Efficacy of Chloral Hydrate and Promethazine for Sedation During Electroencephalography in Children; a Randomised Clinical Trial.
Efficacy of Chloral Hydrate and Promethazine for Sedation during Electroencephalography in Children; a Randomised Clinical Trial.
Iran J Pediatr. 2013 Feb; 23(1): 27-31
Razieh F, Sharam J, Motahhareh G, Sedighah AK, Mohammad-Hosein J
The purpose of this study was to compare efficacy and safety of oral chloral hydrate (CH) and promethazine (PZ) for sedation during electroencephalography (EEG) in children.In a parallel single-blinded randomized clinical trial, sixty 1-10 year old children referred to EEG Unit of Shahid Sadoughi Hospital from January 2010 to February 2011 in Yazd, Iran, were evaluated. They were randomized to receive orally 70 mg/kg chloral hydrate or promethazine 1 mg/kg. The primary outcome was efficacy in adequate sedation and successful recording of EEG. Secondary outcome included clinical side effects, time from administration of the drug to adequate sedation, caregiver’s satisfaction on a Likert scale, and total stay time in EEG Unit.Twenty four cases with mean age 2.9±1.9 years were evaluated. Adequate sedation (Ramsay sedation score of four) was obtained in 43.3% of PZ and 100% of CH group (P=0.00001). Also in 70% of PZ and 96.7% of CH group, EEG was successfully recorded (P=0.006). So, CH was a more effective drug. In CH group, EEG was performed in shorter time after taking the drug (32.82±9.6 vs 52.14±22.88 minutes, P<0.001) and the parents waited less in the EEG unit (1.29±0.54 vs 2.6±0.59 hours, P<0.001). They were also more satisfied (4.6±0.6 scores vs 3.1±1.4 scores, P=0.001). Mild side effects such as vomiting in 20% of CH (n = 6) and agitation in 6.6% of PZ group (n = 2) were seen. No significant difference was seen from viewpoint of side effects frequency between the two drugs.The results of the present study showed that chloral hydrate can be considered as a safe and more effective drug in sedation induction for sleep EEG in children. HubMed – drug
Specificity and sensitivity of transcranial sonography of the substantia nigra in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease: prospective cohort study in 196 patients.
BMJ Open. 2013; 3(4):
Bouwmans AE, Vlaar AM, Mess WH, Kessels A, Weber WE
Numerous ultrasound studies have suggested that a typical enlarged area of echogenicity in the substantia nigra (SN+) can help diagnose idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD). Almost all these studies were retrospective and involved patients with well-established diagnoses and long-disease duration. In this study the diagnostic accuracy of transcranial sonography (TCS) of the substantia nigra in the patient with an undiagnosed parkinsonian syndrome of recent onset has been evaluated.Prospective cohort study for diagnostic accuracy.Neurology outpatient clinics of two teaching hospitals in the Netherlands.196 consecutive patients, who were referred to two neurology outpatient clinics for analysis of clinically unclear parkinsonism. Within 2 weeks of inclusion all patients also underwent a TCS and a (123)I-ioflupane Single Photon Emission CT (FP-CIT SPECT) scan of the brain (n=176).After 2 years, patients were re-examined by two movement disorder specialist neurologists for a final clinical diagnosis, that served as a surrogate gold standard for our study.Temporal acoustic windows were insufficient in 45 of 241 patients (18.67%). The final clinical diagnosis was IPD in 102 (52.0%) patients. Twenty-four (12.3%) patients were diagnosed with atypical parkinsonisms (APS) of which 8 (4.0%) multisystem atrophy (MSA), 6 (3.1%) progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 6 (3.1%) Lewy body dementia and 4 (2%) corticobasal degeneration. Twenty-one (10.7%) patients had a diagnosis of vascular parkinsonism, 20 (10.2%) essential tremor, 7 (3.6%) drug-induced parkinsonism and 22 (11.2%) patients had no parkinsonism but an alternative diagnosis. The sensitivity of a SN+ for the diagnosis IPD was 0.40 (CI 0.30 to 0.50) and the specificity 0.61 (CI 0.52 to 0.70). Hereby the positive predictive value (PPV) was 0.53 and the negative predictive value (NPV) 0.48. The sensitivity and specificity of FP-CIT SPECT scans for diagnosing IPD was 0.88 (CI 0.1 to 0.95) and 0.68 (CI 0.58 to 0.76) with a PPV of 0.75 and an NPV of 0.84.The diagnostic accuracy of TCS in early stage Parkinson’s disease is not sufficient for routine clinical use. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT0036819. HubMed – drug
Indian Supreme Court rejects Novartis’s appeal on drug patent.
BMJ. 2013; 346: f2099
Arie S
Additive effect of phosphodiesterase inhibitors in control of pulmonary hypertension after congenital cardiac surgery in children.
Iran J Pediatr. 2013 Feb; 23(1): 19-26
Farah P, Ahmad-Ali A, Hanane G, Abbas E
Control of residual pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) after closure of left to right shunts in children is still a challenging issue. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two phosphodiesterase inhibitors in pediatric cardiac surgical patients.A total of 48 postoperative children were enrolled in the study between 2008 and 2010. Patients were stratified based upon choice of pulmonary vasodilator into three equal groups (n = 16); Milrinone group received intravenous milrinone (0.75 µ/kg/min), Sildenafil group received oral sildenafil (0.3 mg/kg every 3 hours) and the Combination group received both medications.Demographic variables and types of congenital anomalies were not different among the 3 groups. Patients in the Combination group had higher preoperative pulmonary artery to aortic (PA/AO) pressure ratios compared to other two groups (P=0.001). Postoperatively, patients in Milrinone group incurred lower systolic PA and PA/AO pressures compared to Sildenafil group (P=0.014, 0.003), but it was the same in Sildenafil and Combination group (P=0.2; 0.330 respectively). Pulmonary hypertensive crisis was noted in 6 patients in Sildenafil group, and 3 patients in Combination group (P=0.02). Significant rise in PA pressure was noticed after discontinuation of drug in Milrinone group (P=0.001), which was not observed in the Combination group (P= 0.6). No mortality was noticed in any of the groups.Intravenous milrinone is more effective than oral sildenafil in control of postoperative PAH and elimination of pulmonary hypertensive crisis. Combination of two drugs reduces the risk of rebound pulmonary arterial hypertension after discontinuation of milrinone. HubMed – drug