Effects of sex, age, and body mass index on serum bicarbonate.

Rationale: Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is often underdiagnosed, with significant morbidity and mortality. Bicarbonate, as a surrogate of arterial carbon dioxide, has been proposed as a screening tool for OHS. Understanding the predictors of serum bicarbonate could provide insights into risk factors for OHS. We hypothesized that the bicarbonate levels would increase with an increase in body mass index (BMI), since the prevalence of OHS increases with obesity. Methods: We used the TriNetX Research Network, an electronic health record database with de-identified clinical data from participating healthcare organizations across the United States, to identify 93,320 adults without pulmonary or advanced renal diseases who had serum bicarbonate and BMI measurements within 6 months of each other between 2017 and 2022. We used linear regression analysis to examine the associations between bicarbonate and BMI, age, and their interactions for the entire cohort and stratified by sex. We also applied a non-linear machine learning algorithm (XGBoost) to examine the relative importance of age, BMI, sex, race/ethnicity, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) status on bicarbonate. Results: This cohort population was 56% women and 72% white and 80% non-Hispanic individuals, with an average (SD) age of 49.4 (17.9) years and a BMI of 29.1 (6.1) kg/m2. The mean bicarbonate was 24.8 (2.8) mmol/L, with higher levels in men (mean 25.2 mmol/L) than in women (mean 24.4 mmol/L). We found a small negative association between bicarbonate and BMI, with an expected change of -0.03 mmol/L in bicarbonate for each 1 kg/m2 increase in BMI (p < 0.001), in the entire cohort and both sexes. We found sex differences in the bicarbonate trajectory with age, with women exhibiting lower bicarbonate values than men until age 50, after which the bicarbonate levels were modestly higher. The non-linear machine learning algorithm similarly revealed that age and sex played larger roles in determining bicarbonate levels than the BMI or OSA status. Conclusion: Contrary to our hypothesis, BMI is not associated with elevated bicarbonate levels, and age modifies the impact of sex on bicarbonate.

Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder: a case report and review of literature.

The most common histological type of urinary bladder cancer is urothelial carcinoma (UC). Clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the urinary bladder is a rare histologic subtype of adenocarcinoma in the urinary tract. The tumor primarily affects women and has histomorphological features resembling CCA of the female genital tract (or Müllerian origin). Clear cell adenocarcinoma consists of cells with abundant clear cytoplasm, arranged in solid, glandular, or tubulocystic patterns. Patients typically present with gross hematuria, dysuria, and discharge. In this study, we report a case of a 50-year-old male, presenting with gross hematuria, which was subsequently diagnosed with CCA at our pathology department. Furthermore, we provide a short systematic review of the literature for this rare histopathological entity and a brief discussion about its morphological and immunohistochemical (IHC) characteristics.

Ketogenic diet acutely improves gas exchange and sleep apnoea in obesity hypoventilation syndrome: A non-randomized crossover study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) causes hypercapnia which is often refractory to current therapies. We examine whether hypercapnia in OHS can be improved by a ketogenic dietary intervention. METHODS: We conducted a single-arm crossover clinical trial to examine the impact of a ketogenic diet on CO2 levels in patients with OHS. Patients were instructed to adhere to 1 week of regular diet, 2 weeks of ketogenic diet, followed by 1 week of regular diet in an ambulatory setting. Adherence was assessed with capillary ketone levels and continuous glucose monitors. At weekly visits, we measured blood gases, calorimetry, body composition, metabolic profiles, and sleep studies. Outcomes were assessed with linear mixed models. RESULTS: A total of 20 subjects completed the study. Blood ketones increased from 0.14 ± 0.08 during regular diet to 1.99 ± 1.11 mmol/L (p < 0.001) after 2 weeks of ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diet decreased venous CO2 by 3.0 mm Hg (p = 0.008), bicarbonate by 1.8 mmol/L (p = 0.001), and weight by 3.4 kg (p < 0.001). Sleep apnoea severity and nocturnal oxygen levels significantly improved. Ketogenic diet lowered respiratory quotient, fat mass, body water, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, leptin, and insulin-like growth factor 1. Rebound hypercapnia was observed after resuming regular diet. CO2 lowering was dependent on baseline hypercapnia, and associated with circulating ketone levels and respiratory quotient. The ketogenic diet was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates for the first time that a ketogenic diet may be useful for control of hypercapnia and sleep apnoea in patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome.

