A condition of underestimation of sleep is classified as paradoxical insomnia or sleep state misperception. However, overestimation of sleep, so called positive sleep state misperception has not been clearly described. Here we report a middle-aged woman with positive sleep state misperception who presented excessive sleepiness mimicking hypersomnia.
Disorders of Excessive Somnolence* ; Female ; Humans ; Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

To investigate the risk factors and clinical characteristics of postrenal transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM), we reviewed the records of 177 renal allograft recipients in Maryknoll Hospiatal whose allografts had functioned longer than 6 months. Nineteen patients (10.7%) developed PTDM at 5.0+/-7.8 (1-52) months; 9 (47%) of these within 1 month. PTDM patients were older than nondiabetic renal transplants (42+/-2 vs 37+/-1 years, P<0.05). Body mass index tended to be higher in PTDM (23.5+/-1.0 vs 21.8+/-0.3kg/m2, P=0.09). Number of acute rejections (0.6+/-0.2 vs 0.5+/-0.1) and serum creatinine at 1 year after transplantation (1.2+/-0.8 vs 1.3+/-0.3mg/dL) were not different. Fasting (103.6+/-10.4 vs 84.4+/-1.6mg/dL, P<0.05) and postprandial (189.2+/-24.8 vs 118.6+/-2.3 mg/dL, P<0.01) blood sugars, measured before transplantation, were higher in PTDM. CsA blood level at 1 month posttransplantation was higher in PTDM (350+/-34 vs 279+/-8ng/mL, P<0.05). Fasting serum insulin was significantly higher (28.2+/-12.2 vs 7.3+/-2.0 microunit/dL, P<0.05) and serum C-peptide tended to be higher in PTDM patients compared with euglycemic renal recipients (6.3+/-1.6 vs 3.8+/-0.9ng/dL, P=0.08). All the PTDM patients were treated by either insulin or oral agent; 15 of 19 required no treatment after 4.7+/-6.9 months. In conclusion, prevalence of PTDM was 10.7%. PTDM patients were older. Body mass index was tended to be higher. Fasting and postprandial blood sugars, measured before transplantation, were higher in PTDM. Faslting serum insulin was higher and C-peptide tended to be higher in diabetics. These results suggested that increased insulin resistance plays a major role in the pathogenesis of PTDM.
Allografts ; Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; C-Peptide ; Creatinine ; Cyclosporine ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Fasting ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors*

Due to improvements in emergency resuscitation provided by rescue teams, more trauma victims who could have died due to sudden heart failure at the scene are brought to the hospital following resuscitation. Most of these patients present with major organ injuries and hypovolemic shock at the time of trauma. However, head trauma associated with sudden heart arrest is rare. Here, we report a case of ring fracture with pontomedullary laceration that led to sudden heart arrest.
Craniocerebral Trauma ; Emergencies ; Heart Arrest ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Lacerations* ; Resuscitation ; Shock ; Skull Base*

Sleep-related laryngospasm is a rare cause of sleep-related breathing disturbance which produce stridor or interruption of airflow associated with a distinct polysomnography arousal pattern. We report a case of a sixty-five-year-old woman who was referred for awakenings with abrupt respiratory distress and fear of suffocation. A polysomnography showed a total or near-total cessation of airflow, followed by choking and stridor for several minutes with a rapid increase in heart rate. Temporary hoarseness was seen. The esophageal pH monitoring indicated acid reflux, which confirmed gastroesophageal reflux disease. The protonpump inhibitor eliminated the sleep-related laryngospasm.
Airway Obstruction ; Arousal ; Asphyxia ; Esophageal pH Monitoring ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux* ; Heart Rate ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Laryngismus* ; Polysomnography ; Respiration ; Respiratory Sounds

No abstract available.
Cervix Uteri* ; Extracellular Fluid* ; Female ; Humans

Metronidazole-induced encephalopathy is a very rare complication of the long standing use of metronidazole. The encephalopathy is bilateral and symmetric in nature. We report on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical course of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy in a 60-year-old female with a persistent anaerobic brain abscess after draining of the abscess. After 3 months of metronidazole administration, the patient complained of dysarthria, tingling sense of all extremities, and left hemiparesis. MRI revealed symmetric hyperintensity lesions in medulla, pons, dentate nuclei of cerebellum, and splenium of corpus callosum, all of which represent typical findings of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy. In addition, asymmetric lesions in midbrain, thalamus, putamen and cerebral subcortical white matter were noted. The patient recovered after discontinuation of metronidazole and the remaining abscess was successfully treated with meropenem and levofloxacine.
Abscess ; Brain ; Brain Abscess ; Brain Diseases, Metabolic ; Cerebellum ; Corpus Callosum ; Dysarthria ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mesencephalon ; Metronidazole ; Middle Aged ; Ofloxacin ; Paresis ; Pons ; Putamen ; Thalamus ; Thienamycins

BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown that serum albumin and prealbumin levels correlate with patient outcomes in critically ill patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of prealbumin and albumin levels in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) after emergency surgery for acute peritonitis. METHODS: We examined serum albumin and prealbumin as markers for the prediction of patient outcome in 51 patients admitted to the ICU after emergency surgery from January to December in 2012. Biochemical parameters were measured postoperatively. Serum albumin and prealbumin levels were compared between survivors and non-survivors. Patients were also divided according to the occurrence of shock and pulmonary complications (shock group vs. non-shock group, pulmonary complications group vs. non-pulmonary complications group), and outcome analysis was performed for age, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, length of ICU stay (IS), length of hospital stay (HS), mechanical ventilation, and APACHE II score. Serum albumin and prealbumin levels were evaluated for any correlation with complications and mortality. RESULTS: In patients with shock, prealbumin and albumin were significantly decreased (p = 0.047, p = 0.036). Additionally, albumin was significantly decreased in patients with pulmonary complications. Neither albumin nor prealbumin, however, showed a correlation with mortality. Prealbumin showed a correlation with serum albumin, CRP level, and HS (r = 0.511, p < 0.001; r = -0.438, p = 0.002; and r = -0.45, p = 0.001, respectively). Albumin showed a correlation with HS, IS, and APACHE II score (r = -0.404, p = 0.003; r = -0.424, p = 0.002; and r = -0.40, p = 0.006, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The initial prealbumin level measured upon admission to the ICU after gastrointestinal emergency surgery can be useful predictor of shock. The initial albumin level was significantly low in patients with shock and pulmonary complications. However, neither prealbumin nor albumin showed a correlation with mortality. Our study also showed that albumin and prealbumin levels are affected by other factors, such as massive hydration and severe inflammation, as reported in previous studies.
APACHE ; Critical Illness* ; Emergencies* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Peritonitis* ; Prealbumin* ; Respiration, Artificial ; Serum Albumin ; Shock ; Survivors

Purpose: To investigate the association between urinary neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin (uNGAL) and leukocyte differential count in children with urinary tract infections (UTIs). Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed in children undergoing uNGAL measurements between June 2018 and September 2019. Patients with suspected or diagnosed UTIs were included. The relationship between uNGAL and blood leukocyte differential count was investigated in children. Results: A total of 197 children were included in this study, 119 of whom (60%) had UTIs. The non-UTI patients (n=78) were diagnosed with pneumonia, acute gastroenteritis, viral upper respiratory infection, and others. After adjusting for age, gender, and fever duration, the leukocyte count, monocyte count, and uNGAL levels were higher in the UTI group than in the non-UTI group (P<0.05). uNGAL showed positive correlations with neutrophil counts, monocyte counts, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio in the UTI group (P<0.05). uNGAL levels were only associated with the neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio in the non-UTI group (P<0.05). In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, only uNGAL was associated with the presence of UTI (P<0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for uNGAL and monocyte counts to identify UTI were 0.89 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.824–0.939; P=0.025) and 0.7 (95% CI: 0.627–0.774; P=0.038), respectively. Conclusions In children with UTIs, uNGAL levels may be associated with blood leukocyte differential counts. uNGAL measurements and monocyte counts can be helpful in children with suspected UTIs.

The payment system such as national long term care insurance for the elderly and per diem rate for geriatric hospitals introduced in 2008 has greatly changed the Korean medical system for the elderly. Therefore, today it would be inevitable to discuss quality assessment of healthcare services provided by nursing facilities and geriatric hospitals in order to effectively establish and operate the introduced systems. Under these circumstances, in an effort to provide elderly people with high-quality medical services with limited resources, it is believed that the quality indicators need to include the following: (1) provision and management of medical services for major health problems; (2) assessment of quality of life for residents; (3) assessment of ADL and rehabilitation services so as to maintain and improve functions; (4) assessment of convenience of living facilities; and (5) assessment of rate of potential avoidable hospitalization in acute care hospitals. Moreover, along with an effort to define roles of nursing facilities and geriatric hospitals, it would be necessary to set up the feasible stepwise strategy through discussions with relevant institutions.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Delivery of Health Care ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Insurance, Long-Term Care ; Quality Indicators, Health Care ; Quality of Life

The sleep homeostatic response significantly affects the state of anesthesia. In addition, sleep recovery may occur during anesthesia, either via a natural sleep-like process to occur or via a direct restorative effect. Little is known about the effects of isoflurane anesthesia on sleep homeostasis. We investigated whether 1) isoflurane anesthesia could provide a sleep-like process, and 2) the depth of anesthesia could differently affect the post-anesthesia sleep response. Nine rats were treated for 2 hours with ad libitum sleep (Control), sleep deprivation (SD), and isoflurane anesthesia with delta-wave-predominant state (ISO-1) or burst suppression pattern-predominant state (ISO-2) with at least a 1-week interval. Electroencephalogram and electromyogram were recorded and sleep-wake architecture was evaluated for 4 hours after each treatment. In the post-treatment period, the duration of transition to slow-wave-sleep decreased but slow wave sleep (SWS) increased in the SD group, but no sleep stages were significantly changed in ISO-1 and ISO-2 groups compared to Control. Different levels of anesthesia did not significantly affect the post-anesthesia sleep responses, but the deep level of anesthesia significantly delayed the latency to sleep compared to Control. The present results indicate that a natural sleep-like process likely occurs during isoflurane anesthesia and that the post-anesthesia sleep response occurs irrespective to the level of anesthesia.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Electroencephalography ; Homeostasis ; Isoflurane ; Rats ; Sleep Deprivation ; Sleep Stages