[Chronic fatigue: What investigations? And what for?]

Chronic fatigue is a frequent complaint, expressed at all levels of the healthcare system. It is perceived as disabling in a high proportion of cases, and internists are frequently called upon to find "the" cause. The etiological diagnostic approach of an unexplained state of fatigue relies on the careful search for more specific clues by questioning and clinical examination. It is necessary to recognize the limited place of complementary examinations apart from the basic biological parameters. Simple rating scales can be useful in the etiological and differential diagnosis of fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), in the current state of knowledge, cannot be considered as a specific pathological entity distinct from idiopathic chronic fatigue states, and does not have validated biomarkers. It is important to know that a state of chronic asthenia often results from several intricated etiological factors (biological, psychological and social), to be classified as predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating. The metabolic and cardiorespiratory exercise test has a major place in the assessment and management of fatigue, as a prerequisite for personalized retraining or adapted physical activity (APA), which are the treatments of choice for chronic fatigue.

Psychometric validation of the French Multidimensional Chronic Asthenia Scale (MCAS) in a sample of 621 patients with chronic fatigue

BACKGROUND

Psychometric validation of the Multidimensional Chronic Asthenia Scale (MCAS) was conducted in order to provide an effective tool for assessing the health-related quality of life of French-speaking patients with chronic asthenia (CA).

METHODS

Items resulting from the initial formulation of the self-reported MCAS (along with other materials) were completed by French-speaking volunteers with inactive or active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD-I vs. IBD-A) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Responses from 621 participants (180 patients with IBD-A, 172 with IBD-I, 269 with CFS) collected in a single online survey were divided into three subsamples to test the construct validity of the MCAS (Step 1, N = 240), to confirm its factorial structure (Step 2, N = 204) and to explore its convergent-discriminant validity with the Fatigue Symptoms Inventory (FSI) and revised Piper Fatigue Scale (r-PFS, Step 3, N = 177).

RESULTS

Steps 1 and 2 showed that, as expected, MCAS has four dimensions: feeling of constraint (FoC), physical (PC), life (LC) and interpersonal consequences (IC), which are also related to the duration of CA (i.e., the longer it lasts, the more the dimensions are impacted). The results further showed that the MCAS is sensitive enough to capture between-group differences, with the CFS group being the most impaired, followed by IBD-A and IBD-I. While convergent-discriminant validity between the 4 factors of MCAS and FSI and r-PFS, respectively, was satisfactory overall, Step 3 also pointed to some limitations that call for future research (e.g., shared variances between the PC and IC dimensions of MCAS and behavioral dimension of r-PFS).

CONCLUSION

Despite these limitations, the MCAS clearly constitutes a promising tool for measuring quantitative differences (i.e., severity/intensity) in CA associated with various diseases, but also, and importantly, the clinically important differences in domains of its expression (i.e., qualitative differences).

[Cognitive impairment in children with organic asthenic disorder]

OBJECTIVE

To study cognitive impairment and neurophysiological characteristics in children with organic asthenia, as well as the effectiveness of the drug Cogitum in the treatment of this pathology.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The main study group included 40 children aged 8 to 10 years with a diagnosis of «Organic asthenic disorder» (F06.6). The control group consisted of 30 children aged 8 to 10 years without manifestations of asthenia. The following research methods were used in the work: the asthenic state scale (ASS) by L.D. Malkova to assess the severity of asthenic syndrome, the S. Lee «SCT» (sluggish cognitive tempo) scale to assess manifestations of low cognitive tempo, the «Random Access Memory» method to quantify working memory, the TOVA (The Test of Variables of Attention) computer test to quantify assessment of attention disorders and impulsivity level, electroencephalogram (routine and spectral analysis) (p<0.05). For the treatment of patients from the study group, the drug Cogitum was used at a dose of 10 ml of a drinking solution per day for 30 days.

RESULTS

In was shown that children from the study group were characterized by a decrease in working memory (7.8±2.9 vs 14.9±5.4), a statistically significant increase in SCT scores (p<0.05), a significantly greater degree of inattention and impulsivity with a tendency to an increase in the number of errors in the second half of the TOVA test (p<0.05). Comparative analysis of EEG relative power data showed a statistically significant increase in the power of waves in the alpha and theta ranges in the fronto-central leads of both hemispheres in the group of children with organic asthenic disorder (p<0.05). When re-evaluating the condition of children after treatment, a statistically significant decrease in the manifestations of asthenia on the ASS scale was recorded in 77.5% of cases. At the same time, there was a significant improvement in attention, memory, and indicators characterizing a low cognitive pace. The results of an electroencephalographic study after a course of treatment showed a decrease in the relative power of the EEG in the theta and alpha ranges in the anterior sections of the cerebral cortex (p<0.05), which indicates an increase in the level of activation of neocortical structures.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the use of the drug Cogitum for the treatment of organic asthenic disorder leads not only to a decrease in asthenia and cognitive impairment, but also to an improvement in the functional state of the brain.