Serological, virological and molecular diagnosis of an outbreak of lumpy skin disease among cattle in Butana area, Eastern Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly infectious disease of cattle caused by a virus of the Poxviridae family, genus Capripoxvirus. The disease has great economic effects on the global cattle industry. In this study, an outbreak of LSD among cattle which occurred in Nahr Atbara and Halfa El Jadida locations in Butana area, Kassala State in November, 2020 is described. METHODS: Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) antibody and nucleic acid were detected in specimens (n = 50) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The virus was isolated on the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of embryonated chicken eggs and identified by PCR. The number of animals at risk was 295 with a morbidity rate of 4.1% and a mortality rate of 2.4%. CONCLUSIONS: LSDV was diagnosed for the first time in the Butana region, Kassala State, Eastern Sudan in 2020.

HIV-related Malignancies and Mimics: Imaging Findings and Management.

The risk of developing malignancy is higher in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection than in non-HIV-infected patients. Several factors including immunosuppression, viral coinfection, and high-risk lifestyle choices lead to higher rates of cancer in the HIV-infected population. A subset of HIV-related malignancies are considered to be acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining malignancies, as their presence confirms the diagnosis of AIDS in an HIV-infected patient. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to a significant drop in the rate of AIDS-defining malignancies, including Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and invasive cervical carcinoma. However, non-AIDS-defining malignancies (eg, Hodgkin lymphoma, lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and head and neck cancers) now account for an increasing number of cancer cases diagnosed in HIV-infected patients. Although the number has decreased, AIDS-defining malignancies account for 15%-19% of all deaths in HIV-infected patients in the post-HAART era. Most HIV-related malignancies in HIV-infected patients manifest at an earlier age with a more aggressive course than that of non-HIV-related malignancies. Understanding common HIV-related malignancies and their specific imaging features is crucial for making an accurate and early diagnosis, which impacts management. Owing to the weakened immune system of HIV-infected patients, other entities such as various infections, particularly opportunistic infections, are prevalent in these patients. These processes can have confounding clinical and imaging manifestations that mimic malignancy. This article reviews the most common AIDS-defining and non-AIDS-defining malignancies, the role of imaging in their diagnosis, and the imaging mimics of malignancies in HIV-infected patients. ©RSNA, 2018.

Clinical characteristics of patients with epilepsy in a specialist neuropsychiatry service.

Neuropsychiatry services provide specialist input into the assessment and management of behavioral symptoms associated with a range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy. Despite the centrality of epilepsy to neuropsychiatry and the recent expansion of neuropsychiatry service provision, little is known about the clinical characteristics of patients with epilepsy who are routinely seen by a specialist neuropsychiatry service. This retrospective study filled this gap by retrospectively evaluating a naturalistic series of 60 consecutive patients with epilepsy referred to and assessed within a neuropsychiatry setting. Fifty-two patients (86.7%) had active epilepsy and were under the ongoing care of the referring neurologist for seizure management. The majority of patients (N=42; 70.0%) had a diagnosis of localization-related epilepsy, with temporal lobe epilepsy as the most common epilepsy type (N=37; 61.7%). Following clinical assessment, 39 patients (65.0%) fulfilled formal diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder; nonepileptic attack disorder (N=37; 61.7%), major depression (N=23; 38.3%), and generalized anxiety disorder (N=16; 26.7%) were the most commonly diagnosed comorbidities. The clinical characteristics of patients seen in specialist neuropsychiatry settings are in line with the results from previous studies in neurology clinics in terms of both epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidity. Our findings confirm the need for the development and implementation of structured care pathways for the neuropsychiatric aspects of epilepsy, with focus on comorbid nonepileptic attacks and affective and anxiety symptoms. This is of particular importance in consideration of the impact of behavioral symptoms on patients' health-related quality of life.