scholarly journals THE MIMICKER OF MALADIES: A SUCCESS STORY

Author(s):  
Aneesa Shahul S. ◽  
Abhishek Singh Chauhan ◽  
Dharmprakash Dwivedi ◽  
Rajesh Kumar B ◽  
Maheshdev G

Melioidosis is being diagnosed more frequently from Indian subcontinent in the recent days. It is a serious multisystem infection caused by Burkholderi pseudomallei. 1-2 We discuss the case of a 55 year old Diabetic patient, who presented with complaints of fever, cough, breathlessness and loss of weight of one month duration. Due to poor response to conventional treatment, he was further investigated – Bronchoscopy and CT Thorax was done. Bronchial wash and sputum culture confirmed Pulmonary Melioidosis. The patient received treatment with Inj. Ceftazidime and was continued on oral Cotrimoxazole. Treatment was successful with good clinic radiological resolution. The patient is under follow up and is asymptomatic. Keywords: burkholderia, diabetics, melioidosis, pneumonia

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S287-S287
Author(s):  
Maisa Ali ◽  
Faraj Alhowady ◽  
Waqar Munir ◽  
Muna Almaslamani ◽  
Abdulatif Alkhal ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is an important issue for public health. This study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics, treatment outcome, and risk factors associated with 223 DR-TB cases in the State of Qatar. Methods A descriptive records-based retrospective study was conducted on patients registered at Communicable Disease Centre (CDC), Qatar to all consecutive microbiologically confirmed tuberculosis cases for the period January 2010–March 2015. Demographic and clinical data extracted included: patient’s age, sex, and country of origin; disease site (pulmonary or extra-pulmonary); presence of comorbidities, HIV/AIDS status, previous chemoprophylaxis and/or previous treatment for TB, and anti-TB drug resistance the resistance pattern of isolated mycobacteria. The sputum culture conversion rate and treatment outcome was assessed for the patient who completed their treatment in Qatar Results Of 3,301 patients with positive M. tuberculosis culture were analyzed; 223 (6.7%) were resistant to one or more first-line drugs, to isoniazid in 3.1% (n = 102), streptomycin in 1.2% (n = 41), rifampicin in 0.2% (n = 6), ethambutol in 0.15% (n = 5), and multi-drug resistance in 1.2% (n = 38) of patients. Among the resistant TB patients, more common demographic characteristics were former resident of Indian subcontinent (64.1%). A history of anti-TB treatment was not a risk factor with drug resistance in our cohort. Only 111 (49.7%) patients were tested for HIV antibodies and the results were all negative. There was significant correlation between the type of drug-resistance and CXR finding (23.3% had cavity—P = 0.019). Sputum culture conversion to negative at 2 month of therapy was 94% (n = 101), whereas 122 cases lost follow-up. The outcome of treatment was assessed for 85 resistant cases with follow-up after completion of treatment, show cure rate of 97.6%, and relapse of 2.4%. However, 137 cases (61.4% from total) they left the country before completion of therapy. Conclusion Drug-resistant TB in Qatar is influenced by migration, especially from the Indian subcontinent, where the patients were probably infected. Rapid sputum sampling performed in the early stages of the disease, patient isolation, and drug susceptibility testing should be the standard of care to avoid further transmission and improve TB control. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-90
Author(s):  
Sadaf Amin Chaudhry ◽  
Nadia Ali Zafar ◽  
Rabia Hayat ◽  
Ayesha Noreen ◽  
Gulnaz Ali ◽  
...  

