Parent-reported subjective complaints in children using antiepileptic drugs: what do they mean?

We used a parent-completed 20-item "side effect scale" quantifying complaints that parents perceive to be caused by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in 108 children with active epilepsy. We studied the associations between parent-reported complaints, severity of seizures, and restrictions due to epilepsy, and clinical data including number and AED load. In 85% of the children at least one complaint was reported, in less than 20% complaints were perceived as a substantial problem.

Comparison of serological assays for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in different groups of obstetrical and gynecological patients.

New serological enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) were compared with microimmunofluorescence (MIF) as a "gold standard" to detect Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in different groups of obstetrical, gynecological, and subfertile patients. There were no significant differences in seroprevalence rates, except for the group of C. trachomatis-positive patients (P < 0.

Clinical characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in a general outpatient department of obstetrics and gynaecology in the Netherlands.

Objective: Evaluation of prevalence and risk factors of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in an outpatient obstetric and gynaecological population.

Methods: A prospective, observational study was performed at an inner city hospital in The Hague, Netherlands. 1368 women attending the outpatient department of obstetrics and gynaecology participated in the study.

A 43-year-old male with untreated panhypopituitarism due to absence of the pituitary stalk: from dwarf to giant.

A 43-yr-old male was referred because of an x-ray made after a fall, which showed open epiphysis of the arm. The man had always been short for his age; during childhood he once consulted a pediatrician because of short stature, but thereafter he never sought medical attention. At age 18 yr he was not allowed to join the army because of his height of 147 cm.

How to select patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus for shunting.

The objective was to compare predictive values of clinical and CT findings, co-existing cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and CSF outflow resistance (Rcsf) for outcome of shunting in NPH. A group of 95 NPH patients was shunted and followed for one year. Gait disturbance and dementia were quantified by an NPH scale (NPHS) and handicap by the modified Rankin scale (MRS).

Pregnancy and the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a retrospective study in a Dutch population.

Background: The study was carried out to assess the course and outcome of pregnancies in women with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, with the aim of developing guidelines for assessment of risk and counseling, and for providing optimum medical and obstetric care.

Methods: A retrospective study based on data collected from members of the Dutch Association of Ehlers-Danlos patients. Pregnancies and neonatal outcomes of the affected mothers were compared with those of the nonaffected mothers who delivered an infant with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction.

Epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction are benign self-limiting disorders. They are uncommon, though more common than is generally assumed. In both diseases the main clinical symptom is non-specific focal abdominal pain, with a normal or moderately raised white blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction: pitfalls and look-alikes.

Epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction are benign self-limiting conditions that are more frequent than generally assumed. Both disorders frequently mimic symptoms of an abdominal surgical emergency, often leading to clinical misdiagnosis of appendicitis or diverticulitis. Because a misdiagnosis can result in an unnecessary laparotomy, a correct diagnosis is of great importance.

Ultrasound of acute GI tract conditions.

Patients with acute abdominal pain are a great challenge to the radiologist. The clinical diagnosis is classically unreliable, resulting in both negative laparotomies as well as ill-advised surgical delay in a large number of patients. Ultrasound offers a non-invasive way to decrease both false-negative and false-positive diagnoses in this category of patients.

Amaurosis fugax and stenosis of the ophthalmic artery--a case report.

Amaurosis fugax has many causes. Its most common cause is transient hypoperfusion of the eye, caused by thromboemboli from atherosclerotic carotid arteries. Thromboembolism from carotid arteries is a risk factor for cerebral infarction, and preventive endarterectomy could be performed.

The Marfan syndrome and pregnancy: a retrospective study in a Dutch population.

Objective: To assess the course and outcome of pregnancies in women with the Marfan syndrome with the aim of developing guidelines for counseling.

Study Design: A retrospective study based on data collected from members of the Dutch Association of Marfan patients. Pregnancies and neonatal outcomes of affected mothers were compared with those of non-affected mothers who delivered a Marfan infant.

Analysis of a sleep-dependent neuronal feedback loop: the slow-wave microcontinuity of the EEG.

Increasing depth of sleep corresponds to an increasing gain in the neuronal feedback loops that generate the low-frequency (slow-wave) electroencephalogram (EEG). We derived the maximum-likelihood estimator of the feedback gain and applied it to quantify sleep depth. The estimator computes the fraction (0%-100%) of the current slow wave which continues in the near-future (0.

Meniscal allografts: evaluation with magnetic resonance imaging and correlation with arthroscopy.

Purpose: To correlate clinical results to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and arthroscopy after cryopreserved nontissue-antigen-matched meniscal transplantations.

Type Of Study: Blinded; the observers were blinded for each others' assessment.

Materials And Methods: Sixteen consecutive patients were included in the protocol.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of haemoglobin variants using capillary zone electrophoresis.

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been introduced into the clinical chemistry laboratory because of its range of potential applications. In this paper, we evaluate an alkaline CZE method for the quantification of HbA2 and HbF and also assess the combination of the alkaline CZE method with an acid CZE method for the determination of haemoglobin variants in an automated fashion. Correlation of the HbA2% determined between the HbA2-CZE method (alkaline conditions) and the Helena Sickle Thal Quick Column method was good (r = 0.

The Dutch normal-pressure hydrocephalus study. How to select patients for shunting? An analysis of four diagnostic criteria.

Background: Comparison of the predictive value of four "diagnostic tests" for the outcome of shunting in patients with normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

Methods: Ninety-five NPH patients who received shunts were followed for 1 year. Gait disturbance and dementia were quantified by an NPH scale and handicap by a modified Rankin scale.

Contrast enhanced color duplex for diagnosis of subtotal stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery.

Background And Purpose: We initiated this prospective study to investigate the usefulness of contrast enhancement in combination with color Doppler-assisted duplex imaging (CDDI) for the distinction of subtotal internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis and ICA occlusion.

Methods: During 1 year all patients with a previously unknown subtotal ICA stenosis (>90%) or ICA occlusion on routine CDDI were included in the study. These patients underwent a CDDI with and without intravenous contrast, Levovist 300 mg/ml.