Segmental diastolic compression of circumflex coronary artery secondary to pericardial constriction: an uncommon cause of angina pectoris

Diastolic segmental compression of a native coronary artery is an uncommon cause of chest pain. Here we describe a 24-year-old woman with constrictive pericarditis who had retrosternal chest pain, progressive dyspnea, tachycardia, and bilateral leg edema. She was diagnosed with compression of the first and second obtuse marginal branches of left circumflex coronary artery secondary to constrictive pericarditis. She underwent pericardiectomy and her symptoms were relieved following surgery.     

Recurrence after incisional hernia repair: Results and risk factors

A relatively low success rate in recurrent incisional hernia repair has prompted us to review the effects of certain risk factors on the long-term outcome of our cases. In this study, 109 recurrent incisional hernias were repaired and reviewed between 7 and 92 months after the operation. The recurrence rate was 45.0%. Many conditions that have been implicated as causal factors in the occurrence of incisional hernias were not found to be associated with recurrence after repair. However, chronic constipation was determined to be the most prominent risk factor associated with late recurrence.     

Rapid susceptibility test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid and rifampin with resazurin method in screw-cap tubes

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis is still a serious public health problem all over the world. MDR tuberculosis (MDR-TB) caused by these strains has emerged within the last decade and rapid detection is critical for the effective treatment of patients. Recently, a resazurin microtiter assay plate for detecting MDR strains was developed. In this study, it was adapted to screw-cap tubes and the activity of isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RIF) to 50 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates was tested by this method for the first time. Results were compared with the radiometric reference method for the susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis complex. The results of both methods were in 100% and 96% agreement for RIF and INH, respectively. Specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 91.7%, 100%, 92.8% and 100% for INH, respectively. All of these values were 100% for RIF. Susceptibility testing results were obtained on the 8th day of incubation for 42 isolates and on the 9th day for the other eight strains. Our results indicate that this method is suitable for the early determination of INH and RIF resistance in developing countries because it is inexpensive, rapid and easy to perform.