Evaluation and Treatment of Acute Facial Palsy: Opportunities for Optimization at a Single Institution.

Most patients with acute facial palsy initially present to emergency departments (EDs), where clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) recommend steroids, eye care, and follow-up with facial nerve specialists. To evaluate adherence to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Bell's palsy (BP) CPGs within EDs at a single academic institution. : We conducted a retrospective review of all patients diagnosed with acute facial palsy in the EDs of an academic tertiary care center between June 1, 2021, and June 1, 2022.

Fungal diversity and key functional gene abundance in Iowa bioretention cells: implications for stormwater remediation potential.

Stormwater bioretention cells are green stormwater infrastructure systems that can help mitigate flooding and remove contaminants. Plants and bacteria improve nutrient removal and degrade organic contaminants; however, the roles of fungi in bioretention cells are less known. Although mycorrhizal fungi aid in plant growth/improve nutrient uptake, there is a notable lack of research investigating fungal diversity in bioretention cells.

An assessment of the genomic structural variation landscape in Sub-Saharan African populations.

Structural variants are responsible for a large part of genomic variation between individuals and play a role in both common and rare diseases. Databases cataloguing structural variants notably do not represent the full spectrum of global diversity, particularly missing information from most African populations. To address this representation gap, we analysed 1,091 high-coverage African genomes, 545 of which are public data sets, and 546 which have been analysed for structural variants for the first time.

Functional Outcome and Hemorrhage Rates After Bridging Therapy With Tenecteplase or Alteplase in Patients With Large Ischemic Core.

Background And Objectives: IV tenecteplase is an alternative to alteplase before mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with large-vessel occlusion (LVO) ischemic stroke. Little data are available on its use in patients with large ischemic core. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of both thrombolytics in this population.

Neuroimaging determinants of cognitive impairment in the memory clinic: how important is the vascular burden?

While neurodegenerative and vascular neurocognitive disorder (NCD) often co-occur, the contribution of vascular lesions, especially stroke lesions identified on MRI, to global cognition in a real-life memory clinic population remains unclear. The main objective of this retrospective study was to determine NCD neuroimaging correlates: the GM atrophy pattern and vascular lesions (especially stroke lesion localization by voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, VLSM) in a memory clinic. We included 336 patients with mild or major NCD who underwent cerebral MRI and a neuropsychological assessment.

Implementation of ED I-PASS as a Standardized Handoff Tool in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Introduction: Communication, failures during patient handoffs are a significant cause of medical error. There is a paucity of data on standardized handoff tools for intershift transitions of care in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM). The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) initiative was to improve handoffs between PEM attending physicians (i.

Retrospective file review shows limited genetic services fails most patients - an argument for the implementation of exome sequencing as a first-tier test in resource-constraint settings.

Background: Exome sequencing is recommended as a first-line investigation for patients with a developmental delay or intellectual disability. This approach has not been implemented in most resource-constraint settings, including Africa, due to the high cost of implementation. Instead, patients have limited access to services and testing options.

White Rot Fungi Produce Novel Tire Wear Compound Metabolites and Reveal Underappreciated Amino Acid Conjugation Pathways.

There is increasing concern about tire wear compounds (TWCs) in surface water and stormwater as evidence grows on their toxicity and widespread detection in the environment. Because TWCs are prevalent in stormwater, there is a need to understand fate and treatment options including biotransformation in green infrastructure (e.g.

Geographic Visualization of Mortality in the United States as Related to Healthcare Access by County.

This investigation analyzed the impact of place-based inequities on mortality rates in 2014. The team combined mortality data with metrics on health care accessibility, socioeconomic deprivation, and other variables available from publicly available data sets. The investigation team created a centralized database for visualizations that combined mortality data by diagnosis, socioeconomic data, health resource data, and an index of area deprivation.

T2 mapping of the peritumoral infiltration zone of glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma.

Purpose: To characterise peritumoral zones in glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma evaluating T2 values using T2 mapping sequences.

