Outcome of plasmapheresis in myasthenia gravis: delayed therapy is not favorable.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the in-hospital mortality and complication rates after early and delayed initiation of plasma exchange (PLEX) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: Our cohort was identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for the years 2000 through 2005. Early treatment was defined as therapy with PLEX administered within the first 2 days from hospital admission.

In-hospital mortality in acute ischemic stroke treated with hemicraniectomy in US hospitals.

Hemicraniectomy is a surgical procedure performed to prevent cerebral herniation and death in patients who have sustained a massive ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation territory. Information on in-hospital mortality in patients with large ischemic stroke treated with hemicraniectomy outside randomized trials is lacking. We sought to identify in-hospital mortality associated with hemicraniectomy in a large US sample.