Subungual glomus tumors of the hand: Treated by transungual excision

Background:Glomus tumors are benign hamartomas arising from the glomus body, mostly occurring in the subungual region of the digits. A triad of excruciating pain, localized tenderness and cold sensitivity is the key to diagnosing these tumors. Two surgical approaches are described in the literature for excision of subungual glomus tumors-transungual and periungual. We reviewed retrospectively the results of subungual glomus tumors of the hand treated by transungual excision.Results:All patients had complete pain relief. There was no new nail deformity and no recurrence till last followup. One patient had deformity of the nail preoperatively due to previous surgery, which persisted after excision of the tumor. All of them returned to their preoperative occupation and regained full function of the hand.Conclusions:The transungual approach provides good access to the entire lesion and facilitates complete excision. Contrary to reported literature, we did not find the development of any new nail deformity with this approach.     

Association of overall and abdominal obesity with coronary heart disease risk factors: comparison between urban and rural Indian men

The relationship of body mass index (BMI), conicity index (CI) and waist circumference to four coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors (systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels) was examined in urban (n = 110) and rural (n = 102) men aged > or = 20 years, drawn from the 'Reddy' population of Southern Andhra Pradesh, India. Using ANCOVA we found significant difference (< 0.01) for systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol between the urban and rural samples. The Pearson's correlation coefficients suggest that BMI and waist circumference had significant relationships with most of the risk factors in both the populations. The CI did not significantly influence any of the risk factors in the urban population; however, in the rural population, CI did show a significant positive relationship with both of the blood pressures and with TC. Even after controlling for age, smoking and physical activity (partial correlations), the relations remained constant. In multiple linear regression, BMI showed significant positive association with systolic and diastolic blood pressures (<0.01) and HDL cholesterol (<0.05) in the rural population only. However, the Cl showed a significant association with HDL cholesterol, and waist circumference with total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in the rural population. The results of the present study revealed that BMI and waist circumference had a greater influence on the CHD risk factors, and that the influence was more conspicuous in the rural sample. Comparing the association of abdominal obesity measures (CI and waist circumference) with CHD risk factors, waist circumference better correlated with most of the risk factors. Hence the present study suggests that BMI and waist circumference are better indicators of CHD risk factors. However, the importance of Cl has to be further studied in South Asian populations.     

MR imaging of epilepsy: strategies for successful interpretation

MR imaging plays a pivotal role in the evaluation of patients with epilepsy. With its high spatial resolution, excellent inherent soft tissue contrast,multiplanar imaging capability, and lack of ionizing radiation, MR imaging has emerged as a versatile diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with epilepsy. MR imaging not only identifies specific epileptogenic substrates but also determines specific treatment and predicts prognosis. Employing appropriate imaging protocols and reviewing the images ina systematic manner helps in the identification of subtle epileptogenic structural abnormalities. With future improvements in software, hardware, and post-processing methods, MR imaging should be able to throw more light on epileptogenesis and help physicians to better understand its structural basis.     

Miller fisher variant of guillain-barre syndrome requiring a cardiac pacemaker in a patient on tacrolimus after liver transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS), a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) necessitating the placement of a permanent cardiac pacemaker in a patient on tacrolimus after a cadaveric orthotopic liver transplantation. CASE SUMMARY: A 46-year-old African American male, who had been receiving tacrolimus 4 mg/day orally for the preceding 6 months, developed a Miller Fisher variant of GBS (severe ataxia, ophthalmoplegia, areflexia). He developed symptomatic sinus pauses requiring a cardiac pacemaker. He improved substantially after cessation of tacrolimus and initiation of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. The patient was not rechallenged with tacrolimus due to the clinical/ethical gravity of this probable adverse effect. DISCUSSION: Although different types of neuropathies have been reported with the use of tacrolimus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a Miller Fisher variant of GBS severe enough to cause dysautonomia requiring a cardiac pacemaker associated with the use of this drug. Causality assessment using the Naranjo probability scale revealed the adverse drug event was probable. CONCLUSIONS: Tacrolimus was probably associated with a Miller Fisher variant of GBS necessitating the placement of a permanent cardiac pacemaker in this patient. MFS needs to be considered a potentially life-threatening adverse effect of tacrolimus therapy.     

