Osteomyelitis in Nigerian children (a review of 40 cases)

A retrospective study of 40 children with osteomyelitis revealed that the patients presented in hospital late. Therefore chronic osteomyelitis is prevalent in Nigerian children. Sickle cell anaemia is commonly associated with osteomyelitis. Staphylococcus aureus is the comonest organism but salmonella is associated with sicklers.     

Pre-and-post-operative aversion among men whose partners had caesarean delivery in a patriarchal setting

ObjectivesThe study evaluated pre and post-operative perception and aversion to caesarean delivery (CD) among men whose partners underwent the procedure.DesignA multicentre cross-sectional study.SettingTwo tertiary and two secondary health facilities.ParticipantsMen whose partners underwent CD at the study sites.MethodsParticipants were recruited by purposive sampling, data collection was through interaction via an interviewer-administered questionnaire first immediately the decision for CD was made and thereafter on the third postoperative day. Men whose partners had vaginal delivery were excluded from the study and data management was with SPSS version 21.0 while p<0.05 was significant.ResultsAwareness about CD was 84.0% mainly through the healthcare workers (42.1%) and the female partner (34.1%); 88.0% of participants recommended CD for medically-indicated reasons. The greatest influence on consent was the male partner (48.8%). The major pre-operative concerns were limitation of family size (34.7%) and fear of repeat CD (34.0%). Pre-operative perceptions of CD included being expensive (60.7%), fear of the procedure (48.0%), fear of complications (45.3%) and longer hospital stay (44.0%). Aversion to CD was 30.0% pre and 5.3% post-operation; predictors of aversion were history of previous surgery among male or female partner and awareness about CD. However, there were reductions in negative perception and aversion post-operation.ConclusionThe high negative perception and aversion to CD among male partners were reduced post-operation. Healthcare workers should address the concerns and negative perceptions about CD and prioritize patient-friendly experiences during surgical operations.FundingFunding was by the researchers; no grant or external support was received for the study.     

Effects of the tropical ginger compound, 1'-acetoxychavicol acetate, against tumor promotion in K5.Stat3C transgenic mice

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the current study was to determine whether a tropical ginger derived compound 1'-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), suppresses skin tumor promotion in K5.Stat3C mice. In a two-week study in which wild-type (WT) and K5.Stat3C mice were co-treated with either vehicle, ACA, galanga extract, or fluocinolone acetonide (FA) and tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA), only the galanga extract and FA suppressed TPA-induced skin hyperproliferation and wet weight. None of these agents were effective at suppressing pTyr705 Stat3 expression. However, ACA and FA showed promising inhibitory effects against skin tumorigenesis in K5.Stat3C mice. ACA also suppressed phospho-p65 NF-kappaB activation, suggesting a potential mechanism for its action.     

Fine needle aspiration cytology of hepatobiliary cystadenoma with mesenchymal stroma

BACKGROUND: Hepatobiliary cystadenomas (HBCs) with mesenchymal stroma (MS) are rare cystic neoplasms occurring exclusively in women. Hepatobiliary cystadenoma consists of a mucin-producing cyst lining epithelium underlined by a dense MS cell layer. In the current study, the authors review the fine needle aspiration cytology of HBC with MS and identify characteristic cytologic features that suggest such an uncommon neoplasm on aspirates. METHODS: A search of the histopathology files at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for the interval of January 1992 through December 2000 yielded four cases of HBC having both cytologic and histologic specimens. The cytologic features of the aspirates were reviewed and correlated with the clinical history, radiologic findings, and the histopathology of the excised specimens. RESULTS: All four patients were middle-aged women (mean age, 48.5 years) who presented with epigastric pain radiating to the back, due to large cystic lesions in the right liver lobe (three patients) or the left liver lobe (one patient). Aspiration cytology revealed chronic inflammatory exudate in all cases, along with occasional aggregates of bland, cuboidal-columnar epithelial cells (in three cases), which rarely arranged in papillary clusters. No significant atypia, evidence of malignancy, or MS cells were identified on the aspirates. HBC with MS was confirmed histologically on the excised specimens in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: By ensuring adequate sampling and correlating with consistent clinical and radiologic findings, a diagnosis of HBC or cystic hepatobiliary neoplasm can be suggested on the basis of aspiration cytology.     

