Local Management of Malignant and Unresectable Fungating Wounds: PEBO Assessment

Author(s):  
Agata Janowska ◽  
Giulia Davini ◽  
Valentina Dini ◽  
Michela Iannone ◽  
Riccardo Morganti ◽  
...  

Malignant fungating wounds (MFWs) represent a major problem for public health. The most common symptoms associated with MFWs are pain, exudate, bleeding and odor. The aim of the study was to optimize the local management and dressing of MFWs. We developed a standardized 4- step approach to MFWs based on Pain, Exudate, Bleeding and Odor management in a case series of 24 patients: we call this the PEBO approach. We analyzed etiologies, localization, Quality of Life (QoL), pain and clinical signs and symptoms. We assessed the ulcers at baseline, after two weeks and after one month. In our study, most patients showed an improvement in the QoL using PEBO approach, although some experienced a deterioration in their general clinical conditions. Non-cytolesive cleansing, atraumatic dressings were applied to allow pain relief. Non-adherent dressings were combined with a secondary dressing in the case of exudate. Achieving hemostasis with dressing or medication is a priority in MFW management. Antibacterial dressings and odor absorbent dressings were used for odor absorption. Surgical debridement, adherent dressing and occlusive dressings were avoided. Dressing changes were programmed twice a week for four weeks. PEBO simplified the complex aspects of this type of ulcer, and could help physicians, nurses, and also the rest of the team, including the patients themselves and their family, in the multidisciplinary palliative care of MFWs.

Author(s):  
Candy McCabe ◽  
Richard Haigh ◽  
Helen Cohen ◽  
Sarah Hewlett

Pain and fatigue are the prominent problems for those with a rheumatic disease, and are often underestimated by clinicians. Symptoms may fluctuate in quality and intensity over time and commonly will vary over the course of a day. For pain, clinical signs and symptoms will be dependent on the source of the pain and whether causative underlying pathology is identifiable or not. Fatigue may range from mild effects to total exhaustion and may include cognitive and emotional elements, with a complex, probably multicausal, pathway. Theoretical knowledge of potential mechanistic pathways for pain and fatigue should be used to inform assessment and treatment approaches. Best practice recommends a multidisciplinary and holistic treatment approach with the patient an active participant in the planning of their care, and self-management. Many patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions will not achieve a pain-free or fatigue-free status. Medication use must therefore balance potential benefit against short- and long-term side effects. Rheumatology centres should offer specific fatigue and pain self-management support as part of routine care. Emphasis should be given to facilitating self-management strategies for both pain and fatigue to help the patient optimize their quality of life over years or a lifetime of symptoms. Interventions should include behaviour change and cognitive restructuring of pain/fatigue beliefs, as well as access to relevant self-help groups and charitable organizations. Referral for specialist advice from regional or national clinics on pain relief and management should be considered if pain interferes significantly with function or quality of life despite local interventions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Baltopoulos ◽  
Charalampos Tsintzos ◽  
George Prionas ◽  
Maria Tsironi

Background Thoracic outlet syndrome is described as a group of distinct disorders producing signs and symptoms attributed to compression of nerves and blood vessels in the thoracic outlet region. Purpose To describe the exercise-induced scalenus anticus syndrome attributed to the anterior scalenus hypertrophy as a thoracic outlet syndrome underlying mechanism and to give recommendations for a safe and effective surgical treatment. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods Twelve young professional athletes admitted for thoracic outlet syndrome (8 cases of neurologic thoracic outlet syndrome, 4 cases of mixed neurologic and vascular thoracic outlet syndrome) who reported numbness, tingling, early fatigue, muscle weakness, and pain were enrolled in the study. Scalenus hypertrophy was suspected to be the causative factor. Scalenectomy was performed in all cases. Results All patients had moderate to severe hypertrophy of the anterior scalenus muscle. Scalenectomy was performed, and there were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. Full activity was quickly achieved, and no recurrence of symptoms was documented. Conclusion Surgical intervention for scalenus anticus syndrome can allow an athlete to return to full activity and improve quality of life. Surgical intervention seems to be the treatment of choice in terms of restoring quality of life and physical activity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farnoosh Razmara ◽  
Zahra Ghoncheh ◽  
Ghazal Shabankare

Abstract Background A traumatic bone cyst is an uncommon nonneoplastic lesion of the jaws that is considered as a “pseudocyst” because of the lack of an epithelial lining. This lesion is particularly asymptomatic and therefore is diagnosed by routine dental radiographic examination as a unilocular radiolucency with scalloped borders, mainly in the posterior mandibular region. The exact etiopathogenesis of the lesion remains uncertain, though it is often associated with trauma. Case presentation We report three Persian cases of traumatic bone cyst with different clinical and radiographic features, and we present a review of the literature to further discuss diagnostic and treatment challenges. Only one of the three patients reported a history of trauma, and despite the usual signs and symptoms of the lesion, extension of the defect to the ramus, swelling of the lingual cortex, and their unusual presence in the anterior mandible were noted in these patients. Conclusions Because features of this cyst can be varied, careful history taking and radiographic evaluation alongside the clinical signs and symptoms have a very significant role in definitive diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and accurate assessment of prognosis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M Webb ◽  
John E Ware ◽  
Anna Forsythe ◽  
Min Yang ◽  
Xavier Badia ◽  
...  

