Determinants of inappropriate acute pain management in old people unable to communicate verbally in the emergency department

Objectives: Poor pain management is relevant among individuals unable to communicate verbally (UCV). Analgesia may be due to three determinants: patients' status, physician's characteristics and pain etiology. Our aim is to investigate the association between prescription of ED pain treatment and these determinants. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective study including UCV patients was conducted. Severity of pain was evaluated by ALGOPLUS Scale and a score P â¥Â 2 out of 5 on the pain scale was retained as the threshold for the presence of acute pain in elderly UCV patients. Results: Our data showed that only 31,9% of UCV patients received a pharmacological treatment. The presence of the caregiver would influence the rate of therapy administration [OR 6,19 (95% CI 2,6â14,75)]. The presence of leg pain [OR 0,32 (95% CI 0,12â0,86)] and head pain [OR 0,29 (95% CI 0,10â0,84)] were less likely associated to receive analgesia. Pain related to trauma [OR 4.82 (95% CI 1.17 to 19.78)] and youngest physicians [OR 1.08 (95% CI 1.001 to 1.18)] were variables associated with the administration of drugs opiates. Discussion: Older UCV patients presenting to the ED with pain are at high risk of inadequate analgesia. Providers should always suspect presence of pain and an increasing need for behavioural pain evaluation is necessary for a complete assessment. Conclusions: Presence of a caregiver influences a more appropriate pain management in these patients. Staff training on pain management could result in better assessment, treatment, and interaction with caregivers. Keywords: Emergency department, Pain, Oligoanalgesi

Circulating anti-Hsp70 levels in nascent metabolic syndrome: the Casale Monferrato Study.

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) confers an increased risk of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), an intracellular polypeptide, can be exposed on the plasma membrane and/or released into the circulation, eliciting both native and immune responses that may contribute to vascular damage. Our aim was to assess if serum anti-Hsp70 antibody levels were cross-sectionally associated with uncomplicated MetS. A cross-sectional case–control study from the nondiabetic cohort of the Casale Monferrato Study was performed. Subjects with established CVD and/or abnormal renal function were excluded. Case subjects (n = 180) were defined as those fulfilling the criteria for the diagnosis of MetS. Control subjects (n = 136) were completely free of any component of the MetS. Serum anti-Hsp70 levels were measured by immunoenzymatic assay. We found that anti-Hsp70 antibody levels were significantly higher in cases than in control subjects [122.6 (89.5–155.6) vs 107.1 (77.3–152.4) μg/ml, p = 0.04], even after age and sex adjustment. In logistic regression analysis, higher levels of log-anti-Hsp70 conferred greater odds ratio (OR) for MetS, independently of age and sex. There was a statistically significant trend of ORs across quartiles of anti-Hsp70 and values greater than 108.0 μg/ml conferred a 77 % increased OR of MetS as compared with values in the lower quartiles. The strength of the association slightly decreased after further adjustment for apolipoprotein B, smoking, and albumin excretion rate. In conclusion, our results show that serum anti-Hsp70 antibody levels are independently associated with nascent MetS

Pancreatic beta cell protection/regeneration with phytotherapy

Although currently available drugs are useful in controlling early onset complications of diabetes, serious late onset complications appear in a large number of patients. Considering the physiopathology of diabetes, preventing beta cell degeneration and stimulating the endogenous regeneration of islets will be essential approaches for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The current review focused on phytochemicals, the antidiabetic effect of which has been proved by pancreatic beta cell protection/regeneration. Among the hundreds of plants that have been investigated for diabetes, a small fraction has shown the regenerative property and was described in this paper. Processes of pancreatic beta cell degeneration and regeneration were described. Also, the proposed mechanisms for the protective/regenerative effects of such phytochemicals and their potential side effects were discussed

Adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines and outcomes in the hospitalized elderly with different types of pneumonia

