NCT 02450071.

Because cardiovascular disorders and stroke may induce Cheyne-Stokes respiration, our purpose was to study the interaction among cerebral activity, cerebral circulation, blood pressure, and blood gases during Cheyne-Stokes respiration. Ten patients with heart failure or a previous stroke were investigated during Cheyne-Stokes respiration with recordings of daytime polysomnography, cerebral blood flow velocity, intra-arterial blood pressure, and intra-arterial oxygen saturation with and without oxygen administration. There were simultaneous changes in wakefulness, cerebral blood flow velocity, and respiration with accompanying changes in blood pressure and heart rate approximately 10 s later. Cerebral blood flow velocity, blood pressure, and heart rate had a minimum occurrence in apnea and a maximum occurrence during hyperpnea. The apnea-induced oxygen desaturations were diminished during oxygen administration, but the hemodynamic alterations persisted. Oxygen desaturations were more severe and occurred earlier according to intra-arterial measurements than with finger oximetry. It is not possible to explain Cheyne-Stokes respiration by alterations in blood gases and circulatory time alone. Cheyne-Stokes respiration may be characterized as a state of phase-linked cyclic changes in cerebral, respiratory, and cardiovascular functions probably generated by variations in central nervous activity.

Exhaustion caused by long-term work-related stress may cause cognitive dysfunction. We explored factors that may link chronic stress and cognitive impairment. Personality, psychiatric screening, and behavior were assessed by self-reporting measures in 20 female patients (mean age 39.3 years; range 26-53) with a preliminary diagnosis of stress-related exhaustion and in 16 healthy matched controls. Cognitive performance was investigated with a detailed neuropsychological test battery. Cortisol axis function was assessed by urinary and saliva collections of cortisol, dexamethasone suppression, Synacthen response, and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) tests. Proinflammatory cytokines were measured. Hippocampal volumes were estimated by magnetic resonance imaging. Multivariate and univariate statistical methods were used to explore putative differences between groups and factors linked to cognitive impairment. Cognitive function clearly differed between groups, with decreased attention and visuospatial memory in the patient group, suggesting frontal cortex/medial temporal cortex-network dysfunction. Increased harm avoidance and persistence was present among patients, with lowered self-directedness linked to lower quality of life, increased anxious and depressive tendencies, and experiences of psychosocial stress. Attention was decreased with concomitantly impaired visuospatial memory. The pituitary (adrenocorticotropic hormone, ACTH) response to CRH was decreased in patients, with an increased cortisol/ACTH response to CRH. However, cortisol production rates, diurnal or dexamethasone-suppressed saliva cortisol levels, and the cortisol response to Synacthen were unaltered. Hippocampal volumes did not differ between groups. These findings suggest that cognitive dysfunction in stress-related exhaustion is linked to distinct personality traits, low quality of life, and a decreased ACTH response to CRH.

Pain is a problem that often has to be addressed in the prehospital setting. The delivery of analgesia may sometimes prove challenging due to problems establishing intravenous access or a harsh winter environment. To solve the problem of intravenous access, intranasal administration of drugs is used in some settings. In cases where vascular access was foreseen or proved hard to establish (one or two missed attempts) on the scene of the accident we use nasally administered S-Ketamine for prehospital analgesia. Here we describe the use of nasally administered S-Ketamine in 9 cases. The doses used were in the range of 0,45-1,25 mg/kg. 8 patients were treated in outdoor winter-conditions in Sweden. 1 patient was treated indoor. VAS-score decreased from a median of 10 (interquartile range 8-10) to 3 (interquartile range 2-4). Nasally administered S-Ketamine offers a possible last resource to be used in cases where establishing vascular access is difficult or impossible. Side-effects in these 9 cases were few and non serious. Nasally administered drugs offer a needleless approach that is advantageous for the patient as well as for health personnel in especially challenging selected cases. Nasal as opposed to intravenous analgesia may reduce the time spent on the scene of the accident and most likely reduces the need to expose the patient to the environment in especially challenging cases of prehospital analgesia. Nasal administration of S-ketamine is off label and as such we only use it as a last resource and propose that the effect and safety of the treatment should be further studied.

TOE detects small volumes of pleural fluid on both sides of the chest. CSA(max) x AL provides a reasonably accurate measure of pleural fluid volume.