ObjectiveCushing's disease (CD) can significantly impair patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study investigated the treatment effectiveness of pasireotide on HRQOL of CD patients, and assessed the relationships between HRQOL and urinary free cortisol (UFC) and CD-related signs and symptoms.DesignIn this phase III, randomized, double-blind study, patients with UFC ≥1.5×upper limit of normal (ULN) received s.c. pasireotide 600 or 900 μg twice daily. The trial primary endpoint was UFC at or below ULN at month 6 without dose titration. Open-label treatment continued through month 12. HRQOL was measured using the Cushing's Quality of Life Questionnaire (CushingQoL) instrument at baseline and follow-up visits until month 12 during which clinical signs and features of CD, and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), were also collected.MethodsPearson's/Spearman's correlations between changes in CushingQoL and changes in clinical signs and symptoms were assessed. Changes in CushingQoL and the proportion of patients achieving a clinically meaningful improvement in CushingQoL were also compared among patients stratified by mean UFC (mUFC) control status (controlled, partially controlled, and uncontrolled) at month 6. Analyses were also conducted at month 12, with multivariable adjustment for baseline characteristics and CushingQoL.ResultsChange in CushingQoL was significantly correlated with changes in mUFC (r=−0.40), BMI (r=−0.39), weight (r=−0.41), and BDI-II (r=−0.54) at month 12 but not at month 6. The percentage of CushingQoL responders at month 12 based on month 6 mUFC control status were as follows: 63, 58.8, and 37.9% in the controlled, partially controlled, and uncontrolled groups respectively. Adjusted CushingQoL scores at month 12 were 58.3 for controlled patients (Δ=11.5 vs uncontrolled,P=0.012) and 54.5 for partially controlled patients (Δ=7.7 vs uncontrolled,P=0.170).ConclusionsPasireotide treatment can result in a meaningful HRQOL improvement among those who complete a 12-month treatment period, most often among patients achieving biochemical control.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjun Du ◽  
Jinhong Yu ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Xiaoguo Zhang ◽  
Shouwei Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims & Background: The COVID-19 outbreak spread in China and is a threat to the world. We reported on the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of children cases to help health workers better understand and provide timely diagnosis and treatment.Methods: Retrospectively, two research centers’ case series of 67 consecutive hospitalized cases including 14 children cases with COVID-19 between 23 Jan 2020 to 15 Feb 2020 from Jinan and Rizhao were enrolled in this study. Epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of children and adults were analyzed and compared.Results: Most cases in children were mild(21.4%) and conventional cases(78.6%), with mild clinical signs and symptoms, and all cases were of family clusters. Fever (35.7%) and dry cough(21.4%) were described as clinical manifestations in children cases. Dry cough and phlegm were not the most common symptoms in children compared with adults(p=0.03). In the early stages of the disease, lymphocyte counts did not significantly decline but neutrophils counts did in children compared with adults(p=0.00).There was an elevated level of LDH(p=0.01) and a lower level of CRP(p=0.00)and IL-6(p=0.01) in children compared with adults. There were 8 (57.1%)asymptomatic cases and 6 (42.9%)symptomatic cases among the 14 children cases. The age of asymptomatic patients was younger than that of symptomatic patients(p=0.03). Even among asymptomatic patients, 5(62.5%)cases had pneumonia including 3 (60%) cases with bilateral pneumonia, which was not different compared with that of asymptomatic cases(p=0.58, p=0.74).Conclusions: The clinical symptoms of children are mild, and the positive indicators of laboratory tests are rare, which may easily cause clinical misdiagnoses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  

From medical point of view, “Diarrhea” is an alteration in a normal bowel movement characterized by an increase in the water content, volume, or frequency of stools. Acute diarrhea of infec¬tious etiology, often referred to as gastroenteri¬tis and is typically associated with clinical signs and symptoms including: nausea, vomiting, abdomi¬nal pain and cramps, bloating, flatulence, fever, passage of bloody stools, tenesmus, and fecal ur¬gency. Infectious diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is the diarrhea we have also found out, during a large 3 yeas study 2017-2020 in Transylvania – Romania. 3577 number of cases were transmitted during this time, to our Public Health Center, by 12 district Sanitary Polices. These were mostly diagnosed by the territorial family doctors and more then 50%, have need hospitalization, for several days because of the mentioned disease disorders. The detected infectious etiology, were determined in authorized laboratories in which it was identified: Shigella, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia, Rotavirus, Giardia. Most number of cases appeared in children, followed by elderly or adult people, as quantified number of determination. In light of these data, acute diarrheal illness had to be considered a major public health issue against which control efforts are needed. Public health surveillance and response in the field of infectious acute diarrhea include obligatory strategies of infection control.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (suppl 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Mara dos Santos Tavares ◽  
Nayara Gomes Nunes Oliveira ◽  
Marina Aleixo Diniz-Rezende ◽  
Graziele Ribeiro Bitencourt ◽  
Marcos Barragan da Silva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to map the scientific knowledge about COVID-19 in older adults. Method: this is a scoping review literature review. A search was performed in the PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science and LILACS databases. Original articles that answered the guiding question were included: what scientific knowledge is available in the world about COVID-19 in older adults? Results: thirty-one articles were included, most of them carried out in China (n=23) and with a retrospective design (n=13) and case studies/case series (n=13). Based on the findings, six thematic categories emerged: clinical signs and symptoms (n=12), other information (n=9), adverse outcomes/complications resulting from COVID-19 (n=8), age relationship and greater severity of COVID-19 (n=8), variables related to death by COVID-19 (n=8), and diagnostic findings (n=8). Conclusion: the findings reinforce older adults’ greater vulnerability to the worsening of COVID-19, as well as to complications resulting from the disease, including the greater occurrence of death.


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