[Cognitive impairment in patients of cardiac surgery with senile asthenia syndrome and preastenia]

OBJECTIVE

To identify the features of the cognitive status in patients with cardiac surgery profile with senile asthenia syndrome (SAS) and preasthenia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A study included 272 patients admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Screening for preasthenia and SAS in patients before surgery was performed using the Brief Battery of Physical Functioning Tests. SAS and preasthenia were detected in 15% of patients (n=41). Seventy-five patients were selected in the comparison group without asthenia. Assessment of the state of cognitive functions was carried out using screening neuropsychological scales - the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

RESULTS

The median of the MMSE score (27 [26; 28] and 28 [27; 29], p=0.04), and the MoCA score (23 [19; 25] and 25 [23; 27], p=0.0085) was significantly lower in patients with asthenia and pre-asthenia compared to patients without asthenia. According to the MoCA, about 60% of patients in the pre-asthenia-asthenia group had severe cognitive impairment, while in the group without asthenia, more than 30% of cases had normal cognitive functions (p=0.003). Significant intergroup differences were found in MoCA subtests, reflecting visuospatial skills, abstraction, verbal fluency and working memory (p=0.01-0.04). Regression analysis showed that age and physical functioning index (severity of asthenia) most significantly contributed to the basic cognitive status assessed by MoCA.

CONCLUSION

Features of the cognitive status in patients of cardiac surgery with the SAS and preasthenia are impairments of visuospatial thinking, verbal fluency, abstract thinking and working memory. The MoCA was shown to be informative in determining the basic cognitive status of cardiac surgical patients. At the same time, the greatest contribution to the basic cognitive status is made by age and the indicator of physical functioning, which characterizes the degree of asthenia.

[The role of routine clinical examination in the selection of patients for screening of geriatric syndromes.]

The great complexity of complex geriatric assessment makes it relevant to search for methods that facilitate the selection of patients who really need it. The article presents the results of studying the possibility of using a routine clinical examination to select elderly cardiological patients with an increased risk of senile asthenia. The study involved 52 elderly patients with heart and vascular pathology. All of them underwent a generally accepted clinical and laboratory-instrumental examination, the results of which were compared with the data of the questionnaire «Age is not a hindrance». To identify the relationships between the parameters of clinical and geriatric status, analysis of variance and correlation analysis were used; summary frequency tables were built and analyzed. The significance threshold (p-value) was less than 5% (p<0,05). As a result of the study, it was found that the general condition of patients differing from satisfactory, complaints of shortness of breath, headaches, the presence of peripheral edema, lack of pulse on the dorsalis pedis arteries and posterior tibial arteries indicate an increased likelihood of senile asthenia in the subjects (p<0.05).

[Cognitive bias in the context of epidemic]

In connection with the scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical judgement of clinicians and medical practitioners could be influenced such that diagnostic errors (delays and inaccuracies) may ensue. We hereby recall through two clinical scenarios the constant need for practitioners to take a step back in reflecting of the diagnostic process to avoid the « tunnel effect » which may result in delaying common and frequent infectious diseases. The flu-like symptoms presented by these patients (fever, myalgia and asthenia…) quickly prompted our emergency room colleagues to suspect SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, further investigations including imagery and blood cultures revealed completely different but common infectious disease conditions, which are potentially fatal.

Titinopathy, an atypical respiratory failure

Hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure is a neuromuscular disease with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Clinical presentation is characterised by proximal and distal muscle weakness, exertional dyspnoea and generalised fatigue. There is no disease-modifying therapy and the prognosis is unknown. Herein we present a case of a 40-year-old woman with long-standing asthenia and apathy and, more recently, daytime sleepiness, dyspnoea and difficulty in walking. A hypercapnic respiratory failure with severe acidemia was identified. The muscle biopsy showed the presence of cytoplasmatic bodies and rimmed vacuoles, suggestive of a hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure disease. The genetic study confirmed this diagnosis identifying a heterozygous mutation on c.95134T>C (p.Cys31712Arg) in exon 343 in the titin gene. The patient was discharged home under supportive treatment with non-invasive ventilation.

