1,720,958 research outputs found
Early Pyridoxine Administration to Avoid Late Diagnosis of Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy; Comment on the ILAE Guidelines Proposal on the Treatment of Seizures in the Neonate
No full textThe ILAE Task Force on Neonatal Seizures has recently published consensus-based guidelines and recommendations for the treatment of neonatal seizures (https://www.ilae.org/guidelines/guidelines-and-reports/treatment-of-seizures-in-the-neonateguidelines-and-consensus-based-recommendations).
The Task Force suggests that a trial of pyridoxine should be provided as an add-on to ASM (antiseizures medications) treatment in neonates with seizures of unidentified etiology that are unresponsive to second-line ASM. Both daily clinical practice (including our experience with three patients with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy [PDE]) and published literature support the possibility that patients with vitamin B6-dependent epilepsy may show an initial response to common ASMs, but can relapse with status epilepticus later in life. A brief review of the literature revealed 53 reports of newborns with seizures that showed initial response to first- and second-line ASMs including phenobarbital, phenytoin, midazolam, levetiracetam, and valproic acid. These same patients relapsed with seizures and in some cases with status epilepticus later in life and were diagnosed with PDEs.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
We are aware that PDE is an extremely rare condition that can mimic other more common causes for neonatal seizures and that pyridoxine's administration is not devoid of side effects, although rare, preventable, and known. Nevertheless, based on the above evidence, we believe that postponing pyridoxine administration and restricting its use only as an add-on therapy to ASMs in treatment unresponsive patients might lead to a dramatic delay in PDE. We believe that there is an urgent need to addend these guidelines after thoroughly examining this matter to at least cite the possibility of missing an early PDE diagnosis and to consider the possibility of suggesting a trial of pyridoxine in all patients with seizures of unknown etiology as first-line treatment even before ASM administration, especially in newborns presenting with clinical and/or electroencephalography features suggestive of PDE
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Impressive efficacy of the ketogenic diet in a KCNQ2 encephalopathy infant: a case report and exhaustive literature review
No full textBackground: KCNQ2 encephalopathy is characterized by neonatal-onset epilepsy and developmental impairment, due to "de novo" KCNQ2 pathogenic variants. According to literature data, sodium channel blocking agents appear to be the best treatment options for the disease. Reports describing the use of ketogenic diet (KD) in the KCNQ2 pediatric population are limited. The non-conservative amino acid substitution p.Ser122Leu in KCNQ2 is associated with a broad spectrum of inheritance modalities, clinical phenotypes and outcomes; no previous reports of the same variant treated with KD are available in literature. Case description: We described a 22-month-old female with seizure onset on day 2 of life. At three months of age, she presented refractory status epilepticus (SE) that did not respond to midazolam and carbamazepine, which was added once a "de novo" p.Ser122Leu KCNQ2 variant was demonstrated. KD was the only treatment that led to cessation of seizures. The baby maintained seizures remission and achieved neurodevelopmental milestones. Conclusions: To define an overt genotype-phenotype correlation for KCNQ2 pathogenic variants is a challenge; we propose the KD as a valuable treatment for refractory seizures and impaired neurodevelopment in infants harboring "de novo" mutations in the KCNQ2 gene
Reasons for Neonatal Presentations to Pediatric Emergency Departments in Catania: Multicentric Cross‐Sectional Analysis and Exhaustive Review of the Literature
No full textIntroduction: This study aimed to characterize neonatal admissions to pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) in Catania, to analyze the primary pediatric conditions leading to these admissions, and to explore the association between the demographic characteristics of the population and the severity of their presentations. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on neonates (aged <28 days) admitted to three PEDs in Catania between January 2015 and December 2019. Additionally, a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic was performed. Results: A total of 5183 neonates presented during the study period, with a median age of 14 days at admission. The top three diagnoses were neonatal jaundice (15%), abdominal discomfort (12%), and upper airway inflammation (11%). The majority of cases were classified as non-urgent (green) at triage (59%). Overall, 1296 patients (25%) required hospitalization; 95% of those assigned a yellow triage color at admission required hospitalization. Only 33% of hospitalized patients were referred by parents, while the majority were referred by primary care pediatricians. The highest number of admissions occurred in August, while the peak in hospitalizations was in February. Conclusions: The majority of neonatal PED admissions are for non-acute conditions that do not require immediate medical attention. This concerning trend leads to increased workloads for PED staff, higher healthcare costs, and potential risks to neonates. Possible causes include insufficient caregiver knowledge, inadequate parental education, and suboptimal transition from hospital to primary care pediatric services
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
aEEG vs cEEG’s sensivity for seizure detection in the setting of neonatal intensive care units: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
No full textAim: amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG)'s accuracy compared to conventional electroencephalography (cEEG) hasn't been fully established. The aim of our study was to conduct a systematic review on the sensitivity of the aEEG for neonatal seizure detection. Methods: studies from PubMed and Google Scholar databases comparing recordings of cEEG and aEEG in newborns were included according to the PRISMA method. A quality assessment using the QUADAS-2 tool was provided. A random effects model was used to account for different sources of variations among studies. Publication biases were represented by a funnel plot and funnel plot symmetry was assessed. Results: fourteen studies were reported; sensitivity of each diagnostic tool used (single-channel aEEG, two-channel aEEG, two channel aEEG plus raw trace EEG) was compared to that of the gold standard cEEG and to those of the other methods used. Overall sensitivity of the aEEG ranged from 31,25 to 90%. Conclusion: our study provides evidence that sensitivity of aEEG varies significantly and that seizure detection rate is lower than that of cEEG. The two channel aEEG with raw trace EEG shows a high sensitivity and might represent a valid alternative to the cEEG in the setting of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs)
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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