Adverse Skin Reactions with Antiepileptic Drugs Using Korea Adverse Event Reporting System Database, 2008–2017

BACKGROUND@#Severe and life-threatening drug eruptions include drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). One class of medications that has been highly associated with such drug eruptions is antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). We attempt to investigate drug eruptions associated with AEDs as a class, as well as with individual AEDs, in Korea.@*METHODS@#We used the Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management - Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KIDS-KAERS) database, a nationwide database of adverse events reports, between January 2008 and December 2017 to investigate the reporting count of all drug eruptions and calculated the ratio of DRESS/SJS/TEN reports for each AED.@*RESULTS@#Among a total of 2,942 reports, most were of rash/urticaria (2,702, 91.8%), followed by those of DRESS (109, 3.7%), SJS (106, 3.6%), and TEN (25, 0.85%). The common causative AEDs were lamotrigine (699, 23.8%), valproic acid (677, 23%), carbamazepine (512, 17.4%), oxcarbazepine (320, 10.9%), levetiracetam (181, 6.2%), and phenytoin (158, 5.4%). In limited to severe drug eruptions (DRESS, SJS, and TEN; total 241 reports), the causative AEDs were carbamazepine (117, 48.8%), lamotrigine (57, 23.8%), valproic acid (20, 8.3%), phenytoin (15, 6.3%), and oxcarbazepine (10, 4.2%). When comparing aromatic AED with non-aromatic AED, aromatic AEDs were more likely to be associated with severe drug eruption (aromatic AEDs: 204/1,793 versus non-aromatic AEDs: 37/1,149; OR, 3.86; 95% CI, 2.7–5.5). Death was reported in 7 cases; DRESS was the most commonly reported adverse event (n = 5), and lamotrigine was the most common causative AED (n = 5).@*CONCLUSION@#Although most cutaneous drug eruptions in this study were rash or urticaria, approximately 8% of reports were of severe or life-threatening adverse drug reactions, such as SJS, TEN, or DRESS. When hypersensitivity skin reactions occurred, aromatic AEDs were associated with 4 fold the risk of SJS/TEN/DRESS compared with non-aromatic AEDs. Our findings further emphasize that high risk AEDs should be prescribed under careful monitoring, and early detection and prompt interventions are needed to prevent severe complications.

Adverse Skin Reactions with Antiepileptic Drugs Using Korea Adverse Event Reporting System Database, 2008–2017

Adverse Skin Reactions with Antiepileptic Drugs Using Korea Adverse Event Reporting System Database, 2008–2017

BACKGROUND@#Severe and life-threatening drug eruptions include drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). One class of medications that has been highly associated with such drug eruptions is antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). We attempt to investigate drug eruptions associated with AEDs as a class, as well as with individual AEDs, in Korea.@*METHODS@#We used the Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management - Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KIDS-KAERS) database, a nationwide database of adverse events reports, between January 2008 and December 2017 to investigate the reporting count of all drug eruptions and calculated the ratio of DRESS/SJS/TEN reports for each AED.@*RESULTS@#Among a total of 2,942 reports, most were of rash/urticaria (2,702, 91.8%), followed by those of DRESS (109, 3.7%), SJS (106, 3.6%), and TEN (25, 0.85%). The common causative AEDs were lamotrigine (699, 23.8%), valproic acid (677, 23%), carbamazepine (512, 17.4%), oxcarbazepine (320, 10.9%), levetiracetam (181, 6.2%), and phenytoin (158, 5.4%). In limited to severe drug eruptions (DRESS, SJS, and TEN; total 241 reports), the causative AEDs were carbamazepine (117, 48.8%), lamotrigine (57, 23.8%), valproic acid (20, 8.3%), phenytoin (15, 6.3%), and oxcarbazepine (10, 4.2%). When comparing aromatic AED with non-aromatic AED, aromatic AEDs were more likely to be associated with severe drug eruption (aromatic AEDs: 204/1,793 versus non-aromatic AEDs: 37/1,149; OR, 3.86; 95% CI, 2.7–5.5). Death was reported in 7 cases; DRESS was the most commonly reported adverse event (n = 5), and lamotrigine was the most common causative AED (n = 5).@*CONCLUSION@#Although most cutaneous drug eruptions in this study were rash or urticaria, approximately 8% of reports were of severe or life-threatening adverse drug reactions, such as SJS, TEN, or DRESS. When hypersensitivity skin reactions occurred, aromatic AEDs were associated with 4 fold the risk of SJS/TEN/DRESS compared with non-aromatic AEDs. Our findings further emphasize that high risk AEDs should be prescribed under careful monitoring, and early detection and prompt interventions are needed to prevent severe complications.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy Can Prevent Pulmonary Atelectasis after Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery in Obese Patients

