Regional anesthesia in a patient with primary ciliary dyskinesia:A case report

BACKGROUND Primary ciliary dyskinesia(PCD)is an inherited autosomal-recessive disorder of impaired mucociliary clearance characterized by chronic respiratory diseases,otolaryngological diseases,central nervous system abnormalities,reproductive system abnormalities,and cardiac function abnormalities.General anesthesia in these patients is associated with a higher incidence of respiratory complications than in patients without the disease.CASE SUMMARY A 16-year-old male patient was referred to the emergency room complaining of right ankle pain due to distal tibiofibular fracture.Three years prior,he had been diagnosed with PCD.At that time,he had experienced several episodes of pneumonia,sinusitis,and chronic middle ear infections,for which he underwent surgical interventions.At the current admission,he presented with cough and sputum but no other respiratory symptoms.A chest computed tomography scan revealed centrilobular ground-glass opacities in both lower lobes and a calcified nodule in the left lower lobe.For the surgical procedure and postoperative pain management,combined spinal-epidural anesthesia was employed.The patient’s postoperative pain score was measured by the numerical rating scale(NRS).On the day of surgery,his NRS was 5 points.By the second postoperative day,the NRS score had decreased to 2–3 points.The epidural catheter was removed on the fourth day following the operation.The patient was subsequently discharged no respiratory complications.CONCLUSION We performed combined spinal-epidural anesthesia in a patient with PCD.The patient experienced no additional respiratory complications and was discharged with a low NRS score for pain.

Comparison of Oral Manifestations in Hospitalized COVID-19 Positive Patients and COVID-19 Negative Dental Outpatients. A Case Series Study and Literature Review

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infectious disease, also named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which can cause various systemic manifestations that pose a threat to human life. Oral lesions in patients with COVID-19 may appear during or after the illness and may or may not be a consequence of the viral infection. Objective: In this case series we compare the oral manifestations in hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients and COVID-19 negative dental outpatients. Methods: 60 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 41 control patients, were examined for oral signs and symptoms. The controls were dental patients who visited the hospital for dental care without complaining of any problems related to the oral cavity itself. Results: We have observed a strong association between certain clinical findings and COVID-19, including alterations in taste (ageusia, dysgeusia, and hypogeusia), anosmia, hairy tongue, tongue imprints, red tongue, erythematous candidiasis, pseudomembranous candidiasis, and exfoliative cheilitis. A trend but not statistically significant association at the level of 5% was also noted for colored tongue, linea alba, and pale mucosa. On the contrary, fissured tongue and oral mucosa pigmentation were more frequent in the controls, statistically significant at the level of 5%. Conclusion: COVID-19 has been found to impact the oral cavity, resulting in various oral lesions that can be attributed to either the direct action of the virus or the patient’s immune response.

Effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Nausea and Vomiting Induced by Patient Controlled Intravenous Analgesia with Tramadol

Objective： To observe the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation （TEAS） on nausea and vomiting （N＆V） induced by patient controlled intravenous analgesia （PCIA） with Tramadol. Methods： Sixty patients who were ready to receive scheduled operation for tumor in the head-neck region and post-operation PCIA, aged 39-65 years, with the physique grades Ⅰ -Ⅱ of ASA, were randomized into two groups, A and B, 30 in each group. The pre-operation medication, induction of analgesia and continuous anesthesia used in the two groups were the same. TEAS on bilateral Hegu （LI4） and Neiguan （PC6） points was intermittently applied to the patients in group A starting from 30 min before analgesia induction to 24 h after operation, and the incidence and score of nausea and vomiting, antiemetic used, visual analogue scores （VAS）, and PCIA pressing times in 4 time segments （0-4, 4-8, 8-12 and 12-24 h after the operation was finished） were determined. The same management was applied to patients in Group B, with sham TEAS for control. Results： The incidence and degree of N＆V, as well as the number of patients who needed remedial antiemetic in Group A were less than those in Group B. The VAS score and PCIA pressing time were lower in Group A than those in Group B in the corresponding time segments respectively. Conclusion： TEAS could prevent N＆V induced by PCIA with Tramadol.

End-of-life home care of an interstitial pneumonia patient supported by high-flow nasal cannula therapy:A case report

BACKGROUND High-flow nasal cannula(HFNC)therapy and morphine continuous subcutaneous infusion(CSI)have been used to ameliorate dyspnea in non-cancer patients with end-stage respiratory diseases,including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial pneumonia,primarily in hospital settings.However,it is rare to perform home-based medical treatment using these.We observe a case to assess the feasibility of this treatment strategy.CASE SUMMARY Here,we report a case of a 75-year-old man who was diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia 11 years ago and was successfully nursed at home during his terminal phase for over 10 mo without hospitalization,by introducing domiciliary uses of HFNC and morphine CSI with a patient-controlled analgesia device.CONCLUSION Active utilization of HFNC and morphine CSI with patient-controlled analgesia device would substantiate successful end-of-life palliative home care of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia patients.

