Leiomyosarcoma of left atrium extending into left pulmonary vein—a case report

Left atrial leiomyosarcoma is an uncommon entity and accounts for 0.25 % of all cardiac tumors. Though long term survival is a rarity, surgical excision of the tumor helps in prolonging life. Its diagnosis is almost always confirmed on histopathology. We report a 72 years old male who presented with severe dyspnoea. A diagnosis of left atrial myxoma was made before surgery. The tumor was found to occupy the whole of the left atrial cavity and extended into left pulmonary vein. The left atrial tumor mass was excised along with the left atrial wall but due to his advanced age and severe pulmonary hypertension no attempt was made to do a left pneumonectomy.     

Do modern total knee replacements offer better value for money? A health economic analysis

Purpose

Cost effectiveness is an increasingly important factor in today’s healthcare environment, and selection of arthroplasty implant is not exempt from such concerns. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are the typical tool for this type of evaluation. Using this methodology, joint arthroplasty has been shown to be cost effective; however, studies directly comparing differing prostheses are lacking.

Methods

Data was gathered in a single-centre prospective double-blind randomised controlled trial comparing the outcome of modern and traditional knee implants, using the Short Form 6 dimensional (SF-6D) score and quality adjusted life year (QALY) methodology.

Results

There was significant improvement in the SF-6D score for both groups at one year (p?<?0.0001). The calculated overall life expectancy for the study cohort was 15.1 years, resulting in an overall QALY gain of 2.144 (95 % CI 1.752–2.507). The modern implant group demonstrated a small improvement in SF-6D score compared to the traditional design at one year (0.141 versus 0.143, p?=?0.94). This difference resulted in the modern implant costing £298 less per QALY at one year.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that modern implant technology does not influence the cost-effectiveness of TKA using the SF-6D and QALY methodology. This type of analysis however assesses health status, and is not sensitive to joint specific function. Evolutionary design changes in implant technology are thus unlikely to influence QALY analysis following joint replacement, which has important implications for implant procurement.     

Blood Pressure Recordings During Hemodialysis Access Interventions: Implications for Acute Management

A retrospective study evaluating the pattern of blood pressure and its related complications before, during, and after percutaneous hemodialysis interventions was performed in patients presenting with asymptomatic hypertension. Hemodialysis patients undergoing percutaneous interventions including tunneled hemodialysis catheter insertion, percutaneous balloon angioplasty and thrombectomy procedure, and stage II hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg) were included in this analysis. Blood pressure medications were not used while midazolam and fentanyl were routinely administered. Patients were followed for up to 4 weeks to monitor any complications. The mean blood pressure before, during, and after the procedures were 185 ± 18/96 ± 14, 172 ± 22/92 ± 15, and 153 ± 25/87 ± 14, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the blood pressure readings before and after the procedure (before = 185 ± 18/96 ± 14, after = 153 ± 25/87 ± 14; p = 0.001). None of the patients had a stroke, myocardial infarction, or acute pulmonary edema before, during, or after the procedure or during the 4‐week follow‐up period. A significant reduction in blood pressure was observed after the procedure without the administration of any antihypertensive medication. These results suggest that the reduction in blood pressure observed after percutaneous dialysis access interventions (particularly in the presence of midazolam and fentanyl) may make it unnecessary to treat asymptomatic hypertension prior to these procedures.     

Perceptual Deprivation in the Acute Phase of Spinal Injury Rehabilitation

ABSTRACT

Patients in intensive care units are often reported to experience psychological disturbances which may be attributable to a number of well-researched causes. However, it is suggested that the total lack of proprioceptive and motor feedback after spinal trauma may be a significant factor in the genesis of these disturbances which are unique to this group of patients.

All cases admitted to the Regional Spinal Injuries Centre in Southport from January 1987 through December 1990 were assessed (n=187) and the conditions surrounding the occurrence of behavioural disturbances (n=23, 12.3%) established. The level of interaction with relatives and significant others was established for all acute admissions, and low frequency was found to correlate significantly with the development of perceptual deprivation experiences.

The effects of inadequate somatosensory input, lesion level, increasing age, and visitor variability for spinal patients is discussed and an algorithm presented to highlight the potential factors associated with aetiology and treatment of the problem.

The implications of these findings for the future management of acute spinal trauma are discussed.