Characteristics and survival for HIV-associated multicentric Castleman disease in Malawi

Introduction

Clinical reports of multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce despite high prevalence of HIV and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Our objective is to describe characteristics and survival for HIV-associated MCD patients in Malawi. To our knowledge, this is the first HIV-associated MCD case series from the region.

Methods

We describe HIV-positive patients with MCD in Lilongwe, and compare them to HIV-associated lymph node Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients treated at our centre. All patients were enrolled into a prospective longitudinal cohort study at a national teaching hospital and cancer referral centre serving half of Malawi''s 16 million people. We included adult patients≥18 years of age with HIV-associated MCD (n=6), lymph node KS (n=5) or NHL (n=31) enrolled between 1 June 2013 and 31 January 2015.

Results and discussion

MCD patients had a median age of 42.4 years (range 37.2–51.8). All had diffuse lymphadenopathy and five had hepatosplenomegaly. Concurrent KS was present for one MCD patient, and four had performance status ≥3. MCD patients had lower median haemoglobin (6.4 g/dL, range 3.6–9.3) than KS (11.0 g/dL, range 9.1–12.0, p=0.011) or NHL (11.2 g/dL, range 4.5–15.1, p=0.0007). Median serum albumin was also lower for MCD (2.1 g/dL, range 1.7–3.2) than KS (3.7 g/dL, range 3.2–3.9, p=0.013) or NHL (3.4 g/dL, range 1.8–4.8, p=0.003). All six MCD patients were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with median CD4 count 208 cells/µL (range 108–1146), and all with HIV RNA <400 copies/mL. Most KS and NHL patients were also on ART, although ART duration was longer for MCD (56.4 months, range 18.2–105.3) than KS (14.2 months, range 6.8–21.9, p=0.039) or NHL (13.8 months, range 0.2–98.8, p=0.017). Survival was poorer for MCD patients than lymph node KS or NHL.

Conclusions

HIV-associated MCD occurs in Malawi, is diagnosed late and is associated with high mortality. Improvements in awareness, diagnostic facilities, treatment and supportive care are needed to address this likely under-recognized public health problem in SSA.     

弱视儿童的临床概况和遮盖治疗结果

目的：研究弱视的临床表现,以及对弱视患者进行遮盖治疗的效果。

方法：纵向研究。收集2015-04/2016-04 Dhulikhel医院眼科1 092例患者数据。对检出的弱视60例患儿的视力、主诉、年龄、屈光状态、双眼屈光度和注视方式进行评估。并对检出的弱视患儿进行遮盖治疗。

结果：在研究期间接受检查的1 092例儿童中,60例(5.49%)为弱视患者,其中,女性35例(58.30%),男性25例(41.70%),平均年龄为8.87±3.29岁。在43.3%(n=26)的弱视儿童中,经线性弱视是最常见的亚型,其次是远视性屈光参差性弱视(20%,n=12)。最常见的屈光不正是散光,占58.30%,其次是远视(22.50%)和近视(7.50%)。配戴眼镜联合遮盖治疗和主动视觉训练的依从性为73.30%(n=44)。3mo后不同治疗策略对弱视眼视力有显著改善(P=0.002)。

结论：在尼泊尔等发展中国家,弱视发病率和相关的视力损害仍然是一个公共卫生问题。意识的缺乏,社区或学龄前儿童视力筛查的缺乏,会导致儿童较晚出现症状,并最终导致明显的视力损害。通过筛选就诊地点、及时转诊和适当的干预措施,这种状况可得到改善。     

The acute effect of atropine eye drops on the human full-field electroretinogram

Documenta Ophthalmologica - Atropine eye drops are a common and effective treatment for slowing myopia progression, but the site and mode of action of atropine in controlling myopia are unclear. We...     

Improved 24-Hour Blood Pressure Control With Sirolimus Versus Calcineurin Inhibitor Based Immunosuppression in Renal Transplant Recipients

Introduction

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) have brought dramatic improvements in early renal allograft survival. However, CNI are associated with posttransplant hypertension (PTHTN), a risk factor for mortality from cardiovascular disease and graft failure. Sirolimus (SRL) is emerging as an alternative to CNI. SRL effects on blood pressure (BP) in humans are unclear. We compared the prevalence of PTHTN among patients receiving SRL as maintenance immunosuppression with a group receiving CNI by using 24-hour ambulatory BP (AMBP). AMBP has been shown to predict cardiovascular events and progression of kidney disease better than casual office BP measurements in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Methods

Renal transplant recipients with office hypertension (defined as BP > 130/80 or on antihypertensive medications), receiving stable immunosuppression and displaying consistent serum creatinine values for ≥6 months were eligible. We enrolled the first 40 patients to consent. Office BP was measured twice using a BP-Tru machine. AMBP was then analyzed for systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and nocturnal blood pressure fall (NF; “dipping”). Patients were placed in the SRL group (n = 18) and the CNI group (n = 20) based on their maintenance immunosuppressive protocol. Two patients were excluded because of incomplete data. All patients received mycophenolate mofetil, and 14/38, maintenance steroids. We collected, demographics as well as type and date of renal allograft, medications, comorbidities, CKD stage, proteinuria, and plasma creatinine at the time of study enrollment.

