Laparoscopic aneurysm resection and splenectomy for splenic artery aneurysm in the third trimester of pregnancy

Background

Splenic artery aneurysms (SAA) are a rare entity most commonly diagnosed incidentally. Their association with pregnancy increases the risk of rupture resulting in a disproportionately high maternal and fetal mortality. Accordingly, elective surgical treatment is recommended in asymptomatic patients with aneurysms less than 2 cm. In this case, we present a patient during her third trimester of pregnancy with a SAA who was treated by laparoscopic aneurysm resection and splenectomy.

Methods

The patient is a 38-year-old multiparous woman, with an incidental diagnosis of a SAA in 2010. Subsequently, the patient became pregnant and at 27 weeks started to develop abdominal pain. Failed embolization was attempted with worsening of the patient’s symptoms. A CT angiogram revealed a 1.6 cm distal third SAA without any evidence of rupture. Due to the localization of the lesion, the patient was offered a laparoscopic aneurysm resection and splenectomy.

Results

Operating time was 90 min and estimated blood loss was 5 cc. Postoperative fetal monitoring was normal. No perioperative complications were observed. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 3. Two months after laparoscopic splenectomy, the patient delivered a male infant in perfect health.

Conclusions

Although this is a rare disease, the risk of aneurysmal rupture is increased during pregnancy. As a result of high maternal and fetal mortality, elective surgery should be performed. Laparoscopic surgery is the technique of choice.     

Proximal humeral reconstruction using nail cement spacer in primary and metastatic tumours of proximal humerus

Limb salvage surgery for malignant tumours of proximal humerus is an operative challenge, where the surgeon has to preserve elbow and hand functions and retain shoulder stability with as much function as possible. We treated 14 consecutive patients with primary malignant or isolated metastasis of proximal humerus with surgical resection and reconstruction by nail cement spacer. There were 8 females and 6 males, with a mean age of 28.92 years (range 16–51 years) and a mean follow-up of 30.14 months (range 12–52 months). The diagnosis was osteosarcoma in 8 patients, chondrosarcoma in 4 patients and metastasis from thyroid and breast carcinoma in 1 patient each. One of our patients had radial nerve neuropraxia, 1 developed inferior subluxation and 3 developed distant metastasis. Two patients died of disease and one developed local recurrence leading to forequarter amputation, leaving a total of 11 patients with functional extremities for assessment at the time of final follow-up which was done using the Musculoskeletal Tumour Society (MSTS) score. Though we were able to preserve the elbow, wrist and hand functions in all patients, the abductor mechanism, deltoid muscle and axillary nerve were not salvageable in any of cases. The mean MSTS score at the time of final follow-up was 19.09. Thus, proximal humeral reconstruction using nail cement spacer is a technical simple, cost-effective and reproducible procedure which makes it a reliable option in subset of patients where the functions around the shoulder cannot be preserved despite costlier prosthesis.     

Copper mediated one-pot synthesis of quinazolinones and exploration of piperazine linked quinazoline derivatives as anti-mycobacterial agents

A facile method was developed for the synthesis of quinazolinone derivatives in a one-pot condensation reaction via in situ amine generation using ammonia as the amine source and with the formation of four new C–N bonds in good to excellent yields. With the optimised method, we synthesized a library of piperazine linked quinazoline derivatives and the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The compounds 8b, 8e, 8f, 8m, 8n and 8v showed potent anti-mycobacterial activity with MIC values of 2–16 μg mL⁻¹. All the synthesized compounds follow Lipinski''s rules for drug likeness.

A facile method was developed for the synthesis of quinazolinone derivatives in a one-pot condensation reaction via in situ amine generation using ammonia as the amine source and with the formation of four new C–N bonds in good to excellent yields.     

Identification and pretherapy susceptibility of pathogens in patients with complicated urinary tract infection or acute pyelonephritis enrolled in a clinical study in the United States from November 2004 through April 2006

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the pretherapy microbiology and fluoroquinolone susceptibility of pathogens from 650 patients with complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI) or acute pyelonephritis (AP) as part of a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial. METHODS: In this post hoc analysis of a multicenter, randomized, double-blind study, adults with a clinical diagnosis of cUTI or AP were recruited from 130 community-based and institution-based study centers in the United States from November 2004 through April 2006. Urine and blood culture specimens were identified and tested for susceptibility according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute methods. Presence of a pathogen in the urine culture was confirmed by a colony count of =105 colony-forming units per milliliter. Susceptibility to nonstudy drugs (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole [TMP/SMX] and ampicillin) and to study drugs (levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin) was categorized as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant. RESULTS: Six hundred fifty patients (417 women, 233 men; age range, 18-94 years) with a diagnosis of cUTI or AP were recruited. A total of 68.2% patients (224 men, 219 women) were diagnosed with cUTI, and 31.8% (198 women, 9 men), with AP. Most (646/650 [99.4%]) infections were community acquired. The most common pathogen was Escherichia coli (65.6%), although 12.2% of patients had gram-positive pathogens. Testing for susceptibility to ampicillin and TMP/SMX found that 50.1% and 22.1% of gramnegative pathogens were fully resistant to ampicillin and TMP/SMX, respectively. However, 91.9% of isolates were susceptible to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, with 6.5% of isolates resistant or intermediately resistant to levofloxacin, and 9.7% of isolates resistant or intermediately resistant to ciprofloxacin at study entry (P < 0.001 [Stuart-Maxwell test]). All isolates resistant to levofloxacin were also resistant to ciprofloxacin, whereas 6 isolates that were fully susceptible to levofloxacin were fully resistant to ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSION: In this study, the level of fluoroquinolone susceptibility of urinary pathogens was high (90.6% in cUTI; 98.1% in AP).