Muscular metastatic infiltration from pulmonary epidermoid carcinoma

The localisation of metastasis in muscle is rare and is discovered mainly during autopsy. Skeletal muscle metastasis may occur in the case of leukaemia, lymphoma, melanoma, thyroid, gastrointestinal tract and breast carcinoma. However the most frequent aetiology is lung cancer. We describe the case of a 67-year-old woman, suffering from epidermoid lung carcinoma localised in both upper right lobes, treated surgically with success. Two months after surgery, she complained of pain and a sensation of swelling in the adductor muscles of the left hip with important restriction of mobility. A MRI scan of the hip showed an ovoid mass between the obturator extemus and the adductors muscles on the left side. Biopsy of the infiltrated muscles showed proliferation of carcinomatous tissue.     

community-acquired infection with healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: the role of home nursing care.

OBJECTIVE: To better understand the role of indirect transmission in community-acquired infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). DESIGN: Prospective case-control study. SETTING: A French teaching hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 198 case patients and 198 control patients with MRSA or methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection diagnosed between April 2002 and July 2003. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed a highly significant independent link between MRSA infection at admission and prior receipt of home nursing care (odds ratio [OR], 3.7; P<.001). Other independent risk factors were prior hospitalization (OR, 3.8; P<.001), transfer from another institution (OR, 2.3; P=.008), and age older than 65 years (OR, 1.6; P=.04). Prior home nursing care showed a frequency dose-response relationship. Eleven MRSA-infected patients had had home nursing procedures but no hospital stay in the previous 3 years. These patients' MRSA strains were related to the prevalent MRSA clone currently spreading in French hospitals. CONCLUSION: Home nursing care appears to be an independent risk factor for MRSA acquisition in the community. The reservoir probably consists of MRSA carriers discharged from the hospital. Community nurses seem to be a potential vector.     

Percutaneous treatmerit of heterogertous predorninantly solid echopattern echinococcal cysts of the liver

Purpose: We report our technique for and results of percutaneous treatment of heterogenous, predominantly solid echopattern hepatic hydatid cysts (HHC), i.e., complex type IV cysts according to Gharbi's sonographic classification of HHC. Methods: Eight patients with nine complex type IV HHC were treated by percutaneous aspiration followed by hypertonic saline ablation, using a 14 Fr van Sonnenberg sump drainage catheter under sonographic and fluoroscopic guidance. Results: Successful drainage of cysts contents was achieved in all eight patients. No major complications, such as anaphylaxis, abdominal dissemination, cyst recurrence, or death, occurred. Minor complications including pain (n = 4), mild fever (n = 5), right reactive pleural effusion (n = 4), and transient hypernatremia (n = 2) were observed and managed conservatively. Follow-up imaging studies for an average period of 15 months (range 1–48 months) showed either complete healing (n = 3) or significant reduction in the size of the cyst with solidification (n = 6). Conclusion: Nine complex type IV HHC were effectively treated by suction of the membranes and hypertonic saline ablation using a 14 Fr sump drainage catheter, without major complications.     

Lymphatic drainage of the heart in the laboratory rat

We showed in the Sprague Dawley rat that the principal ascending cardiac lymphatic is similar in location to that of man and dog and can be readily visualized by injection of a small amount of T1824 blue dye (Evans) into the apex of the left ventricle. We also showed that it is possible to ligate and thereby obstruct this principal cardiac lymphatic near its entry beneath the left atrial appendage. This latter technique may be useful for studying in a small relatively inexpensive laboratory animal the effects of blocking cardiac lymph drainage on inflammatory and infectious processes implicated in myocardial and coronary artery disease.