Natural orifice surgery with an endoluminal mobile robot

Natural orifice transgastric endoscopic surgery promises to eliminate skin incisions and reduce postoperative pain and discomfort. Such an approach provides a distinct benefit as compared with conventional laparoscopy, in which multiple entry incisions are required for tools and camera. Endoscopy currently is the only method for performing procedures through the gastrointestinal tract. However, this approach is limited by instrumentation and the need to pass the entire scope into the patient. In contrast, an untethered miniature robot inserted through the mouth would be able to enter the abdominal cavity through a gastrotomy for exploration of the entire peritoneal cavity. In this study, the authors developed an endoluminal robot capable of transgastric abdominal exploration under esophagogastroduodenoscopic (EGD) control. Under EGD control, a gastrotomy was created, and the miniature robot was deployed into the abdominal cavity under remote control. Ultimately, future procedures will include a family of robots working together inside the gastric and abdominal cavities after their insertion through the esophagus. Such technology will help to reduce patient trauma while providing surgical flexibility.     

Predicting Psychosocial Outcomes Using a Brief Measure of Quality of Life in a Sample of People with Spinal Cord Injury

Background:

Spinal cord injury (SCI) significantly impacts an individual’s quality of life (QOL). A brief and subjective measure of QOL is necessary to monitor the progress and outcomes of SCI rehabilitation.

Objective:

To determine whether this measure of QOL was associated with clinically important physical and psychosocial outcomes in a sample of people with SCI, to determine how people with SCI scored on this measure of QOL, and to determine whether people with SCI scored differently than nondisabled individuals on the QOL scale.

Methods:

Participants were 134 people with SCI (65% male; 35% female) and 227 nondisabled people (35% male; 65% female). Participants were assessed on a number of psychosocial and physiological variables at a large urban university and rehabilitation center. Variables examined were QOL, life satisfaction, depression, social interaction, pain, fatigue, and level of functioning.

Results:

Participants with SCI reported more low QOL scores and fewer high QOL scores than the nondisabled group. For participants with SCI, QOL was positively related to life satisfaction and social interaction and negatively related to pain, fatigue, and depression.

Conclusions:

Participants with SCI scored lower on the QOL measure than those without a disability, although the difference was not clinically significant. QOL was unrelated to level of functioning; people may still experience a high QOL despite their physical limitations. Depression and social interaction were significantly related to QOL and should be secondary targets for intervention following SCI rehabilitation.Key words: depression, disability, life satisfaction, pain, quality of life, social interaction, spinal cord injuriesQuality of life (QOL) can be defined as the quality of a person’s overall experiences of living. Individuals differ on what values they place on work, leisure activities, relationships with other people, intimacy with a spouse or partner, or participation in sports. Perhaps no other impairment impacts a person’s QOL as much as a spinal cord injury (SCI).¹ After the medical and functional problems are addressed in rehabilitation, individuals begin to think about how they can regain much of their previous lifestyle and QOL. There are substantial barriers in the physical and social environments that stand in the way of higher QOL, including medical issues; difficulties in constructing a suitable home environment; and challenges in keeping the family together, supporting oneself, and dealing with the subtle and not-so-subtle attitudes of others.² These problems and barriers can result in psychological issues, the most common of which is depression.³ It is not surprising that individuals find it difficult to regain a positive level of QOL after SCI.Considering that there are approximately 270,000 people currently living with SCI in the United States, with 12,000 new cases of SCI each year,⁴ the topic of QOL is important to the persons with SCI, their families, and to the clinicians who treat them. However, there is little agreement on the definition of QOL and therefore on its measurement. Most measures of QOL are either too long for clinicians to use in practice or are not measures of QOL itself, but rather are measures of life satisfaction, health status, or well-being. For example, The World Health Organization’s⁵ QOL measure, WHOQOL-BREF, is primarily a life satisfaction measure, and it takes more than 1 hour to administer. Even the SF-36,⁶ which many people inaccurately accept and use as a measure of QOL, is actually a measure of health status, according to the author.Experts in both QOL and SCI, including Dijkers⁷ and Tate,⁸ have argued that there is a need for a subjective measure of QOL that can be used to monitor a person’s progress of rehabilitation and as a measurable outcome of rehabilitation programs. Clinical practice requires brief measures that are reliable and valid and that can be incorporated into progress notes about the patient. This clinically oriented article addresses the issue of whether a brief measure of QOL can stand up to the rigors of scientific standards while still predicting clinically important outcomes of SCI and whether it is suitable for the practitioner as well as for persons with SCI.This article addresses 3 objectives. The first objective was to determine whether this measure of QOL was associated with clinically important physical and psychosocial outcomes in a sample of people with SCI. The second objective was to determine how people with SCI scored on this measure of QOL. The third objective was to determine whether people with SCI scored differently than nondisabled individuals on a subjective, single-item QOL scale.     

