Tubercular pseudoaneurysm of aorta: a rare association with vertebral tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Pseudoaneurysm of the aorta in association with vertebral tuberculosis is a rare phenomenon. With the resurgence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and associated resistant tuberculosis, this life-threatening complication requires greater awareness. PURPOSE: Our purpose is to report the rare presentation and successful management of tubercular pseudoaneurysm of the aorta in association with vertebral tuberculosis, and to highlight the clinicoradiological features for early and prompt diagnosis of this potentially fatal, but treatable, disease. STUDY DESIGN: A single case report and overview of the disease comprises the design of this study. PATIENT SAMPLE: The patient, already surgically intervened, is a 27-year-old male with increasing abdominal and back pain, upper motor neuron signs, and constitutional signs and symptoms. OUTCOME MEASURES: At 33 months follow-up, there is complete resolution of the signs and symptoms, and the patient is back to his previous vocation. METHODS: The diagnosis was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging and contrast computed tomography. Endoaneurysmorrhaphy of the pseudoaneurysm along with a complete course of antitubercular treatment was given to the patient, and he has presently been followed up for 33 months. RESULTS: The patient's signs and symptoms have been completely resolved without any recurrence. CONCLUSION: Despite the use of modern chemotherapy and imaging techniques, this disastrous complication still occurs and reinforces the need for early suspicion, diagnosis, surgical resection, and antitubercular therapy along with close postoperative follow-up to prevent recurrence. With the resurgence of HIV (and other immunocompromised states) associated and resistant tuberculosis, we should be more alert than ever to this life-threatening complication.     

再次肝移植--挽救肝移植失败受体生命唯一的手段(附774例报告)

目的 评估肝移植，尤其是再次肝移植的长期随访结果及影响结果的因素。方法 对1981年2月至1998年4月期间进行的、存活时间大于2年的4000例肝移植进行随访，其中再次肝移植774例。根据首次肝移植的时间，分为A、B、C三期。结果 774例（19．4％）接受第2次肝移植，148例（3．7％）接受第3次肝移植，20例（0．5％）接受第4次肝移植，5例（0．13％）接受第5次及5次以上肝移植。第1次再移植原因主要为移植肝原发性无功能、肝动脉栓塞和排斥反应。C期再次肝移植率（13．4％）明显低于A期（33．4％）和B期（23．7％），P＝0．001。结论 掌握适当的再移植指征、再次手术时机、受体的选择和手术技巧，再次肝移植的长期生存率明显改善。     

Sinus pericranii with unusual features: multiplicity, associated dural venous lakes and venous anomaly, and a lateral location

Anomalous connections between an extracranial venous sac and intracranial dural sinuses through dilated diploic and emissary veins of the skull result in sinus pericranii (SP). In this study, two patients with the rare presentation of multiple, congenital SP with associated dural venous lakes and venous anomalies are described. In one patient, multiple SPs were located in the frontal, parasagittal region with an associated subcortical venous angioma; and, in the other, peritorcular and juxta–transverse–sigmoid sinus junction SP coexisted. The venous anomalies drained into venous lakes in close proximity to major sinuses. They also communicated with extracranial tributaries via interosseous veins leading to the development of venous hypertension that presumably caused pressure erosion of the skull. This may have been responsible for the pathogenesis of multiple subgaleal venous sacs of SP and may also lead to profuse hemorrhage, cortical venous thrombosis, or air embolism. Multiplicity, associated venous lakes, venous angioma, and a lateral location are unique presentations of SP. Sac excision, transcranial venous anastomotic channel blockage, and reinforcement/replacement of the underlying bone are the recommended modalities of treatment.     

Non-invasive intravascular monitoring in the pediatric hemodialysis population

Assessment of dry weight in pediatric hemodialysis (HD) patients is difficult, since small fluid shifts may result in dialysis-associated morbidity (DAM) and children may not verbalize complaints. Achieving dry weight is critical since chronic fluid overload can result in hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. To determine if non-invasive monitoring of hematocrit (NIVM) is useful in preventing DAM in pediatric HD patients, we reviewed 200 HD treatments performed with or without NIVM (no NIVM). DAM was defined as an ”event” (e.g., hypotension, headache, cramping) that required nursing intervention. Patient age, weight, and gender were similar in both groups. Desired ultrafiltration was obtained in both groups. The event rate was lower in NIVM than no NIVM for all treatments (0.22 vs. 0.3, P=0.07) and significantly lower in patients <35 kg (0.25 vs. 0.47, P=0.01). The second event rate (fraction of treatments with one event that had a subsequent event occurring at least 15 min later) was lower with NIVM (P<0.01). For the NIVM group, events in the first 90 min occurred when blood volume changed >8% per hour; 71% of events (43/60) at 90–240 min occurred when blood volume changed >4% per hour. NIVM decreases DAM in pediatric HD patients, especially those <35 kg. Ultrafiltration with blood volume change <8% per hour is safe in the 1st h and <4% after 1 h reduces DAM in children. Received: 5 June 2000 / Revised: 29 August 2000 / Accepted: 6 September 2000     

Simultaneously anterior decompression and posterior instrumentation by extrapleural retroperitoneal approach in thoracolumbar lesions

Background:

Anterior decompression with posterior instrumentation when indicated in thoracolumbar spinal lesions if performed simultaneously in single-stage expedites rehabilitation and recovery. Transthoracic, transdiaphragmatic approach to access the thoracolumbar junction is associated with significant morbidity, as it violates thoracic cavity; requires cutting of diaphragm and a separate approach, for posterior instrumentation. We evaluated the clinical outcome morbidity and feasibility of extrapleural retroperitoneal approach to perform anterior decompression and posterior instrumentation simultaneously by single “T” incision outcome in thoracolumbar spinal trauma and tuberculosis.

