The PALliative MUlticenter Study in Intensive Care (PalMuSIC). Results From a Multicenter Study Addressing Frailty and Palliative Care Interventions in Intensive Care Units in Portugal.

Frailty is a clinically recognizable state of increased vulnerability common in critical medicine. When underrecognized, it may lead to invasive treatments that do not serve the patients' best interest. Our aim was to evaluate the use of both palliative care consultation and invasive interventions in frail patients admitted to Intensive Care Units in Portugal.

Cerebral schistosomiasis in a patient travelling from São Tomé and Príncipe.

Aiming to raise awareness for the possibility of schistosomal involvement of the central nervous system in travellers returning from endemic areas and/or immigrants to nonendemic areas, the authors report a case of neuroschistosomiasis in a Portuguese patient coming from the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe with good clinical outcome following praziquantel therapy. This is the first case of neuroschistosomiasis associated with São Tomé and Príncipe reported in literature and further studies are needed to confirm which species of this parasite are endemic of that region. We conclude that early diagnosis is key to reduce clinical severity and therefore validation of new diagnostic techniques and establishment of consensual treatment guidelines would be important.

Enlarged parietal foramina: a rare forensic autopsy finding.

Enlarged parietal foramina (EPF) are a quite rare developmental defect of the parietal bone which has to be distinguished from the normal small parietal foramina. We report a forensic case of an individual found in an advanced state of putrefaction in his own house with an undetermined cause of death. No evidence of trauma was observed, and the toxicological exam was negative.

Serum and red blood cell Mg levels in acute coronary events.

Serum (s-Mg) and red blood cell (e-Mg) Mg levels were assessed in 29 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and in 16 patients with unstable angina (UA), from admission until discharge. The following results were found: (1) no significant difference existed between mean s-Mg levels in AMI and UA, despite a tendency for an increase being noted with a favorable course of disease, (2) in AMI, mean s-Mg levels were initially lowered, increased within the first 24 h (p less than 0.05), decreased sharply at day 4 (p less than 0.