These results indicate that the circadian variation of GFR does not result directly from changes in BP or cardiac output. An inverted GFR rhythm in patients with nephrotic syndrome may originate from hormonal mechanisms rather than directly from the hemodynamic effects of edema mobilization.

Considering limits of precision of CO measurements with Doppler echocardiography (± 30%), the agreement between noninvasive CO measurement with the Nexfin and TTE is reasonable.

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Brief screening tests would be convenient for the measurement of cognitive impairment in stroke patients. In these patients aphasia can interfere with test procedures. To evaluate the feasibility of examining cognitive functions in stroke patients we examined 129 patients with an ischaemic stroke using the CAMCOG, a standardised neuropsychological screening test, after an interval of at least 3 months. Most patients (88%) were able to complete the CAMCOG. Patients with severe aphasia were significantly more likely to have an abnormal CAMCOG score than patients without aphasia [relative risk (RR) 4.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.8-5.8]. The group of patients with moderate aphasia was not at higher risk of having an abnormal CAMCOG score than patients without aphasia (RR 1.4, 95% CI 0.6-2.8). Looking for other factors that might correlate with the scores, logistic regression analysis revealed age as the only significant factor for the prediction of the CAMCOG score (odds ratio 4.0, 95% CI 1.2-13.2). We concluded that the CAMCOG can conveniently be used for screening cognitive functions in patients with cerebral infarcts, even if there is moderate aphasia.

No abstract