Osteomyelitis secondary to cutaneous mucormycosis. Report of a case and a review of the literature

An unusual case of osteomyelitis secondary to cutaneous mucormycosis developed in a diabetic with chronic renal insufficiency. Recovery followed curettage of the osseous lesion and "suboptimal" treatment with amphotericin B. A review of the literature on mucormycosis of bone and skin follows the report of the case.     

Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Cyanotic Heart Disease Who Underwent Palliative and Total Repair

Background: Studies on predictors of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric patients with cyanotic heart disease who are waiting for the next stage and those who have undergone total repair are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to identify such predictors in children who received the modified Blalock–Taussig shunt (MBTS) and those who underwent total repair. Methods: In this historical cohort and concurrent follow-up study, data of children who underwent MBTS at the age of 0–3 years between January 2005 and December 2016 at a super-tertiary care hospital in Southern Thailand were obtained. Children who were alive in December 2017 were recruited to evaluate the quality of life at least 1 year after their operation. Between January and December 2018, the “Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales” with both child self-report and parent proxy-report scores were used to examine the HRQOL. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of HRQOL. Beta-coefficient (β) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated and considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results: Among the 380 enrolled children, 148 died, 122 survived and waited for total repair, and 110 survived after total repair. In the multivariate analysis, chronic lung disease was a common predictor of lower physical and psychosocial HRQOL reported by the parents (β [95% CI]: −0.42 [−0.81, −0.03] and −0.49 [−0.89, −0.09], respectively). Total repair was a predictor of higher physical HRQOL according to both parents and children (β [95% CI]: 0.33 [0.09, 0.57] and 0.70 [0.36, 1.03], respectively). A predictor of higher psychosocial HRQOL reported by the parents was younger age during MBTS surgery compared with older age (β [95% CI]: 0.012 [0.001, 0.022]). In the total repair subgroup, undergoing the Fontan procedure (vs. Glenn procedure) was a predictor for lower physical HRQOL reported by the parents (β [95% CI]: −0.82 [−1.52, −0.13]). Higher socioeconomic status was a predictor of both physical and psychosocial HRQOL (β [95% CI]: 0.018 [0.001, 0.034] and 0.012 [0.0001, 0.04], respectively). Conclusions: Successful total repair was a predictor of higher physical HRQOL, and younger age during MBTS surgery was a predictor of higher psychological HRQOL in children with cyanotic heart disease. Higher socioeconomic status was a predictor of both physical and psychological HRQOL following total repair [Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20161221003].     

Sulfur for scabies outbreaks in orphanages

Scabies outbreaks occurred in two large orphanages in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Since we were concerned about the availability, safety, and cost of scabicides in Thailand, sulfur in petrolatum was our choice for mass treatment of the children. We studied the efficacy of sulfur in children 2 months to 6 years of age. After the treatment, 47% and 71% of the 102 patients were cured in 2 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively. Only three preschool children developed a mild facial irritation after the first application. This agent is a safe and cheap choice for mass therapy.     

Clinical features and follow up of 302 patients with Mycobacterium kansasii pulmonary infection: a 50 year experience

Aims: To analyse clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with pulmonary Mycobacterium kansasii infection treated at Hines VA Hospital between 1952 and 1995, and followed up until 2003. Findings: 302 patients were confirmed to have M kansasii pulmonary infection; diagnosis was not made until death in 2%. The average age was 50 years old; 76% were white; all were men. Productive cough, dyspnoea, and chest pain were common; 16% were asymptomatic. Right sided, apical or subapical, thin walled cavitary infiltrate was the characteristic radiological feature. Heavy smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, alcoholism, peptic ulcer disease, coronary artery disease, prior tuberculosis, psychosis, prior pneumonia, and immunocompromising conditions were prevalent. Average follow up was 10 years and 2 months. PPD was positive in 58% of 179 tested. Two thirds of the patients required only first line drugs. Fourteen per cent required surgical intervention, none after 1977. Spontaneous resolution occurred in 1%. Aspergillosis developed in 4%. Bronchogenic carcinoma coexisted with M kansasii infection in 6% and followed it in 4%. Extrapulmonary malignancy coexisted with the infection in 4% and followed it in 6%; most involved head and neck. Eleven per cent of 224 deaths were attributed to M kansasii. Outcomes were affected by comorbidity, treatment compliance, rifampicin use, and extent of infection. Conclusions: Prognosis of M kansasii pulmonary infection is good if diagnosed and treated early, together with control of underlying conditions. Clinicians should be aware of atypical radiological manifestations of the disease when coexisting with other pulmonary or immunocompromising conditions.     

Mycobacterium kansasii infection following primary pulmonary malignancy.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether any of the Mycobacterium kansasii cases were the consequences of primary lung malignancy. The records and chest x-ray films of 295 patients with M kansasii pulmonary infection were reviewed. The infection was found to complicate the primary lung neoplasm in four cases. Three patients had had treatment for malignancy: one patient with small cell carcinoma received chemotherapy, steroids and radiation; one with adenocarcinoma underwent a lobectomy and radiation; and the third patient had a lobectomy and radiation for malignant fibrohistiocytoma. The fourth patient developed the infection three years after lung malignancy manifested itself, which was only a few months before the clinical evidence of distant metastasis with adenocarcinoma was detected. We suggest that this infection be considered in patients from M kansasii endemic areas, especially after they have received radiation treatment for lung malignancy. This association has never been described before.     

Prospective observational study of the frequency and features of intra-abdominal abscesses in patients with melioidosis in northeast Thailand

Retrospective case series from Thailand have reported the presence of intra-abdominal abscesses in around half of patients with melioidosis, a much higher rate than our clinical experience would suggest. We performed a prospective, observational study of 230 adult patients with culture-confirmed melioidosis in which all patients underwent abdominal ultrasound. One or more abscesses were detected in the liver and/or spleen in 77 (33%) cases. These were often multiple (70%, 31/44 in hepatic abscesses and 88%, 50/57 in splenic abscesses) and clinically silent (27% of cases with abscesses presenting with abdominal pain). The mortality rate at 4 weeks post-discharge was lower in patients who were abscess-positive vs abscess-negative (10%, 8/77 vs 20%, 31/153).     

Rapid diagnosis of beta-haemolytic streptococcus group B endocarditis by buffy-coat examination and gas-liquid chromatography.

A semicomatose 34-year-old man had fever, heart murmur, and multiple gangrenous lesions. Several blood cultures were negative. Cultures of the heart valve grew beta-haemolytic streptococcus group B. The organism was seen in buffy-coat examination of the venous blood. The gas-liquid chromatogram of the serum was different from those of normal controls and of patients with invasive candida infection; it closely mimicked the one obtained from the organism itself. These studies promise to be valuable diagnostic adjuncts.