Pediatric schwannoma of the tongue:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Neurogenic tumors account for about ten percent of all tumors of childhood,and benign tumor originating from Schwann cells is rare in peripheral nerves.Schwannoma of the tongue is quite rare in children.CASE SUMMARY We present the case of an 8-year-old male with schwannoma in the anterolateral tongue.The mass was slow-growing for one year with no pain and discomfort.He underwent transoral mass excision under general anesthesia.Gross examination revealed a smooth surfaced,17 mm×14 mm×7 mm sized,encapsulated nodule with a clear resection margin.Schwannoma of the tongue was confirmed by the pathological exam.He reported no motor or sensory change,such as dysgeusia or paresthesia,or phonation difficulty during postoperative 12 mo follow-up.CONCLUSION Schwannoma of the tongue is a rare benign neoplasm in childhood.If a painless firm mass is encountered in the tongue of a child,solid tumors like schwannoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Thoracic pyogenic infectious spondylitis presented as pneumothorax:A case report

BACKGROUND Pyogenic infectious spondylitis(PIS)is a rare condition,with an incidence between 0.2 and 2 cases per 100000 per annum.It’s most common symptom-back or neck pain-occurs in more than 90%of cases.Herein,we reported a case of thoracic PIS accompanied by pneumothorax in a 65-year-old male patient.CASE SUMMARY A 65-year-old man presented with right chest pain and dyspnea.The initial erect posteroanterior chest radiography revealed pneumothorax,which was further evaluated by chest computed tomography,revealing pleural effusion in the right lung and a paravertebral abscess with bony destruction of vertebral body.Based on magnetic resonance imaging,the patient was diagnosed with thoracic infectious spondylitis with an anterior paravertebral abscess.He was prescribed antibiotics and underwent neurosurgery due to aggravated symptoms and neurologic deficit.Tissue examination revealed that the cause of pleural effusion and pneumothorax was Staphylococcus aureus infection contiguously spread to lung pleura.After several surgical treatments with intravenous antibiotic therapy for two months and transition to oral antibiotics(rifampin 600 mg qd and ciprofloxacin 500 mg bid),the patient received physical therapy to recover balance.One month after discharge,the patient had no chest pain or dyspnea,and exhibited no elevation in inflammatory markers or new thoracic lesions.CONCLUSION To our knowledge,this is the very first report of a case of thoracic PIS with pneumothorax.

Effect of expanding nanocellulose sponge on nasal mucosal defects in an animal model

Nanocellulose has emerged for a wide range of applications in biomedical engineering because of its water absorption capacity,appropriate elasticity.We investigated the hemostatic and regenerative abilities of an expanding polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-nanocellulose sponge on nasal mucosal defects.A 3 mm-diameter nasal defect was made in experimental rabbits.Rabbits were divided into four groups with control,vaseline,PVA and PVA-nanocellulose packing groups.After the defect was created,bleeding times and amounts were monitored.Packing materials were removed on experimental day(ED)2.On ED 3,7 and 14,histological analysis and immunohistochemical study for neutrophils were performed.Inflammatory cells were counted and epithelial thicknesses were evaluated.Bleeding amounts and times in the vaseline packing group were smaller than in the PVA groups.PVA-nanocellulose group showed less neutrophils than in the other groups on ED 7.Average epithelium thickness in the PVA-nanocellulose group was significantly smaller than in the control group at ED 7,but at ED 14,there was no significant intergroup difference.PVAnanocellulose group had a significant lower inflammatory cell count than the control group on ED 7.PVA-nanocellulose sponge applied to nasal mucosal defects can significantly enhance mucosal regeneration during early wound healing.