Evaluation of feature extraction techniques on event-related potentials for detection of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are one of the most informative and dynamic methods of monitoring cognitive processes, which are widely used in clinical research to deal a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This work proposes an extraction and selection methodology for discriminating between normal and pathological patients with ADHD by using ERPs. Three different sets of features (morphological, wavelets, and nonlinear based) are analyzed, looking for the best classification accuracy. The results show that the wavelet features provided a good discriminative capability, but it improved by combining all the set of features and applying a feature selection algorithm, reaching a maximum accuracy rate of 91.3%.

[Priapism in the adult: report of 15 cases]

OBJECTIVES

The practical approach to the treatment of priapism is complicated by the rarity of this disease. Treatments for impotence by intracavernous injection of vasodilators have considerably increased the incidence of prolonged erections, although "antidote" protocols, when instituted rapidly, ensure detumescence in most cases. The objective of this study was to define a practical and rigorous approach based on comparison of our results with those reported in the literature concerning the management of priapism.

METHODS

This series consists of fifteen consecutive cases observed in adults over a ten-year period. The pathophysiology and aetiologies are recalled. The authors evaluate the percentage of detumescence after primary treatment and after retreatment and discuss the incidence of secondary impotence. This information is compared with the data of the literature in order to define a practical approach.

RESULTS

After a trial intracavernous injection of vasoconstrictors, creation of a cavernospongiosa fistula provided the best results with a 60% detumescence rate after primary treatment and 80% after retreatment. All treatments combined, 53.3% of good results were obtained after primary treatment and 66.7% after retreatment. In the long-term, 50% of patients with a sufficient follow-up are impotent.

CONCLUSIONS

As a result of systematic surveillance of patients treated by an intracavernous injection protocol, the number of priapisms induced in our institution has remained stable over recent years. Patients treated for priapism within 36 hours have a better short-term and long-term prognosis.

Single daily dose amikacin in paediatric patients with severe gram-negative infections

Twenty-five children with serious Gram-negative infections were treated in a prospective study with amikacin 20 mg/kg administered in a single daily dose as a 30 min iv infusion for 4 to 12 days. In nine cases the amikacin was combined with beta-lactam antibiotics. Escherichia coli were the most frequent bacteria isolated followed by K. pneumoniae, Providencia and Enterobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MICs ranging from 1 to 16 mg/l. Mean (+/- S.D.) peak and trough concentrations of days 1 and 4 of therapy ranged from 49 +/- 13.5 to 53.6 +/- 13.4 mg/l and 6 + 1.4 to 7.7 +/- 4.1 mg/l respectively. All patients were clinically and bacteriologically cured. No significant adverse reactions were observed. The results suggest that administration of a single daily dose of 20 mg/kg amikacin should be considered practical and safe in children. Further studies are needed.

Aztreonam in the treatment of aerobic, gram-negative bacillary infections in pediatric patients

Aztreonam was administered to 20 children diagnosed as having any of the following infections: urinary tract infection, pneumonia, meningitis, and abscess of the appendix. Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of aztreonam for these bacteria ranged from 0.03 to 0.5 micrograms/ml. All patients were clinically and bacteriologically cured within 5-16 days of treatment. Six months after completion of therapy, patients who had had meningitis appeared to be free of any neurologic sequelae. The antibiotic was well tolerated by all patients.