[Gitelman syndrome]

Gitelman syndrome is one of the salt losing tubulopathies. Hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia appear in the setting of the partial blockade of salt absorption in the distal tubule. We conducted a descriptive study of a case series of five patients with Gitelman syndrome (4 women, from 28 to 85 years) in our institution, between the years 2004 and 2015. The most frequent form of diagnosis in our series was by laboratory finding. The only acknowledged clinical symptom was malaise. Regarding laboratory findings, the mean potassemia was of 2.5 ± 0.5 mmol/l, with a minimum value of 2.1 mmol/l. Additionally, the serum magnesium value was of 1.3 ± 0.3 mg/dl. In conclusion, we observed that the forms of presentation consist of biochemical alterations with or without nonspecific manifestations, which currently represents the greatest diagnostic difficulty and reinforces the importance to achieve a timely diagnosis, especially in young patients with critical serum potassium values.

Relevance of CYP3A4*20, UGT1A1*37 and UGT1A1*28 variants in irinotecan-induced severe toxicity

Severe irinotecan-induced toxicity is associated with UGT1A1 polymorphisms. However, some patients develop side-effects despite harbouring a normal UGT1A1 genotype. As CYP3A4 is also an irinotecan-metabolizing enzyme, our study aimed to elucidate the influence of the CYP3A4*20 loss-of-function allele in the toxicity profile of these patients. Three-hundred and eight metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with an irinotecan-containing chemotherapy were studied. The presence of CYP3A4*20, UGT1A1*37 and UGT1A1*28 alleles was tested. Associations between these genetic variants and toxicity were evaluated. UGT1A1*28 was significantly associated with severe diarrhoea, neutropenia and asthenia (P = 0.002, P = 0.037 and P = 0.041, respectively). One patient with the UGT1A1*28/*37 genotype presented with grade IV neutropenia and lethal septic shock. One heterozygous UGT1A1 (*1/*28) patient also carried the CYP3A4*20 allele but did not develop toxicity. We confirm that UGT1A1*37 and UGT1A1*28 are associated with severe toxicity and suggest that the CYP3A4*20 allele does not play a role in irinotecan-induced toxicity.

[The main diseases and syndromes identified in patients of elderly and senile age, hospitalized in the hospitals of a different profile.]

There was held stationary survey of 661 patients in different age: 234 - from 60 to 102 years, 427 - from 18 to 59 years. Identify options for pathology, clearly increasing its prevalence in parallel with the increase of age. It is, first and foremost, diseases of musculoskeletal apparatus, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system. At the same time, acute violations of cerebral circulation in the form of strokes, on the contrary, prevailed among persons under the age of 60 years, and an increase in the frequency of ischemic heart disease, angina without myocardial infarction among patients of elderly and senile age in relation to persons under the age of 60 years was insignificant. Senile asthenia as an independent disease and age-related disorders of cognitive functions were identified for clinical features and etiological moments of its development in relation to the classic asthenic syndrome and cognitive disorders developing in young and middle-aged. This dictates the necessity of bringing to the diagnosis and treatment of patients under the age of 60 specially trained of geriatricians with the comprehensive geriatric assessment of the patient's condition. It is necessary to increase the state geriatric hospitals by doctors - neurologists and psychiatrists with the priorities of the holding in these hospitals diagnostic and therapeutic measures, and not providing primarily palliative care.

[CLINICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS IN FIBROMYALGIA PATIENTS]

The features of clinical symptoms, neurotic disorders and the level of subjective control were studied in patients with fibromyalgia. The analysis of relationship between the level of subjective control and neurotic symptoms (asthenia, depression, anxiety, hypochondria) depending the severity of main clinical manifestations of the disease was carried out. It was found that high intensity of fatigue, muscle pain, stiffness, insomnia, and an increase in the number of diagnostic tender points contribute to the formation of inverse correlation between the level of subjective control and neurotic disturbances. Thus, the increase of the externality of the level of subjective control allows indicating to the formation of patients' passivity in relation to their disease, the lack of adherence to prescribed course of treatment (low compliance). Although drug therapy is the main component of complex treatment of fibromyalgia patients, patients require significantly more - successful treatment requires active involvement of patients in the therapy process, as well as changes in their attitudes and lifestyle, which can be achieved by training in so-called "schools" for patients, use of psychotherapeutic methods.

