Hospital-at-Home Expands Hospital Capacity During COVID-19 Pandemic

A Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)–specific Hospital-at-Home was implemented in a 400-bed tertiary hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Senior or immune-compromised physicians oversaw patient care. The alternative to inpatient care more than doubled beds available for hospitalization and decreased the risk of transmission among patients and health care professionals. Mild cases from either the emergency department or after hospital discharge were deemed suitable for admission to the Hospital-at-Home. More than half of all patients had pneumonia. Standardized protocols and management criteria were provided. Only 6% of cases required referral for inpatient hospitalization. These results are promising and may provide valuable insight for centers undertaking Hospital-at-Home initiatives or in the case of new COVID-19 outbreaks.     

Right Ventricle Dysfunction in Patients With Adult Cystic Fibrosis Enlisted for Lung Transplant

Knowledge of preoperative right heart function of adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) awaiting lung transplant (LUTX) is limited. The echocardiography of adult patients with CF enlisted for LUTX was retrospectively analyzed and compared with standards and invasive analyses (right heart catheterization, multigated radionuclide ventriculography). We included 49 patients (reported as mean ± standard deviation; 29 ± 9 years of age; forced expiratory volume in first second of expiration, 31% ± 11% predicted; lung allocation score, 36 ± 5; invasive mean pulmonary artery pressure, 17 ± 5 mm Hg; multigated radionuclide ventriculography right ventricle [RV] ejection fraction, 50% ± 9%). Patients had increased RV end-diastolic area, RV wall thickness, and increased pulmonary artery acceleration time with subnormal tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, tissue Doppler positive peak systolic velocity, and fraction area change. Subnormal tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (< 23 mm), tissue Doppler positive peak systolic velocity (< 14 cm/s), and fraction area change (< 49%) had high sensitivity and negative predictive value in predicting impaired RV.ejection fractionA good correlation between echocardiographic estimated and invasively measured systolic pulmonary artery pressure was observed (R² = 0.554, P < .001). Adults with CF awaiting LUTX have morphologic alterations of the right heart, with subclinical impairment of RV systolic function. Echocardiography may be used as a bedside, repeatable, and reliable noninvasive test to screen further deterioration in RV function while on the waiting list for LUTX. More prospective follow-up echocardiographic studies are necessary to confirm such a hypothesis.     

Skin angiography assisted mastectomy in secondary breast angiosarcoma: Complete clinical response after neoadjuvant immunotherapy

Radiation-induced breast angiosarcoma, or secondary angiosarcoma (SAS), is a rare entity with a high risk of metastatic recurrence. Herein, we describe the use of intraoperative fluorescence-based skin angiography to guide surgical resection following a novel immunotherapy-based regimen for SAS resulting in a complete pathological response.     

The validity of proxy responses on patient-reported outcome measures: Are proxies a reliable alternative to stroke patients’ self-report?

Quality of Life Research - Caregivers, or proxies, often complete patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) on behalf of patients with stroke. The objective of our study was to assess the validity...     

The incomplete inactivation of Fgf8 in the limb ectoderm affects the morphogenesis of the anterior autopod through BMP-mediated cell death.

Here we analyze limb development after the conditional inactivation of Fgf8 from the epiblast, using the previously described MORE (Mox2Cre) line. This line drives variable mosaic recombination of a floxed Fgf8 allele, resulting in a small proportion of AER cells that maintain Fgf8 expression. The phenotype of Mox2Cre;Fgf8 limbs is most similar to that of Msx2Cre;Fgf8 forelimbs, indicating that a small but durable expression of FGF8 is equivalent to an early normal, but transitory, expression. This functional equivalence likely relies on the subsequent Fgf4 upregulation that buffers the differences in the pattern of Fgf8 expression between the two conditional mutants. The molecular analysis of Mox2Cre;Fgf8 limbs shows that, despite Fgf4 upregulation, they develop under reduced FGF signaling. These limbs also exhibit an abnormal area of cell death at the anterior forelimb autopod, overlapping with an ectopic domain of Bmp7 expression, which can explain the abnormal morphogenesis of the anterior autopod.     

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Peroxisomal enzyme induction uncoupled from enhanced DNA synthesis in putative preneoplastic liver foci of rats treated with a single dose of the peroxisome proliferator nafenopin

Putative preneoplastic foci of spontaneous origin could be detectedin the livers of 2 year old, untreated male Wistar rats. Theunaltered and preneoplastic hepatocytes showed an identicalexpression of the peroxisomal marker enzyme acyl-CoA oxidase,as determined by immunohistochemical staining. A single doseof the peroxisome proliferator (PP) nafenopin (NAF) inducedthe enzyme predominantly in hepatocytes around the central venulesand cell replication mainly in the periportal areas. However,upon one NAF application almost all of the preneoplastic focishowed a considerably weaker immunoreaction for peroxisomalacyl-CoA oxidase than the surrounding tissue. ConcomitantlyNAF elevated replicative DNA synthesis index in foci up to     

Structure of an antimutagen from Carmona retusa leaves

An antimutagenic compound was isolated from the leaves of Carmonaretusa (Vahl) Masam. Its structure has been elucidated by spectralanalysis to be 4-hydroxy-7,8,11,12,15,7',8',ll',12',15'-decahydro-ß,-carotene. The results of the Micronucleus Test, an in vivomethod, showed that the isolated antimutagenic compound reducedby 68.4% the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytesinduced by tetracycline, a known mutagen.     

Management of steroid-induced osteoporosis

Purpose To review the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic assessment and treatment regimens of steroid-induced bone loss. Data sources An English-language literature search (MEDLINE 1966-1999) and bibliographic reviews of textbooks and review articles. Study selection Cross-sectional and prospective studies with BMD measurements or fracture rate. Results The greatest rate of bone loss occur during the first 6 to 12 months of steroid therapy, affecting trabecular more than cortical bone. High steroid dosage for a prolonged period, prevalent fracture, hypogonadism, older age, low calcium intake and family history of osteoporosis are risk factors for steroid-induced bone loss. Based on bone density results, patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia with a T-score below -1.5 should receive antiresorptive treatment during steroid therapy. Among the various antiresorptive agents, bisphosphonates have the strongest evidence of preventing steroid-induced bone loss. Conclusion The most important step in the management of steroid-induced osteoporosis is the proper assessment of the individual patient’s risk of bone loss, and the selection of appropriate anti-resorptive agent for each patient.     

Arachidonic acid modulates [14C]stearic acid incorporation into phosphatidylinositol,in human neuroblastoma cells

In the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-BE(2), arachidonic acid (AA), supplied in the medium at micromolar concentrations, markedly ehnanced [¹⁴C]stearic acid (SA) (but not [¹⁴C]palmitic acid or [¹⁴C]oleic acid) incorporation into phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). AA failed to stimulate [¹⁴C]SA incorporation into PtdIns precursors, namely phosphatidic acid and cytidinediphosphodiacylglycerol; furthermore, enhanced [¹⁴C]SA incorporation, brought about by exogenously administered AA, was not restricted to PtdIns tetraenoic species. When cells were pulsed for 1 h with [¹⁴C]SA (either in the presence or absence of AA) and then reincubated in AA- and [¹⁴C]SA-free medium, a marked loss of radioactivity from PtdIns was observed, that however was restricted to molecular species other than tetraenoic. These results are discussed in the light of possible mechanisms through which PtdIns achieves the 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl configuration.