Diffuse reversed halo sign in an immunocompetent patient.

The reversed halo sign (RHS) is a specific radiological image observed mostly on computed tomography (CT) scans as a focal round area of ground-glass attenuation surrounded by a crescent or ring of consolidation. It is common to many entities of respiratory diseases and can be found in both infectious, noninfectious inflammatory pathologies and some malignant tumors, including invasive pulmonary fungal infection, tuberculosis (TB), community-acquired pneumonia, granulomatosis, sarcoidosis. It is also seen in pulmonary neoplasms and infarction, and following radiation and radiofrequency. We report the case of an immunocompetent 54-year-old North African male patient, initially hospitalized for chronic cough associated with dysphonia and general symptoms such as weight loss, fever, and night sweats. Radiological exploration surprisingly confirmed the presence of RHS, tuberculosis was confirmed by a postbronchoscopy positive sputum Xpert MTB/RIF essay tuberculosis after we started antibacillary treatment, and the evolution was spectacular with regression of the lesions. The objective of this report is to increase knowledge about RHS and its pathological correlation with TB. Since it is not specific to any disorder, it is important to explore its finding in a clinical and epidemiological manner, especially in endemic countries where the prevalence of tuberculosis is still high.

[Long-term results of phacoemulsification in pseudoexfoliation syndrome]. / Résultats à long terme de la phacoémulsification dans le syndrome pseudoexfoliatif.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome is estimated at 8 % of all cataracts operated within our institution. The goal of our study was to describe the frequency of intraoperative and postoperative complications and long-term anatomical and functional results of phacoemulsification in pseudoexfoliation syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective observational study of a series including 103 patients (107 eyes) with cataract associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome admitted between January 2010 and September 2014. All patients underwent phacoemulsification. RESULTS: The average age of our patients was 72.5±6 years. The average initial corrected visual acuity was 0.52±0.14LogMAR. The cataract was grade C3N3 in 58 % of cases. The pseudoexfoliation syndrome was bilateral in 69 % of cases. Pupillary dilatation was≤6mm in 54 % of cases. Among intraoperative complications, zonular dialysis was found in 1.8 % of cases. Posterior capsular rupture and vitreous loss was noted at 5.4 % of patients. The incidence of secondary cataract was 31.7 % at 12 months. The mean postoperative best corrected visual acuity was 0.13±0.15 LogMAR. DISCUSSION: The small pupil associated with high grade of the cataracts in our series explains the slightly higher frequency of intraoperative zonular dialysis. Cataract surgery by phacoemulsification allows for a statistically significant improvement in visual acuity (P<0.001). The incidence of secondary cataract, the main postoperative complication, is higher in our series compared to data in the literature. CONCLUSION: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome is common in our country. Functional results of phacoemulsification are very satisfactory, and secondary cataract is the main complication. A meticulous search for pseudoexfoliation is mandatory during the initial examination in order to reduce intraoperative complications. Careful removal of the cortex and systematic polishing of the lens capsule should limit the incidence of secondary cataracts.

A genome-wide association study of pulmonary tuberculosis in Morocco.

Although epidemiological evidence suggests a human genetic basis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) susceptibility, the identification of specific genes and alleles influencing PTB risk has proven to be difficult. Previous genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified only three novel loci with modest effect sizes in sub-Saharan African and Russian populations. We performed a GWA study of 550,352 autosomal SNPs in a family-based discovery Moroccan sample (on the full population and on the subset with PTB diagnosis at <25 years), which identified 143 SNPs with p < 1 × 10(-4). The replication study in an independent case/control sample identified four SNPs displaying a p < 0.01 implicating the same risk allele. In the combined sample including 556 PTB subjects and 650 controls these four SNPs showed suggestive association (2 × 10(-6) < p < 4 × 10(-5)): rs358793 and rs17590261 were intergenic, while rs6786408 and rs916943 were located in introns of FOXP1 and AGMO, respectively. Both genes are involved in the function of macrophages, which are the site of latency and reactivation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The most significant finding (p = 2 × 10(-6)) was obtained for the AGMO SNP in an early (<25 years) age-at-onset subset, confirming the importance of considering age-at-onset to decipher the genetic basis of PTB. Although only suggestive, these findings highlight several avenues for future research in the human genetics of PTB.

[Peroperative rescue procedure after failure of oesophagojejunostomy following total gastrectomy]. / Technique de sauvetage peropératoire d'une anastomose oesojéjunale après gastrectomie.

Leakage of oesophagojejunostomy is a severe complication of total gastrectomy. We present a technique allowing preoperative preservation of a defective oesophagojejunostomy: this technique involves closure of the cervical esophagus with stapler, double-lumen transanastomotic tube, mediastinal drainage and feeding jejunostomy.