Heat Stroke: A Medical Emergency Appearing in New Regions.

Heat stroke is an acute, life-threatening emergency characterized clinically by elevated body temperature and central nervous system dysfunction. Early recognition and treatment including aggressive cooling and management of life-threatening systemic complications are essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. This case report describes two Danish patients diagnosed with heat stroke syndrome during a heat wave in the summer of 2014. Both patients were morbidly obese and had several predisposing illnesses. However since heat stroke is a rare condition in areas with temperate climate, they were not diagnosed until several days after admittance; hence treatment with cooling was delayed. Both patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, where they were treated with an external cooling device and received treatment for complications. Both cases ended fatally. As global warming continues, more heat waves will occur in previously cooler regions. Therefore it is important to raise awareness of heat stroke since outcome depends on early recognition and rapid cooling.

[Treatment of hyperthermia].

Hyperthermia is an uncontrolled elevation of body temperature exceeding the body's ability to dissipate heat. Hyperthermia can result in dangerously high core temperatures and can rapidly become fatal. Common causes include heat stroke, malignant hyperthermia, serotonin syndrome, neuroleptic syndrome, a few endocrine emergencies as well as numerous intoxications. Rapid diagnosis and prompt cooling are pivotal, since the condition triggers a cascade of metabolic events which may progress to irreversible injury or death. Ice-water immersion and evaporative cooling are the methods of choice.

Epidemiology of cerebral palsy in Southern Denmark.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, subtypes, severity and neuroimaging findings of cerebral palsy (CP) in a cohort of children born in Southern Denmark. Risk factors were analysed and aetiology considered. METHODS: A population-based cohort study covering 17,580 live births from 2003 to 2008. RESULTS: The study included 43 children diagnosed with CP. The overall prevalence of CP was 2.4 per 1,000 live births (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.8-3.2). The gestational age (GA)-specific prevalence ranged from 63.5 per 1,000 live births for GA < 32 weeks to 1.3 for GA ≥ 37 weeks. Almost half of the children were born preterm and 28% were from multiple pregnancies. The prevalence of CP was 1.8 per 1,000 in singletons and 15.4 per 1,000 in multiples. Low GA and birth weight were risk factors for CP, also after stratification for multiple births. Spastic CP was the predominating subtype of CP, and 24 children (56%) were able to walk independently. White-matter lesions were the most common magnetic resonance imaging finding, and the aetiology of CP was known in 37% of cases. CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of CP was slightly higher than that found in other Scandinavian studies due to its higher prevalence in the preterm group. Possible explanations include the high rate of multiple births in the background population. Neuroimaging findings were abnormal in the majority of children with CP, but aetiology could only be established in one third of the children. Primary prevention of CP is possible if the numbers of preterm births and multiple pregnancies can be reduced. FUNDING: The Danish Cerebral Palsy Follow-up Programme is supported by the foundation "Ludvig og Sara Elsass Fond". TRIAL REGISTRATION: 2008-58-0034.

Effect of head rotation during surgery in the prone position on regional cerebral oxygen saturation: A prospective controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used to study regional cerebral blood oxygen saturation (rScO2) in patients in the prone position. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to test the hypothesis that head rotation more than 45° would affect the rScO2. DESIGN: A prospective, controlled, single cohort study. SETTING: University Hospital specialising in spinal surgery. PATIENTS: Fifty-two patients undergoing spinal surgery in prone position were enrolled and 48 completed the study. INTERVENTIONS: NIRS sensors were attached to each side of the forehead. Measurements were conducted during steady-state anaesthesia with the head in the neutral position, rotated left, rotated right and returned to the neutral position. Each series consisted of three measurements: resting on the head support, during head lift (to relieve pressure on the tissue at the sensors) and returned to rest on the head support. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The differences in rScO2 between the neutral and the turned head positions. RESULTS: For both left and right sensors, the median differences in rScO2 between neutral and left or right positions were between 0 and -1 with the head up (P = 0.14 to 0.84). The median differences with the head down were between 3.8 and -0.8, with a significant difference for the left sensor when turned left (P < 0.01) and for the right sensor (P = 0.006) when turned right. Ten patients showed reductions of more than 10 in rScO2 in the rotated (and lifted) positions. When the head was lifted from the head support, the rScO2 was -0.5 to 3.75 units higher, but there was high variability between patients. CONCLUSION: We recommend the neutral head position for prone patients.TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01760369.

[Severe thrombocytopenia after diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis]. / Svær trombocytopeni i efterforløbet af dyb venøs trombose.

A patient presented with erysipelas and developed deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and later idiopatic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). In the literature we find no reports of ITP following DVT. It is well known that patients can develop HIT after DVT or DVT after ITP, both caused by the medicine used for treatment. Patients have developed ITP after heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Cases are also described in which heparin antibodies are found, but in which the final diagnosis was ITP. The diagnosis of the patient in our case story could be ITP based on DVT, but with no history of HIT. Alternatively, he could have developed two complications to an infection.