An unusual right-sided endocarditis: a case report of eustachian valve endocarditis

Thienopyridines and aspirin are beneficial in patients undergoing bare-metal stent implantation, and aspirin and clopidogrel treatment have also been proved effective after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. However, despite the common substitution of clopidogrel with ticlopidine because of cost or patient intolerance, there are no data on the comparison of ticlopidine vs. clopidogrel after DES implantation. We hereby compare ticlopidine vs. clopidogrel after paclitaxel-eluting stent implantation in subjects enrolled in the prospective multicenter Taxus in Real-life Usage Evaluation (TRUE) Study. Across the 505 analyzed patients (112 treated with ticlopidine and 393 with clopidogrel), similar rates of early and mid-term (7 months) adverse thrombotic events were found with either antiplatelet regimen, with the notable exception of 2 cases of late stent thrombosis in patients who had prematurely withdrawn ticlopidine treatment just 3 months after the procedure. These findings thus support the overall safety and effectiveness of ticlopidine after DES implantation, and also confirm the increased risk of late thrombosis when premature withdrawal of thienopyridines occurs.     

同期胰肾联合移植12例报告--德国埃森大学的经验

目的总结同期胰肾联合移植(SPK)术的治疗效果和经验。方法自2002年1月至2003年9月,以SPK术治疗胰岛素依赖型糖尿病(IDDM)合并终末期肾病(ESRD)患者12例。每例受者接受来自同一供者的胰腺和肾脏,移植肾以经典方法植入左侧盆腔,胰腺植于右下腹。1例移植胰腺静脉与受者门静脉系统吻合,11例与体静脉系统吻合。胰腺外分泌引流方法为:3例移植物十二指肠段与受者十二指肠吻合,9例与空肠上段吻合。术前应用甲泼尼龙及抗胸腺细胞球蛋白作为免疫诱导,术后以他克莫司、霉酚酸酯和泼尼松三联抗排斥药物维持。结果术后平均随访时间23个月,受者、移植胰腺和移植肾的存活率分别为100%、91.7%和91.7%。1例再次行SPK术的受者,术后出现了超急性排斥反应,且未能逆转,于术后13d切除移植物;其余11例首次行SPK术的受者中,3例(28.3%)出现急性排斥,均获成功纠治。2例受者术后移植肾功能延迟恢复,行过渡性透析。11例首次行SPK术的移植胰腺术后立即发挥了功能,分别于术后1~5d内停用胰岛素。结论同期胰肾联合移植是胰岛素依赖型糖尿病合并终末期肾病患者的一种安全而有效的治疗方法。     

Deep white matter infarction: correlation of MR imaging and histopathologic findings

Focal and confluent areas of periventricular hyperintensity have been reported on magnetic resonance (MR) images in 30% of patients over 60 years of age. In order to better understand the pathologic basis of these lesions, the authors studied 14 formalin-fixed brains with MR imaging. Multiple focal areas of hyperintensity were identified in the periventricular white matter in three of the 14 brains studied (21%). Subsequent gross and microscopic pathologic examination of both hyperintense and normal-intensity areas was performed on 87 tissue sections. The larger lesions were characterized centrally by necrosis, axonal loss, and demyelination and therefore represent true infarcts. Reactive astrocytes oriented along the degenerated axons were identified at distances of up to several centimeters from the central infarct. This is called isomorphic gliosis and is associated with increased intensity on T2-weighted images that increases the apparent size of the central lesion.     

Nocturnal Lifestyle Behaviours and Risk of Poor Sleep during Pregnancy

The extent to which lifestyle practices at night influence sleep quality in pregnant women remains unknown. This study aimed to examine whether nocturnal behaviours were associated with poor sleep during pregnancy. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort of pregnant women at 18–24 gestation weeks recruited from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, between 2019 and 2021. Nocturnal behaviours were assessed with questionnaires, and sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) with a global score ≥5 indicative of poor sleep quality. Modified Poisson regression and linear regression were used to examine the association between nocturnal behaviour and sleep quality. Of 299 women, 117 (39.1%) experienced poor sleep. In the covariate-adjusted analysis, poor sleep was observed in women with nocturnal eating (risk ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12, 2.04) and nocturnal artificial light exposure (1.63; 1.24, 2.13). Similarly, nocturnal eating (β 0.68; 95% CI 0.03, 1.32) and light exposure (1.99; 1.04, 2.94) were associated with higher PSQI score. Nocturnal physical activity and screen viewing before bedtime were not associated with sleep quality. In conclusion, reducing nocturnal eating and light exposure at night could potentially improve sleep in pregnancy.