Angiosarcoma of the of scalp with calvarium involvement in a 50-year-old African-American man

BACKGROUND: Angiosarcoma of the scalp is a rare, aggressive, and deadly cancer that affects mainly elderly Caucasian men. OBJECTIVES: The insidious and masquerading presentation of angiosarcoma poses enormous diagnostic challenges for primary care providers. PATIENTS/METHODS: We present a case of a 50-year-old black man referred for evaluation of a 3.7-cm-x-5.4-cm ulcerated, fluctuant scalp lesion that had failed to respond to different antibiotics and proper wound care. RESULTS: Surgical excision and subsequent histopathology revealed angiosarcoma. CONCLUSIONS: This case report highlights the importance of high index of suspicion for early diagnosis of cancerous lesions in wounds and stresses the need to include angiosarcoma in the differential diagnosis for all face and scalp lesions, as early detection may save lives. A comprehensive literature review is also presented.     

Infection by Dipylidium caninum in an infant

Dipylidium caninum, the dog tapeworm, is a cosmopolitan parasite of dogs and cats and occasionally causes human infection in the United States. Diagnosis is made by observing the characteristic rice grain-like proglottids in stool specimens and the pathognomonic egg packets in the gravid uterus in histologic sections of the parasite. There have been few reported cases of human infection with this parasite, and very little information on the pathology of this zoonotic disease is available in the English language. This report of a case of D caninum infection in a 6-month-old infant highlights the diagnostic features of this disease. To our knowledge, this is the first case to be reported in the American pathology literature during the last 36 years (MEDLINE database, 1966-2002).     

Surgical treatment of vascular malformations of the extremities in children and adolescents

The treatment of vascular malformations (VM) of the extremities is controversial. Six patients with large, localized, symptomatic VMs of the extremities underwent surgical excision. In five cases abnormal vessels were apparent under the skin; in two of these there was also red discoloration of the skin secondary to skin involvement. Magnetic resonance imaging was the most helpful imaging modality in evaluating these patients. Subfascial resection was performed in five cases. Muscle was involved in four patients and was removed in all four cases. At follow-up, there was improvement in symptoms and function with no clinically apparent recurrence an average of 30 months following the operation. There was improvement in pain intensity from an average of 4.3 on a scale of 1 to 10 before surgery to 1.3 after surgery. Surgical excision of localized VMs that are extensive and include fascia and muscle, as appropriate, can successfully improve pain and function without evidence of recurrence at 1 to 5 years of follow-up. Accepted: 18 January 2001     

Pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell hemoglobinopathy: a clinicopathologic study of 20 cases

Pulmonary hypertension is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality of patients with sickle cell hemoglobinopathy (SCH). Although a clinically recognized complication of sickle cell disease (SCD), there are few published pathologic studies of pulmonary findings in these patients. The aim of this study was to define the pulmonary pathologic changes and to investigate correlation between the pathologic changes, the antemortem diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, and the severity of SCH. Cases of SCH were identified from the autopsy database using Snomed codes. Clinical and echocardiograph data were collected for correlation with the pathologic data. A total of 20 adult patients (12 males and 8 females) were identified. Hemoglobin electrophoresis results were available for 16 patients, with hemoglobin S fraction percentages ranging from 23% to 97.8%. Eleven patients had SCD, 5 patients had sickle cell trait (SCT), and the remaining 4 patients without hemoglobin electrophoresis were included in the SCT group. The mean age of the SCT group was higher than that of the SCD group (P = 0.03). Histologically, all 20 patients demonstrated changes in pulmonary vasculature considered diagnostic of pulmonary hypertension grade I to grade IV, associated with plexiform lesions in 60% of patients. Medial hypertrophy and intimal hyperplasia/fibrosis, considered potentially reversible lesions, were seen in all patients. A weak association was found between SCD and plexiform lesions. Fibroelastic degeneration of small arteries, arterioles, and venules was identified in almost all (95%) cases. Clinically, tricuspid regurgitation was detected by echocardiogram in 10 of 20 (50%) patients; 6 of these 10 had significant regurgitation to allow estimation of systolic pressure. Sudden death occurred in 8 patients, with males having a significantly higher incidence. Cardiomegaly was present in 95% of patients, however, autosplenectomy and hepatic cirrhosis/hemochromatosis were observed almost exclusively in patients with SCD. Cirrhosis was found to have a strong positive association with SCD. This study demonstrates pulmonary hypertensive changes in all 20 autopsied patients who had SCH but died from various causes. We conclude that a high prevalence of pulmonary hypertension is associated with SCH with consequent high mortality. Therefore, patients with SCH would benefit from a regular periodic assessment for pulmonary hypertension regardless of age, sex, and severity of hemoglobinopathy.