Higher Number Of Risk Factors Research Articles

Recurrent Pontine Base Infarction: A Controlled Study

Objectives: To assess the clinical features of and risk factors for recurrent pontine base infarction. Methods: This study includes 5 patients with unilateral pontine base infarction who developed another infarction on the opposite side and, for comparison, 10 follow-up period-matched patients with unilateral pontine base infarction who did not develop recurrent pontine infarction. MRI and angiogram studies were performed in all cases. The two groups were compared. Results: The patients with recurrent pontine base infarction developed quadriparesis, dysarthria and dysphagia. MRI showed bilateral infarcts abutting on the basal surface of the pons. Angiogram studies revealed diseased basilar artery in 3 patients. There were no differences regarding age, gender, angiogram findings and frequency of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking and hypercholesterolemia between the patients with recurrent stroke and those without. However, the former had a significantly higher number of risk factors for atherosclerosis (p < 0.05) and higher frequency of coronary heart disease (p < 0.05) than the latter. Conclusions: The number of risk factors for atherosclerosis and a concomitant presence of coronary heart disease may be factors related to recurrent pontine base infarction in patients with unilateral pontine infarction. The main pathogenesis of recurrent pontine base infarction seems to be basilar artery branch atherothrombosis.

Yonsei Stroke Registry

Background and Purpose: The hospital-based stroke registry is a well-established method useful for understanding diverse clinical characteristics of stroke related to geographical, racial or environmental differences. We analyzed the data from 1,000 patients with acute cerebral infarctions registered with the Yonsei Stroke Registry (YSR) which is the first prospective hospital-based observational study in Korea. Methods: All patients had cerebral infarctions and presented within 7 days of onset. CT or MRI was performed in all patients and a vascular imaging study (digital subtraction or magnetic resonance angiography) was conducted in 53.9% of the patients. Subtype classification was made through a consensus approach based on the strict application of TOAST criteria. Results: The mean age of patients was 62 ± 12 years, and 60.8% were males. Undetermined cause (UD) was the most frequent subtype (40.6%), which was followed by lacunar stroke (LS 21.5%), cardiac embolism (CE 18.3%), large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA 16.5%) and other determined causes (3.1%). Hypertension was found in 64.3%, smoking in 35.2%, diabetes mellitus in 26.9%, hypercholesterolemia in 24.1%, high hematocrit (≧50%) in 21.8%, clinically identified potential cardiac sources of embolism in 18.3%, a history of previous stroke in 22.0% and a history of previous transient ischemic attack in 4.7%. Recurrent stroke was associated with a higher number of risk factors (p < 0.001) and a higher incidence of LAA (p = 0.003) than the first stroke. Vertebrobasilar artery territorial infarction was found in 39.8%, which was associated with higher incidences of LAA and LS and a lower incidence of CE than carotid artery territorial lesions (p = 0.001). The 30-day mortality rate was 5.3% and cerebral herniation caused early death in 52%. Conclusion: The distribution of stroke subtypes in the YSR was largely comparable with that of western registries. The highest incidence of UD might be related to the strict application of TOAST criteria.

Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors with diabetes in Chinese patients: the effects of sex and hyperinsulinaemia.

This study was designed to investigate factors which affect the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors with diabetes in Chinese patients. Six hundred and fifty-four patients with diabetes were assessed comprehensively for diabetes complications and cardiovascular risk factors in a metropolitan hospital in Beijing, China. Insulin resistance and secretion were also evaluated by measurement of glucose and insulin levels before and after a meal tolerance test. Results were analysed according to patient groups stratified by the number of cardiovascular risk factors coexisting with diabetes. Cardiovascular risk factors were common in Chinese diabetic patients. The clustering of three or more of these factors with diabetes occurred more often than by chance alone and was associated with postprandial hyperinsulinaemia. Patients with a high number of risk factors were more prone to macrovascular events but did not have higher albuminuria. Using the commonly adopted lower threshold for diagnosing obesity and central obesity in women, there were more women with multiple risk factors. However, this disappeared if the same criteria were used for men and women. Even in the presence of diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors were inadequately controlled in most patients. The concurrence of diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors which constitute the metabolic syndrome is a common phenomenon in urban Chinese diabetic patients. It is associated with hyperinsulinaemia and possibly the female sex. This study emphasises the importance of public health measures to control cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes.

