Stavudine extended release (once-daily,Bristol-Myers Squibb) for the treatment of HIV/AIDS

Exenatide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, which has recently received FDA approval in the US for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Exenatide is an incretin mimetic that improves glycaemic control in patients with diabetes through acute mechanisms, such as glucose-dependent stimulation of insulin secretion, suppression of inappropriate glucagon secretion and slowing of gastric emptying, as well as chronic mechanisms that include enhancement of β-cell mass in rodent studies and weight loss and inhibition of food intake in humans. This article reviews the mechanisms of exenatide action, as well as its efficacy in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.     

Retroperitoneal Fibrosis Secondary to Different Etiologies (Hemilaminectomy and Hypothyroidism): Reports of Two Cases

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) is a clinical entity characterized by the progressive proliferation of connective tissue that rarely forms a mass involving the periaortic area of the abdomen, which may be idiopathic as well as a result of an inflammatory process after aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta. This fibrotic tissue may cover both aorta and iliac arteries, reach the retroperitoneum and surrounding ureters, and cause serious obstructions and renal insufficiency in three-quarters of patients. Most of the patients are known to have atherosclerosis and local inflammation against the antigens of the plaques. A systemic autoimmune disease presenting with retroperitoneal fibrosis seems to be pronounced more frequently nowadays because of the elevated acute-phase reactant levels, positive autoantibodies, and concurrent autoimmune diseases affecting other organs in majority of the diagnosed patients. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and retroperitoneal biopsy are useful in diagnosing and assessing the full extent of the disease. Surgical interventions such as ureterolysis and aneurysm repair are frequently performed, but medical therapy including steroids and immunosuppressants is often needed because of the inflammatory and chronic-relapsing nature of the disease.

In this paper, we described two cases diagnosed with RF secondary to hemilaminectomy and hypothyroidism, and we summarized the literature related to RF.     

Spinal epidural abscesses – The role for non-operative management: A systematic review

BackgroundSpinal Epidural Abscesses (SEAs) are traditionally seen as a surgical emergency. However, SEAs can be discovered in entirely asymptomatic patients. This presents a dilemma for the attending clinician as to whether to subject these patients to significant surgery. This systematic review updates the evidence surrounding the efficacy of non-operative SEA management by means of intravenous antibiotics ± radiologically-guided aspiration.Aims1. To assess failure rates of medical therapy for SEA. The absolute definition of ‘failure’ used by the study was recorded, and comparisons made. 2. To review of risk factors for success/failure of medical treatment for SEA.MethodsA database search with the MESH term ‘epidural abscess’ and keywords [‘treatment’ OR ‘management’] were used.Results14 studies were included. The number of SEA patients managed non-operatively ranged from 19 to 142. There was significant heterogeneity across the studies. Pooled Failure of Medical Therapy (FMT) (defined as any poor outcome) was 29.40%. When FMT = mortality the pooled rate was 11.49%. Commonly cited risk factors for FMT included acute neurological compromise, diabetes mellitus, increasing age and Staphylococcus aureus.ConclusionSEA will always be a condition mostly managed surgically. Despite this, there is growing evidence that non-operative management can be possible in the correct patients. The key is in patient selection – patients with any of the above-mentioned risk factors have the potential to deteriorate further on medical treatment and have a worse outcome than if they had undergone emergency surgery straight away. Ongoing research will hopefully further investigate this crucial step.     

Clinical veterinarian’s perspective of non-human primate (NHP) use in drug safety studies

Owing to their size, cost, and availability, the cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) has surpassed the rhesus macaque in its use as a non-human primate preclinical model for drug safety studies. There are three major regions where cynomolgus macaques are bred: China, Southeast Asia, and the island of Mauritius. Country of origin of the macaque is important, as disease status and background disease incidence in non-human primates from each of these sites can differ. Once a source of macaque has been decided, careful monitoring of the animal during breeding and by the importing vendor while the animals are in quarantine is important. During vendor quarantine, the animals should be monitored and evaluated for disease, response to tuberculosis testing, retroviral status, and both ecto- and endoparasites. After animals arrive at the test facility, additional quarantine and acclimation are important to ascertain health status further and to reduce stress on the animals, thereby providing a better research model. The type of caging, food, water, and enrichment should be carefully selected to best suit the needs of the study while working within Federal Regulations (i.e., Animal Welfare Act and Good Laboratory Practices). Careful prescreening by performing tests (such as physical, neurologic, and ophthalmologic examinations), complete blood count, biochemical profile, urinanalysis, electrocardiograms, and pulse oximetry is important when selecting the most appropriate animals for the study. After the in-life portion of the study begins, animals that present with clinical signs should be examined and an appropriate treatment course begun while maintaining study objectives. As many commonly used medications have immunomodulatory effects, having an understanding of the mechanism of action of test articles will aid in the appropriate choice of treatment of study animals. A tiered approach to the treatment of these animals is a conservative and usually acceptable approach.     