[Not Available]

In Belgium and around the world, the weight-control surgery has grown significantly since the beginning of the 21st century. The principal argument in favour of this type of surgery is the expected reduction of the obesity-associated morbidities. However, the expectatif reduction of mortality associated with this kind of surgery is based on a low level of evidence. Besides the mechanical complications, there are a number of health-related problems associated with the post-operative metabolic changes. Authors of the present article have observed four cases presenting with serious affections consecutive to bariatric interventions and reviewed the literature. The most frequent consequence of bariatric surgery is anaemia (15%), which is either due to iron or cyanocobalamine deficiency, followed by neuropathies, bone mineral loss, substance abuse or postprandial hypoglycaemia syndrome. Rare but severe complications are Wernicke's encephalopathy, fulminant hepatitis or hyperoxaluric tubular disease. The prevention, diagnosis and management of these new diseases are becoming a major public health concern.

Post-thyroidectomy chronic asthenia: self-deception or disease?

There is clinical evidence that post-total thyroidectomy (TT) patients can present persistent asthenia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of asthenia symptoms in such patients, assess whether a chronic asthenia syndrome could be caused by TT or become evident after it. An observational study was carried out comparing two groups of 100 patients each, all with homogeneous characteristics. Group A was treated with total lobectomy (TL), Group B with TT. All patients presented normal thyroid hormone levels. The patients were interviewed in order to identify the ones affected by post-operative asthenia persisting for at least six months, with reduced ability to perform physical and mental work, not showing improvement with rest. The severity of the symptoms has been measured by means of the brief fatigue inventory (BFI). Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate statistically significative differences between groups and prognostic factors in TT group. The incidence of post-operative asthenia was 0 % after TL and 25 % after TT, with the operation being the only significant variable. Asthenia is well known as symptom of post-thyroidectomy, but it has not been adequately investigated as consequence of surgery. We demonstrated that the complete removal of the thyroid gland could determine chronic post-thyroidectomy asthenia, although with intensity limited to low/moderate. Post-thyroidectomy asthenia is a relevant sequela interfering with quality of life of at least 25 % of patients operated, suggesting the need to identify its real causes and limit the indication to TT only when strictly required.

[Methodic approaches to evaluation of visual performance in professional computer users]

Occupation-related and physiologic studies in workers using personal computers revealed variable degrees of changed visual performance in accordance with work conditions class and integral parameter of work intensity. Findings are that the performance change is caused by lower accomodation volume and decrease in temporary characteristics of clear vision stability. Correlation was established between work conditions class and percentage of the performance decrease during the working shift in videodisplay users.

[Diagnosis and treatment of asthenic syndrome in elderly people after acute respiratory viral infection]

OBJECTIVE

To study the characteristics of asthenic syndrome in elderly people after acute respiratory viral infection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We examined 87 patients with chronic cerebral ischemia and other comorbid disorders, aged from 63 to 78 years. Patients were randomized to two groups. Patients of the main group received mexidol (1 tablet (125 mg) 3 times a day during 3 weeks) along with standard treatment. Patients of the control group received standard treatment only. All patients underwent neuropsychological testing for the assessment of symptoms of asthenic syndrome.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

A comparative analysis of the patient's condition in both groups has demonstrated a reduction in symptoms of asthenia, autonomic lability and cognitive deficit in patients treated with mexidol.

[Panic disorder and affective pathology (comorbidity aspects)]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the correlation between signs of panic disorder and depressive symptoms in affective disorders.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Authors studied 40 patients (23 men and 17 women, mean age 31.8 years) with mild and moderate depression comorbid with symptoms of panic disorders.

RESULTS

It was singled out two types of the comorbidity of anxiety-depressive symptoms. The first type is characterized by anxiety-apathetic affect with the domination of ideational disorders with elements of alexithymia; panic attacks were represented by clearly-delineated paroxysms and reduced as depressive symptoms came back; affective disorder had bipolar phases. The second type of comorbidity was characterized by the somatization and asthenic symptoms in depression structure, unstable functional impairment in panic paroxysms; signs of partial agoraphobia and unipolar type of affective disorder. The complete reduction of panic attacks during the remission of depressive disorder was not found as well.

CONCLUSION

The types of comorbidity have different types of the dynamics of panic and depressive disorders.

Delayed diagnosis of Sheehan's syndrome in a developed country: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Little is known about Sheehan's syndrome (SS), even though it is believed that its incidence is low. The aims of this study were to determine the clinical features and diagnostic delay of SS and to ascertain whether early signs could have allowed earlier diagnosis.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

All patients with SS diagnosed in reference units in the southeast of France between 1980 and 2011 were recruited for this study. Data on obstetrical history, clinical symptoms suggestive of hypopituitarism, early signs, hormone analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging were collected.

