A rare case of a periorbital respiratory (choristomatous) cyst

Respiratory cysts are benign lesions lined by normal respiratory epithelium. There are few reported cases localized to the orbit, while those of the eyelid are exceedingly rare. Respiratory cysts usually arise either from a non‐hereditary congenital malformation, where they are distinguished as choristomatous, or from trauma. Here, we report a case of a 53‐year‐old man who presented with a large right lower eyelid cyst that was histopathologically diagnosed as a respiratory cyst.     

Risk of Stroke-Associated Pneumonia With Acid-Suppressive Drugs: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Acid-suppressive drugs, including histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), are common medications used for treating upper gastrointestinal tract disorders. However, acid-suppressive drugs have been reported to increase the risk of pneumonia in numerous disease populations. However, the relationship between acid-suppressive drugs and stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) remains controversial.The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between acid-suppressive drug usage and pneumonia among patients with stroke by using a nationwide data set.A population-based cohort study was conducted using a data set from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database. Data on patients with new-onset stroke from 2010 to 2011 were collected. Patients with and without acid-suppressive drug usage were followed up to identify the occurrence of any type of pneumonia. We estimated the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) by using the Cox proportional hazards model.The study cohort comprised 7965 patients with new-onset stroke. The incidence of pneumonia was 6.9% (552/7965) and more than 40% (225/552) of patients developed pneumonia within 3 months after an acute stroke. Acid-suppressive drug usage was an independent risk factor of pneumonia. The adjusted HR for the risk of pneumonia in patients with new-onset stroke using acid-suppressive drugs was 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18–1.75, P < 0.01). Only PPI usage increased risk of chronic SAP (adjusted HR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.04–2.05).Acid-suppressive drug usage was associated with a slightly increased risk of SAP. Physicians should exercise caution when prescribing acid-suppressive drugs to patients with stroke, particularly at the chronic stage.     

Long-term surgical results for congenital aural atresia

Thirty-nine primary surgical cases for correction of congenital aural atresia were reviewed for complications and long-term hearing results. Hearing averages of 25 dB for mild atresia, 40 dB for moderate atresia, and 46 dB for severe atresia were obtained. Serviceable hearing was achieved in 64% of the cases. The two most frequent complications were stenosis and recurrent infections of the cavity and canal skin, with an incidence of 33% and 31%, respectively. Use of split-thickness instead of full-thickness skin graft was associated with fewer complications. The goal of this review is also to share the experience of the senior author in the management of this complex problem.     

Revisit on congenital bronchopulmonary vascular malformations: a haphazard branching theory of malinosculations and its clinical classification and implication.

We propose a haphazard branching theory to support the concept of bronchopulmonary malinosculations, and we apply this theory to classify congenital bronchopulmonary vascular malformation (BPVM) based on the anatomical results we have found. Between January 1990 and December 1997, a total of 22 pediatric patients (10 male and 12 female), aged 2 days to 14 years (median, 19.6 months), with congenital BPVM were enrolled in this retrospective study. Study modalities include the clinical features and plain chest films (n = 22) plus at least two of the following: echocardiography (n = 13), barium esophagraphy (n = 2), bronchoscopy (n = 4), contrast bronchography (n = 8), high-resolution direct coronal CT (n = 1) and electron beam or ultrafast CT (n = 1) of the chest, MRI (n = 10), MRA (n = 1), contrast cineangiocardiography (n = 9), surgery (n = 11), or autopsy (n = 2). The salient clinical features were recurrent lung infections in 14 patients, acute respiratory distress in 13, associated cardiovascular malformations in 8, dextroversion in 7, congestive heart failure in 7, dextrocardia in 4, and complex congenital heart diseases in 4. There were abnormal openings (malinosculations) of the pulmonary airway in 20 patients: to an artery in 12, to a vein in 8, and to the lung parenchyma in 9. These 22 patients with congenital BPVM can be classified into bronchial malinosculation (10 cases), arterial malinosculation (2 cases), and bronchoarterial malinosculation (10 cases). Congenital BPVM can be classified in terms of bronchopulmonary malinosculation based upon a haphazard branching theory, in which abnormal communications between two independent systems (primitive foregut system and aortic-pulmonary arch system) occurred coincidentally rather than causally.     

Therapy of human cervical carcinoma with monoclonal antibody-Pseudomonas exotoxin conjugates.

Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) linked to the F(ab')2 fragment of 1H10, a murine monoclonal antibody recognizing a carbohydrate epitope of a glycoconjugate expressed on the surface of human cervical carcinoma tumor cells, was evaluated for in vitro and in vivo activity. PE can kill cells by ADP-ribosylating elongation factor 2 thus inhibiting protein synthesis. Disulfide- as well as thioether-linked immunotoxins (1H10-PE) killed cervical carcinoma cells in vitro and were 20-160 times more inhibitory to target than to control cells. Cell killing was antibody mediated as demonstrated by the reduction of 1H10-PE growth inhibition to target CaSki cells by free 1H10 F(ab')2. In addition, a control antibody immunotoxin was nontoxic to CaSki cells. Thioether-linked 1H10-PE administered either i.v. or i.p. suppressed the growth of established solid s.c. cervical carcinoma tumors xenografted in nude mice for over 30 days. Treatment with antibody alone or a control immunotoxin had no significant effect on tumor growth. Administration of immunotoxin i.p. was associated with less toxicity than administration i.v., but i.v. injections were more effective at suppressing the growth of established solid tumors.     

Opportunistic intracranial infection in AIDS detection by technetium-99m DTPA brain scintigraphy

Radionuclide brain scintigraphy and computed tomography (CT) demonstrated cerebral lesions in two patients with acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS) complicated by opportunistic infection of the brain. In the detection of these cerebral lesions, [99mTc]DTPA radionuclide scintigraphy was as reliable as CT. Since malignant lymphoma involving the brain has been seen with increasing frequency in patients with AIDS, the positive brain scan alone is nonspecific and should be correlated appropriately with the clinical setting.