Results

Patients in the SRL group displayed lower 24-hour SBP than the CNI group (128.0 ± 10.8 vs 137.7 ± 14; P = .029). Nightime MAP, nightime SBP, and nighttime DBP were all lower in the SRL group. NF did not reach significance between the SRL and CNI groups (44% vs 15%; P = .074). Patient demographics and number of antihypertensive medications did not differ.

Conclusion

The lower 24-hour SBP seen in the SRL group by AMBP may lead to improved cardiovascular and renal outcomes over time. Long-term patient follow-up will be needed to clarify the effect of the lower 24-hour SBP.     

Effect of maternal deprivation on growth of wistar rats in preweaning period

Objective: The objective of this study was to observe the effect of maternal deprivation on somatic growth of wistar rat pups viz. Body weight, nose-rump length, tail length and head length. Materials and method: 5 days old 50 rat pups were studied dividing equally into control and experimental groups. Experimental group (N=25) of rats were maternally deprived 1-4 hours twice daily till the weaning period. Body weight and measurement of body parts were recorded at 4 days interval till 29th day. Recorded parameters were statistically analysed. Result: The result of this study revealed that maternal deprivation stress produces significant effect in the body weight, nose-rump length and tail length from D9 till the study period whereas head length insignificantly affected. Conclusion: MD stress has profound effects on somatic growth and found irreversible even after withdrawal for a period of 8 days. Key words: Maternal deprivation, stress, body weight, somatic growth, preweaning period.     

Can homemade alcohol (raksi) be useful for preserving dead bodies? An experiment on wistar albino rats.

Introduction: Embalming is the through disinfection and art of preserving bodies after death using chemical substances. It keeps a body life like in appearance during the time it lies in a state prior to funeral. Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of Raksi in sacrificed rats in arresting postmortem changes and establishing scientific fact whether Raksi can be an alternative to standard embalming constituent if it is not available. Material and methods: 50 albino rats were systematically randomized into control and experiment groups. Raksi and distilled water were injected for embalming purpose intraventricularly in experiment and control groups of rats respectively and kept for 48 to 96 hours for observation for postmortem changes. Result: Observations made at 48 and 72 hours of embalming revealed that Raksi can arrest postmortem changes in the rats up to 72 hours (3rd day) successfully in the experimental group whereas moderate to severe postmortem changes were seen in the control group. The experimental group showed mild degree of putrefactive changes, liberation of gases and liquefaction of tissues only at 96 hours (4th day) of embalming. Discussion: The Raksi used in this experiment contained 34% of alcohol, which was determined by an alcohol hydrometer. Experiment clearly demonstrated from its result that raksi can be utilised temporarily for embalming since it contains alcohol and has preservative, bactericidal and disinfectant properties. Conclusion: It is concluded from the study that this knowledge if applied to dead human subjects, may preserve dead bodies temporarily allowing delayed funeral. Key words: Rat, Embalming, Homemade alcohol, Raksi, Funeral.     

Patient and Peri-operative Predictors of Morbidity and Mortality After Esophagectomy: American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP), 2005–2008

Purpose  

Our aim was to determine what specific patient and peri-operative factors contribute to major complications after esophagectomy.     

Plasma Epstein‐Barr virus DNA for pediatric Burkitt lymphoma diagnosis,prognosis and response assessment in Malawi

Point‐of‐care tools are needed in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) to improve pediatric Burkitt lymphoma (BL) diagnosis and treatment. We evaluated plasma Epstein–Barr virus (pEBV) DNA as a pediatric BL biomarker in Malawi. Prospectively enrolled children with BL were compared to classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and nonlymphoma diagnoses. Pediatric BL patients received standardized chemotherapy and supportive care. pEBV DNA was measured at baseline, mid‐treatment, and treatment completion. Of 121 assessed children, pEBV DNA was detected in 76/88 (86%) with BL, 16/17 (94%) with cHL, and 2/16 (12%) with nonlymphoma, with proportions higher in BL versus nonlymphoma (p < 0.001) and similar in BL versus cHL (p = 0.69). If detected, median pEBV DNA was 6.1 log₁₀copies/mL for BL, 4.8 log₁₀copies/mL for cHL, and 3.4 log₁₀copies/mL for nonlymphoma, with higher levels in BL versus cHL (p = 0.029), and a trend toward higher levels in BL versus nonlymphoma (p = 0.062). pEBV DNA declined during treatment in the cohort overall and increased in several children before clinical relapse. Twelve‐month overall survival was 40% in the cohort overall, and for children with baseline pEBV detected, survival was worse if baseline pEBV DNA was ≥6 log₁₀copies/mL versus <6 log₁₀copies/mL (p = 0.0002), and also if pEBV DNA was persistently detectable at mid‐treatment versus undetectable (p = 0.041). Among children with baseline pEBV DNA detected, viremia was the only significant risk factor for death by 12 months in multivariate analyses (adjusted hazard ratio 1.35 per log₁₀copies/mL, 95% CI 1.04–1.75, p = 0.023). Quantitative pEBV DNA has potential utility for diagnosis, prognosis, and response assessment for pediatric BL in SSA.