A socioeconomic analysis of surgical treatment of migraine headaches.

Background: This study is meant to compare the direct and indirect cost of migraine headache care before and after migraine surgery and to evaluate any postoperative changes in patient participation in daily activities.

Methods: Eighty-nine patients enrolled in a migraine surgery clinical trial completed the Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire, the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire, and a financial cost report preoperatively and 5 years postoperatively.

Results: Mean follow-up was 63.

Use of desmopressin for unremitting epistaxis following septorhinoplasty and turbinectomy.

Background: Cauterization, nasal packing, and topical and/or injection of intranasal vasoconstrictors have been the mainstay of treatment for epistaxis following outpatient nasal surgery. In this study, the authors report the clinical outcomes in a cohort of patients with postoperative epistaxis managed with a single dose of intravenous desmopressin.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 268 consecutive nasal operations (rhinoplasty, septoplasty, and/or turbinectomy for cosmetic and/or functional purposes) was conducted.

Safety and early outcomes using a corticosteroid-avoidance immunosuppression protocol in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Background: Long-term oral corticosteroids have been a mainstay of maintenance immunosuppression in pediatric heart transplantation. In this study, we report early clinical outcomes in a cohort of pediatric heart transplant recipients managed using a steroid-avoidance protocol.

Methods: Of the 70 patients who underwent heart transplantation during the study period, 55 eligible recipients, including 49 non-sensitized and 6 sensitized (all 55 with negative crossmatch) patients, entered a steroid-avoidance immunosuppression protocol consisting of thymoglobin induction followed by a 2-drug, tacrolimus-based, corticosteroid-free regimen.