Optimal thrombin injection method for the treatment of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm.

BACKGROUND: Iatrogenic femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (IFP) incidence is increasing with increase in diagnostic and therapeutic angiography, and so, the less invasive percutaneous thrombin injection (PTI) is the most widely used treatment. Moreover, studies that minimize PTI complications and highlight therapeutic effects are lacking. OBJECTIVES: This study performed in vitro thrombosis modeling of pseudoaneurysms and analyzed thrombosis within and thromboembolism outside the sac during thrombin injection. METHODS: We evaluated PTI in terms of thrombin injection location (at the junction of the IFP sac and neck, the center, and the dome, located farthest from the neck of the sac), thrombin injection time (5 and 8 seconds), and blood flow rate (ranging from 210 mL/min to 300 mL/min). Porcine blood was used as the working fluid in this study. RESULTS: Thrombin injection at the junction of the IFP sac and the pseudoaneurysm neck led to less thrombosis within the sac but substantial thrombi consistently outside the sac, whereas thrombin injected at the sac center mostly led to complete thrombosis within the sac, preventing further blood flow into the sac and reducing likelihood of thrombi outside the sac. A longer thrombin injection time enhanced the therapeutic effect and decreased the possibility of thromboembolism. Thromboembolism occurred more frequently at flow rates of >240 mL/min. CONCLUSION: The thrombin injection site in a pseudoaneurysm significantly influences thrombogenesis within and thromboembolism outside the sac. Thus, slow and deliberate injection of thrombin into the center of the sac could potentially reduce complications and enhance treatment efficacy.

Factors associated with the maxillary third molar position after total arch distalization using a modified C-palatal plate in adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term position of erupted third molars after maxillary total arch distalization using modified C-palatal plates (MCPPs) in adolescents and to identify factors associated with these positions. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Sixty-two third molars (male: 20, female: 42) in Class II patients treated with MCPPs and thirty-nine teeth for the Control group (male: 22, female: 17). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples were analyzed using panoramic radiographs taken initially (T0), after treatment (T1) and after >3 years retention (T2). Third molars were classified as downward (Group A, N = 31; males: 12, females: 19) and upward (Group B, N = 31; males: 8, females: 23) based on their vertical position after treatment. Analysis of variance and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: The vertical position of the third molars of Group A, Group B, and the Control showed a 2.2, 3.5 and 2.7 mm downward movement at T2. However, there was no difference in the amount of third molar eruption among the groups. Regarding factors affecting the vertical distance of the third molar, Age, C8-OP, ∠8-OP and D7-T at the initial affected vertical position of the third molars after molar distalization (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Group A and B showed no difference in the third molar eruption during retention after total arch distalization. This study suggests that it might be unnecessary to extract the developing third molar before molar distalization in Class II adolescents.

Interpretation of XIAP Variants of Uncertain Significance in Paediatric Patients with Refractory Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mutations in XIAP can lead to the development of treatment-refractory severe paediatric Crohn's disease [CD], for which haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the primary therapeutic option. The interpretation of variants of uncertain significance [VUSs] in XIAP needs to be scrutinized. METHODS: Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed for 33 male paediatric patients with refractory CD admitted at a tertiary referral hospital. To obtain functional data, biomolecular cell assays and supercomputing molecular dynamics simulations were performed. RESULTS: Nine unrelated male patients harboured hemizygous XIAP variants. Four known pathogenic variants and one novel pathogenic variant [p.Lys168Serfs*12] were identified in five patients, and two novel VUSs [p.Gly205del and p.Pro260Ser] and one known VUS [p.Glu350del] were identified in the remaining four. Among children with VUSs, only the subject with p.Gly205del exhibited defective NOD2 signalling. Using molecular dynamics simulation, we determined that the altered backbone torsional energy of C203 in XIAP of p.G205del was ~2 kcal/mol, suggesting loss of zinc binding in the mutant XIAP protein and poor coordination between the mutant XIAP and RIP2 proteins. Elevated auto-ubiquitination of zinc-depleted p.G205del XIAP protein resulted in XIAP protein deficiency. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of XIAP deficiency was noted among children with refractory CD. Advanced functional studies decreased the subjectivity in the case-level interpretation of XIAP VUSs and directed consideration of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Mechanical Properties of Muscles around the Shoulder in Breast Cancer Patients: Intra-rater and Inter-rater Reliability of the MyotonPRO.

BACKGROUND: Patients with breast cancer typically experience changes in the properties of muscles around the shoulder. However, there is no appropriate evaluation tool for these changes. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to investigate the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of muscle-related parameters measured by the MyotonPRO, a myotonometer device. The secondary objective was to investigate differences in properties of muscle around the shoulder between the mastectomy side and the other side. DESIGN: Cross-sectional reliability study. SETTING: Outpatient clinic in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two patients with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy. METHODS: Muscle tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the pectoralis major (PM), sternocleidomastoid (SCM), and upper trapezius (UT) were measured using the MyotonPRO. Rater 1 performed two sets of measurements with a time interval of 30 minutes to determine intra-rater reliability. Rater 2 performed measurements during the interval between the two sets of rater 1. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman analysis. A paired t-test was used to compare muscle properties between the affected and unaffected sides. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Frequency (tone, Hz), stiffness (N/m), and decrement (elasticity). RESULTS: Intra-rater reliability was excellent (ICC > 0.75, 0.85-0.98) for all parameters of the PM, SCM, and UT in the affected and unaffected upper limbs of patients with breast cancer. Inter-rater reliability was fair to excellent for all parameters except unaffected PM elasticity (ICC = 0.34). There were significant differences in all parameters of the PM between the affected and unaffected sides. There were no significant differences in the parameters of the SCM and UT between the two sides. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the MyotonPRO device is a feasible tool to quantify PM, UT, and SCM muscle properties (stiffness, tone, and elasticity) in patients with breast cancer. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Correction: Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis With Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Case Report.