Prevalence and etiology of vertigo in adult rural population

A survey on 10.000 adults between the age of 20 and 79 years out of a total population of 66.186 persons in rural settlements under the inrisduction of Union Territory of Chandigarh between June 1993 to June 1995 was conducted to find out the prevalence and various causes of vertigo. In general community, in rural population, we found that more people suffer from non-otologic vertigo rather than otologic vertigo. We found overall prevalence of vertigo in rural adult community to be 0.71%. Vertigo secondary to cardiovascular disease was most common and prevalent in 0.32% of population. Neurologic disease accounted for vertigo in 0.14%, metabolic disease in 0.09% and otologic disease 0.08%. Miscellaneous disorders were present in remaining 0.08% of population studied. To the best of our knowledge this study represents the first population based survey of prevalence of various causes of vertigo in general community in adult rural population.     

Release mechanisms of a sparingly water-soluble drug from controlled porosity-osmotic pump pellets using sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin as both a solubilizing and osmotic agent

The purpose of this work is to delineate the release mechanisms of a sparingly water-soluble drug, prednisolone (PDL), from a microporous or controlled porosity-osmotic pump pellet (CP-OPP) using sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin (CD) as both a solubilizing and osmotic agent. All factors, osmotic and diffusional, influencing drug release as described by the Theeuwes and Zentner equation were partially demonstrated in an earlier paper1 and are further quantitatively evaluated here to determine whether the equation may be applied to CP-OPPs. The PDL release rate from the CP-OPPs containing precomplexed PDL follows the zero-order kinetics for up to 30-40% of drug release during the first 1-2 h and subsequently nonzero order kinetics. The zero-order drug release phase reveals the main contribution is from osmotic pumping with a negligible diffusion component, resulting from the nearly constant driving forces in the system. The nonzero order drug release phase is associated with the dynamic changes in the system (e.g., declining osmotic driving force and greater diffusion component with time). In addition, the parameters related to membrane characteristics were determined, and the effect of viscosity was evaluated for the pellet system. The membranes coated on the CP-OPPs are less permeable to water or solutes than the membranes coated on the previously reported tablets. The viscosity due to the CD decreases as a function of CD concentration, which partly affects the observed drug release profiles. The viscosity effect of CD is significant and captured in a hydraulic permeability term.     

MR imaging of epilepsy: strategies for successful interpretation

MR imaging plays a pivotal role in the evaluation of patients with epilepsy. With its high spatial resolution, excellent inherent soft tissue contrast, multiplanar imaging capability, and lack of ionizing radiation, MR imaging has emerged as a versatile diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with epilepsy. MR imaging not only identifies specific epileptogenic substrates but also determines specific treatment and predicts prognosis. Employing appropriate imaging protocols and reviewing the images in a systematic manner helps in the identification of subtle epileptogenic structural abnormalities. With future improvements in software, hardware, and post-processing methods, MR imaging should be able to throw more light on epileptogenesis and help physicians to better understand its structural basis.     

Acute onset of severe dilated cardiomyopathy during bromocriptine therapy

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) in a patient on bromocriptine therapy for a microprolactinoma. CASE SUMMARY: A 31-year-old African American female, who had been receiving bromocriptine 5 mg orally daily for a microprolactinoma during the preceding month, developed severe DCMP. An echocardiogram showed a markedly dilated left ventricle with severe reduction in the left-ventricular ejection fraction in the absence of any other identifiable causes of DCMP such as a peripartum state, ethanol use, preceding systemic viral illness, chronic hypocalcemia, chronic hypophosphatemia, or chronic uncontrolled tachycardia. She improved substantially (both symptomatically and echocardiographically) after cessation of bromocriptine therapy and initiation of supportive treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF). She showed no recurrence of CHF at a follow-up visit 2 months after withdrawal of the supportive care. The patient was not rechallenged with bromocriptine due to the clinical/ethical gravity of this probable adverse effect. DISCUSSION: Although cardiopulmonary adverse effects have been reported with the use of cabergoline (another dopamine agonist), to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of severe life-threatening DCMP associated with bromocriptine therapy. Causality assessment using the Naranjo probability scale revealed that the adverse drug event was probable. CONCLUSIONS: Bromocriptine was probably associated with DCMP in a patient being treated for a microprolactinoma. Severe DCMP needs to be considered a potentially life-threatening but reversible adverse effect of bromocriptine therapy for microprolactinoma of the pituitary gland.     

Unilateral conjunctival ulcer due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection

We report a case of unilateral conjunctival ulcer due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection in an immunocompetent individual. A 44-year-old male presented with complaints of pain and yellowish discharge in the right eye for one week. Patient underwent complete ophthalmic evaluation and relevant laboratory investigations. Anterior segment examination revealed localized conjunctival and episcleral congestion with conjunctival ulceration on the bulbar conjunctiva in the right eye. Gram's stain revealed gram-negative bacilli. Culture and sensitivity revealed S. maltophilia and responded well to topical moxifloxacin with systemic co-trimoxazole therapy.