PURPOSE: To compare the prophylactic effects of postoperative continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy plus conventional postoperatively pulmonary physiotherapy (CPP) and postoperative CPP alone on the development of pulmonary atelectasis after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LGBP) in obese patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with BMIs>27.5 kg/m2 aged between 20 and 65 years were enrolled in the present study. All subjects received LGBP and were divided into 2 groups. Patients in the CPAP group received both CPAP and CPP therapy postoperatively, and patients in the conventional group received CPP alone. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary atelectasis as determined by chest X-ray after LGBP, and the secondary outcome was duration of postoperative hospital stay (HS). RESULTS: Seventy-three patients were enrolled in this study. Fifty-seven patients received CPAP plus CPP, and 16 patients received CPP. The CPAP group had an atelectasis incidence of 40.4% (23/57) and the conventional group an incidence of 62.5% (10/16). Multivariate analysis showed the incidence of atelectasis after LGBP was significantly lower in the CPAP group (OR 0.198, 95% CI 0.045–0.874; P=0.033) and that HS was significantly correlated with the developments of atelectasis, pneumonia, and complications (partial correlation coefficients 0.271, 0.444 and 0.382; P-values 0.025, <0.05 and <0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Patients that received continuous positive airway pressure therapy plus conventional pulmonary physiotherapy postoperatively were at significantly less risk of developing pulmonary atelectasis after LGBP than patients that received conventional pulmonary physiotherapy postoperatively.

Electroencephalographic Abnormalities in the Screening for Pilot Applicants in Korea

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Electroencephalography (EEG) is often used as a screening tool for selecting pilots despite controversy regarding its contribution to aviation safety. We investigated EEG abnormalities in Korean commercial pilot applicants in order to identify the usefulness of EEG screening in this population. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the EEG results of 740 unselected pilot applicants who underwent waking EEG at Inha University Hospital from January 2013 to May 2017. EEG recording was performed for 30 minutes, which included 3 minutes of hyperventilation and intermittent photic stimulation. RESULTS: The pilot applicants were predominantly male (95.3%) and had a mean age of 27.8 years (range: 16–40 years). Nine of them (1.2%) exhibited EEG abnormalities; the most common abnormality (six applicants) was a small amount of generalized irregular slow activities, while the other three applicants (0.4%) exhibited epileptiform discharges, with two showing generalized spike-and-wave complexes and one showing a few spike-and-wave complexes in the left frontotemporal area. The two applicants with generalized spike-and-wave complexes were found to have experienced clinical seizures by a neurologist during detailed history-taking. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that 2 of 740 pilot applicants (0.3%) were diagnosed with epilepsy by routine EEG screening in an unselected population. Considering the low predictive value of EEG without the relevant clinical history in an unselected healthy young population, our findings raise questions regarding the cost-effectiveness of the current EEG screening protocol applied to pilot applicants. We suggest that a more-targeted and standardized EEG screening approach be applied to pilot applicants with epilepsy risk factors or a seizure history as determined by thorough medical history-taking.

Involuntary Flexor Spasms Associated with Basal Ganglia Infarction

Flexor spasm caused by stroke has been rarely reported. We describe a 79-year-old man who suddenly presented with flexor spasm of left limb and neck muscles. His symptoms consisted of recurrent episodes of brief paroxysmal flexor contractions of left limb and neck muscles without alteration of consciousness. Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging revealed acute infarction in right basal ganglia. The abnormal movement was not associated with any epileptiform discharges in the video-electroencephalography monitoring. It was controlled with carbamazepine and phenytoin.

Neuropathologic and Clinical Features of Human Medial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is recent evidence of various types of morphological changes in the hippocampus of a rodent model of medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE). However, little is known about such changes in humans. We examined the histological changes [i.e., neuronal loss, cell genesis, and granule cell dispersion (GCD)] in surgical hippocampal specimens taken from patients with mTLE. METHODS: Nissl staining, and nestin and Prox1 immunohistochemistry were performed on human hippocampal specimens obtained from patients with medically intractable mTLE, thus allowing the analysis of neuronal loss, cell genesis, and GCD, respectively. We also assessed the correlations between clinical parameters and the histopathologic findings. RESULTS: The degree of cell genesis in the granule cell layer was significantly correlated with the severity of GCD, history of childhood febrile seizures, and frequent generalized seizures. Cell genesis was not correlated with cell death, age at seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, or the mean frequency of all seizures. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that cell genesis in the dentate gyrus of patients with mTLE is associated with GCD and is influenced by the presence of febrile seizures during childhood and the frequency of episodes of generalized seizures.

Total Brain Failure: Controversies / 대한간질학회지

No abstract available.

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus Meningitis

The incidence of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) meningitis is increasing. We present a 56-year-old man who suffered from VRE meningitis after cerebellar hemorrhage and intraventricular catheter insertion. The patient recovered completely after treatment with linezolid for 6 weeks. This is the first report on effectiveness of linezolid in treating VRE meningitis in Korea.

Emergency Superficial Temporal Middle Cerebral Artery Bypass Surgery for Acute Symptomatic Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion With Hemodynamic Disturbance

The role of surgical revascularization for patients with ischemic stroke remains controversial. During acute phase of large artery occlusive ischemic stroke, extracranial?intracranial (EC-IC) bypass, such as superficial temporal-middle cerebral aretery (STA-MCA) bypass sugery, has been rarely performed. We report a case of successful emergency STA-MCA bypass surgery to stop the neurologic deterioration and improve the hemodynamic compromise in a patient with acute symptomatic MCA occlusion associated with hypoperfusion.