Background: Acne is the eighth most prevalent disease affecting 9.4% of the population worldwide and its prevalence in our country is estimated to be around 5%. Severe inflammatory acne is most likely to leave scars and in order to prevent facial disfigurement due to acne scarring, early treatment is desirable. Various treatment options have been formulated for acne, and are tailored according to the severity of the disease. Numerous clinical trials have been conducted till now, to determine the usefulness and side effect profile of such therapies, making acne treatment a highly studied area in dermatology. Objective of this study is to highlight the fact that oral Dapsone could be used as a cheaper alternate to isotretinoin in recalcitrant severe acne, especially in females where retinoids are sometimes contraindicated. Patients and methods: 51 patients, suffering from severe nodulocystic acne, fulfilling the criteria, were enrolled from the Department of Dermatology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. All the study patients were given oral Dapsone 50mg for initial two weeks and then 100mg daily for the next 10 weeks along with oral cimetidine and topical clindamycin application twice daily. Investigator Global Assessment Scale (IGAS) was employed to measure effectiveness. The treatment was considered ʽeffectiveʹ if the patient achieves 2 or more than 2-grade improvement or almost clear or clear skin at the end of 12 weeks according to IGAS scale. The lesion counts were also done before the start of therapy (day 1) and at every two weeks follow up for 12 weeks. The change in lesion count observed between the baseline number and that seen at follow up visits was also used to evaluate the effectiveness of oral Dapsone. Safety was analyzed by fortnightly visits of the patients to look for any undesirable side effects and monitoring of the hematologic profile of the patients. Final follow up was done at the end of 16 weeks. Results: The study was conducted on 51 patients, with a ratio of 1:3 for males and females and a mean age of 25.2 years (SD ±5.81). At 12th week, patients had significant reduction in their acne lesions; with 7 patients (13.7%) showing completely clear skin, 17 patients (33.3%) had almost clear skin, 5 patients (9.8%) had 3-grade improvement. Twelve patients (23.5%) had 2-grade improvement from baseline score and only 2 patients (3.9%) had 1-grade improvement from baseline. Based on percentage reduction of lesions, excellent response was seen in 32 patients (62.7%), good response in 9 patients (17.6%), moderate response in 2 patients (3.9%), while no patient showed poor response. Dapsone was discontinued in 8 patients due to derangement of hematologic profile. Conclusion: Oral Dapsone, when given carefully, is a very effective therapeutic option in severe recalcitrant acne, with limited side effects.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Demircan ◽  
Zeynep Alkin ◽  
Ceren Yesilkaya ◽  
Gokhan Demir ◽  
Burcu Kemer

Purpose. To compare the visual and anatomic outcomes in patients with persistent diabetic macular edema (DME) who switched from ranibizumab to aflibercept with those who continued with previous ranibizumab therapy. Methods. In this retrospective comparative study, medical records of consecutive patients with center-involved DME ≥ 350 μm who had at least three recent consecutive monthly ranibizumab injections followed by as-needed therapy with either aflibercept or ranibizumab were reviewed. Data were collected at presentation (preinjection), at the intermediary visit, and at the last visit (at the end of the follow-up period). Results. Forty-three eyes of 43 patients were divided into two groups: the switch group (n=20) and the ranibizumab group (n=23). Though no significant improvement was found in the mean BCVA from the intermediary visit to the last visit, there was a difference in the mean CMT in the switch group and the ranibizumab group (p<0.001 and p=0.03, resp.). The mean CMT decreased after the intermediary visit by 188.6 ± 120.5 μm in the switch group and by 60.3 ± 117.1 μm in the ranibizumab group (p=0.003). Conclusions. Both aflibercept and ranibizumab decreased CMT in patients with persistent DME who showed a poor response to ranibizumab injections. However, switching to aflibercept provided only morphologic improvement.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 880-884
Author(s):  
Carl-Erik Flodmark ◽  
Torsten Ohlsson ◽  
Olof Rydén ◽  
Tomas Sveger

Study objective. To evaluate the effect of family therapy on childhood obesity. Design. Clinical trial. One year follow-up. Setting. Referral from school after screening. Participants. Of 1774 children (aged 10 to 11), screened for obesity, 44 obese children were divided into two treatment groups. In an untreated control group of 50 obese children, screened in the same manner, body mass index (BMI) values were recorded twice, at 10 to 11 and at 14 years of age. Intervention. Both treatment groups received comparable dietary counseling and medical checkups for a period of 14 to 18 months, while one of the groups also received family therapy. Results. At the 1-year follow-up, when the children were 14 years of age, intention-to-treat analyses were made of the weight and height data for 39 of 44 children in the two treatment groups and for 48 of the 50 control children. The increase of BMI in the family therapy group was less than in the conventional treatment group at the end of treatment, and less than in the control group (P = .04 and P = .02, respectively). Moreover, mean BMI was significantly lower in the family therapy group than in the control group (P &lt; .05), and the family therapy group also had fewer children with BMI &gt; 30 than the control group (P = .02). The reduction of triceps, subscapular, and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses, expressed as percentages of the initial values, was significantly greater in the family therapy group than in the conventional treatment group (P = .03, P = .005 and P = .002, respectively), and their physical fitness was significantly better (P &lt; .05). Conclusions. Family therapy seems to be effective in preventing progression to severe obesity during adolescence if the treatment starts at 10 to 11 years of age.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengli Li ◽  
Hongfei Sang ◽  
Jiaxing Song ◽  
Zhangbao Guo ◽  
Shuai Liu ◽  
...  

