39.4 ± 15.9 years and 70.1% of the patients were married. Oral intake (68.7%) was the most common method of intoxication, and attempted suicide (67.2%) was the most common cause. The most common organophosphates were methamidophos (20.8%), dichlorvos (19.4%), parathion (7.5%), and methyl parathion (7.5%). Fifty-seven (85%) patients were treated in the emergency observation unit and 10 (15%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. Eleven (16%) patients developed intermediate syndrome and had significantly lower levels of serum cholinesterase (P < 0.01) and higher blood glucose levels (P = 0.037)., Conclusion: Initial serum cholinesterase and glucose levels measured in the emergency department may be a useful marker in predicting organophosphate-induced intermediate syndrome.