RESULTS

Of the 40 women found to have SS, 39 were studied. Mean delay in the diagnosis of SS was 9 ± 9.7 years. We found that four of the 35 assessable patients were diagnosed with agalactia, 16 of the 29 assessable ones with amenorrhea, 19 of the 39 with hypothyroidism, eight with acute adrenal insufficiency, and 15 with asthenia. Among the patients for whom there was a diagnostic delay of more than 1 year (n=28), seven had headaches during the postpartum period, all assessable patients had agalactia, six of the 22 assessable ones had amenorrhea, seven of 28 had hypothyroidism, and 12 of 28 had asthenia.

CONCLUSION

Most signs of SS are aspecific and classical signs such as agalactia and amenorrhea are often difficult to detect, which can explain the long diagnostic delay. We suggest that all women failing to lactate after postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) should be evaluated by measuring prolactin levels and women with signs such as amenorrhea and asthenia, even several years after PPH, should undergo a blood test including assessment of thyroxine, TSH, 0800  h ACTH-cortisol, and IGF1 levels.

[Constitutional syndrome: clinical entity or a mixed bag]

Fatigue, anorexia and involuntary weight loss have been included under the term constitutional syndrome. These manifestations accompany many diseases in which the diagnosis is made by specific symptoms and signs. However, these events are generally the main reason for consultation and the patient does not report other specific data. This forces us to rigorously investigate the possible causes of the disorder. Usually, three manifestations coexist: asthenia, anorexia and weight loss, but sometimes the patient has only one or two of them. The causes of constitutional symptoms are varied and can be divided into three groups: psychiatric diseases, neoplasms and non-neoplastic diseases. The etiological identification is usually done with a simple protocol, which rules out malignancy; the rest of the cases of uncertain etiology are subject to evolution. The constitutional syndrome correlates well with good prognosis or medical functional processes. Although no clinical guidelines have been developed, score scales may help for the etiological assessment. Given the myriad of different causes of the constitutional syndrome, the treatment of this illness depends primarily on the etiology.

[The details of clinical examination of elders]

At present, the ever-increasing number of persons of elderly and senile age does not receive from health and social care agencies sufficient volume of health services and social care they require. This article reveals the essence of such a concept as the phenomenon of senile asthenia. It also describes the characteristic of the algorithm of the specialized geriatric examination of elderly patients, which includes not only traditional but also very important for an elderly person special part, in particular, balance and gait assessment, identification of nutritional status to objectify the syndrome of malnutrition, assessment of mental function, activity level of an elderly person, the state of movement, a detailed identification of the social features of life of an elderly person, the quality of his life. The application of this algorithm will significantly improve the quality of geriatric care provided through the objectification of the pathology in the elderly person and assessment of the volume of medical and social care he needs.

[Asthenic syndrome in patients with burnout syndrome]

The authors present the results of a survey of 103 patients aged 25 to 45 years with burnout syndrom. The results showed that most patients with the syndrome of burnout have clinical manifestations of asthenia, varying degrees of severity. According to psychological and psychophysiological examination in this group of patients were found attention and memory dysfunction. This study evaluated the efficacy of memoplant in the treatment of this pathology. The high efficiency of memoplant (improvement in 69.7% of cases) was detected, confirmed by the data of the clinical, psychological and neuropsychological research.

[Characteristics of astheniс disorders in adolescents]

A clinical and epidemiological follow-up study of symptoms in asthenic disorders of neurotic level in 56 male adolescents has been conducted. Two clinical variants of asthenic states, including somato-autonomic (32 patients) and affective (24 patients), are defined. The clinical structure of these syndromes and their changes during a one year follow-up and treatment are described. Positive and negative factors that influence the development and prognosis of asthenic states are determined.

[Labor physiology role in workers of different type labor activity workability and health. Progress and prospects]

There are presented the data of workers overstrain and fatigue conditions mechanisms based on physiological, psychological and ergonomic aspects of work processes in different types of activities (mental, visual-strained, physical). 15-year historical analysis, current state and prospects of labor physiology methods development are shown. Complex physiological and ergonomic investigations have allowed developing the measures of work ability raise and diseases prevention for workers various professions. Obtained results provided the basis of development of regulatory documents in area of human organism strain physiological norms, consequences of psycho-emotional stress and overstrain prevention taking into account working conditions class.

[Asthenia or anaemia. What is the diagnosis?]

