High-thoracic ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block for acute herpes zoster pain management in emergency department

Herpes zoster is a painful, eruptive, viral condition occurring with reactivation in immunosuppressed individuals. The selection of an effective analgesic method in the acute phase of herpes zoster can decrease the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by reducing neural sensitization. The erector spinae plane block has been reported to provide diffuse and effective analgesia in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions. We report an effective decrease in pain with the application of the high-thoracic erector spinae plane block in the emergency department in a patient with herpes zoster pain in the cervicothoracic and shoulder region.     

Role of surgery in colorectal cancer liver metastases

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the third most common cancer, and approximately 35%-55% of patients with CRC will develop hepatic metastases during the course of their disease. Surgical resection represents the only chance of long-term survival. The goal of surgery should be to resect all metastases with negative histological margins while preserving sufficient functional hepatic parenchyma. Although resection remains the only chance of long-term survival, management strategies should be tailored for each case. For patients with extensive metastatic disease who would otherwise be unresectable, the combination of advances in medical therapy, such as systemic chemotherapy (CTX), and the improvement in surgical techniques for metastatic disease, have enhanced prognosis with prolongation of the median survival rate and cure. The use of portal vein embolization and preoperative CTX may also increase the number of patients suitable for surgical treatment. Despite current treatment options, many patients still experience a recurrence after hepatic resection. More active systemic CTX agents are being used increasingly as adjuvant therapy either before or after surgery. Local tumor ablative therapies, such as microwave coagulation therapy and radiofrequency ablation therapy, should be considered as an adjunct to hepatic resection, in which resection cannot deal with all of the tumor lesions. Formulation of an individualized plan, which combines surgery with systemic CTX, is a necessary task of the multidisciplinary team. The aim of this paper is to discuss different approaches for patients that are treated due to CRC liver metastasis.     

Where is the right ventricle? Accurate diagnosis with cardiovascular multimodality imaging

Endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) is a globally unattended disease with significant rates of morbidity and mortality. It has a higher prevalence in tropical and subtropical countries compared to the rest of the world. Endomyocardial fibrosis can affect the atrioventricular valves, along with all four chambers of the heart, but spares the myocardium. Patients currently undergo symptomatic treatment with diuretics and vasodilators to enhance quality of life, although medical therapy alone is associated with poor prognosis. Hence, patients with severe symptoms prefer surgical treatment. Modern multimodality imaging, however, can help these definitions to be made more accurately.