Inflammatory pain pattern and pain with lumbar extension associated with Modic 1 changes on MRI: a prospective case–control study of 120 patients

Purpose

To compare, in a case–control study, clinical characteristics of patients with low back pain (LBP) with and without Modic 1 signal changes on MRI.

Methods

Patients with chronic non-specific LBP and a recent (<6 months) MRI were prospectively screened and included in Modic 1 group or control group. Patients in control group were age- and gender-matched with patients with Modic 1 group. Pain characteristics, including night pain and worse pain on waking and morning stiffness, were recorded. The presence of at least one of these three characteristics indicated an inflammatory pain pattern. Patients were evaluated by questionnaires and physical examination (including lumbar range of motion). Data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

120 patients were included (60 in each group). The groups did not differ in sedentary work (p = 0.25), morning stiffness for >60 min (p = 0.19), waking at night (p = 0.08), worse pain on waking (p = 0.09), back stiffness (p = 0.12), or pain with flexion (p = 0.87). Modic 1 patients more frequently exhibited an inflammatory pain pattern (p = 0.006), worse pain with lumbar extension (p < 0.005) and responded better to oral steroids (p = 0.004) than did controls. On multivariate analysis, Modic 1 changes were associated with sedentary work [odds ratio 0.22 (95 % confidence interval 0.05–0.93)], pain with lumbar extension [11.2 (3.1–40.4)] and an inflammatory pain pattern [4.5 (1.2–16.9)].

Conclusions

Characteristics of patients with LBP and Modic 1 changes on MRI consist of an inflammatory pain pattern and pain with lumbar extension. Level of evidence 3b.     

Surgical Myocardial Revascularization versus Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Drug-Eluting Stents in Octogenarian Patients

Objective: Our goal was to compare the clinical outcomes of octogenarian (or older) patients who are referred for either surgical or percutaneous coronary revascularization.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of all patients 80 years of age who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with an internal mammary artery or had undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a sirolimus-eluting stent to the left anterior descending artery in our center between May 2002 and December 2006.Results: Of the 301 patients, 120 underwent a PCI, and 181 underwent CABG. Surgical patients had higher rates of left main disease, triple-vessel disease, peripheral vascular disease, emergent procedures, and previous myocardial infarctions (39.7% versus 3.3% [P = .001], 76.1% versus 28.3% [P = .0001], 19.6% versus 7.5% [P = .004], 15.8% versus 2.5% [P = .0001], and 35.9% versus 25% [P = .04], respectively). CABG patients had a higher early mortality rate (9.9% versus 2.5%, P = .01). There were no differences in 1- and 4-year actuarial survival rates, with rates of 90% and 68%, respectively, for the PCI group and 85% and 71% for the CABG group (P = .85). The rates of actuarial freedom from major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) at 1 and 4 years were 83% and 75%, respectively, for the PCI group, and 86% and 78% for the CABG group (P = .33). The respective rates of freedom from reintervention were 87% and 83% for the PCI group, versus 99% and 97% for the CABG group (P < .001). The 4-year rate of freedom from recurring angina was 58% for the PCI group, versus 88% for CABG patients (P < .001). Revascularization strategy was not a predictor of adverse outcome in a multivariable analysis.Conclusion: Octogenarian CABG patients were sicker and experienced a higher rate of early mortality. The 2 strategies had similar rates of late mortality and MACEs, with fewer reinterventions and recurring angina occurring following surgery.     