Giardiasis is one of the most frequent parasitic infections in the world that must be considered in every patient with persistent diarrhoea or digestive tract and/or malabsorption symptoms after a foreign trip or in the immigrant population, although its presentation is not always the typical. A 25 year old woman from Equatorial Guinea was seen at the clinic due to several months of asthenia. The Laboratory analyses showed normocytic and normochromic anaemia and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Throughout the presentation of the case report the differential diagnoses of asthenia, normocytic and normochromic anemia and high ESR will be discussed until the final diagnosis of giardiasis was made.

[Evolutive forms of primary Sjögren's syndrome]

Primary Sjogrën's syndrome (pSS) could be restricted in 50% of the cases to glandular involvement with a chronic sicca syndrome, with a considerable alteration of quality of life. It could be complicated by systemic involvements, which are responsible of the visceral severity. Thus systemic complications could appear many years after initial pSS diagnosis and justify long-term surveillance. Initial parotid gland enlargement, Raynaud phenomenon, cutaneous vasculitis and immunological abnormalities (anti-SSA and/or SSB positivity, hypergammaglobulinemia, and cryoglobulinemia) are also implicated in systemic complications.

[Postviral asthenia and fatigue syndrome in a therapist's practice]

Asthenia serves as a symptom of many both organic and mental diseases. 16-64% of patients with this diagnosis visit a polyclinic therapist. Asthenia is an obligate symptom of a number of mental illnesses, including stress-related neurotic disorders, and somatoform disorders (panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorders, somatoform autonomic disorders, adjustment disorders), as well as nonpsychotic petit mal depressions. Patients with these disorders generally see therapists or general practitioners, rather than psychiatrists. The paper reflects the classification, differential diagnosis, and treatment of asthenia. A clinical case is described; its therapy is warranted.

[The role of capsule endoscopy in diagnosis of duodenal ulcer in patients with asthenia]

INTRODUCTION

One of the mayor lesion type in the small bowel (SB) is excavated (aphthae, erosion, ulcer) (EL). AIM OFSTUDY: To evaluate a possible correlation between EL in the SB, which were established using capsule endoscopy (CE).

METHODS

All our CE cases for the last 5 years were consecutively analyzed. Using the MST 3.0 classification, aphthae and erosions were consolidated into one group.

RESULTS

174 patients were enrolled in the study. Out of these, 100 (73%) had complaints on weakness. EL in the SB were found in 137 (78.7%) patients. Statistically significant interconnection was found between patients complaints on weakness and presence of EL in the SB (X = 4.882, p = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

Presence of EL in the SB is interconnected with patients' complaints on weakness.

[Features of neurologic semiotics at chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is actual pathology, when it forms the mixed hypoxemia. In the conditions of a chronic hypoxemia structures of organism with high level of metabolic processes, namely brain tissues, suffer. Character of defeat of the central nervous system at that pathology is insufficiently studied. In this article we studied and analysed the presence of such changes as depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and features of neurologic semiotics at COPD in 50 patients.

[Psychological aspects of systemic approach to diagnostics of mental and immunological disorders in diffuse-nodular form of Hashimoto's thyroiditis]

Authors have studied 162 patients with the diffuse-nodular form of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). Alexithymic personality type was found to be prevalent in patients in the euthyroid phase (51.9%). In autoimmune thyroiditis, alexithymia and certain cytokine parameters were correlated with psychopathological symptoms as asthenia, anxiety and depression which might be caused by their participation in the pathogenesis of non-psychotic mental disorders during the euthyroid phase. The linkage of alexithymia with certain emotional-personal parameters allows to regard it as one of the components of the integral personality characteristics. These findings show that alexithymia is not only an indirect risk factor of the autoimmune thyroiditis development but also a predictor of the disease course.

[When should a patient with malaise be referred to the emergency ward?]

General physicians (GPs) and emergency doctors are regularly called upon to deal with cases of "malaise" or sudden unforeseen feelings of debility. As highly disparaged as this designation may be, it remains commonly used in everyday life, enabling patients to express a general sensation of ill-being, accompanied by various non-specific symptoms. The lack of a preliminary case history and clinical analysis makes difficult to swiftly determine the severity of the situation, let alone its etiology. GPs are expected to rapidly detect any possibly serious risk factors; the decision to either hospitalize the patient or allow him to return home, is in their hands. The following article sets forth algorithms to assist with the diagnostic process and general handling of such cases.

[Psychoendocrinological aspects of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis in women of reproductive age]

Based on the examination of 242 women, mean age 30,7+/-0,3 years, with hypertrophic form of autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto disease) in the state of euthyreosis, we analyzed psychoendocrinological factors, responsible for immune reactions, taking into account the thyroid gland structure. We observed the strong correlations between the intensity of autoimmunity, morphological features, psychiatric and hormonal changes.

