Coronaviruses: HCoV, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and COVID-19

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a group of viral pathogens that infect mammals and birds. The presentation in humans is typically that of a mild upper respiratory tract infection, similar to the common cold. However, in recent years, dramatic attention has arisen for more lethal members of this viral family (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS-CoV], Middle East respiratory syndrome [MERS-CoV], and coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]). The epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of these viruses are discussed in this review. Importantly, new guideline tables from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the World Health Organization are provided at the conclusion of the review. This review contains 12 tables, 3 figure and 48 references. Keywords: Coronavirus, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19, respiratory infection, antiviral, real-time polymerase chain reaction

Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy involves the injection of a caustic solution into an abnormal vein so as to cause localized destruction of the venous intima and obliteration of the vessel. Over the past 50 years, improvements in the technology have greatly enhanced the results achievable with sclerotherapy. To ensure optimal results, it is essential to have a thorough knowledge not only of the technique but also of the indications, expected outcomes, and possible complications associated with the procedure. This review covers preoperative evaluation, operative planning, technique and complications associated with sclerotherapy. Figures show a 63-year-old woman before and after two treatments with 0.2% sodium tetradecyl sulfate, a 52-year-old woman before and after two treatments with 0.5% sodium tetradecyl sulfate, a 36-year-old woman before and after four treatments with a combination of 0.5% and 0.2% sodium tetradecyl sulfate, the standard hand position for sclerotherapy, skin necrosis on the left posterior calf of a 48-year-old woman after ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy, a 56-year-old woman before treatment and with residual hyperpigmentation after treatment with 0.2% sodium tetradecyl sulfate, and telangiectatic matting in a 43-year-old woman after treatment with 0.2% sodium tetradecyl sulfate. Tables list complications of sclerotherapy, suggested polidocanol (POL) and sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) concentrations for liquid and foam sclerotherapy, materials needed for sclerotherapy, and absolute and relative contraindications for sclerotherapy for varicose veins. Key Words: Varicose veins, Chronic venous insuffiency, sclerotherapy, foam sclerotherapy, reticular veins, venous disorders This review contains 7 highly rendered figures, 4 tables, and 29 references.

Risk Factors and Epidemiology of Pulmonary Embolism

More than 200,000 individuals are hospitalized with an acute pulmonary embolism in the United States annually. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, pulmonary embolism accounts for nearly 1% of all cardiovascular-related deaths each year in the United States alone. Those who survive an acute episode remain at a risk of recurrent events as well as ongoing dyspnea, reduced quality of life, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Recognized risk factors for pulmonary embolism include advanced age, obesity, smoking, malignancy, immobilization from any cause, pregnancy and the postpartum period, oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy. Numerous heritable and acquired thrombophilias increase the risk of pulmonary embolism. Additionally, inflammation and autoimmune disorders are increasingly recognized as potent risk factors for pulmonary embolism. This review contains 3 figures, 6 tables, 54 references. Key Words: anticoagulation, deep vein thrombosis, epidemiology, genetics, inflammation, malignancy, pulmonary embolism, thrombosis, venous thromboembolism

The Skin and the Physiology of Normal Wound Healing

This review presents normal wound healing as a complex process that is generally carried out in three overlapping stages: an inflammatory phase, a proliferative phrase (made up of fibroplasia, contraction, neovascularization, and granulation), and a remodeling phase. In addition, wound healing occurs under the influence of multiple cytokines, growth factors, and extracellular matrix signals. Figures show the layers of the skin and the cycles of wound healing. This review contains 6 highly rendered figures, 8 tables, and 47 references Keywords: wound, wound care, healing, epithelialization, migration, granulation

Transplant Immunology: Basic Immunology and Clinical Practice

Engraftment of a transplanted organ into an allogeneic host triggers a cascade of immunologic responses in the host that are designed to facilitate graft rejection. Modern donor-to-host matching techniques and immunosuppression protocols have successfully tempered this natural immune response so that graft survival has dramatically improved. However, optimizing graft survival by precisely downregulating the host response to graft rejection while preserving host immune defenses against pathologic and infectious agents remains poorly understood and elusive in current clinical practice. This review discusses transplant immunology with respect to host versus graft and the basis of allorecognition, as well as clinical management of the transplanted allograft. Figures show human leukocyte antigen (HLA), direct allorecognition, T cell receptor and CD3, T cell–associated second messenger signaling pathway, CD8 molecules directly ligating class I HLAs and CD4 molecules directly binding HLA class II, detection of alloantibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or flow cytometry, recipient-donor crossmatch, histopathology of kidney allograft with antibody-mediated rejection, and an algorithm for assessment and management of renal allograft rejection. This review contains 9 figures, 6 tables and 61 references. Keywords: Transplantation, immunology, human leukocyte antigen, crossmatch, donor, acute rejection, chronic rejection

Tumors of the Stomach and Small Bowel

The overall incidence of gastric carcinoma has decreased in the past few decades, but it remains the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Malignant tumors of the small intestine are rare, and account for fewer than 5% of all gastrointestinal tract malignancies. This review details the classification, risk factors, clinical evaluation, investigative studies, staging, management, and follow-up and management of recurrent disease in gastric adenocarcinoma; in addition, it examines nonadenocarcinomatous gastric malignancies and small bowel malignancies. This review contains 7 figures, 16 tables, and 92 references. Keywords:Gastric adenocarcinoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, gastric lymphoma, Helicobacter pylori, small bowel adenocarcinoma, surgical resection, staging, chemotherapy, radiation therapy