Background and Objective: To report the results of clinical follow-up at 1 year among patients in the BASILAR registry. Design, Setting, and Participants: The BASILAR study was an investigator-initiated prospective registry, which consecutively enrolled stroke patients with acute basilar artery occlusion from 47 comprehensive stroke centers in China between January, 2014, and May, 2019. Patients were divided into conventional treatment or endovascular treatment groups according to the treatment their received. We assessed clinical outcomes 1 year after patients were enrolled in the BASILAR registry. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the score on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 to 6 points, with higher scores indicating more severe disability) at 1 year assessed as a common odds ratio using ordinal logistic regression shift analysis, adjusted for prespecified prognostic factors. Secondary outcomes included categories scores of the modified Rankin scale at 1 year (0 to 1 [excellent outcome], 0 to 2 [good outcome], and 0 to 3 [favorable outcome]), and death from any cause during the 1-year period after enrollment. Results: Of the 829 patients who were enrolled in the original study, 1-year data for this extended follow-up study were available for 785 patients (94.7%). The distribution of outcomes on the modified Rankin scale favored endovascular treatment over conventional treatment (adjusted common odds ratio, 4.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.81 to 7.29; P < 0.001). There were significant differences between the treatment groups in the percentage of patients who had excellent outcome, good outcome and favorable outcome. The cumulative 1-year mortality rate was 54.6% in the endovascular treatment group and 83.5% in the conventional treatment group (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.36; 95% CI, 2.69 to 7.29; P < 0.001). Conclusions and Relevance: In this extended follow-up study, the beneficial effect of endovascular treatment on functional outcome at 1 year in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion was similar to that reported at 90 days in the original study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11527-11527
Author(s):  
Emanuela Palmerini ◽  
Catalina Marquez ◽  
Cristina Meazza ◽  
Angela Tamburini ◽  
Gianni Bisogno ◽  
...  

11527 Background: Overexpression of ABCB1/P-glycoprotein (Pgp) predicts poor outcome in retrospective osteosarcoma series.Two prospective trials with Pgp expression and post-induction histologic response as stratification factors were activated in Italy (ISG/OS-2) and Spain (GEIS-33). Methods: Patients ≤ 40 years with extremity non-metastatic high-grade osteosarcoma were eligible. Analysisi of Pgp expression from diagnostic biopsy was centralized. Preoperatively, all patients received methotrexate, adriamycin, cisplatinum (MAP). Surgery was performed at week 8. All patients received a dose of adriamycin following surgery. In case of Pgp overexpression (Pgp+), mifamurtide (2 mg/m2 twice/week for 3 months then weekly for 6 months) was added after surgery, with 4 consecutive cycles of ifosfamide 3 gr/m2/day, day 1-5 (HDIFO) in case of poor histologic response (necrosis < 90%) to MAP. Patients without overexpression of Pgp (Pgp-) received MAP postoperatively, regardless the pathological response. From March 2013, an amendment increased high dose methotrexate cumulative dose from 60 g/m2 (5 cycles) to 120 mg/m2 (10 cycles). The post-amendment regimen was adopted in the observational prospective study by GEIS. Here we present the merged analysis of ISG/OS-2 patients treated post-amendment and GEIS-33. Results: From March 2013 to April 2018, 274 patients were included. Median age was 14 years (range 4-38), male/female: 163/111; 90 were Pgp-, 164 were Pgp+, 20 not evaluable. With a median follow-up of 48 months (1.3-78.5 months), the 3-year EFS and OS were 71.9% (95%CI 66-76.9) and 88% (95%CI: 83.2-91.5) respectively, with no inferior survival for Pgp positive patients and improved survival for good responders (Table). Conclusions: In this prospective uncontrolled study with a risk-adapted strategy for non-metastatic osteosarcoma, survival is superior to that of all ISG/GEIS previous series. The 3-year EFS of 71.9% compares favorably with other reports. Pgp+ patients performed well in this study, in which mifamurtide and HDIFO were added after a poor response to MAP. Clinical trial information: NCT01459484; NCT04383288. [Table: see text]


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1168-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Boaz ◽  
Zohar Landau ◽  
Zipora Matas ◽  
Julio Wainstein