[Diagnosis and therapy of asthenic disorders: results of the questionnaire survey of general practitioners]

The questionnaire survey were conducted on the identification, diagnosis and treatment of asthenic disorders with 277 physicians of different specialties from 26 cities of the Russian Federation. Data on the use of different classes of drugs and treatment duration are presented. Based on the results obtained, we determined the main characteristics of general practice and gave recommendations on the optimization of existing approaches and treatment schemes.

[The chronic asthenia syndrome: a clinical approach]

The term asthenia comes from the Greek (centsqsneia, a: privation, without; esthénos: vigor, force), it means absence of strength, vigor or force. It is a symptom, difficult to define, with a set of vague sensations, different for each patient. It is a frequent cause of consult, almost 30% in ambulatory settings. The chronic fatigue represents up to 10% of these cases, and the 0.2-0.7% belongs to the chronic fatigue syndrome. It is very important to differentiate asthenia from weakness, dizziness or dyspnoea, since patients may confuse them. The factor time in asthenia is very useful for its characterization, it was defined to the prolonged fatigue when it lasts for more than a month and chronic when the duration is greater than 6 months. The depression is the commonest fatigue cause, representing approximately half of the cases. The most effective treatment of the asthenia is to solve the underlying cause, although up to 20% of the patients remain without diagnosis. The diagnosis of the chronic fatigue syndrome is of exclusion and the criteria of the international consensus of year 1994 are due to use. The high frequency of the symptom entails an enormous social and economic cost and it is for that reason so important for physicians to have a correct manage of this symptom.

[Asthenic disorders in children]

The present study comprised two parts. In the first part, authors attempted to work out the systematics of asthenic disorders based on our own observations of 189 children aged 7-14 years. The following clinical variants of asthenic states in children were singled out: cerebrogenic asthenia (14.3%), somatogenic (13.8%), residual (16.4%), dysontogenetic (20.1%) and neurasthenia (35.4%). In the second part, we summarized the results of treatment of neurasthenia with adaptol (32 patients) compared to pantoham (30 patients). The efficacy of adaptol was higher: the improvement was seen in 71.9% of cases compared to pantoham (56.7%). The good tolerability of adaptol which clinical efficacy is confirmed by neurophysiological and psychological studies is discussed.

Signs and symptoms that precede wheezing in children with a pattern of moderate-to-severe intermittent wheezing

OBJECTIVES

To examine parent-reported signs and symptoms as antecedents of wheezing in preschool children with previous moderate to severe wheezing episodes, and to determine the predictive capacity of these symptom patterns for wheezing events.

STUDY DESIGN

Parents (n = 238) of children age 12 to 59 months with moderate-to-severe intermittent wheezing enrolled in a year-long clinical trial completed surveys that captured signs and symptoms at the start of a respiratory tract illness (RTI). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value (PPV) for each symptom leading to wheezing during that RTI were calculated.

RESULTS

The most commonly reported first symptom categories during the first RTI were "nose symptoms" (41%), "significant cough" (29%), and "insignificant cough" (13%). The most reliable predictor of subsequent wheezing was significant cough, which had a specificity of 78% and a PPV of 74% for predicting wheezing.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant cough is the most reliable antecedent of wheezing during an RTI. It may be useful to consider individualized symptom patterns as a component of management plans intended to minimize wheezing episodes.

Predictive value of prodromal symptoms in myocardial infarction

Prodromal symptoms within four weeks prior to an acute event leading to coronary care unit admission have been studied in 276 consecutive patients interviewed within 24 hours after arrival at hospital. Coronary heart disease (CHD) was diagnosed in 237 patients, 140 of whom did develop acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (Group 1) and 97 who did not (Group 2). Of the remainder, 15 had miscellaneous heart diseases (Group 3) and 24 no heart disease (Group 4). Unstable angina pectoris was equally frequent among CHD patients with and without development of AMI and was related to a higher hospital mortality in AMI patients. Less specific symptoms occurred with equal frequency in the four groups. Patients who developed AMI were not possible to identify by prodromal symptoms.