Repair of Femoral and Popliteal Artery Aneurysms

Femoral and popliteal artery aneurysms constitute most peripheral aneurysms. In general, with both femoral and popliteal artery aneurysms, elective repair and reconstruction tend to be associated with significantly better postoperative outcomes than emergency repair undertaken after a limb-threatening complication. Specific treatment decisions may be influenced by the presence or absence of symptoms of aneurysmal disease. For femoral artery aneurysms, this chapter presents the preoperative evaluation, operative planning, operative technique (endovascular repair, ultrasound-guided compression, and open surgical repair), and outcome evaluation. For popliteal aneurysms, this chapter discusses the preoperative evaluation, operative planning (indications for repair and preoperative arterial thrombolysis), operative technique (open vs. endovascular repair), and outcome evaluation (dependent on whether surgical or endovascular). This review contains 15 figures, 9 tables, and 41 references. Keywords:Lower extremity aneurysm, popliteal artery aneurysm, femoral artery aneurysm, surgical repair, endovascular repair, thrombosis, embolization

Trauma Imaging

Due to increased use of computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography, technological advances in equipment design, and increased availability of imaging equipment in the emergency department, imaging studies have revolutionized the assessment of the trauma patient in the past three decades. This review examines commonly used imaging modalities in trauma evaluation, initial and additional imaging, brief introduction to CT, and an overview of CT image processing and reviewing a CT scan. Head imaging, spine imaging, chest imaging, and abdominal and pelvic imaging are presented, along with injury grading, solid-organ injury appearances and specific abdominal solid-organ injuries, urinary system injury, penetrating trauma, unexplained intraperitoneal fluid, vascular injury and musculoskeletal injury. Figures show lateral view of the cervical spine; volume rendering of the pelvis; CT windows; CT imaging of acute intracranial bleeding, herniation in acute subdural hemorrhage, post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of descending thoracic aorta, subscapular hematoma of the liver, liver laceration, pseudoaneurysm of the liver, shattered kidney and the nonperfused right kidney attributable to a traumatic renal artery injury, tigroid spleen, a focus of gas and stranding adjacent to the lateral wall of the ascending colon, extravasated urinary contrast (white material) surrounding the proximal right indicating ureteral laceration or transection, intraperitoneal bladder rupture, and contrast extravasation in the liver; magnetic resonance imaging versus CT of shear injuries; and magnetic resonance imaging in the setting of cervical spine trauma. This review contains 18 highly rendered figures, 23 tables, and 83 references. Keywords:Trauma, computed tomography, radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, imaging study

Injuries to the Spleen and Diaphragm

The spleen is one of the most commonly injured abdominal organs in blunt trauma patients. The mechanisms of injury are similar to those seen with liver injuries: motor vehicle collisions, automobile-pedestrian collisions, falls, and any type of penetrating injury. Stab wounds to the abdomen are less likely to cause spleen injury compared with liver injury due to the spleen’s protected location. Stab wounds to the spleen typically result in direct linear tears, whereas gunshot wounds result in significant cavitary injuries. This review covers injuries to the spleen and injuries to the diaphragm. Figures show findings on imaging that may be associated with failure of nonoperative management for splenic injuries, intraparenchymal splenic blush noted on an initial computed tomographic scan, the first step in mobilizing the spleen by making an incision in the peritoneum and the endoabdominal fascia, beginning at the inferior pole and continuing posteriorly and superiorly, splenorrhaphy performed using interrupted mattress sutures through pledgets along the raw edge of the spleen, left diaphragm ruptures evident with the gastric bubble located in the left hemithorax, whereas right-sided ruptures present with the appearance of an elevated hemidiaphragm, and the use of Allis clamps to approximate the diaphragmatic edges, with the defect closed with a running No. 1 polypropylene suture. The table lists American Association for the Surgery of Trauma organ injury scales for diaphragm and spleen. This review contains 6 figures, 1 table, and 55 references Keywords: spleen, injury grading, angioembolization, splenorrhaphy, splenic salvage

Strategies of Hemodialysis Access

Chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have become common diagnoses in the United States; in response, several clinical practice guidelines for the surgical placement and maintenance of arteriovenous (AV) hemodialysis access have been published. This review examines temporary hemodialysis access, permanent hemodialysis accesses, and the Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO) graft. Figures show trends in the number of incident cases of ESRD, in thousands, by modality, in the US population, 1980 to 2012, Medicare ESRD expenditures, algorithm for access location selection, autogenous posterior radial branch-cephalic wrist direct access (snuff-box fistula), autogenous radial-cephalic wrist direct access (Brescia-Cimino-Appel fistula), autogenous radial-basilic forearm transposition, prosthetic radial-antecubital forearm straight access, prosthetic brachial (or proximal radial) antecubital forearm looped access, autogenous brachial (or proximal radial) cephalic upper arm direct access, autogenous brachial (or proximal radial) basilic upper arm transposition, prosthetic brachial (or proximal radial) axillary (or brachial) upper arm straight access, prosthetic superficial femoral-femoral (vein) lower extremity straight access and looped access, prosthetic axillary-axillary (vein) chest looped access, straight access, and body wall straight access, HeRO graft, banding of the outflow access tract, distal revascularization with interval ligation, upper extremity edema and varicosities associated with venous hypertension, internal jugular to subclavian venous bypass, and puncture-site pseudoaneurysms of an AV access. Tables list AV access configuration, autogenous AV access patency rates, and prosthetic AV access patency rates. This review contains 20 figures, 3 tables, and 76 references. Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease, End-stage renal disease, Short- and Long-term dialysis catheters, Autogenous AV access, Prosthetic AV access, HeRO graft, Arterial Steal, Venous hypertension, Pseudoaneurysm, Megafistula