The postanaesthesia care unit as a temporary admission location due to intensive care and ward overflow

Background. With the increasing number of critically ill patients,and shortage of intensive care unit and ward beds, some postoperativepatients stay for an unnecessarily long period in the postanaesthesiacare unit (PACU), until a suitable bed is available. Methods. We prospectively studied this patient overflow admissionto the PACU over 33 months. Four hundred patients with a meanage of 53.1 yr (range 0.2–94) were studied. Two hundredand eighty one (70.3%) patients were mechanically ventilatedon admission to the PACU and 311 (77.8%) had invasive monitoring.Mean length of stay in the PACU was 12.9 (SD 10.6) h. Results. The busiest hours of admission were 01–11 am.Eighteen (4.5%) patients died in the PACU, while waiting foran intensive care unit bed. The main problems were insufficientmedical and nursing coverage, and inadequate communication andvisiting facilities for patient’s families. Conclusion. Patient overflow to the PACU is a common problemthat requires attention. Guidelines for medical and nursingcoverage, patient triage, and communication with relatives needto be outlined. Br J Anaesth 2002; 88: 577–9     

Large-Scale Proteomics and Phosphoproteomics of Urinary Exosomes

Normal human urine contains large numbers of exosomes, which are 40- to 100-nm vesicles that originate as the internal vesicles in multivesicular bodies from every renal epithelial cell type facing the urinary space. Here, we used LC-MS/MS to profile the proteome of human urinary exosomes. Overall, the analysis identified 1132 proteins unambiguously, including 177 that are represented on the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database of disease-related genes, suggesting that exosome analysis is a potential approach to discover urinary biomarkers. We extended the proteomic analysis to phosphoproteomic profiling using neutral loss scanning, and this yielded multiple novel phosphorylation sites, including serine-811 in the thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl co-transporter, NCC. To demonstrate the potential use of exosome analysis to identify a genetic renal disease, we carried out immunoblotting of exosomes from urine samples of patients with a clinical diagnosis of Bartter syndrome type I, showing an absence of the sodium-potassium-chloride co-transporter 2, NKCC2. The proteomic data are publicly accessible at http://dir.nhlbi.nih.gov/papers/lkem/exosome/.Urinary exosomes are small extracellular vesicles (<100 nm in diameter) that originate from the internal vesicles of multivesicular bodies (MVB) in renal epithelial cells, including glomerular podocytes, renal tubule cells, and the cells lining the urinary drainage system.¹ Exosomes are released into the urine when the outer membrane of the MVB fuses with the apical plasma membrane of the epithelial cell.Exosomes can be recovered from the urine by differential centrifugation as a low-density membrane fraction. Exosome isolation can result in marked enrichment of low-abundance urinary proteins that have potential pathophysiologic significance. As a consequence, we and others have been working to define optimal conditions for their isolation and purification as a prelude to their use in biomarker discovery studies.^1–3In this study, we thoroughly expanded the known proteome of human urinary exosomes by using a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS system, improved software for identification of peptide ions and a more elaborate data analysis strategy than in our previous study. In addition, we used a neutral loss scanning approach⁴ to investigate the phosphoproteome of human urinary exosomes. The study identified 1412 proteins including 14 phosphoproteins in human urinary exosomes. Overall, there are 177 proteins that are associated with diseases as judged by their presence on the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, 34 of which are known to be associated with renal diseases. The potential clinical usefulness of urinary exosomes was demonstrated using the well-defined renal tubulopathy, Bartter syndrome type I, as an example. The rich information from the proteomic analysis also provides further insight into the biogenesis of urinary exosomes.     

Hidradenoma papilliferum with oxyphilic metaplasia: a clinicopathological study of 18 cases, including detection of human papillomavirus