Materials And Methods: In this study, 41 patients with histopathologically confirmed World Health Organization high grade gliomas and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging examinations were retrospectively identified and enrolled. High grade gliomas were differentiated: (a) by grade, glioblastoma versus anaplastic astrocytoma; and (b) by isocitrate dehydrogenase mutational state, mutated versus wildtype.

Association Between Dispatch of Mobile Stroke Units and Functional Outcomes Among Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke in Berlin.

Importance: Effects of thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke are time-dependent. Ambulances that can administer thrombolysis (mobile stroke units [MSUs]) before arriving at the hospital have been shown to reduce time to treatment.

Objective: To determine whether dispatch of MSUs is associated with better clinical outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Obesity and pituitary gland volume - a correlation study using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: Obesity has become a major health problem and is associated with endocrine disorders and a disturbed hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The purpose of this study was to correlate pituitary gland volume determined by routine magnetic resonance imaging with patient characteristics, in particular body mass index and obesity.

Material And Methods: A total of 144 'healthy' patients with normal findings in cerebral magnetic resonance imaging were retrospectively included.

Implementation of Febrile Infant Management Guidelines Reduces Hospitalization.

Unlabelled: The clinical management of well-appearing febrile infants 7-60 days of age remains variable due in part to multiple criteria differentiating the risk of a serious bacterial infection. The purpose of this quality improvement study was to standardize risk stratification in the emergency department and length of stay in the inpatient unit by implementing an evidence-based clinical practice guideline (CPG).

Methods: The Model for Improvement was used to implement a CPG for the management of well-appearing febrile infants, with collaboration between pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric hospital medicine physicians.

Lumbar puncture rapidly improves olfaction in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension: A cohort study.

Background: A lumbar puncture constitutes an important diagnostic procedure in the evaluation of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Chronic overflow of cerebrospinal fluid into the sheaths of the olfactory nerves appears to be related to olfactory impairment in these patients. Here, we asked whether cerebrospinal fluid drainage in idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients improves olfactory function.

Multivariable non-invasive association of isocitrate dehydrogenase mutational status in World Health Organization grade II and III gliomas with advanced magnetic resonance imaging T2 mapping techniques.

Aim: To investigate multivariable analyses for noninvasive association of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutational status in grade II and III gliomas including evaluation of T2 mapping-sequences.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations with histopathologically proven World Health Organization grade II and III gliomas were retrospectively enrolled. Multivariate receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to associate IDH mutational status were performed containing quantitative T2 mapping analyses and qualitative characteristics (sex, age, localization, heterogeneity, oedema, necrosis and diameter).

T2 mapping of molecular subtypes of WHO grade II/III gliomas.

Background: According to the new WHO classification from 2016, molecular profiles have shown to provide reliable information about prognosis and treatment response. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the diagnostic potential of non-invasive quantitative T2 mapping in the detection of IDH1/2 mutation status in grade II-III gliomas.

Methods: Retrospective evaluation of MR examinations in 30 patients with histopathological proven WHO-grade II (n = 9) and III (n = 21) astrocytomas (18 IDH-mutated, 12 IDH-wildtype).

The effect of CSF drain on the optic nerve in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Background: Elevation of intracranial pressure in idiopathic intracranial hypertension induces an edema of the prelaminar section of the optic nerve (papilledema). Beside the commonly observed optic nerve sheath distention, information on a potential pathology of the retrolaminar section of the optic nerve and the short-term effect of normalization of intracranial pressure on these abnormalities remains scarce.

Methods: In this exploratory study 8 patients diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension underwent a MRI scan (T2 mapping) as well as a diffusion tensor imaging analysis (fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity).

Prevalence of Poststroke Neurocognitive Disorders Using National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Canadian Stroke Network, VASCOG Criteria (Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders), and Optimized Criteria of Cognitive Deficit.

Background And Purpose: The prevalence of poststroke neurocognitive disorder (NCD) has yet to be accurately determined. The primary objective of the present study was to optimize operationalization of the criterion for NCD by using an external validity criterion.

Methods: The GRECOG-VASC cohort (Groupe de Réflexion pour l'Évaluation Cognitive Vasculaire) of 404 stroke patients with cerebral infarct (91.