The Potential Role of Naltrexone in Borderline Personality Disorder

Objective: Management of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a difficult challenge due to the complex features of this disorder. This article reviews the use of naltrexone in the treatment of BPD. Methods: Published articles and clinical trials were searched in Google Scholar, MedLine, ELSEVIER, and Cochrane database of systematic reviews abstracts in English language between 1990 and 2017. Results: Naltrexone (NTX), a nonspecific competitive opiate antagonist, has been noted to be helpful in controlling self-injurious behavior (SIB) and dissociative symptoms in patients with BPD. Conclusions: Further studies should be conducted on the effects of naltrexone to confirm the role of this medication in the treatment of BPD

A novel practical equation for treatment of emergent hypernatremia and dehydration phase in infants

Serum sodium (Na) concentration more than 145 mmol/L is defined as hypernatremia. Hypernatremia carries an acute morbidity and mortality, especially in neonates and infants. Rapid correction of hypernatremia leads to severe cerebral damages, and seizure is the most common neurological complication of hypernatremia. Selection and calculation of an appropriate fluid and its amount is one of the tremendous challenges. It is important to choose the correct amount of suitable fluid and adjust rehydration rate. In this study, we have suggested practical equation to determine the amount of fluid that should be administered to the neonates and infants with hypernatremia. In this equation, the amount of infusate volume will be calculated from changes in serum Na and total body water. However, serum Na and infusate Na will play an important role in equation structure, too. Our suggested equation will help physicians to manage hypernatremic dehydrated patients in a suitable manner with an adjustable rate

Evaluating the Potential Effect of Melatonin on the post-Cardiac Surgery Sleep Disorder

Background: Postoperative neurological injuries, including cognitive dysfunction, sleep disorder, delirium, and anxiety, are the important consequences of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Evidence has shown that postoperative sleep disturbance is partly due to disturbed melatonin secretion in the perioperative period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin on postoperative sleep disorder in patients undergoing CABG. Method: One hundred forty-five elective CABG patients participated in a randomized double-blind study during the preoperative period. The patients were randomized to receive either 3 mg of melatonin or 10 mg of Oxazepam one hour before sleep time. Each group received the medication from 3 days before surgery until the time of discharge. Sleep quality was evaluated using the Groningen Sleep Quality Score (GSQS), and the incidence of delirium was evaluated by nursing records. Sleep quality and anxiety scores were compared before and after surgery through the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and independent t-test were used to compare the sleep and anxiety scores between the groups. P values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Totally, 137 patients at a mean age of 60 years completed the study (76% male). The analysis of the data showed that sleep was significantly disturbed after surgery in both groups. The patients in the Oxazepam group demonstrated significantly higher disturbance in their mean postoperative GSQS score than did their counterparts in the melatonin group (p value < 0.001). A smaller proportion of the participants experienced delirium in the melatonin group (0.06%) than in the Oxazepam group (0.12%); however, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The result of the present study revealed that melatonin improved sleep in post-cardiac surgery patients more than what was observed with Oxazepam. Therefore, melatonin may be considered an effective alternative for Benzodiazepines in the management of postoperative sleep disorder

Association between Perioperative Parameters and

Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) has been an important complication of cardiac surgery over the years. Neurocognitive dysfunction can affect quality of life and lead to social, functional, emotional, and financial problems in the patient’s life. To reduce POCD, we sought to identify the association between cognitive dysfunction and perioperative factors in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: One hundred one patients aged between 45 and 75 years undergoing elective cardiac surgery were enrolled in this study. All the surgeries were performed on-pump by the same medical team. A brief Wechsler Memory Test (WMT) was administered before surgery, 3 to 5 days after the surgery, and 3 months after discharge. All related perioperative parameters were collected in order to study the effect of these parameters on the postoperative WMT scores and WMT score change. Results: The study population consisted of 101 patients, comprising 14 (13.8%) females and 87 (86.2%) males aged between 45 and 75 years. In univariate analysis, the baseline WMT score, serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase and T3, cross-clamp time, and preexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease showed significant effects on the postoperative WMT score (p value < 0.05), whereas only the baseline WMT score and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease showed strong effects on the postoperative WMT score in the multiple regression model. In addition, the multiple regression model demonstrated a significant association between the baseline WMT score, serum creatinine level, and nitrate administration and the WMT score change. Conclusion: Our study showed that preexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and preoperative high serum creatinine levels negatively affected cognitive function after surgery. In addition, there was a strong relationship between the patients’ basic cognition and POCD. Preoperative nitrate administration led to a significant improvement in POCD. It is also concluded that the preoperative administration of specific medicines like nitrates can reduce neurological complications after cardiac surgery