Long-Term Mortality following Acute Noninvasive Ventilation for Obesity-Related Respiratory Failure: A Retrospective Single-Centre Study.

Introduction: Determinants of long-term mortality following acute hypercapnic respiratory failure have been extensively studied in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, respiratory failure due to obesity has not been studied to the same extent. This retrospective survey aims to identify whether admission pH is associated with long-term mortality in patients requiring acute noninvasive ventilation (NIV) for obesity-related respiratory failure (ORRF). Methods: Records from April 2013 to March 2020 were accessed from a NIV quality database at an acute teaching hospital. Adults with hypercapnic ORRF requiring acute NIV were included. pH data were grouped by threshold (pH≤ and >7.25) and correlated with time from presentation to death; multivariable analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards. Results: A total of 277 acute NIV episodes were included. Two-year mortality was similar for patients in both pH categories. Univariable analysis identified pH ≤ 7.25 to increase risk of two-year mortality by 43%. However, multivariable analysis identified that pH was not a significant determinant of long-term mortality, although male sex, older age, and higher admission pCO2 increased the risk of death at two years by 76%, 3% per year of age, and 16% per 1 kPa of pCO2 increase, respectively. Conclusion: Severity of hypercapnia on admission, male sex, and older age are associated with worse two-year mortality in patients requiring acute NIV for ORRF. There is scope for further analyses including investigating the role of domiciliary NIV in ORRF patients.

Non-classical Celiac Disease as an Unrecognized Cause for Post-operative Knee Swelling following Patellofemoral Arthroplasty: A Case Report.

Introduction: Non-classical Celiac disease is a previously undescribed cause of debilitating post-operative cutaneous complications following an orthopedic procedure. Non-specific symptoms and rarity of the disease pose a diagnostic challenge; however, given underdiagnosis and significant morbidity, after ruling out of acute pathology, Celiac disease should be included in differential diagnosis for refractory cutaneous complications following an operative procedure. Case Report: A 34-year-old woman who underwent patellofemoral arthroplasty and medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction experienced over 5 months of post-operative knee swelling, erythema, and pain unresponsive to antihistamines and negative infectious, vascular, and implant allergy testing workups. After careful dietary monitoring by an allergy specialist, she was tested and confirmed to have Celiac disease. Following cessation of her oral contraceptive pill and dietary gluten, her knee swelling, erythema, and debilitating pain resolved. Conclusion: Skin erythema, swelling, and pain are known complications after any operative treatment, but after ruling out of acute infectious and thromboembolic processes, diagnosis and management of refractory complications pose a challenging scenario. In this rare phenomenon, previously undescribed, a patient presented with months of post-operative knee erythema, swelling, stiffness, and extreme pain on activity along with non-specific symptoms of headache and fatigue before diagnosis with Celiac disease. On cessation of her birth control and dietary gluten, her symptoms and knee function improved dramatically.

Bilateral Lower Extremity Weakness: Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis or more?

Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a condition that is characterized by an excess amount of epidural adipose tissue in the spinal canal. Occasionally, it can narrow the spinal canal enough to cause cord impingement resulting in neurological deficits. The authors report on a case of a 43-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with bilateral lower extremity weakness. After computed tomography imaging, he was found to have spinal lipomatosis. Since the patient had other symptoms that could not be accounted for by this diagnosis alone, he was admitted to the hospital for further neurologic workup. He eventually developed ascending areflexia which led to the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré, which was corroborated by further history that was not available initially.

A systematic review of interventions aiming to improve newly-qualified doctors' wellbeing in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Newly-qualified doctors in the United Kingdom experience a great deal of stress and have poor wellbeing when compared to more senior counterparts. A number of interventions have been put in place to boost healthcare professionals' wellbeing, but little is known about interventions aimed to improve the wellbeing of newly-qualified doctors in the United Kingdom. This study aims to systematically review current evidence of interventions which improved the wellbeing of newly-qualified junior doctors in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Five key electronic databases were searched. Subsequently, reference scanning and citation search was performed. Studies were included if they were conducted from the commencement of the Foundation Programme in 2004, until 2019. In addition, studies had to be performed on junior doctors: working in the United Kingdom and within their first five years post-qualification and have a quantitative outcome. Studies which did not meet these criteria were excluded. Quality was assessed using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Bias was not formally assessed using a standardised tool. RESULTS: Seven papers met the inclusion criteria and identified three main types of interventions: mentorship, mindfulness and clinical preparation interventions. The majority of included studies reported a positive result from the performed intervention, suggesting these to be beneficial in improving junior doctor wellbeing, and thereby reducing anxiety and stress levels. However, most of the studies used small sample sizes. CONCLUSIONS: This review reveals that there is dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of intervention to improve the wellbeing of newly-qualified doctors in the United Kingdom. Most of the identified interventions focused on relieving stress and anxiety inherent within newly-qualified doctors' training programmes. However, wellbeing interventions need to take into cognisance all the factors which impact on wellbeing, particularly job-related factors. We recommend that future researchers implement large-scale holistic interventions using appropriate research methods. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019127341.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: The Present and Future.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent condition associated with smoking and is predicted to become a leading cause of death in the current decade [...].

Development of central precocious puberty following cannabinoid use for paediatric epilepsy: causal or coincidence?

Research suggests a role for cannabidiol oil in managing certain forms of paediatric onset epilepsy. However, studies on the impact of cannabis on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis have conflicting results. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) acutely inhibits gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the hypothalamus, reducing testosterone levels by 65% in rhesus monkeys. Additionally, there have been reports of pubertal arrest and delayed puberty in male cannabis users. In contrast, other studies have reported higher testosterone levels following long-term cannabis use.A 2-year-old boy presented with testicular enlargement, increased penile length and growth of coarse pubic hair developing over 6 months. His mother procured cannabidiol oil online, which he started taking 7 months earlier for severe epilepsy refractory to medical management. Subsequent investigations confirmed central precocious puberty. While it is unclear whether the precocious puberty is a direct consequence of HPG axis activation by Δ9-THC, this case demonstrates a temporal association between cannabis use and development of precocious puberty.