The activity of N-acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidase A and B and β-glucuronidase in nasal polyps and hypertrophic nasal concha

Nasal polyps and hypertrophic lower nasal conchae are common disorders of nasal cavity. The majority of etiopathogenetic theories indicate inflammatory background of polyps and hypertrophic concha. N-acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidase and β-glucuronidase are lysosomal exoglycosidases revealing accelerated activity in inflammatory processes. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the catabolism of glycoconjugates in nasal polyps and hypertrophic nasal concha basing on the activity of N-acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidase (HEX) and β-glucuronidase (GLU). Material and methods: Material consisted of nasal polyps taken from 40 patients during polypectomy in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and hypertrophic lower nasal conchae taken from 20 patients during mucotomy. The activity of HEX, HEX A, HEX B and GLU in supernatant of homogenates of nasal polyps and hypertrophic lower nasal concha tissues has been estimated using colorimetric method. Results: Statistically significant decrease has been observed in concentration of the activity (per 1 mg of tissue) of HEX (p < 0.05), HEX B (p < 0.001) and specific activity (per 1 mg of protein) of HEX B (p < 0.001) in nasal polyps tissue in comparison to hypertrophic lower nasal conchae tissue. Conclusions: Decrease in the activity and specific activity concentration of the majority of examined lysosomal exoglycosidases (increasing in inflammations) in comparison to hypertrophic lower nasal conchae suggests electrolytes disorders and questions the inflammatory background of nasal polyps.     

Guzy nowotworowe u chorych z jednostronnymi zmianami zapalnymi zakwalifikowanymi do operacji endoskopowych

Introduction

The aim of this work was to analyze the occurrence and type of neoplasm in unilateral pathological lesions within the nose and paranasal sinuses in patients who underwent endoscopic surgery, in own material.

Material and methods

Between 2006 and 2012 2295 patients, including 1006 women aged 15–84 and 1289 men aged 17–87, were operated on due to diseases of paranasal sinuses in the Department of Otolaryngology and Laryngological Oncology. The patients underwent surgery after a medical interview, physical examination, 3D CT of paranasal sinuses and laboratory tests. The removed lesions were histopathologically investigated. The studied group included the patients with only unilateral lesions and histopathologically recognized neoplastic lesion.

Results

In the studied material, neoplastic lesions occurred in 9.8% cases, out of which 5.4% were inverted papillomas, 3.1% osteomas, and 1.5% malignant tumors. However, in the patients who were operated due to hypertrophic changes within paranasal sinuses, neoplasm was found in 1.3% cases, while inverted papilloma in 0.7%, osteoma in 0.4% and malignant tumors in 0.1%, which altogether amounts to 8 times higher occurrence of neoplastic lesions in unilateral changes.

Results

Unilateral changes within paranasal sinuses require highly inquisitive pre-operative diagnostics, peri-operative analysis and histopathological evaluation.     

Airway problems and new solutions for the obstetric patient

Anesthesia-related complications are the sixth leading cause of pregnancy-related maternal mortality in the United States. Difficult or failed intubation following induction of general anesthesia for cesarean delivery remains the major contributory factor to anesthesia-related maternal complications. Although the use of general anesthesia has been declining in obstetric patients, it may still be required in selected cases. Because difficult intubation in obstetric anesthesia practice is frequently unexpected, careful and timely preanesthetic evaluation of all parturients should identify the majority of patients with difficult airway and avoid unexpected difficult airway management.     

Human immunodeficiency virus in the parturient

Over the last 20 years, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has grown from a small case series of Pneumocystis carinii infection in four homosexual men to one of the major health problems facing the world today. In the next 5 years, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is expected to kill more than 2.2 million people. In the United States, women of childbearing age constitute a large percentage of new cases of AIDS. Because of the increased prevalence of HIV in pregnant women, many anesthesiologists encounter these patients in their practice. The safety of regional neuraxial spread has been a concern in the past, nevertheless, recent analysis of the problem has shown that HIV infection in pregnancy does not contraindicate administration of regional anesthesia.     

Tongue piercing and obstetric anesthesia: is there cause for concern?

The practice of oral tissue piercing, until recently, has been limited mainly to various native tribes in Africa. However, in recent years, body piercing (including oral tissue piercing), has become increasingly popular in the United States and Europe. We present a case of an obstetric patient who presented for emergency postpartum surgery with fixated tongue jewelry in situ, which resulted in trauma to the tongue and difficult airway management. The difficult airway management consisted of tongue bleeding at the time of laryngoscopy and tongue edema at extubation. We consider these two events to be near misses of "cannot intubate" and "cannot ventilate" situations, respectively. Because the popularity of body piercing is increasing in our society, it is reasonable to expect that the incidence of oral jewelry interference with airway management will also increase. Based on this experience, we advise laboring patients with oral jewelry to remove the hardware before receiving anesthesia for safety reasons.     

A predictive model for blastocyst formation based on morphokinetic parameters in time-lapse monitoring of embryo development

Purpose

The aim of the study was to create a predictive model of blastocyst development based on morphokinetic parameters of time-lapse embryoscope monitoring.

Methods

Time-lapse recordings of 432 embryos (obtained from 77 patients), monitored in Embryoscope, were involved in the study. Patients underwent in vitro fertilization according to standard procedure between June 2012 and April 2013. A retrospective analysis of morphokinetic features, focused on duration of time from the Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) procedure to consecutive embryo division for 2, 3, 4 and 5 blastomeres, as well as time intervals between each division, was conducted. All embryos were observed for 5 days.

Results

Based on the distribution of analyzed morphokinetic parameters and number of embryos developed to blastocyst, a range denoting the possibility of an embryo reaching blastocyst stage was determined. According to the obtained results, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Based on the times of division for two and five blastomeres and intervals between the second and third division, a multivariate predictive model was created. The predictive equation was constructed based on the parameters of logistic regression analysis (odds ratios). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) in the size of the prediction parameter between the group of embryos developed to blastocyst (the median value: Me = 9.95, and quartiles: Q₁ = 7.59, Q₃ = 12.30) and embryos that did not develop to the blastocyst stage (Me = 4.66, Q₁ = 2.33, Q₃ = 8.19) were found. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was created for the constructed predictive model. The Area Under the Curve was AUC = 0.806 with a 95 % confidence interval (0.747, 0.864). The predictive model constructed in this study has been validated using an independent data set, which indicates that the model is reliable and repeatable.

Conclusions

Time-lapse imaging presents a new diagnostic tool for parametric evaluation of embryo development, from the oocyte stage, through fertilization, up to the blastocyst stage. The assessment of morphokinetic parameters can help us to provide more accurate information about the reproductive potential of embryos. It allows for early selection of embryos with high reproductive potential and shortens embryo incubation.