A case of diaphragmatic hernia incarceration after a heart transplant operation

We report a case of a diaphragmatic hernia after a heart transplant operation. A 43-year-old woman, who underwent orthotropic heart transplantation for hypertrophic cadiomyopathy two year earlier, presented with vomiting and epigastric pain. A computed tomography scan showed that the stomach and transverse colon were dislocated in the left thoracic cavity. We diagnosed left diaphragmatic hernia incarceration and performed laparoscopic repair of the diaphragmatic hernia. A 12 × 8 cm diaphragmatic defect was found intraoperatively on the ventrolateral aspect of the left diaphragm, and the stomach with volvulus had herniated into the thorax through the defect. The hernia was considered to be iatrogenic. The diaphragmatic defect was large, and the diaphragm was thinning. We closed the defect by mesh repair. Laparoscopic mesh repair of the diaphragmatic hernia could be performed safely and with minimal invasiveness.     

Postoperative development of sarcopenia is a strong predictor of a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction and upper gastric cancer

Background

There were few studies assessed the postoperative sarcopenia in patients with cancers. The objective of present study was to assess whether postoperative development of sarcopenia could predict a poor prognosis in patients with adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction, (AEG) and upper gastric cancer (UGC).

Contemporary Use of Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Insights from the Multicenter RESCUE Registry

BackgroundVenoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used as a life-saving therapy for patients with cardiovascular collapse, but identifying patients unlikely to benefit remains a challenge.Methods and ResultsWe created the RESCUE registry, a retrospective, observational registry of adult patients treated with VA-ECMO between January 2007 and June 2017 at 3 high-volume centers (Columbia University, Duke University, and Washington University) to describe short-term patient outcomes. In 723 patients treated with VA-ECMO, the most common indications for deployment were postcardiotomy shock (31%), cardiomyopathy (including acute heart failure) (26%), and myocardial infarction (17%). Patients frequently suffered in-hospital complications, including acute renal dysfunction (45%), major bleeding (41%), and infection (33%). Only 40% of patients (n = 290) survived to discharge, with a minority receiving durable cardiac support (left ventricular assist device [n = 48] or heart transplantation [n = 7]). Multivariable regression analysis identified risk factors for mortality on ECMO as older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.42) and female sex (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.02–2.02) and risk factors for mortality after decannulation as higher body mass index (OR 1.17; 95% CI, 1.01-1.35) and major bleeding while on ECMO support (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.23–2.99).ConclusionsDespite contemporary care at high-volume centers, patients treated with VA-ECMO continue to have significant in-hospital morbidity and mortality. The optimization of outcomes will require refinements in patient selection and improvement of care delivery.     

Preoperative scoring system for predicting early adjacent vertebral fractures after Balloon Kyphoplasty

BackgroundAdjacent vertebral fracture (AVF) is a major complication following Balloon Kyphoplasty (BKP). There is no scoring system for predicting AVF using only preoperative elements. The purposes of this study were to develop a scoring system for predicting early AVF after BKP based on preoperative factors and to investigate the appropriate surgical indication for BKP.MethodsOf 220 patients who underwent BKP at a single institution since 2011, 65 patients over the age of 60 who had undergone a standing whole spine X-ray preoperatively were enrolled. Factors affecting the occurrence of early AVF were examined. A scoring system was created consisting of the factors exhibiting significant differences, and the correlation between the total score and the incidence of early AVF was investigated.ResultsTwenty of the 65 patients (30.8%) had early AVF. In a univariate analysis, age, previous vertebral fracture, pelvic tilt, and Local kyphosis significantly influenced early AVF. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, age had an odds ratio of 1.136 (95% CI 1.001–1.289), previous vertebral fractures 4.181 (1.01–17.309), and Local kyphosis 1.103 (1.021–1.191). The scoring system was set as follows: ①Age (<75 years: 0 points(P), 75years≦: 1P), ②The number of previous vertebral fractures (0: 0 P, 1: 1P, 2: 2P, 3 or more: 3P), and ③Local kyphosis (<10°: 0P, 10°≦: 1P). There was a correlation between the total score and the incidence of early AVF (r = 0.812, 1P = 0.05). The incidence of early AVF was 6.4% (2 cases/31 cases) for a score of ≦1P and 54.5% (18 cases/33 cases) for a score of ≧2P.ConclusionsThere was a correlation between the total score and the incidence of early AVF. A score of 1 point or less may represent the appropriate surgical indication for BKP.     

Spontaneous recovery of fear differs among early – late adolescent and adult male mice

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for developing anxiety-related mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which requires a long-term course of therapy when a traumatic event has been experienced during childhood. However, the biological mechanism underlying these age-dependent characteristics remains unclear. In the present study, we used early adolescent, late adolescent and adult (4-, 8-, and 15-week old) male mice to examine age differences in fear memory, fear extinction, and spontaneous recovery of fear. We also measured the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 2 in the dorsal hippocampus (dHip) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) following a spontaneous recovery test. Our major findings were as follows: (1) early adolescent and adult mice did not recover the fear response; only late adolescent mice recovered the fear response. (2) The ERK2 in the dHip was more activated after the spontaneous recovery test in late adolescent mice than in adult mice, and the ERK2 in the BLA was more activated after the spontaneous recovery test in adult mice than in late adolescent mice. These results suggest that there exists a unique period in which spontaneous recovery occurs and that these late adolescent behavioral signatures may be related to alteration in the ERK2 phosphorylation in the dHip and BLA.