Mild phosphate diabetes in adults

Phosphate diabetes has been considered as rare and to occur almost exclusively in children. Upon examination of adult patients with rheumatic or kidney diseases it has, however, been found that the combination of hypophosphataemia and hyperphosphaturia is not so rare. This paper deals with 24 adult patients of this type, whom we have found during 6 months. Their mean serum phosphorus concentration was 0.7 mmol/l (range 0.5--0.8). Mean phosphate clearance was 31 ml/min/1.73 m2 (range 16--51). The diagnoses were myalgia, dorsalgia (n = 7), papillitis calcificans (n = 5), prostatitis or prostate accretions (n = 4), dizziness (n = 2), kidney stones, tubular defect, interstitial nephritis, medullary sponge kidney (1 case each), two patients had transplanted kidneys. Asthenia was a common additional diagnosis. The patients' complaints have been pain in the muscles, joints, bones (18 cases), tiredness (10 cases), dizziness (8 cases), shakyness, numbness, burning sensation (7 cases), tenderness in the muscles and bones ("the princess-on-the-pea syndrome") (7 cases). The most common findings upon examination were bone tenderness (13 cases), reduced manual power (8 cases), positive Romberg test (3 cases), slight muscle atrophy (2 cases), waddling gait (2 cases). The most common findings encountered in the laboratory, besides hypophosphataemia and hyperphosphaturia, were high pH in the urine, hyperaminoaciduria, and phosphate crystals in dried urine.

[Structural characteristics of asthenia in autoimmune thyroiditis]

An examination of 319 patients with hypertrophic form of autoimmune thyroiditis, including 157 patients with diffusive and 162 - with diffusive-nodule structure of the gland, has demonstrated the appearance of asthenic disorders during the euthyroid phase of the disease. Characteristics of these disorders relative to the thyroid gland structure and its diffusive or diffusive-nodule form were found. The association between changes in the immune homeostasis and characteristics of mental disorders was revealed.

Quality of life, anxiety and depression in sarcoidosis

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to evaluate the quality of life and the presence of psychiatric disorders in patients with sarcoidosis.

METHODS

Data were collected from 80 consecutive outpatients with sarcoidosis presenting to the Sarcoidosis Center of the Respiratory Diseases Division at the University of Siena, Italy.

RESULTS

Forty-four percent of the subjects endorsed at least one psychiatric DSM-IV axis I diagnosis. Specifically, 25% of subjects met the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, 6.3% for Panic Disorder, 6.3% for Bipolar Disorder, 5% for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and 1.3% for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Statistically significant correlations were found between Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV(1)), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and several domains of the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) questionnaire. Subjects with multi-systemic involvement, with asthenia and with a more severe radiographic stage and subjects receiving steroids, reported a poorer quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Sarcoidosis is associated with a high rate of psychiatric comorbidity and may contribute to a poorer quality of life. A referral for a psychiatric or psychological evaluation and counseling should be considered for many of the sarcoidosis patients.

[Asthenic syndrome in clinical course of acute period of brain concussion during complex treatment using nootropic agents]

The comparative analysis of a complex examination of 108 persons aged from 16 till 60 years in acute period of closed craniocerebral injury (CCCT) has been done. Every participants have been divided into 2 groups depending on a nootrop medication they receive in a complex treatment. A control group consisted of 30 practically healthy people. Objective examination by means of tests was done on the 1-st, 10-th that 30-th day of treatment. Patients of 1-st (37 persons) group received piracetam in complex treatment and patients of the 2-nd group (71 persons) pramistar. Patients of the first group received a base treatment (analgetics, tranquilizers, vitamins of group B, magnesium sulfate, diuretic preparations) as well as piracetam at dosage 0.2, two tablets three times per day. The Patients of the 2-nd group received a base treatment as well as pramistar at dosage 0.6, one tablet 2 times per day. Specially developed multiaspects scales and questionnaires, MRT of the brain and EEG have been used for objectification of patient, complaints. During a complex clinico-neuropsychological examination it was found that all cases of concussion of the brain are accompanied by those or other asthenic disorders.

[The problem of comorbidity of phobic disorders in adolescents]

Age peculiarities of the comorbidity of the phobic syndrome with other psychopathological formations have been studied on the basis of clinical and follow-up examination of 314 patients, 257 male, 57 female, aged 15-17 years old, with phobic disorders diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria. Simple phobias found in 21% of patients existed as an isolated phenomenon displaying no comorbidity. Asthenic syndrome was most frequently concomitant with phobias (293 patients); personality anomalies were found in 167 patients including 31 with personality disorders; affective syndrome was observed in 61 patients and other ones were noticeably rare. Within the structure of the acute states, phobias appear as a schizophrenic attack or reactive symptoms correlating with the basic syndrome by the time of onset, intensity and content. Age differences of the phobic and related psychopathological syndromes are revealed.