微生物检验泌尿系统的病原菌结果研究

目的探究微生物检验泌尿系统病原菌的结果。方法选取2019年6月至2020年3月本院泌尿科收治的120例泌尿系统感染患者为研究对象。使用实验室微生物检测其泌尿系统的病原菌,比较泌尿系统病原菌的类型与药敏试验结果。结果120株病原菌中革兰阴性菌65株(54.17%),革兰阳性菌30株(25.00%),假丝酵母菌25株(20.83%)。革兰阴性菌中大部分为大肠埃希菌(76.92%);革兰阳性菌中大部分为鸟肠球菌(40.00%);假丝酵母菌中大部分为白假丝酵母菌(52.00%);通过药敏试验发现,对亚胺培南与阿米卡星敏感度较高的是大肠埃希菌,对头孢他啶、阿莫西林与舒巴坦敏感度较高的是鸟肠球菌;对头孢呋辛、替考拉宁和青霉素G敏感度较高的是白假丝酵母菌。结论泌尿系统感染疾病的主要致病菌是革兰阴性菌和革兰阳性菌,因此,在对有泌尿系统感染症状患者的临床诊断与治疗过程中应对患者的病原菌实施实验室微生物检测,从而选择合适的抗菌药物。     

Occult hepatitis B virus infection in liver transplant patients in a Brazilian referral center

Estimates of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prevalence varies among different studies depending on the prevalence of HBV infection in the study population and on the sensitivity of the assay used to detect HBV DNA. We investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation in a Brazilian referral center. Frozen liver samples from 68 adults were analyzed using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay for HBV DNA. The specificity of the amplified HBV sequences was confirmed by direct sequencing of the amplicons. The patient population comprised 49 (72.1%) males and 19 (27.9%) females with a median age of 53 years (range=18-67 years). Occult HBV infection was diagnosed in three (4.4%) patients. The etiologies of the underlying chronic liver disease in these cases were alcohol abuse, HBV infection, and cryptogenic cirrhosis. Two of the patients with cryptic HBV infection also presented hepatocellular carcinoma. Markers of previous HBV infection were available in two patients with occult HBV infection and were negative in both. In conclusion, using a sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction assay to detect HBV DNA in frozen liver tissue, we found a low prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplant, probably due to the low prevalence of HBV infection in our population.     

Risk factors for complications and in-hospital mortality: An analysis of 19,834 open pelvic ring fractures

BackgroundOpen pelvic fractures are rare injuries, associated with high patient morbidity and mortality. Few studies have investigated the impact of patient demographics, comorbidities, and injury related factors on complication and mortality rates. The purpose of this study was to: (1) identify the overall incidence of complications and mortality after open pelvic fractures, (2) compare patient factors between those who did and did not develop complications, (3) identify perioperative independent risk factors for complications and mortality.MethodsA query was performed for patients with open pelvic fractures between 2007 and 2017 using the American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank. Patient and injury specific variables were collected and complications were identified using International Classification of Disease Ninth and Tenth edition Codes. Patient demographic and perioperative data was compared using Fisher’s exact test and chi-square test for categorical variables, and Welch’s t-test for continuous variables. Using pooled data from multiple imputations, logistic regressions were used to calculate odds ratios and confidence intervals of independent risk factors for complications.ResultsA total of 19,834 open pelvic fracture cases were identified, with 9622 patients (48.5%) developing at least one complication. Patients who developed complications were older (35.0 vs 38.1 years), and had higher Injury Severity Scores (17.7 vs 26.5), lower Glasgow Coma Scores (14.2 vs 11.7), and a larger proportion presenting with hypotension (21% vs 6.9%). After pooled regression involving 19 factors, these were the strongest independent predictors of inpatient complication and mortality.ConclusionWe report a mortality rate of 14%, with an inclusive complication rate of 48.5%. Evaluating risk factors for morbidity and mortality for this devastating orthopaedic injury provides knowledge of an inherently sparse population.Level of EvidenceLevel II, Retrospective study.     

Multidisciplinary intestinal rehabilitation in acute type II intestinal failure: Results from an intestinal rehabilitation team

BackgroundType II (acute) intestinal failure (IF) is usually caused by complications of abdominal surgery resulting in enteric fistulas or proximal stomas and requires parenteral nutrition (PN) for several months. This study aimed to evaluate clinical management and outcome of type II IF patients in a single center.MethodsMedical records of patients referred to the Intestinal Rehabilitation Team (IRT) at Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Korea) were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsFrom 2014 to 2019, 34 patients with IF were referred. 28 patients were type II IF and were included in the analysis. There were 17 males and 11 females. Mean age of patients was 56.7 years. Pathophysiology of IF were high-output stoma in 16 cases, extensive bowel resection (with bowel in continuity) in 7 cases, and enterocutaneous fistula in 5 cases. The catastrophic events necessitating abdominal surgery in the patients were adhesive ileus in 9 cases, superior mesenteric artery thrombosis in 8 cases, internal herniation of bowel in 5 cases, traumatic bowel injury in 3 cases, and ischemic enteritis in 3 cases. Following medical and surgical rehabilitation, 10 patients (35.7%) were weaned off PN and overall mortality was 28.5%. Deaths were related to progression of underlying malignancies in 4 cases, liver failure in 3 cases, and sepsis in 1 case. Thirteen patients underwent surgery to restore bowel continuity. Six postoperative complications occurred in 4 patients (30.7%) and there were no postoperative mortalities.ConclusionStandardized care including restorative surgery resulted in successful outcomes in type II IF patients in this cohort.