Hidetaka Tamune

Cerebrospinal fluid/blood glucose ratio as an indicator for bacterial meningitis

BACKGROUND Bacterial meningitis is an emergent disease requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment with appropriate antimicrobials. Although the lumbar puncture is widely used as a diagnostic tool for bacterial meningitis, it remains unclear which value in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis in emergency laboratory tests precisely predicts the presence of bacterial meningitis. METHODS This is a single-center, retrospective review of medical records to determine which emergency laboratory CSF test results are useful for predicting bacterial meningitis. The diagnosis of meningitis is made when the white blood cell count in CSF exceeds 5 cells/μL, while the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis additionally requires the growth of a pathogen from a CSF culture or the identification of a pathogen in Gram staining of CSF specimen. RESULTS We identified 15 patients with bacterial meningitis and 129 patients with aseptic meningitis. While neutrophil-predominant pleocytosis and a decreased glucose level in CSF can predict the presence of bacterial meningitis, the CSF/blood glucose ratio is more precise (optimal cut-off=0.36, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity=92.9%, area under the curve=.97) even after administration of antimicrobials prior to examination in the emergency department. CONCLUSION This study suggests that the CSF/blood glucose ratio may be a better single indicator for bacterial meningitis. Since the CSF glucose and blood glucose values are promptly and easily obtained from a lumbar puncture, the CSF/blood glucose ratio should be considered as a timely diagnostic indicator of bacterial meningitis. It may also help exclude the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis especially in cases in which no microorganisms can be cultured.

Absence of jolt accentuation of headache cannot accurately rule out meningitis in adults

BACKGROUND Meningitis is a common emergency disease. Signs and symptoms easily observed at the bedside are needed because early recognition of the possibility of meningitis is necessary for the decision to perform lumbar puncture. Jolt accentuation of headache has been reported to be the most sensitive diagnostic test; however, limited articles have reproduced its sensitivity. METHODS This is a single-center retrospective medical record review between 2007 and 2012. We diagnosed meningitis based on the criterion standard that cerebrospinal fluid total cells is more than 5/mm(3), in accordance with previous studies. All diagnostic and management decisions including Kernig sign, nuchal rigidity, and jolt accentuation of headache were at the physicians discretion. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of well-known signs and symptoms of meningitis and, especially, compared the efficacy of jolt accentuation of headache with previous studies. RESULTS We investigated 531 adult patients who were suspected of meningitis and had lumbar puncture performed. Of these patients, 139 had meningitis. Background characteristics and vital signs were not clinically different between the 2 groups, although classic tetralogy of bacterial meningitis (fever, nuchal rigidity, mental disturbance, and headache) was worth investigated. The sensitivity and specificity of jolt accentuation of headache were 63.9% (95% confidence interval, 51.9%-76.0%) and 43.2% (34.7%-51.6%), respectively. CONCLUSION The absence of jolt accentuation of headache test cannot, on its own, accurately rule out meningitis in adults. Further studies are warranted to reproduce this result and to discover better bedside diagnostic tests.

A rare case of full neurological recovery from severe nonexertional heatstroke during a bedrock bath

We report a rare case of full neurological recovery in a 77‐year‐old woman with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale of 3 while taking a bedrock bath. Severe heatstroke was quickly diagnosed, and intensive treatment was immediately provided. Laboratory data showed multi‐organ failure, and her electroencephalogram showed very low amplitude, indicating a poor prognosis; however, she gradually recovered consciousness, and her electroencephalogram normalized, showing a Glasgow Coma Scale of 15 at discharge. This case demonstrated that physicians should pay careful attention when withholding treatment from a patient with severe heatstroke accompanied by a poor initial electroencephalogram result and laboratory data.

Does This Adult Patient With Jolt Accentuation of Headache Have Acute Meningitis

In order to identify appropriate candidates with suspected meningitis for lumbar puncture (LP), study designs and diagnostic values of jolt accentuation of headache (JA) were reviewed.

A case of interictal dysphoric disorder comorbid with interictal psychosis: Part of the same spectrum or separate entities?

Depressive disorders in epilepsy often present characteristic clinical manifestations atypical in primary, endogenous depression. Here, we report a case of a 64-year-old woman with right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, who complained of bizarre, antipsychotic-refractory cenesthetic hallucinations in her interictal phase, and was hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Detailed clinical observations revealed mood symptoms, which led to the diagnosis of interictal dysphoric disorder comorbid with interictal psychosis. Sertraline with low-dose aripiprazole markedly alleviated both depressive and psychotic symptoms. This case suggested that the two diagnostic entities may overlap and that depressive symptoms tend to be concurrent when concurring with psychosis, which hampers the appropriate choice of a treatment option.

Emotional stimuli-provoked seizures potentially misdiagnosed as psychogenic non-epileptic attacks: A case of temporal lobe epilepsy with amygdala enlargement

The association between emotional stimuli and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is largely unknown. Here, we report the case of a depressed, 50-year-old female complaining of episodes of a “spaced out” experience precipitated by emotional stimuli. Psychogenic non-epileptic attacks were suspected. However, video-EEG coupled with emotional stimuli-provoked procedures and MRI findings of amygdala enlargement, led to the diagnosis of left TLE. Accurate diagnosis and explanation improved her subjective depression and seizure frequency. This case demonstrated that emotional stimuli can provoke seizures in TLE and suggested the involvement of the enlarged amygdala and the modulation of emotion-related neural circuits.

Admission Values of D-dimer and C-reactive Protein (CRP) Predict the Long-term Outcomes in Acute Aortic Dissection.

Objective Admission D-dimer and C-reactive protein (CRP) values have been reported to predict the short-term outcomes in acute aortic dissection (AAD). However, the association between D-dimer values and the long-term outcomes has not been investigated. Methods The primary endpoints included events determined to be all-cause death, recurrence of aortic dissection, aortic rupture, and surgical intervention for the aortic aneurysm following the first hospital discharge. We performed a receiver operating characteristic analysis and determined the optimal cut-off levels of admission D-dimer, admission CRP and peak CRP values in terms of the sensitivity and specificity for predicting the presence of events. Using the optimal cut-off values, we performed a multiple Cox analysis and investigated the hazard ratio of admission D-dimer, admission CRP and peak CRP. Patients We retrospectively identified 173 AAD patients hospitalized between January 2005 and December 2013. Results A multiple Cox regression analysis revealed that the hazard ratios were 3.4 for admission D-dimer [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.5 to 7.3, p=0.004] and 2.7 for admission CRP (95% CI 1.2 to 5.5, p=0.014). Conclusion Admission D-dimer and CRP values may predict the long-term outcomes in AAD. Moreover, admission D-dimer values may be a valuable marker to predict not only the short-term outcomes, but also the long-term outcomes in AAD.