The relationship between chronic kidney disease and SYNTAX score

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. We evaluated the association between CKD and severity of coronary artery stenosis by calculating SYNTAX Score in patients with left main coronary artery and/or 3-vessel coronary artery disease. Coronary angiograms of 217 patients were assessed. Chronic kidney disease was staged using the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL/min per 1.73 m(2)) prior to coronary angiography. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative (NKF KDOQI) Clinical Practice Guidelines (14). Patients with eGFR >90 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) (group 1), patients with eGFR 60 to 89 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) (group 2), patients with eGFR 30 to 59 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) (group 3), patients with eGFR >15 to < 30 per 1.73 m(2) and dialysis patients with eGFR < 15 per 1.73 m(2) were combined as group 4. The risk of significant lesion complexity increased progressively with decreasing kidney function (P = .001). Estimated glomerular filtration rate was a strong predictor of higher SYNTAX Score.     

Is Endocan a Novel Diagnostic Marker for the Severity of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Very Low Birth Weight Infants?

IntroductionEndocan levels were found to be associated with severity and mortality of the respiratory system diseases.ObjectiveWe aimed to figure out whether endocan was an important marker for the diagnosis, severity and follow-up of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).Materials and methodsInfants with moderate/severe BPD, and who required hydrocortisone treatment were included in the study group. Infants without BPD were allocated in the control group. Endocan levels were compared between the control group and the study group, and before and after the treatment in the study group.ResultsA total of 148 infants, 74 infants in the control group and 74 infants in the BPD group, were included. The endocan level was higher in the BPD group than in the control group (P = .001). Endocan levels before treatment in the BPD group was found to be higher than endocan level after treatment (P = .021).ConclusionOur study found that endocan levels increased in moderate/severe BPD. Serum endocan levels may be a safe and novel indicator for the follow-up of response to treatment and the prognosis of the severity of the disease.     

Importance of cyst content in hydatid liver surgery

HYPOTHESIS: Cyst content in hydatid liver surgery is a determinant of postoperative cavity-related complications. DESIGN: Cohort analytic study. SETTING: Referral public hospital. PATIENTS: Sixty-seven patients who had conservative surgery for hydatid liver disease were analyzed prospectively. Cysts were grouped as to the contents. Cysts containing bile and/or pus were considered complicated, whereas others were uncomplicated. After partial cystectomy, cavities were managed with external drainage, omentopexy, or introflexion, determined by the choice of the surgeons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes were measured by postoperative cavity-related complications, such as biliary leakage (leakage for 10 days or less), biliary fistula (leakage for more than 10 days), cavity infections, and postoperative hospitalization. RESULTS: Patient and cyst characteristics were comparable among the groups. External drainage technique had slightly more frequent cavity-related complications than omentopexy or introflexion (1.5-fold to 2-fold difference). More importantly, complications were significantly more frequent in the complicated cysts than in the uncomplicated cysts (7-fold to 30-fold difference). Mean postoperative hospitalization time for uncomplicated cysts was 6.5 days, and it was similar whether they were treated by external drainage, omentopexy, or introflexion (7.0, 6.2, and 5.8 days, respectively). Mean postoperative hospitalization time for complicated cysts was longer than for uncomplicated cysts (17.5 days; P =.008). CONCLUSIONS: Uncomplicated cysts have lower complication rates and short hospital stay with each cavity management technique. Complicated cysts have higher complication rates and longer hospital stay regardless of the management technique. Therefore, complicated and uncomplicated cysts should be considered different forms of the disease and evaluated differently.     

Cephalic tetanus as a result of rooster pecking: an unusual case

In this paper, a case of cephalic tetanus caused by rooster pecking to the face is presented. Cephalic tetanus is a rare type of tetanus defined by trismus and paralysis of 1 or more cranial nerves. On admission to hospital the patient had facial palsy and trismus. With proper medical management she recovered without any relapse.     

Prechallenge Antibodies: Moderators of Infection Rate,Signs, and Symptoms in Adults Experimentally Challenged With Rhinovirus Type 39

This study determined the influence of serum neutralizing antibody titers on infection rate, symptom manifestations, and provoked signs and pathophysiologies in adults experimentally exposed to rhinovirus type 39(RV-39). Antibody status was determined for 151 healthy volunteers who were then cloistered in a hotel for 6 days. At the end of the first cloister day, the volunteers were challenged with RV-39 in a median tissue culture infective dose of 100. On each of the 6 days, a nasal examination was performed, symptoms were scored, and objective tests of nasal mucociliary function, nasal airway patency, secretion production, and middle ear pressures were completed. Both subjects and investigators were blinded to the prechallenge serum homotypic antibody titers of the subjects. Four subjects presented with a wild virus and were excluded from the analysis. Of the 147 included subjects, prechallenge serum antibody titers to RV-39 were low (under 2) in 56 subjects, intermediate (2 to 8) in 51 subjects, and high (above 16) in 40 subjects. The high-titer group was significantly different from the low-titer group with respect to viral shedding, symptom load, subjective extent of illness, and secretion production, as well as in the frequency of subjects with abnormal nasal mucociliary clearance and positive middle ear pressures. The study results document that for experimental RV-39 exposure, high levels of homotypic serum neutralizing antibody titers are associated with protection from infection and a lessened degree of disease expression, but not with a reduction of otologic complications. Laryngoscope, 106:1298-1305, 1996     

Reconstruction of the middle cerebral artery after excision of a giant fusiform aneurysm

A patient with a giant fusiform aneurysm of the left inferior trunkus of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is presented. The size of the aneurysm was 5 cm at its largest diameter. Retrograde flow was well developed. After the application of temporary clips the aneurysm was excised and microsurgical reconstructions were undertaken. Adequate flow in the reconstructed MCA trunkus was maintained. This rare case is discussed in the light of the literature.