We present a case of suspected hepatotoxicity secondary to an etonogestrel contraceptive implant in which the patient presented with vomiting, jaundice, pruritis, elevated transaminases, and hyperbilirubinemia. An extensive work-up, including liver biopsy, was unremarkable. The implant was removed and the patient's symptoms and transaminitis resolved, suggestive of drug-induced liver injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe following case describes a constellation of progressive cognitive and motor deficits in a 73-year-old man with cirrhosis and history of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma confined to his liver. He had deficits in calculation, language, and writing, as well as subtle right-sided weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated non-enhancing white matter lesions without mass effect in the bilateral parietal and left occipitotemporal regions, correlating with neurologic exam findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To understand how methylphenidate (MPH) is used in youth with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during inpatient pediatric rehabilitation.
Setting: Inpatient pediatric rehabilitation.
Participants: In total, 234 children with TBI; 62 of whom received MPH and 172 who did not.
Background And Objectives: Following brain injury, clinical assessments of residual and emerging cognitive function are difficult and fraught with errors. In adults, recent American Academy of Neurology (AAN) practice guidelines recommend objective neuroimaging and neurophysiologic measures to support diagnosis. Equivalent measures are lacking in pediatrics-an especially great challenge due to the combined heterogeneity of both brain injury and pediatric development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Following severe brain injury, up to 16% of adults showing no clinical signs of cognitive function nonetheless have preserved cognitive capacities detectable via neuroimaging and neurophysiology; this has been designated cognitive-motor dissociation (CMD). Pediatric medicine lacks both practice guidelines for identifying covert cognition and epidemiologic data regarding CMD prevalence.
Methods: We applied a diverse battery of neuroimaging and neurophysiologic tests to evaluate 2 adolescents (aged 15 and 18 years) who had shown no clinical evidence of preserved cognitive function following brain injury at age 9 and 13 years, respectively.
Objectives: To describe dosing practices for amantadine hydrochloride and related adverse effects among children and young adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to pediatric inpatient rehabilitation units.
Setting: Eight pediatric acute inpatient rehabilitation units located throughout the United States comprising the Pediatric Brain Injury Consortium.
Participants: Two-hundred thirty-four children and young adults aged 2 months to 21 years with TBI.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children; survivors experience long-term cognitive and motor deficits. To date, studies predicting outcome following pediatric TBI have primarily focused on acute behavioral responses and proxy measures of injury severity; unsurprisingly, these measures explain very little of the variance following heterogenous injury. In adults, certain acute imaging biomarkers help predict cognitive and motor recovery following moderate to severe TBI.
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