Neurologic adverse effects of triazole antifungal compounds used for the treatment of systemic and deep mycoses are relatively rare. The most common presentation is the involvement of peripheral nervous system, usually presenting with subjective symptoms such as paresthesia, dysesthesia, or numbness. Among these compounds, fluconazole has relatively more frequent neurological adverse reactions. A 54-year-old man was admitted with numbness and weakness in his both feet, which gradually worsened and resulted in difficulty in ambulation over time. He had no morbidity other than hypertension. He developed polyneuropathy (PNP), lower gastrointestinal system bleeding, acute renal insufficiency, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and confusional state. Severely disabling axonal and demyelinating sensorimotor PNP which led to immobilization of the patient for a few weeks but was recovered. When a more detailed past medical history was taken, he admitted to ingestion of 200 mg/day fluconazole for 1 month for onychomycosis without any prescription. This unusual combination of these rare adverse reactions of fluconazole may be explained by activation of an immune mechanism triggered by the drugs and genetic factors, or some other unknown individual factors. This case is reported due to the presence of rare systemic and neurologic adverse events of fluconazole, leading to this unusual clinical picture. We would like to emphasize fluconazole-related systemic and neurologic adverse reactions with life-threatening potential should be kept in mind.
In this prospective case control study, relationship of detailed cerebellar volumetric data and cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis considering falling status using 3 D MRI and network analysis were evaluated. Participants consist of 106 adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Scores of Montreal cognitive assessment test, symbol digit modality Test, nine-hole peg test, berg balance scale test, timed up and go test, timed 25-foot walk test were worse in faller group than non faller group (p < 0.05 for all tests). There was no significant difference in terms of cerebellar lobule volumes between groups. But using artificial intelligence (AI) based network analysis, we brought a new perspective to interpreting the relationship between the cerebellum, cognition, gait, and balance. Overall, data from the study suggest a possible relationship between cerebellar volume changes and cognitive dysfunction through connectivity analysis in patients with multiple sclerosis. Further studies are needed to examine this issue by using connectivity analysis.
Background: Emotions expressed on the face play a key role in social cognition and communication by providing inner emotional experiences. This study aimed to evaluate facial emotion identification and discrimination and empathy abilities in patients with MS and whether it is related to cognitive dysfunction. Methods: One hundred twenty patients with relapsing–remitting MS and age- and sex-matched 120 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All the subjects were evaluated with the Facial Emotion Identification Test (FEIT), Facial Emotion Discrimination Test (FEIDT), and Empathy Quotient (EQ). We used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for depression and detailed cognitive tests, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). The quality of life was assessed with Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQL-54). Results: Patients with MS were 37.6 ± 9.5 years old, had a mean disease duration of 8.8 ± 6.6 (8–28) years, and a mean EDSS score of 1.6 ± 1.3 (0–4.5). We found significant differences in the identification of facial emotions, discrimination of facial emotions, and empathy in MS patients compared to controls (p < 0.05). Especially the recognition of feelings of sadness, fear, and shame was significantly lower in MS patients. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed low SDMT and FEIDT scores which showed an independent association with MS. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that facial emotion recognition and identification deficits are remarkable among patients with MS and emotion recognition is impaired together with and independently of cognitive dysfunction in MS patients.
3 April 2021 in Family Practice and Palliative Care
Introduction: In this study, we aimed to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with pressure ulcers who received home health care in Kutahya city and to investigate the relationship between the factors related to nutrition and pressure ulcer grades. Methods: This study is designed as a retrospective and cross-sectional. The files of 500 patients who were registered at home health services unit of Kutahya Health Sciences University Training and Research Hospital between December 2016 and May 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Of these, sixty-three patients with pressure ulcers were included in the study. Results: In this study, 26 (41.3%) were male and 37 (58.7%) were female. The mean age of the patients with pressure ulcers was 74.41 ± 12.30 (years). 36 patients (57.1%) had cerebrovascular disease, 5 patients (7.9%) had dementia, 9 patients (14.3%) had malignancy, 8 patients (12.7%) had osteoarthritis, 4 patients 6.3%) had peripheral vascular disease, and 1 patient (1.6%) had previous traffic accident. The majority (62.1%) were neurological disease-sequenced and nursing-care group. When all the patients were examined, the region with the most pressure was the sacrum (35.3%). Hemoglobin level was found to be related to pressure ulcer grade (One-way ANOVA, p = 0.019). There was no significant relationship between other nutrition-related parameters and pressure ulcer stage. Conclusion: Patients with cerebrovascular disease constitute a significant proportion of patients receiving home care services. Low hemoglobin increases the severity of the pressure ulcer. Therefore, determining risk factors that contribute to pressure ulcer formation and efforts to prevent them should be the primary target of the home health care unit.
Purpose: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are frequent in male patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study was planned to investigate the frequency and distress of LUTS in men with MS and their association with quality of life (QoL), depression, and anxiety. Methods: One hundred male patients with MS were included in the study. The International Incontinence Consultation Questionnaire‐Male LUTS questionnaire (ICIQ‐MLUTS) was used to investigate LUTS. The King's Health questionnaire (KHQ) was used to evaluate QoL and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD‐A, HAD‐D) scale was used to evaluate depression and anxiety. Results: A total of 100 men with an average age of 39.3 ± 9.3 (range, 20−63) years were evaluated. The mean disease duration was 9.3 ± 6.0 (range, 1−26) years. The mean EDSS score was 2.2 ± 1.8 (median: 2, range: 0−6.5). A total of 91% of patients reported at least one LUTS. The most common storage symptoms were urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (IU), and the most common voiding symptoms were incomplete emptying, hesitancy, and intermittency. ICIQ‐MLUTS incontinence and voiding scores were significantly correlated with disease duration, EDSS, HAD‐A, HAD‐D, and all KHQ subgroups, except general health perceptions. Conclusions: LUTS, including storage and voiding symptoms, were highly prevalent in male MS patients and significantly correlated with reduced QoL, increased HAD‐D and HAD‐A scores.