Fusion of Lateral Calvarial Sutures on Volume-Rendered Computed Tomography Reconstructions in Patients With Known Craniosynostosis.

INTRODUCTION: After treating a child with familial sagittal craniosynostosis, clinocephaly, and bilateral parietomastoid/posterior squamosal suture fusion, the authors wondered if major-suture synostosis and clinocephaly were associated with abnormal fusion of minor lateral calvarial sutures. METHODS: The authors reviewed all preoperative volume-rendered head computed tomography reconstructions performed for craniosynostosis at their institution from 2010 through 2014 and determined whether the sphenoparietal, squamosal, and parietomastoid sutures were open, partially fused, or fused. The authors determined whether any sutures were abnormally fused based upon a previous study from their center, in which abnormal fusion was defined as either 1 of 3 abnormal fusion patterns or abnormally-early fusion. The authors then determined the rate of abnormal fusion of these sutures and whether abnormal fusion was associated with (1) major-suture craniosynostosis, (2) type of craniosynostosis (sutures involved; single-suture versus multisuture; syndromic versus nonsyndromic), and (3) clinocephaly. RESULTS: In 97 included children, minor lateral sutures were abnormally fused in 8, or 8.2%, which was significantly higher than in children without craniosynostosis from our earlier study. Abnormal minor lateral suture fusion was not associated with the type of single-suture synostosis or with multisuture synostosis but was associated with syndromic synostosis. Four of 8 children with abnormal minor lateral suture fusion had multisuture synostosis and 6 had syndromic synostosis. Lateral sutures were abnormally fused in 1 of 4 subjects with clinocephaly, which was not significant. CONCLUSION: Abnormal minor lateral calvarial suture fusion is significantly associated with major-suture craniosynostosis, especially syndromic synostosis.

Hearing impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: association with anti-citrullinated protein antibodies.

It has been suggested that hearing impairment (HI) is one of the extra-articular features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nevertheless, the prevalence and nature of HI in RA is still uncertain. The objectives were to study hearing function in patients with RA using audiometric tests and to examine whether HI correlates with autoantibodies. Hearing functions were investigated in 43 consecutive RA patients and 23 control subjects (less than 60 years old). Their sera were evaluated for the presence of rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), and anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) antibodies. HI was observed in 46.5 % of RA patients and in 30.4 % of control subjects, p = 0.32. HI was characterized as sensorineural in 80 and 85.7 % of RA patients and control subjects with HI, respectively, p = 1.00. RA patients had a worse hearing threshold for air conduction at 6 kHz in the right ear (p = 0.019) and had a decreased amplitude of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) at 2 kHz bilaterally (p = 0.04) compared with control subjects. In the RA group, patients with and without HI were 80 and 34.78 % anti-CCP positive, respectively, p = 0.008. RA patients with and without HI were 85 and 43.48 % anti-MCV positive, respectively, p = 0.013. HI in RA patients was mainly sensorineural and was associated with anti-CCP and anti-MCV antibodies.

Hábitos de saúde e fatores de risco em pacientes hipertensos / Health habits and risk factors in hypertensive patients

Os objetivos deste estudo foram realizar um levantamento dos hábitos de saúde relacionados aos fatores de risco em indivíduos hipertensos hospitalizados e identificar o conhecimento dessa clientela quanto à importância do controle desses fatores para a hipertensão arterial. Foram entrevistados 32 hipertensos que se encontravam hospitalizados em uma unidade de internacão clínica de um hospital escola. Apesar de a clientela referir que controlava alguns dos fatores de risco para a hipertensão arterial e de saber da importância desse controle, a elevacão da pressão arterial manteve-se mesmo durante a hospitalizacão, e a maioria, tinha comprometimento de órgãos-alvo. Há a necessidade de buscarmos medidas educativas que conduzam às mudancas no estilo de vida dessas pessoas para que haja o controle dos fatores de risco e da evolucão da doenca

[Health habits and risk factors in hypertensive patients]. / Hábitos de saúde e fatores de risco em pacientes hipertensos.

The purposes of this study were to assess the health habits related to risk factors in hospitalized hypertensive patients and to identify these patients' knowledge on the importance of controlling these factors. Thirty two hypertensive patients hospitalized at a University Hospital were interviewed. Although these patients mentioned that they controlled the risk factors for hypertension and that they knew about the importance of this control, a high blood pressure was observed even during hospitalization and the majority of them presented damage in target organs. There is a need to search for educative measures that will enable a change in the life style of these patients, encouraging them to control the risk factors and the evolution of the disease.