Disease-specific health-related quality of life and its determinants in liver cirrhosis patients in Lithuania

AIM: To evaluate disease-specific quality of life (QOL) in liver cirrhosis patients and to compare it with those of a healthy population. Also an important objective was to assess whether QOL in liver cirrhosis patients differs by age and gender, by type and severity of disease. METHODS: The case group of 131 liver cirrhosis patients was selected. The control group of 262 was enrolled from a healthy population according to the scheme of case-control study. Clinical, demographic, laboratory data were collected. QOL was measured with a specific chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ), which was translated and validated in Lithuanian. QOL scores were compared between groups by age, gender, type and severity of disease. Cronbach’s alpha statistics calculation was used for evaluation of internal consistency reliability. Student’s t test or ANOVA were used for evaluation hypothesis about probability equation. RESULTS: QOL was significantly lower in liver cirrhosis patients than in healthy population (59.5 ± 18.3 vs 85.3 ± 12.3, P < 0.001). The significant QOL differences between case and control groups were observed in domains of worry and abdominal symptoms, the smaller differences-in emotional functions and systematic symptom domains. Significantly worse QOL was in observed patients with increased clinical severity of the disease measured by Child-Pugh class. Age, gender and etiology of disease had an insignificant effect on QOL in cirrhotic patients. CONCLUSION: QOL was significantly impaired in all CLDQ domains in liver cirrhosis patients. Increase in severity of disease was the major factor associated with poorer QOL.

Clinical significance of large decompressive craniectomy to control intractable increased intracranial pressure in patients with traumatic brain injury

Objective To investigate the role of decompressive craniectomy (DC) to decrease intractable intracranial hypertension(ICH) due to diffuse brain swelling and / or cerebral edema after severe traumatic brain injury and the time window of DC to affect on prognosis. Methods The clinical record of 132 patients who underwent DC for posttraumatic intractable ICH in our hospital from July 2003 to

Early aggressive versus initially conservative treatment in elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromeaTitle and subTitle Breakaaaaaaaa randomized controlled trial

Abstract Objectives The authors sought to describe the association between post-procedural bleeding and long-term recurrent bleeding, major adverse cardiac events （MACE）, and mortality among older patients undergoing per-cutaneous coronary intervention （PCI）.

Prospective evaluation of gastric emptying using ^(13)C-octanoic breath test in relationship with the metabolic control in patients with type 1and type 2 diabetes

The aims were to prospectively evaluate the association of glycemic control (HbAlc) with gastric emptying in newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetic patients and subjects with longterm diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, the day to day variability of gastric emptying for solids should be assessed. Methods 13 C octanoic breath tests were performed in 15 type 1 diabetic subjects on two separate days within one week. The influence of metabolic control on gastric emptying was prospectively examined over a mean of 8 months in 14 patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes and 44 long term diabetic patients (type 1: n=31; type 2: n=13).Patients with longterm diabetes were stratified according to their HbA 1c at follow up (group 1: HbA 1c U7.5%, n=17; group 2 HbA 1c >7.5%, n=27). 13 C octanoic breath tests were sampled with an isotope selective non dispersive infrared spectrometer. The gastric emptying parameters were calculated using nonlinear regression analysis of the time course of 13 CO 2 exhalation:half emptying time (t 1/2 ) and lag phase (t lag ). Results The intraindividuell coefficient of variation was 17.8% for t 1/2 , and 28.2% for t lag . Mean t 1/2 and t lag in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics were normal at baseline and were significantly increased at follow up. In patients with longterm diabetes, gastric emptying was unchanged during follow up. Gastric emptying was significant delayed in group 2 compared with group 1 at baseline and follow up respectively. There was a significant correlation between HbA 1c and t 1/2 , t lag at follow up. Conclusions 13 C octanoic breath test has a relatively good reproducibility in patients with type 1 diabetes. Gastric emptying times are already significantly increased after few months in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. There is a more pronounced delay of gastric emptying in longterm diabetic subjects with poor compared to patients with good metabolic control.

Impact of blood pressure control on coronary flow reserve in hypertensive patients

Objective To investigate the impacts of blood pressure control on coronary flow reserve(CFR)in hypertensive patients.Methods A total of 236 patients without significant coronary stenosis(defined as<50%luminal narrowing confirmed by coronary angiography or coronary artery CT scan)between January 2011 and July 2015were retrospectively enrolled in this study.CFR