Patients and Methods:

Forty-eight cases of tubercular spine (n = 25) and fracture of the spine (n = 23) were included in the study of which 29 were male and 19 female. The mean age of patients was 29.1 years. All patients underwent single-stage anterior decompression, fusion, and posterior instrumentation (except two old traumatic cases) via extrapleural retroperitoneal approach by single “T” incision. Tuberculosis cases were operated in lateral position as they were stabilized with Hartshill instrumentation. For traumatic spine initially posterior pedicle screw fixation was performed in prone position and then turned to right lateral position for anterior decompression by same incision and approach. They were evaluated for blood loss, duration of surgery, superficial and deep infection of incision site, flap necrosis, correction of the kyphotic deformity, and restoration of anterior and posterior vertebral body height.

Results:

In traumatic spine group the mean duration of surgery was 269 minutes (range 215–315 minutes) including the change over time from prone to lateral position. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 918 ml (range 550–1100 ml). The preoperative mean ASIA motor, pin prick and light touch score improved from 63.3 to 74.4, 86 to 94.4 and 86 to 96 at 6 month of follow-up respectively. The mean preoperative loss of the anterior vertebral height improved from 44.7% to 18.4% immediate postoperatively and was 17.5% at final follow-up at 1 year. The means preoperative kyphus angle also improved from 23.3° to 9.3° immediately after surgery, which deteriorated to 11.5° at final follow-up. One patient developed deep wound infection at the operative site as well as flap necrosis, which needed debridement and removal of hardware. Five patients had bed sore in the sacral region, which healed uneventfully. In tubercular spine (n=25) group, mean operating time was approximately 45 minutes less than traumatic group. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 1100 ml (750–2200 ml). The mean preoperative kyphosis was corrected from 55° to 23°. Wound healing occurred uneventful in 23 cases and wound dehiscence occurred in only 2 cases. Nine out of 11 cases with paraplegia showed excellent neural recovery while 2 with panvertebral disease showed partial neural recovery. None of the patients in both groups required intensive unit care.

Conclusions:

Simultaneous exposure of both posterior and anterior column of the spine for posterior instrumentation and anterior decompression and fusion in single stage by extra pleural retroperitoneal approach by “T” incision in thoracolumbar spinal lesions is safe, an easy alternative with reduced morbidity as chest and abdominal cavities are not violated, ICU care is not required and diaphragm is not cut.     

Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults: A distinct but heterogeneous clinical entity

Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) accounts for 2%-12% of all cases of diabetes. Patients are typically diagnosed after 35 years of age and are often misdiagnosed as type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Glycemic control is initially achieved with sulfonylureas but patients eventually become insulin dependent more rapidly than with type II DM patients. Although they have a type II DM phenotype, patients have circulating beta (β) cell autoantibodies, a hallmark of type I DM. Alternative terms that have been used to describe this condition include type 1.5 diabetes, latent type I diabetes, slowly progressive Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, or youth onset diabetes of maturity. With regards to its autoimmune basis and rapid requirement for insulin, it has been suggested that LADA is a slowly progressive form of type I DM. However, recent work has revealed genetic and immunological differences between LADA and type I DM. The heterogeneity of LADA has also led to the proposal of criteria for its diagnosis by the Immunology of Diabetes Society. Although many workers have advocated a clinically oriented approach for screening of LADA, there are no universally accepted criteria for autoantibody testing in adult onset diabetes. Following recent advances in immunomodulatory therapies in type I DM, the same strategy is being explored in LADA. This review deals with the contribution of the genetic, immunological and metabolic components involved in the pathophysiology of LADA and recent approaches in screening of this distinct but heterogeneous clinical entity.     

Alcohol consumption patterns and predictors of use following liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease.

For patients who receive a liver transplant (LTX) for alcoholic liver disease (ALD), investigators are focusing beyond survival to determine specific alcohol use outcomes. Studies suggest the use of alcohol ranges from 8 to 22% for the first post-transplant year with cumulative rates reaching 30 to 40% by 5 years following transplantation. Yet while investigators are interested in determining specific rates of alcohol use and predictors of use, only three studies since 1990 have been prospective. In 1998, we began a prospective study of post-LTX alcohol consumption in ALD recipients using multiple repeated measures of alcohol use. After 5 years of follow-up, we found that 22% had used any alcohol by the first year and 42% had a drink by 5 years. By 5 years, 26% drank at a heavier use (binge) pattern and 20% drank in a frequent pattern. In a univariate model, predictors of alcohol use included pre-transplant length of sobriety, a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, a history of other substance use, and prior alcohol rehabilitation.     

IFCM Based Segmentation Method for Liver Ultrasound Images

In this paper we have proposed an iterative Fuzzy C-Mean (IFCM) method which divides the pixels present in the image into a set of clusters. This set of clusters is then used to segment a focal liver lesion from a liver ultrasound image. Advantage of IFCM methods is that n-clusters FCM method may lead to non-uniform distribution of centroids, whereas in IFCM method centroids will always be uniformly distributed. Proposed method is compared with the edge based Active contour Chan-Vese (CV) method, and MAP-MRF method by implementing the methods on MATLAB. Proposed method is also compared with region based active contour region-scalable fitting energy (RSFE) method whose MATLAB code is available in author’s website. Since no comparison is available on a common database, the performance of three methods and the proposed method have been compared on liver ultrasound (US) images available with us. Proposed method gives the best accuracy of 99.8 % as compared to accuracy of 99.46 %, 95.81 % and 90.08 % given by CV, MAP-MRF and RSFE methods respectively. Computation time taken by the proposed segmentation method for segmentation is 14.25 s as compared to 44.71, 41.27 and 49.02 s taken by CV, MAP-MRF and RSFE methods respectively.