Background: The ability to measure patient blood glucose levels at bedside in hospitalized patients and to transmit those values to a central database enables and facilitates glucose control and follow-up and is an integral component in the care of the hospitalized diabetic patient. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of an institutional glucometer employed in the framework of the Program for the Treatment of the Hospitalized Diabetic Patient (PTHDP) at E. Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel. Methods: As part of the program to facilitate glucose control in hospitalized diabetic patients, an institutional glucometer was employed that permits uploading of data from stands located in each inpatient department and downloading of that data to a central hospital-wide database. Blood glucose values from hospitalized diabetic patients were collected from August 2007 to October 2008. The inpatient glucose control program was introduced gradually beginning January 2008. Results: During the follow-up period, more than 150,000 blood glucose measures were taken. Mean glucose was 195.7 ± 99.12 mg/dl during the follow-up period. Blood glucose values declined from 206 ± 105 prior to PTHDP (August 2007–December 2007) to 186 ± 92 after its inception (January 2008–October 2008). The decline was associated significantly with time ( r = 0.11, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of blood glucose values lower than 60 mg/dl was 1.48% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36%] prior to vs 1.55% (95% CI 0.37%) following implementation of the PTHDP. Concomitantly, a significant increase in the proportion of blood glucose values between 80 and 200 mg/dl was observed, from 55.5% prior to program initiation vs 61.6% after program initiation ( p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The present study was designed to observe changes in institution-wide glucose values following implementation of the PTHDP. Information was extracted from the glucometer system itself. Because the aforementioned study was not a clinical trial, we cannot rule out that factors other than introduction of the program could explain some of the variability observed. With these limitations in mind, it nevertheless appears that the PTHDP, of which the institutional glucometer is an integral, essential component, was associated with improved blood glucose values in the hospitalized diabetic patient.


Author(s):  
Bowen Chang ◽  
Yinda Tang ◽  
Xiangyu Wei ◽  
Shiting Li

Abstract Objectives Microvascular decompression (MVD) for facial nerve remains the highly efficient hemifacial spasm (HFS) treatment. Nonetheless, a variety of cases have poor response to MVD. Using Teflon plus gelatin sponge in MVD seems to be a good solution. No existing study has examined the efficacy of using Teflon combined with gelatin sponge during MVD for HFS. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the efficacy of Teflon combined with gelatin sponge in HFS patients relative to that of Teflon alone. Patients and Methods We retrospectively compared the follow-up results of patients treated with Teflon and gelatin sponge with those treated with Teflon alone previously. Six hundred and eighty-eight primary HFS patients undergoing surgery from January 2010 to January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Three hundred and forty-seven cases received simple Teflon, while 342 cases underwent Teflon combined with gelatin sponge. Results In the Teflon plus gelatin sponge group, the incidences of facial palsy and hearing loss at 1 day, 1 year, and 2 years following surgery was significantly lower than those in the simple Teflon group. Differences in the success rates between Teflon plus gelatin sponge and the simple Teflon group were not statistically significant at 1 day, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. The recurrence rate in the Teflon plus gelatin sponge group was significantly lower at 2 years. Conclusion For HFS patients undergoing MVD, using Teflon plus gelatin sponge can remarkably reduce the incidence of recurrence, facial palsy, and hearing loss compared with those using Teflon alone.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica M Figueredo ◽  
Alejandro Diaz ◽  
Pedro Pagan Banchs

Abstract Background: Hyperinsulinism is the most common cause of persistent hypoglycemia. It results from different genetic defects, the most common being recessive and dominant mutations in the ABCC8/KCNJ11 genes. The majority of recessive mutations have a poor response to Diazoxide, while dominant mutations are highly variable in both clinical presentation and response to treatment. Prompt recognition and management is critical to avoid irreversible brain damage. Clinical case: A 38-week gestation male, born via emergent c-section due to decreased fetal movement, presented with neonatal hypoglycemia. Pregnancy was uncomplicated and mother had a normal OGTT. Patient had a history of suspected sepsis, seizures, pulmonary hypertension and respiratory distress requiring intubation. Blood glucose was undetectable at birth and required multiple dextrose 10% boluses. A critical sample with a glucose of 47 mg/dL showed an elevated insulin at 30.3 m IU/mL with undetectable ketone levels. Lactic acid, ammonia, cortisol, GH, plasma amino acids, acylcarnitine profile and uric organic acids where all normal for a hypoglycemic state. He required intravenous glucose infusion with GIR up to 17 mg/kg/min to maintain normoglycemia. A brain MRI at 11 days of life showed findings of white matter injury. Subsequent genetic testing identified a heterozygous c.4051G&gt;A (p.Val1351Met) variant in ABCC8, classified as “of uncertain significance”. However, an entry in the ClinVar database (RCV000714711.1) exists from a research lab and was classified as likely pathogenic. Analysis of parental samples showed that the mother was heterozygous for the same genetic variant. She did not have a history of hypoglycemia. Patient was started on diazoxide (8 mg/kg/day) and chlorothiazide with resolution of hypoglycemia. At a follow up visit at 5 months of age, there was no history of hypoglycemia, and no need for adjustments of the diazoxide dose by weight (dose at that time of 7.4 mg/kg/day). Conclusion: The ABCC8 reported here is a dominant mutation causing hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia responsive to diazoxide with a milder phenotype later in infancy. Longitudinal follow up of the case is warranted to understand the long term progress in patients with this particular mutation. Reference: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, et al. None. 1993. Familial hyperinsulinism.


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