The decision rule developed by the authors appears to be 100% sensitive and 46% specific for positive findings on brain CT and will, in developing countries, help clarify the decision to obtain scans.
Introduction:Among imaging techniques, computed tomography (CT) is a reliable method for detecting intracranial hematomas in patients with head trauma, but it is not generally available in special circumstances like prehospital situations and harsh conditions such as those following an earthquake.Objective:The objective of this study is to determine if near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is useful for performing CT scans on patients with closed head trauma that present to medical centers that do not have the ability to perform a CT scan or in prehospital or harsh situations. Near-infrared spectroscopy and CT scan were compared according to sensitivity and specificity.Methods:This was an observational, prospective study. One hundred forty-eight patients admitted to Rasool Akram General Hospital in Tehran, Iran with head injuries during a one-month period were studied using NIRS and CT. The observational, prospective study was conducted and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of NIRS were calculated. Chi-square and Kappa analysis was performed, and a p-value <0.05 was considered significant.Results:According to the CT scan findings, 54 (36.5%) of the patients developed intracranial hematoma. The NIRS examination showed that 69 patients (46.6%) might have intracranial hematoma. The number of true negatives was 73 and the number of false negatives was six patients. The sensitivity and specificity of NIRS examination was 88.9% and 77.7%, respectively.Conclusions:This study speculates that NIRS may be a useful screening tool to detect intracranial hematoma. This capability could be useful in special situations like in a deprived area, medical centers without CT scan capabilities, prehospital situations, and in harsh conditions like those after an earthquake or other disasters that causes increased numbers of victims with closed head trauma.
Naloxone can be considered in the management of postseizure complaints of tramadol toxicity, but further rigorous studies are needed to provide sufficient evidence to support its routine use.
Kawasaki disease is generally known as a systemic vasculitis that often concerns doctors due to its serious cardiac complications; however, other visceral organs may get involved as well. Surgical manifestations of the intestinal tract in Kawasaki disease are rare. In this report, we describe the case of a 2.5-year-old boy with typical Kawasaki disease who presented with GI bleeding and surgical abdomen. The diagnosis of duodenal perforation was confirmed.
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