Risk Factors for Sleep Bruxism in the General Population

Sleep bruxism can have a significant effect on the patient's quality of life. It may also be associated with a number of disorders. However, little is known about the epidemiology of sleep bruxism and its risk factors in the general population. Cross-sectional telephone survey using the Sleep-EVAL knowledge based system. Representative samples of three general populations (United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy) consisting of 158 million inhabitants. Thirteen thousand fifty-seven subjects aged > or = 15 years (United Kingdom, 4,972 subjects; Germany, 4,115 subjects; and Italy, 3,970 subjects). None. Clinical questionnaire on bruxism (using the International Classification of Sleep Disorders [ICSD] minimal set of criteria) with an investigation of associated pathologies (ie, sleep, breathing disorders, and psychiatric and neurologic pathologies). Grinding of teeth during sleep occurring at least weekly was reported by 8.2% of the subjects, and significant consequences from teeth grinding during sleep (ie, muscular discomfort on awakening, disturbing tooth grinding, or necessity of dental work) were found in half of these subjects. Moreover, 4.4% of the population fulfilled the criteria of ICSD sleep bruxism diagnosis. Finally, subjects with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (odds ratio [OR], 1.8), loud snorers (OR, 1.4), subjects with moderate daytime sleepiness (OR, 1.3), heavy alcohol drinkers (OR, 1.8), caffeine drinkers (OR, 1.4), smokers (OR, 1.3), subjects with a highly stressful life (OR, 1.3), and those with anxiety (OR, 1.3) are at higher risk of reporting sleep bruxism. Sleep bruxism is common in the general population and represents the third most frequent parasomnia. It has numerous consequences, which are not limited to dental or muscular problems. Among the associated risk factors, patients with anxiety and sleep-disordered breathing have a higher number of risk factors for sleep bruxism, and this must raise concerns about the future of these individuals. An educational effort to raise the awareness of dentists and physicians about this pathology is necessary.

Short-term prognosis in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

To characterize a group of patients with early MS using prognostic factors and to determine whether these prognostic factors impact on short-term prognosis. Data were collected prospectively on 98 patients newly diagnosed with MS in our MS clinic between 1990 and 1998 (average follow-up, 37 months from the time of onset of clinically definite MS [CDMS]). Six prognostic factors were recorded: age at onset, symptoms at onset, MRI status at onset and at diagnosis of CDMS, interval between the first and second attack, attack frequency in the first 2 years, and completeness of recovery from initial attacks. Completeness of recovery was determined using Expanded Disability Status Scale scores (EDSS). Progression was determined by final EDSS and changes in EDSS between initial presentation and final follow-up. Patients predicted to have low risk of progression of MS based on the prognostic factors represented 17% of our patient population (0 to 1 risk factor for progression). The patients with high risk of progression (4 to 6 risk factors) represented 24% of patients. Patients with a high number of risk factors did significantly worse than those with a small or medium number of risk factors in terms of final EDSS and progression to higher EDSS. At the time of diagnosis of CDMS, MRI findings suggestive of MS were seen in 84% of patients (suspicious in 13%, negative in 3%). Short-term prognosis was influenced by the presence or absence of a high number of these six risk factors.

