Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) after stroke can lead to poor outcome and death. Novel treatments to combat ICP rises are needed. The carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide diminishes cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production, reduces ICP in healthy animals, and is beneficial for idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients. We tested whether acetazolamide mitigates ICP elevations by presumably decreasing CSF volume after collagenase-induced striatal hemorrhage in rats. We confirmed that acetazolamide did not adversely affect hematoma formation in this model or physiological variables, such as temperature. Then, we assessed the effects of acetazolamide on ICP. Lastly, we tested the effects of acetazolamide on behavioral and histological outcome. Acetazolamide reduced the magnitude and occurrence of short-timescale ICP spikes, assessed as disproportionate increases in ICP (sudden ICP increases > 10 mmHg), 1-min peak ICP, and the magnitude of spikes > 20 mmHg. However, mean ICP was unaffected. In addition, acetazolamide reduced ICP variability, reflecting improved intracranial compliance. Compliance measures were strongly correlated with high peak and mean ICP, whereas ipsilateral hemisphere water content was not correlated with ICP. Despite effects on ICP, acetazolamide did not improve behavioral function or affect lesion size. In summary, we show that intracerebral hemorrhage creates an impaired compliance state within the cranial space that can result in large, transient ICP spikes. Acetazolamide ameliorates intracranial compliance and mitigates ICP spikes, but does not improve functional outcome, at least for moderate-severity ICH in rats.

The present study aimed to investigate the bacterial distribution, changes in drug susceptibility and clinical characteristics in patients with diabetic foot infection (DFI). A retrospective analysis of 216 patients with DFI treated at Xinxiang Central Hospital between 2013 and 2016 was carried out to analyze the bacterial distribution, changes of susceptibility and clinical characteristics. A total of 262 pathogenic strains were isolated from 216 patients with DFI. Among them, 43.13% exhibited Gram-positive (G+) bacteria, 45.04% exhibited Gram-negative (G-) bacteria and 11.83% was other. Between 2013 and 2016, the susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to common antibacterial drugs showed a declining trend year by year. G+ bacteria had high susceptibility to vancomycin and acetazolamide; while G- bacteria showed high susceptibility to dibekacin, panipenem and biapenem. The main clinical symptoms of the 216 patients included edema (98.61%), purulent secretions (62.96%) and lower extremity sepsis (58.80%). The top three complications of the 216 cases were lower extremity vascular disease (58.80%), peripheral neuropathy (39.81%) and kidney disease (26.39%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age [odds ratio (OR), 2.708; P=0.005], previous use of antibacterial drugs (OR, 3.816; P=0.007) and application of the third generation cephalosporins (OR, 3.014; P=0.008) were the independent risk factors of drug resistance in patients with DFI (P<0.05). There were numerous types of pathogens in patients with DFI, and all of them had certain drug resistance. The drug susceptibility was decreasing year by year. The pathogens and drug resistance in patients with DFI should be monitored to reduce the incidence of related complications and improve the prognosis of patients.

We discuss a unique case of sudden sensorineural hearing loss after Cialis (tadalafil) use, a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, and the implication of ipsilateral cochlear hydrops seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We report a case of a 53-year-old male with unilateral low-frequency sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) after ingestion of tadalafil. The SSNHL occurred 1 day after ingestion and was associated with aural fullness and tinnitus. There were no symptoms of vertigo. He received oral prednisone immediately after the onset of hearing loss without improvement. Delayed intravenous contrast-enhanced three-dimensional Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI revealed ipsilateral dilation of the cochlear duct without any hydronic change in the vestibular system. Acetazolamide therapy was initiated, and his symptoms improved. A posttreatment audiogram revealed an increase in threshold of 15 dB. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cochlear hydrops visualized on imaging after a PDE5 inhibitor induced SSNHL. Tadalafil and other PDE5 inhibitors have a known association with SSNHL. Despite several proposed mechanisms, there is inconclusive evidence of a causal relationship. Our presented case suggests that cochlear hydrops may be one possible mechanism of PDE5 inhibitor-associated SSNHL. MRI should be considered in the evaluation of such patients who do not respond to oral steroids as initial treatment. Laryngoscope, 2018.

Phase-contrast mapping (PCM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides easy-access non-invasive quantification of global cerebral blood flow (gCBF) but its accuracy in altered perfusion states is not established. We aimed to compare paired PCM MRI and 15O-H2O positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of gCBF in different perfusion states in a single scanning session. Duplicate combined gCBF PCM-MRI and 15O-H2O PET measurements were performed in the resting condition, during hyperventilation and after acetazolamide administration (post-ACZ) using a 3T hybrid PET/MR system. A total of 62 paired gCBF measurements were acquired in 14 healthy young male volunteers. Average gCBF in resting state measured by PCM-MRI and 15O-H2O PET were 58.5 ± 10.7 and 38.6 ± 5.7 mL/100 g/min, respectively, during hyperventilation 33 ± 8.6 and 24.7 ± 5.8 mL/100 g/min, respectively, and post-ACZ 89.6 ± 27.1 and 57.3 ± 9.6 mL/100 g/min, respectively. On average, gCBF measured by PCM-MRI was 49% higher compared to 15O-H2O PET. A strong correlation between the two methods across all states was observed (R2 = 0.72, p < 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis suggested a perfusion dependent relative bias resulting in higher relative difference at higher CBF values. In conclusion, measurements of gCBF by PCM-MRI in healthy volunteers show a strong correlation with 15O-H2O PET, but are associated with a large and non-linear perfusion-dependent difference.