Acute Pancreatitis Complicated by Sheehan's Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review

A 44-year-old woman was transferred to the ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University for 2 days of persistent epigastric pain and 7 hours of unconsciousness.Her admission diagnosis was severe acute necrotizing pancreatitis(hypertriglyceridemia type)with multiple organ dysfunctions.The results of CT revealed a small area of necrotizing pancreatitis,which was not consistent with the severe clinical manifestations.Considering lack of hair and history of postpartum hemorrhage,hormone examination was carried out.According to the results of the examination,she was further diagnosed as Sheehan's syndrome and pituitary crisis.After hormone replacement therapy,her condition improved rapidly.

Skull metastasis revealing a papillary thyroid carcinoma

Although thyroid carcinoma is a relatively common form of malignancy,metastatic spread to the skull is rare.Here,we report a case of papillary thyroid carcinoma with frontal and parietal metastasis.A 61-year-old Chinese woman presented with a one year history of a growing mass on the center of the frontal and parietal bone,initially thought to be meningioma.Biopsy of the skull base mass after intracalvarium excision,indicated a tumor of thyroid origin.One month later the patient underwent a total thyroidectomy.Pathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma with frontal and parietal bone metastasis.Based on this experience,the key to successful management of the skull metastasis of thyroid carcinoma is prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment.Skull metastasis should be considered at the outset of the clinical course of papillary thyroid cancer.To facilitate this,patients should be meticulously investigated by a multidisciplinary team to improve quality of life.

Cosmetic outcome and surgical site infection rates of antibacterial absorbable （Polyglactin 910） suture compared to Chinese silk suture in breast cancer surgery： a randomized pilot research

Background The primary objective of this multicenter post-market study was to compare the cosmetic outcome of triclosan-coated VICRYL＊ Plus sutures with Chinese silk sutures for skin closure of modified radical mastectomy. A secondary objective was to assess the incidence of surgical site infection （SSI）.Methods Patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy were randomly assigned to coated VICRYL＊ Plus antibacterial （Polyglactin 910） suture or Chinese silk suture. Cosmetic outcomes were evaluated postoperatively at days 12 （±2） and 30 （±5）, and the evidence of SSI was assessed at days 3, 5, 7, 12 （±2）, 30 （±5）, and 90 （±7）. Cosmetic outcomes were independently assessed via visual analogue scale （VAS） score evaluations of blinded incision photographs （primary endpoint） and surgeon-assessed modified Hollander Scale （mHCS） scores （secondary endpoint）. SSI assessments used both CDC criteria and ASEPSIS scores.Results Six Chinese hospitals randomized 101 women undergoing modified radical mastectomy to closure with coated VICRYL＊ Plus suture （n=51） or Chinese silk suture （n=50）. Mean VAS cosmetic outcome scores for antibacterial suture （67.2） were better than for Chinese silk （45.4） at day 30 （P 〈0.0001））. Mean mHCS cosmetic outcome total scores, were also higher for antibacterial suture （5.7） than for Chinese silk （5.0） at day 30 （P=0.002）.Conclusions Patients using coated VICRYL＊ Plus suture had significantly better cosmetic outcomes than those with Chinese silk sutures. Patients using coated VICRYL＊ Plus suture had a lower SSI incidence compared to the Chinese silk sutures, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. （ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 00768222）

A comparative study on the medium-long term results of endovascular repair and open surgical repair in the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms

Background Although it is generally acknowledged that patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm （rAAA） obtain the greatest benefit from endovascular repair （EVAR）, convincing evidence on the medium-long term effect is lacking. The aim of this study was to compare and summarize published results of rAAA that underwent EVAR with open surgical repair （OSR）. Methods A search of publicly published literature was performed. Based on an inclusion and exclusion criteria, a systematic meta-analysis was undertaken to compare patient characteristics, complications, short term mortality and medium-long term outcomes. A random-effects model was used to pool the data and calculate pooled odds ratios and weighted mean differences. A quantitative method was used to analyze the differences between these two methods. Results A search of the published literature showed that fourteen English language papers comprising totally 1213 patients with rAAA （435 EVAR and 778 OSR） would be suitable for this study. Furthermore, 13 Chinese studies were included, including 267 patients with rAAA totally, among which 238 patients received operation. The endovascular method was associated with more respiratory diseases before treatment （OR=1.81, P=0.01）, while there are more patients with hemodynamic instability before treatment in OSR group （OR=1.53, P=0.031）. Mean blood transfusion was 1328 ml for EVAR and 2809 ml for OSR （weighted mean difference （WMD） 1500 ml, P=0.014）. The endovascular method was associated with a shorter stay in intensive care （WMD 2.34 days, P 〈0.001） and a shorter total post- operative stay （WMD 6.27 days, P 〈0.001）. The pooled post-operative complication rate of respiratory system and visceral ischemia seldom occurred in the EVAR group （OR=0.48, P 〈0.001 and OR=0.28, P=0.043, respectively）. The pooled 30-day mortality was 25.7% for EVAR and 39.6% for OSR, and the odds ratio was 0.53 （95% confidence interval （CI） 0.41-0.70, P 〈0.001）. There was not, however, any significant reduction in the medium-long all-cause mortality rate （HR=1.13, P=0.381） and re-intervention rate （OR= 2.19, ,~=-0.243） following EVAR. In EVAR group, nevertheless, incidence of type I endoleak was significantly lower than type II endoleak （OR=0.33, P=0.039） at late follow-up period. Conclusions On the basis of this systematic review, rAAA EVAR results in less blood use for transfusion, shorter operation time, shorter intensive care unit and hospital stays, and lower 30-day mortality. However, in the medium-long term, it is not associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality.

Clinical analysis of vascular anomalies： a hospital-based retrospective study of 592 patients in southeast China

Background Vascular anomalies are common and multidisciplinary involved diseases. The greatest impediment to their treatment in the past was their confusing terminology and clinical heterogeneities. This hospital-based retrospective study assessed some clinical characteristics, diagnosis, therapies and outcomes of patients with vascular anomalies in southeast China.Methods A total of 592 vascular anomalies patients （patients with intracranial tissues or viscera involved were excluded）, admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2006 to September 2009, were enrolled in the study. Data for clinical characteristics, diagnosis, therapies and outcomes were collected and analyzed.Results Of the 592 patients, the male：female ratios in the vascular tumor group （n=187） and the vascular malformation group （n=405） were 1∶1.49 and 1∶1.06 respectively, with no significant difference between them. The mean onset age of the vascular tumor group was significantly younger than that of the vascular malformation group （P 〈0.001）. The head and neck were the most commonly （31.4%） involved areas in vascular anomalies. A total of 23.8% of the patients with vascular anomalies had definite symptoms caused by the vascular lesions. In the vascular tumor group, 94.1% of them were infantile hemangiomas. Venous malformation was the most common （41.0%） subtype of vascular malformations.Surgical therapy was undertaken in 94.2% of the patients with vascular anomalies. Of the 519 patients available for the 16-58 month follow-up, 322 patients （62.0%） were cured, 108 patients （20.8%） were markedly improved, 57 patients （11.0%） were partially improved, and 32 patients （6.2%） were uncured.Conclusions Vascular anomalies are clinically heterogeneous. While the outcome is generally favorable, further effort should be made to determine the appropriate terminology and management.