A roadmap for early psychosocial support in palliative care for people impacted by ALS-reducing suffering, building resiliency, and setting the stage for delivering timely transdiagnostic psychosocial care

This commentary describes the current state of psychosocial care for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their caregivers. We provide recommendations for developing a roadmap for future research based on existing literature and our group's clinical and research experience to inform next steps to expand evidence-based psychosocial care for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their caregivers, with potential implications for a range of advanced illnesses.

The Comprehensive Management of Cerebellar Ataxia in Adults

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

In this review, we present the multidisciplinary approach to the management of the many neurological, medical, social, and emotional issues facing patients with cerebellar ataxia.

RECENT FINDINGS

Our holistic approach to treatment, developed over the past 25 years in the Massachusetts General Hospital Ataxia Unit, is centered on the compassionate care of the patient and their family, empowering them through engagement, and including the families as partners in the healing process. We present the management of ataxia in adults, beginning with establishing an accurate diagnosis, followed by treatment of the multiple symptoms seen in cerebellar disorders, with a view to maximizing quality of life and effectively living with the consequences of ataxia. We discuss the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of ataxia, including medical and non-medical management and the evidence base that supports these interventions. We address the pharmacological treatment of ataxia, tremor, and other associated movement disorders; ophthalmological symptoms; bowel, bladder, and sexual symptoms; orthostatic hypotension; psychiatric and cognitive symptoms; neuromodulation, including deep brain stimulation; rehabilitation including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech and language pathology and, as necessary, involving urology, psychiatry, and pain medicine. We discuss the role of palliative care in late-stage disease. The management of adults with ataxia is complex and a team-based approach is essential.

National trends in opioid-related hospitalizations among patients with cancer

199

Background: Cancer patients are routinely prescribed opioids for cancer-related pain. With recent attention to the opioid epidemic, we sought to identify risk factors and to describe the incidence of opioid-related hospitalizations among cancer patients. Methods: Serial cross-sectional study of adult cancer patients with opioid-related hospitalizations using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from January 2006 to December 2014. We identified cancer patients using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes. We defined opioid-related hospitalizations as ICD-9 codes for heroin poisoning, opioid poisoning, or opioid dependence or abuse in the primary diagnosis field. A logistic regression model identified predictors for opioid-related hospitalizations. We adjusted temporal trends for opioid-related hospitalizations for all-cause hospitalizations among cancer patients. Results: Among 25,443,362 hospitalizations for cancer patients, there were 14,336 opioid-related hospitalizations. Non-heroin opioid poisoning made up 88% of opioid-related hospitalizations. Predictors for opioid-related hospitalizations for cancer patients included drug abuse (OR 9.40, 95% CI 8.28 - 10.66), younger age [age 18 - 29 (OR 4.00, 95% CI 3.10 - 5.17); age 30 - 49 (OR 3.99, 95% CI 3.43 - 4.65)], depression (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.97 - 2.39), alcohol abuse (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.41), and year of hospitalization [2009-2011 (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.07 - 1.32); 2012 - 2014 (OR 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06 - 1.32)]. On average, opioid-related hospitalizations increased by 0.003% per year (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Opioid-related hospitalizations among cancer patients are rare, appear to be increasing over time, and are largely due to non-heroin opioid poisoning. Standardized opioid risk screening based on validated predictors may identify cancer patients with the greatest risk of an opioid-related hospitalization.

Validation of a smartphone-based EEG among people with epilepsy: A prospective study

Our objective was to assess the ability of a smartphone-based electroencephalography (EEG) application, the Smartphone Brain Scanner-2 (SBS2), to detect epileptiform abnormalities compared to standard clinical EEG. The SBS2 system consists of an Android tablet wirelessly connected to a 14-electrode EasyCap headset (cost ~ 300 USD). SBS2 and standard EEG were performed in people with suspected epilepsy in Bhutan (2014-2015), and recordings were interpreted by neurologists. Among 205 participants (54% female, median age 24 years), epileptiform discharges were detected on 14% of SBS2 and 25% of standard EEGs. The SBS2 had 39.2% sensitivity (95% confidence interval (CI) 25.8%, 53.9%) and 94.8% specificity (95% CI 90.0%, 97.7%) for epileptiform discharges with positive and negative predictive values of 0.71 (95% CI 0.51, 0.87) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.76, 0.89) respectively. 31% of focal and 82% of generalized abnormalities were identified on SBS2 recordings. Cohen's kappa (κ) for the SBS2 EEG and standard EEG for the epileptiform versus non-epileptiform outcome was κ = 0.40 (95% CI 0.25, 0.55). No safety or tolerability concerns were reported. Despite limitations in sensitivity, the SBS2 may become a viable supportive test for the capture of epileptiform abnormalities, and extend EEG access to new, especially resource-limited, populations at a reduced cost.

Peripheral nervous system manifestations of infectious diseases

Infectious causes of peripheral nervous system (PNS) disease are underrecognized but potentially treatable. Heightened awareness educed by advanced understanding of the presentations and management of these infections can aid diagnosis and facilitate treatment. In this review, we discuss the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of common bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections that affect the PNS. We additionally detail PNS side effects of some frequently used antimicrobial agents.