9% had received information
about them from their doctor, and 28.8% agreed to draw one up. There was an independent association between being objectively well-informed and willingness to draw up a living will. Moreover, the former was associated with admission to intensive care, feeling well-informed, and having participated sufficiently in decision-making; the latter with age <75 years, wanting more information, understanding what a living will involved, and the referral center.
Conclusions. The knowledge possessed by HF patients about the natural history of their disease was suboptimal, as was their knowledge about living wills and their willingness to draw one up. Providing better information about these issues is an essential part of the doctor-patient relationship.”
“Fetomaternal OSI 906 hemorrhage (FMH) or fetomaternal transfusion syndrome is the leakage of fetal red blood cells into the maternal circulation. Birinapant mouse Massive FMH can cause substantial fetal morbidity and
mortality. Sonographic evidence of severe FMH syndrome includes fetal hydrops and other fetal anemia-related findings. The peak systolic velocity in the middle cerebral artery has extensively been used for the prediction of fetal anemia and for the timing of the first intrauterine intravascular transfusion (IIVT). We present a case of severe FMH syndrome that was diagnosed during the 24th week of pregnancy. A total of eight IIVT were performed. The actual increase in the fetal Hb after each transfusion was much lower than the expected. At 27 weeks of gestation, sonographic evaluation MK-8776 Cell Cycle inhibitor revealed areas of echogenicity around the posterior horns of the lateral ventricles suggesting ischemic damage. Due to these findings, no further IIVTs were offered and the fetus died a week later. The management of fetal anemia caused by severe FMH is difficult, and the anemic fetuses do not respond well to serial IIVTs as the transfer of blood to the maternal circulation continues.”
“A 17-month-old previously healthy child presented with a 2-day history of inability to fully open his eyes and slight gait ataxia.
In the month preceding admission, he had had low grade, intermittent fevers, followed by a nonproductive cough and sneezing. During hospital admission he lost deep tendon reflexes and was unable to walk. Lumbar puncture revealed abnormally high protein, and a nasopharyngeal specimen was positive for influenza A (pH1N1). He received intravenous immunoglobulin and oseltamivir with clinical improvement. Although it is difficult to ascertain whether pH1N1 or another microorganism was responsible for this toddler’s neurologic syndrome, this is the first reported case of Miller Fisher syndrome associated with pH1N1. During pandemics, one may expect to see an increased incidence of uncommon neurologic complications of influenza.”
“Introduction and objectives.