Gastric Outlet Obstruction and Iron Deficiency Anemia Secondary to Gastric Bezoar: A Case Report.

Trichobezoars are an accumulation of undigested hair in the gastrointestinal system. They are a rare finding and are more likely in young females. Diagnosis is largely dependent on history taking and imaging, and treatment involves the removal and psychiatric evaluation.  We describe the case of a 21-year-old female with a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who presented with abdominal pain. Imaging showed a distended stomach with a suspected swallowed foreign substance. The patient subsequently underwent midline laparotomy, gastrotomy, and bezoar extraction. Postoperatively the patient was found to have trichotillomania, trichophagia, anxiety, depression, and symptomatic anemia. Initial management of gastric bezoars includes proper removal, but the additional follow-up needs to include psychiatric evaluation and treatment to prevent reoccurrence. It is also imperative to assess and treat underlying nutritional deficiencies.

Optimal timing and outcomes among COVID-19 patients undergoing tracheostomy.

BACKGROUND: Patients who require mechanical ventilation secondary to severe COVID-19 infection have poor survival. It is unknown if the benefit of tracheostomy extends to COVID-19 patients. If so, what is the optimal timing? METHODS: Retrospective cohort study within a large hospital system in the United States. The population included patients with COVID-19 from January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. In total, 93,918 cases were identified. They were excluded if no intubation or tracheostomy, underwent tracheostomy before intubation, <18 years old, hospice patients before admission, and bacterial pneumonia. In total, 5,911 patients met the criteria. Outcomes between patients who underwent endotracheal intubation only versus tracheostomy were compared. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. All patients who underwent tracheostomy versus intubation only were compared. Three cohort analysis compared early (<10 days) versus late (>10 days) tracheostomy versus control. Eight cohort analysis compared days 0-2, days 3-6, days 7-10, days 11-14, days 15-18, days 19-22, and days 23+ to tracheostomy versus control. RESULTS: There was an overall inpatient mortality rate of 37.5% in the tracheostomy cohort compared to 54.4% in the control group (P < .0001). There was an early tracheostomy group inpatient mortality rate of 44.7% (adjusted odds ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.52-1.01) compared to 33.1% (adjusted odds ratio 0.44, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.58) in the late tracheostomy group. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 patients with tracheostomy had a significantly lower mortality rate compared to intubated only. Optimal timing for tracheostomy placement for COVID-19 patients is 11 days or later. Future studies should focus on early tracheostomy patients.

Prophylactic exposure to oral riluzole reduces the clinical severity and immune-related biomarkers of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity and immune cell infiltration are hallmarks of multiple sclerosis. The glutamate release inhibitor, riluzole (RIL), has been shown to attenuate the clinical symptoms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice, but an association between glutamate excitotoxicity and the progression of MOG35-55-induced EAE has not been well defined. This study investigated the effects of prophylactic and chronic oral RIL on the clinical severity of EAE. Prophylactic+chronic RIL reduced the presence of inflammatory infiltrates, altered GFAP and Foxp3, and attenuated disease severity. These findings indicate a need to delineate the distinct role of glutamate in EAE symptomatology.