Reported here are 18 cases of hidradenoma papilliferum with oxyphilic metaplasia. All patients were women ranging in age from 29 to 74 years. Each presented clinically with a small, solitary tumor in the anogenital region. Microscopically, in addition to classic histopathological features, in every case there was oxyphilic metaplasia of the constituent epithelial cells. This finding could be likened to apocrine metaplasia, a term used in breast pathology. Other histopathological findings observed in this series, analogous to benign breast disease, included sclerosing adenosis-like changes, atypical apocrine adenosis-like changes, changes corresponding to usual ductal epithelial hyperplasia, epitheliomatosis with a streaming growth pattern, lamprocyte-like changes, clear cell change of the myoepithelium, foamy histiocyte reaction, and stromal fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry inferred that in the majority of cases oxyphilic metaplasia resulted from more lysosomes, whereas numerous mitochondria were detected in only 3 cases. Using 2 different PCR methods we identified HPV in 4 of 15 cases of hidradenoma with oxyphilic metaplasia. In addition, HPV was detected in 3 of 16 conventional papillary hidradenomas used as a control group. The following HPV types were identified: 16, 31, 33, 53, and 56. The last type was found in 5 cases. More than one HPV type from a single lesion was seen in 5 cases. Our observations are consistent with previous publications noting similarities between tumors of the breast and sweat glands. Oxyphilic metaplasia, areas with solid growth, and changes simulating atypical apocrine adenosis are rare and poorly recognized in hidradenoma papilliferum and may cause diagnostic difficulties; in our cases several submitting pathologists suspected malignancy. A causal role for HPV in hidradenoma papilliferum cannot be confirmed from our results, as the detection rate is too low. The exact role of the HPV in etiology and pathogenesis of this neoplasm has yet to be determined.     

Reactive syringofibroadenomatous hyperplasia in peristomal skin with formation of hybrid epidermal-colonic mucosa glandular structures, intraepidermal areas of sebaceous differentiation, induction of hair follicles, and features of human papillomavirus infection: a diagnostic pitfall

We report a case of reactive syringofibroadenomatous hyperplasia in peristomal skin. The patient was a 62-year-old woman who had undergone abdominoperineal resection of the rectum for rectal adenocarcinoma with subsequent colostomy 2 years earlier. Clinically, a nodule and small, whitish, warty lesions developed at the outer margin of the stoma extending onto the adjacent skin. Following a clinical suspicion of adenocarcinoma, recurrent at the colostomy site, a 5 x 4 x 3-cm excision of the peristomal skin and the affected portion of the stoma was performed and submitted for histologic examination. The biopsy revealed a peculiar composite lesion of reactive syringofibroadenomatous hyperplasia and the excised part of the stoma. Several unusual histopathological features were detected in the syringofibroadenomatous part of the lesion such as the formation of plentiful hybrid epidermal-colonic mucosa glandular structures, intraepidermal areas of sebaceous differentiation, koilocytic changes, induction of rudimentary hair follicles, and intradermal mucinous lakes. The cellular composition of the glandular structures was mainly similar to that seen in a normal colonic mucosa epithelium. They also contained occasional Paneth cells. Being located at a distance from the stoma, these accentuated colonic mucosa epithelial glands reaching the epidermis may be a diagnostic pitfall prompting the consideration of adenocarcinoma involving the stoma. The rudimentary follicles and sebaceous differentiation were probably induced by an altered stroma and/or human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV, type 36 was identified by PCR using consensus primers followed by sequencing of the PCR products.     

Study of HHV-8 DNA sequences in archival biopsies from lesional skin of Kaposi's sarcoma,various mesenchymal tumors and related reactive conditions

Background: HHV-8 has been identified as the causative agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and some lymphoproliferative disorders. In addition, there are anecdotal reports on the presence of HHV-8 in other tumors, especially cutaneous epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms. The aim of the study was to ascertain the value of identification of HHV-8 viral DNA sequences in routinely processed, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues for the diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma and other mesenchymal tumors.
Methods: The presence of HHV-8 sequences in archival material was studied by nested PCR using specific primers for amplification of a 233-bp long fragment of HHV-8 (ORF 26).
Results: Thirty-three patients with KS (18 classic/sporadic, six post-transplant and nine AIDS-related) and various mesenchymal tumors and related conditions (n = 76) were studied. HHV-8 DNA sequences were detected in 29 of the 33 cases of KS and in one case of multiple eruptive dermatofibroma (MEDF).
Conclusions: Identification of HHV-8 DNA sequences in routinely processed tissue is a useful diagnostic marker for KS. Although other mesenchymal tumors are usually not associated with HHV-8, its presence is not fully specific for KS since HHV-8 sequences were also found in one case of MEDF. Therefore, PCR analysis for the detection of HHV-8 should only be used as an additional diagnostic marker for KS and in the context of other tools such as routine histology.