[Background – Dizziness is one of the most frequent complaints when a patient is searching for medical care and resolution. This can be a problematic presentation in the emergency department, both from a diagnostic and a management standpoint. Purpose – The aim of our study is to clarify what happens to patients after leaving the emergency department. Methods – 879 patients were examined at the Semmel­weis University Emergency Department with vertigo and dizziness. We sent a questionnaire to these patients and we had 308 completed papers back (110 male, 198 female patients, mean age 61.8 ± 12.31 SD), which we further analyzed. Results – Based on the emergency department diagnosis we had the following results: central vestibular lesion (n = 71), dizziness or giddiness (n = 64) and BPPV (n = 51) were among the most frequent diagnosis. Clarification of the final post-examination diagnosis took several days (28.8%), and weeks (24.2%). It was also noticed that 24.02% of this population never received a proper diagnosis. Among the population only 80 patients (25.8%) got proper diagnosis of their complaints, which was supported by qualitative statistical analysis (Cohen Kappa test) result (κ = 0.560). Discussion – The correlation between our emergency department diagnosis and final diagnosis given to patients is low, a phenomenon that is also observable in other countries. Therefore, patient follow-up is an important issue, including the importance of neurotology and possibly neurological examination. Conclusion – Emergency diagnosis of vertigo is a great challenge, but despite of difficulties the targeted and quick case history and exact examination can evaluate the central or peripheral cause of the balance disorder. Therefore, to prevent declination of the quality of life the importance of further investigation is high.]

[Diuretics have remained the cornerstone of the antihypertensive treatment since their widespreading in the 1960s. According to the 2018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension, in the absence of evidence from direct comparator trials and recognizing that many of the approved single-pill combinations are based on hydrochlorothiazide, this drug and thiazide-like indapamide can be considered suitable antihypertensive agents. In the 2018 Hungarian guidelines indapamide is named as the most efficacious diuretic in the treatment of patients with hypertension. The aim of the publication is redefining thiazide- and thiazide-like diuretic use in the treatment of hypertensive patients, with particular attention to presently available hydrochlorothia­zide and indapamide, and their combination drugs in Hungary.]

[In pregnancy complicated with diabetes, treatment of hyperglycaemia is of fundamental importance during delivery in order to improve the outcome parameters of both the mother and the neonate. This is particularly important in the case of mothers with type 1 diabetes and of all mothers who require insulin treatment during their pregnancy. The use of antenatal steroids for women at risk of pre-term birth further complicates the treatment of hyperglycaemia in the period immediately before delivery and requires the appropriate change of insulin therapy. The requirement of nil per os in the delivery period necessitates proper fluid, glucose and insulin treatment in the pre-delivery hours. After surgical delivery the patients may also need infusion treatment until the first meal. As there is no unified guideline for the peripartum management of diabetes, the author re­views the international literature on the internal medicine issues concerning the peripartum treatment of pregnant women with diabetes. This study reviews the characteristics of insulin treatment of women with various types of diabetes before, du­ring and di­rect­ly after delivery. It presents a dosing schedule for women who needed an antenatal steroid treatment in the period before delivery due to premature birth for the purpose of lung maturation. The study also addresses the application and programming of pe­ripartum blood glucose tests, continuous interstitial glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pump treatment (CSII).]

[Background – Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive, progressive neuromuscular disorder resulting in a loss of lower motoneurons. Recently, new disease-modifying treatments (two drugs for splicing modification of SMN2 and one for SMN1 gene replacement) have become available. Purpose – The new drugs change the progression of SMA with neonatal and childhood onset. Increasing amount of data are available about the effects of these drugs in adult patients with SMA. In this article, we summarize the available data of new SMA therapies in adult patients. Methods – Members of the Executive Committee of the Hungarian Clinical Neurogenetic Society surveyed the literature for palliative treatments, randomized controlled trials, and retrospective and prospective studies using disease modifying therapies in adult patients with SMA. Patients – We evaluated the outcomes of studies focused on treatments of adult patients mainly with SMA II and III. In this paper, we present our consensus statement in nine points covering palliative care, technical, medical and safety considerations, patient selection, and long-term monitoring of adult patients with SMA. This consensus statement aims to support the most efficient management of adult patients with SMA, and provides information about treatment efficacy and safety to be considered during personalized therapy. It also highlights open questions needed to be answered in future. Using this recommendation in clinical practice can result in optimization of therapy.]

Rapid changes of stroke management in recent years facilitate the need for accurate and easy-to-use screening methods for early detection of large vessel occlusion (LVO) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Our aim was to evaluate the ability of various stroke scales to discriminate an LVO in AIS. We have performed a cross-sectional, observational study based on a registry of consecutive patients with first ever AIS admitted up to 4.5 hours after symptom onset to a comprehensive stroke centre. The diagnostic capability of 14 stroke scales were investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Area under the curve (AUC) values of NIHSS, modified NIHSS, shortened NIHSS-EMS, sNIHSS-8, sNIHSS-5 and Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation (RACE) scales were among the highest (>0.800 respectively). A total of 6 scales had cut-off values providing at least 80% specificity and 50% sensitivity, and 5 scales had cut-off values with at least 70% specificity and 75% sensitivity. Certain stroke scales may be suitable for discriminating an LVO in AIS. The NIHSS and modified NIHSS are primarily suitable for use in hospital settings. However, sNIHSS-EMS, sNIHSS-8, sNIHSS-5, RACE and 3-Item Stroke Scale (3I-SS) are easier to perform and interpret, hence their use may be more advantageous in the prehospital setting. Prospective (prehospital) validation of these scales could be the scope of future studies.