Differentiation of syncope from transient loss of consciousness can be challenging in the emergency department (ED). Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables the analysis of free text in the electronic medical records (EMR). The present paper aimed to develop a large language models (LLM) for syncope recognition in the ED and proposed a framework for model integration within the clinical workflow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of visual evoked potentials (VEP) for intraoperative visual pathway monitoring in epilepsy surgery of the posterior hemispheric quadrant (PHQ) and to correlate it with post-operative visual field status.
Methods: VEP monitoring was performed in 16 patients (12 females, 7 children). Flash-induced VEP were recorded with strip electrodes from the banks of the calcarine cortex.
Syncope is a common condition encountered in the emergency department (ED), accounting for about 0.6-3% of all ED visits. Despite its high frequency, a widely accepted management strategy for patients with syncope in the ED is still missing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCortical stimulation with single pulses is a common technique in clinical practice and research. However, we still do not understand the extent to which it engages subcortical circuits which contribute to the associated evoked potentials (EPs). Here we find that cortical stimulation generates remarkably similar EPs in humans and mice, with a late component similarly modulated by the subject's behavioral state.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSyncope is a challenging problem in the emergency department (ED) as the available risk prediction tools have suboptimal predictive performances. Predictive models based on machine learning (ML) are promising tools whose application in the context of syncope remains underexplored. The aim of the present study was to develop and compare the performance of ML-based models in predicting the risk of clinically significant outcomes in patients presenting to the ED for syncope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Syncope can be the presenting symptom of Pulmonary Embolism (PE). It is not known wether using a standardized algorithm to rule-out PE in all patients with syncope admitted to the Emergency Departments (ED) is of value or can lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Methods: We tested if simple anamnestic and clinical parameters could be used as a rule to identify patients with syncope and PE in a multicenter observational study.
Predicting clinical deterioration in COVID-19 patients remains a challenging task in the Emergency Department (ED). To address this aim, we developed an artificial neural network using textual (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile several studies have evaluated the prognostic weight of respiratory parameters in patients with COVID-19, few have focused on patients' clinical conditions at the first emergency department (ED) assessment. We analyzed a large cohort of ED patients recruited within the EC-COVID study over the year 2020, and assessed the association between key bedside respiratory parameters measured in room air (pO, pCO, pH, and respiratory rate [RR]) and hospital mortality, after adjusting for key confounding factors. Analyses were based on a multivariable logistic Generalized Additive Model (GAM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFocal epileptic seizures are characterized by abnormal neuronal discharges that can spread to other cortical areas and interfere with brain activity, thereby altering the patient's experience and behavior. The origin of these pathological neuronal discharges encompasses various mechanisms that converge toward similar clinical manifestations. Recent studies have suggested that medial temporal lobe (MTL) and neocortical (NC) seizures are often underpinned by two characteristic onset patterns, which, respectively, affect and spare synaptic transmission in cortical slices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pollution is a major threat to global health, and there is growing interest on strategies to reduce emissions caused by health care systems. Unwarranted clinical variation, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare workers experienced high degree of stress during COVID-19. Purpose of the present article is to compare mental health (depressive and Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorders-PTSD-symptoms) and epigenetics aspects (degree of methylation of stress-related genes) in front-line healthcare professionals versus healthcare working in non-COVID-19 wards. Sixty-eight healthcare workers were included in the study: 39 were working in COVID-19 wards (cases) and 29 in non-COVID wards (controls).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over the last two decades, augmented reality (AR) has been used as a visualization tool in many medical fields in order to increase precision, limit the radiation dose, and decrease the variability among operators. Here, we report the first in vivo study of a novel AR system for the guidance of percutaneous interventional oncology procedures. Methods: Eight patients with 15 liver tumors (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Microbiol Infect Dis
April 2022
Use of antigen tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19 has become widespread. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the nasopharyngeal rapid antigen diagnostic (RAD) immunoassay LumiraDx UK in an Emergency Department (ED). All patients admitted to our ED between November 11 and December 8, 2020, and had both a RAD test and a real-time-reverse-transcription-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) test were enrolled.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is postulated that early determination of the need for admission can improve flow through EDs. There are several scoring systems which have been developed for predicting patient admission at triage, although they have not been directly compared. In addition, it is not known if these scoring systems perform better than clinical judgement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Knowledge of the incidence and time frames of the adverse events of patients presenting syncope at the ED is essential for developing effective management strategies. The aim of the present study was to perform a meta-analysis of the incidence and time frames of adverse events of syncope patients. : We combined individual patients' data from prospective observational studies including adult patients who presented syncope at the ED.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral guidelines on the evaluation of patients with suspected cervical spine trauma in the Emergency Department (ED) exist. High heterogeneity between different guidelines has been reported. Aim of this study was to find areas of agreement and disagreement between guidelines, to identify topics in which further research is needed and to provide an evidence-based cervical spine trauma algorithm for ED physicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intestinal ischemia has been described in case reports of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (coronavirus disease 19, COVID-19).
Aim: To define the clinical and histological, characteristics, as well as the outcome of ischemic gastrointestinal manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods: A structured retrospective collection was promoted among three tertiary referral centres during the first wave of the pandemic in northern Italy.
Background: In the spring of 2020, Italy experienced a significant reduction in the number of emergency department (ED) presentations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. If ED access has an impact on patients' prognosis, such a reduction in ED presentations would be expected to correlate with a parallel increase in the mortality rate of the corresponding population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of reduced ED presentations on the all-cause mortality of the general population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The scientific evidence regarding the risk of delayed intracranial bleeding (DB) after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) in patients administered an antiplatelet agent (APA) is scant and incomplete. In addition, no consensus exists on the utility of a routine repeated head computed tomography (CT) scan in these patients.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of DB after MTBI in patients administered an APA.
Background: In the emergency department (ED) definitive diagnosis of SARS-COV-2 pneumonia is challenging as nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) can give false negative results. Strategies to reduce false negative rate of NPS have limitations. Serial NPSs (24-48 h from one another) are time-consuming, sputum can not be collected in the majority of patients, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), the most sensitive test, requires specific expertise.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In March 2020 we faced a huge spread of the epidemic of SARS-CoV2 in northern Italy; the Emergency Departments (ED) and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were overwhelmed by patients requiring care. The hospitals were forced to reorganize their services, and the ED was the focal point of this challenge. As Emergency Department in a metropolitan area of the region most affected, we saw an increasing number of patients with COVID-19, and we made some structural and staff implementations according to the evolution of the epidemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF