Successful kidney transplantation after coccidioidal meningitis

S.L. Kokseng, J.E. Blair. Successful kidney transplantation after coccidioidal meningitis
Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 285–289. All rights reserved Abstract: Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection primarily found in residents or visitors to geographic areas where Coccidioides species are endemic, including the southwestern United States, northwestern Mexico, and certain areas of Central and South America. The infection rarely disseminates, but certain populations are at higher risk of dissemination. One population at high risk of disseminated disease is solid organ transplant recipients. At our transplant center in Arizona, patients with proven coccidioidal infection before transplantation undergo thorough counseling about the risks of dissemination and possible death from coccidioidomycosis subsequent to the use of immunosuppressive medications after transplantation. Currently, patients with coccidioidal infection before transplantation are maintained on lifelong infection suppression with triazole therapy. We present the first successful case of a kidney transplant in a patient after treatment for coccidioidal meningitis without post‐transplant reactivation of the coccidioidal infection.     

Radiation Exposure Time during MBSS: Influence of Swallowing Impairment Severity, Medical Diagnosis, Clinician Experience, and Standardized Protocol Use

Guidelines and preventive measures have been established to limit radiation exposure time during modified barium swallow studies (MBSS) but multiple variables may influence the duration of the exam. This study examined the influence of clinician experience, medical diagnosis category, swallowing impairment severity, and use of a standardized protocol on fluoroscopy time. A retrospective review of 739 MBSSs performed on 612 patients (342 males/270 females; age range = 18–96 years) completed in 1 year at the Medical University of South Carolina was performed with IRB approval. All studies were completed by speech-language pathologists trained in the data collection protocol, interpretation, and scoring of the MBSImP?^©. Medical diagnosis category, swallowing impairment severity (MBSImP?^© score), clinician experience, and fluoroscopy time were the variables recorded for analysis. Fluoroscopy time was not significantly associated with medical diagnosis category (p = 0.10). The severity of the MBSImP?^© Oral Total and Pharyngeal Total resulted in statistically significant increases in fluoroscopy time (p < 0.05). Studies by novice clinicians had longer exposure times when compared to those of experienced clinicians (p = 0.037). Average radiation exposure time using the MBSImP?^© approach was 2.9 min, with a 95 % confidence interval of 2.8–3.0 min, which was well within the range of exposure times reported in the literature. This study provides preliminary information regarding the impact of medical diagnosis category, swallowing impairment severity, and clinician experience on fluoroscopy time. These findings also suggest that a thorough, standardized protocol for MBSSs did not cause unnecessary radiation exposure time during the MBSS.     

An Epidemiological Perspective on the Causes of Running Injuries

In brief: Most information about running injuries comes from case reports. Although useful, the case series does not take into consideration the population from which the injuries arose and is therefore an inappropriate method on which to base causal inference. The epidemiological method is a more powerful approach because, by definition, it takes into account the population from which the injuries arose. A review of three epidemiological studies shows that the only reasonably well-established cause of running injuries is the number of miles run per week. More information is needed to establish the relationship between injury and characteristics of the runner, characteristics of running, and characteristics of the running environment. More research on the causes of running injuries is needed and should be directed to those factors over which the runner has control.