Background: Few studies evaluated the clinical outcomes of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) and Health Care-Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) in relation to the adherence of antibiotic treatment to the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in hospitalized elderly people (65 years or older). Methods: Data were obtained from REPOSI, a prospective registry held in 87 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. Patients with a diagnosis of pneumonia (ICD-9 480-487) or prescribed with an antibiotic for pneumonia as indication were selected. The empirical antibiotic regimen was defined to be adherent to guidelines if concordant with the treatment regimens recommended by IDSA/ATS for CAP, HAP, and HCAP. Outcomes were assessed by logistic regression models. Results: A diagnosis of pneumonia was made in 317 patients. Only 38.8% of them received an empirical antibiotic regimen that was adherent to guidelines. However, no significant association was found between adherence to guidelines and outcomes. Having HAP, older age, and higher CIRS severity index were the main factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines was poor, particularly for HAP and HCAP, suggesting the need for more adherence to the optimal management of antibiotics in the elderly with pneumonia

Best herbs for managing diabetes: a review of clinical studies

Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem which leads to serious complications over time. Experimentally, many herbs have been recommended for treating diabetes. In most cases, however, the recommendations are based on animal studies and limited pieces of evidence exist about their clinical usefulness. This review focused on the herbs, the hypoglycemic actions of which have been supported by three or more clinical studies. The search was done in Google Scholar, Medline and Science Direct databases using the key terms diabetes, plants, herbs, glucose and patients. According to the clinical studies, Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Nigella sativa, Ocimum sanctum, Panax quinquefolius, Salacia reticulate, Silybum marianum and Trigonella foenum-graecum have shown hypoglycemic and, in some cases, hypolipidemic activities in diabetic patients. Among them, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Silybum marianum and Trigonella foenum-graecum have acquired enough reputation for managing diabetes. Thus, it seems that physicians can rely on these herbs and advise for the patients to improve management of diabetes

Thrombopoietin contributes to enhanced platelet activation in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Enhanced platelet reactivity is considered a main determinant of the increased atherothrombotic risk of diabetic patients. Thrombopoietin (THPO), a humoral growth factor able to stimulate megakaryocyte proliferation and differentiation, also modulates the response of mature platelets by enhancing both activation and binding to leukocytes in response to different agonists. Increased THPO levels have been reported in different clinical conditions characterized by a generalized pro-thrombotic state, from acute coronary syndromes to sepsis/septic shock, and associated with elevated indices of platelet activation. To investigate the potential contribution of elevated THPO levels in platelet activation in T1DM patients, we studied 28 T1DM patients and 28 healthy subjects. We measured plasma levels of THPO, as well as platelet-leukocyte binding, P-selectin, and THPO receptor (THPOR) platelet expression. The priming activity of plasma from diabetic patients or healthy subjects on platelet–leukocyte binding and the role of THPO on this effect was also studied in vitro. T1DM patients had higher circulating THPO levels and increased platelet–monocyte and platelet–granulocyte binding, as well as platelet P-selectin expression, compared to healthy subjects, whereas platelet expression of THPOR did not differ between the two groups. THPO concentrations correlated with platelet–leukocyte binding, as well as with fasting glucose and Hb1Ac. In vitro, plasma from diabetic patients, but not from healthy subjects, primed platelet–leukocyte binding and platelet P-selectin expression. Blocking THPO biological activity using a specific inhibitor prevented the priming effect induced by plasma from diabetic patients. In conclusion, augmented THPO may enhance platelet activation in patients with T1DM, potentially participating in increasing atherosclerotic risk

Molecular and functional heterogeneity in dorsal and ventral oligodendrocyte progenitor cells of the mouse forebrain in response to DNA damage.

In the developing mouse forebrain, temporally distinct waves of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) arise from different germinal zones and eventually populate either dorsal or ventral regions, where they present as transcriptionally and functionally equivalent cells. Despite that, developmental heterogeneity influences adult OPC responses upon demyelination. Here we show that accumulation of DNA damage due to ablation of citron-kinase or cisplatin treatment cell-autonomously disrupts OPC fate, resulting in cell death and senescence in the dorsal and ventral subsets, respectively. Such alternative fates are associated with distinct developmental origins of OPCs, and with a different activation of NRF2-mediated anti-oxidant responses. These data indicate that, upon injury, dorsal and ventral OPC subsets show functional and molecular diversity that can make them differentially vulnerable to pathological conditions associated with DNA damage.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/175353/2/Molecular and functional heterogeneity in dorsal and ventral oligodendrocyte progenitor cells of the mouse forebrain in resp.pdfPublished versionDescription of Molecular and functional heterogeneity in dorsal and ventral oligodendrocyte progenitor cells of the mouse forebrain in resp.pdf : Published versio