Thromboembolic complications after arthroscopic knee surgery. Incidence and risk factors in 101 patients.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are less common after knee arthroscopy than after elective hip and knee arthroplasties. There is no consensus on the optimal prophylaxis. In this prospective cohort study, we used ultrasound, phlebography and lung scan pre- and postoperatively to assess the incidence of thromboembolic complications in 101 consecutive patients who underwent knee arthroscopy. Preoperatively, patients were screened for typical risk factors for DVT such as age, obesity, varicose veins, contraceptive pills and nicotine abuse. All patients received a once-daily injection of 5000 IU of low molecular weight heparin, at least 12 hours prior to surgery. 5 weeks after surgery, the same screening tests were repeated. In 12 of the 101 patients either DVT or PE was diagnosed. DVT occurred in 8 cases, 4 of which were silent and 4 symptomatic. The number of PEs was 9, 8 silent and 1 symptomatic. We found no correlation between DVT or PE and individual clinical risk factors, but there was a tendency towards the development of DVT and PE, with a higher number of risk factors. We found no correlation between DVT and intraoperative risk factors such as use of a tourniquet, type of anesthesia or duration of surgery. The relatively high rate of thromboembolic events after knee arthroscopy in our study suggests the need of all patients for routine use of thromboprophylaxis, probably in a higher dose than given.

Improved outcome in patients treated with postoperative radiation therapy for pathologic stage [formula omitted] endometrial cancer

Purpose : To evaluate prognostic factors and treatment outcome for high risk pathological Stage I and II endometrial cancer patients treated with consistent postoperative radiation therapy (RT) in a single institution and to compare these results to series where RT was variably applied. Methods and Materials : Between 1986 and 1993, 98 pathologic Stage I and II endometrial cancer patients received postoperative RT at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Papillary serous and clear cell histologies were excluded. Fifty-five patients underwent lymph node evaluation. In 17 patients, RT consisted of intracavitary brachytherapy alone to a median dose of 21 Gy, and in 81 patients, RT consisted od external beam RT to a median dose of 45 Gy followed by intracavitary brachytherapy to a median dose of 12 Gy. Intracavitary brachytherapy generally consisted of three high dose rate implants with the dose prescribed to a depth of 0.5 cm. Median follow up was 47 months. Results : The 5-year overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), and freedon from pelvic recurrence (FPR) rates were 83, 85, and 89%, respectively. Pelvic recurrence either as the sole pattern of failure or combined with distant metastases was seen in 2 and 7% of patients, respectively. Distant metastases alone occurred in 4% of the patients. Univariate analysis of prognostic factors including age, grade, capillary lymphatic space invasion, depth of myometrial invasion, type of lymph node evaluation, pathologic stage, the use of brachytherapy and the number of risk factors was perfomed for OS, DFS, FPR, and FDM. Capillary kymphatic space invasion was the only statistically significant predictor for reduced DFS. Absence of lymph node dissection as well as a higher number of risk factors showed a trend toward poorer DFS ( p = 0.06 for both). Multivariate analysis revealed older age to be the only factor significant for reduced DFS, with the presence of capillary lymphatic space invasion and the absence of a lymph node dissection showing a trend toward poorer outcome (p = 0.07). Conclusion : The results of this study suggest a continued role for the use of postoperative RT in the treatment of patients with high risk endometrial cancer and eill be compared tp other series with similar high-risk factors.

Obstetrical and neonatal risk factors in very low birth weight infants related to their neurological development.

An analysis of pre- and perinatal risks in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants showed that children later suffering from severe neurodevelopmental sequelae were exposed to a significantly higher number of risk factors compared to normally developed VLBW controls. This was not only due to a higher incidence of specific risks, but to the accumulation of risk factors, which consequently made an ischaemic or haemorrhagic brain lesion more likely to occur. This result suggests that brain lesions in VLBW infants are essentially multifactorial. The improved outcome of VLBW infants cared for in the NICU of the Children's Hospital of Tübingen during 1977-1983 was accompanied by a decreasing incidence of obstetrical and neonatal risks. This was mainly due to more frequent transport in utero, earlier obstetrical intervention, and immediate postnatal stabilization of the infant's condition. These changes in perinatal care strategy evidently favoured the postnatal course and thus also improved the neurodevelopmental outcome.