[This corrects the article on p. 123 in vol. 33.].

Discrepancy between self-awareness and actual diagnosis and treatment of the conditions among adolescent with scoliosis in middle-school age.

[Purpose] The purpose of this research was to determine the awareness of the actual conditions of the diagnosis and treatment of scoliosis by focusing on middle-school students in order to provide a basis for active education and treatment of scoliosis. [Subjects and Methods] The survey was conducted among 4,782 students. The students performed Adam's forward bend test, and some of the students who showed predictive features of scoliosis were further examined for the spine structure with rasterstereography. [Results] The proportion of students with awareness about scoliosis appeared to be 71.47%. Among the students, 50.84% knew the definition of scoliosis and 4.37% were diagnosed as having scoliosis, of whom 46.37% underwent treatment. It was a significant difference between to get a diagnosis and the predictive scoliosis or the scoliosis. [Conclusion] The results showed that the students in the second grade of middle school had high awareness levels, but about 50% of them did not know the definition of scoliosis. More than 50% of them did not receive treatment after diagnosed as having scoliosis. Therefore, active education and school screening for scoliosis should be provided to adolescent students.

Genetic influences on hallux valgus in Koreans: the healthy twin study.

Hallux valgus (HV) is a common foot deformity of multifactorial etiology, but knowledge about the relative importance of genetics and environments on HV has been limited. In order to estimate genetic influences on HV, 1,265 adults, including 175 monozygotic twin (MZ) pairs, 31 dizygotic twin (DZ) pairs, and 853 first-degree singleton family members of the twins were included from the Healthy Twin study, a population-based twin-family cohort in Korea. All participants underwent foot examination and weight-bearing radiographic assessment (anterior-posterior and lateral) in addition to a general health survey. Of the subjects, 208 (16.4%) were classified as HV (as HV angle >20°). The genetic influence on HV was estimated to be substantial; the heritability of HV was 0.51 (95% CI 0.42-0.59) and the heritability of HV angle was 0.47 (0.38-0.56), while contributions from shared environmental effects were negligible. These findings suggest that genetic factors play an important role in determining HV deformity.

Development and characterization of a colon PDX model that reproduces drug responsiveness and the mutation profiles of its original tumor.

Cultures of primary tumors are very useful as a personalized screening system for effective therapeutic options. We here describe an effective method of reproducing human primary colon tumors through primary culture and a mouse xenograft model. A total of 199 primary colon tumor cultures were successfully established under optimized conditions to enrich for tumor cells and to expand it for long-term storage in liquid nitrogen. To examine whether these stored cultures retained original tumor properties, fifty primary cultures were xenografted into NOD-SCID mouse. Histological and tumor marker analysis of four representative tumor xenografts revealed that all of the xenograft retained its primary tumor characteristics. Oncomap analysis further showed no change in the major mutations in the xenografts, confirming that our method faithfully reproduced human colon tumors. A drug sensitivity assay revealed that two of the primary cultures were hypersensitive to oxaliplatin rather than 5-FU, which was used in the patients, suggesting it as an effective therapeutic option. We thus present an effective, reproducible preclinical model for testing various personalized therapeutic options in colon cancer patients.

Laparoendoscopic single site (LESS) surgery in benign gynecology: perioperative and late complications of 515 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To present 515 LESS surgeries and report the perioperative outcomes and late complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a prospective single-center study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). One surgeon trained in minimally invasive surgery performed 515 cases of LESS surgery from May 2008 to September 2011. RESULTS: LESS gynecological surgery was performed on 515 patients (274 total hysterectomies; 26 subtotal hysterectomies; 87 adnexectomies including oophorectomy, salpingectomy, and salpingo-oophorectomy; 100 ovarian cystectomies; 17 myomectomies; 11 others). The median age and body mass index of the patients were 45 years and 22.6 kg/m², respectively. LESS surgery was successfully completed in 493 patients (95.7%) without the need for one or more ancillary ports or conversion to laparotomy. Twenty patients needed one or more additional ports and two cases were converted to laparotomy. One or more additional ports were required most frequently in ovarian cystectomy procedures (12/100, 12%). Thirty-six patients (7.0%) required intraoperative and/or postoperative transfusions. Each of these patients underwent hysterectomy (33/274, 12.0%) or subtotal hysterectomy (3/26, 11.5%). Perioperative complications (<30 postoperative days), excluding transfusions, occurred in 8 patients (1.6%) and included one case each of vault bleeding, vault abscess, stump watery discharge, rectal injury, and vesicovaginal fistula, and three cases of urinary tract injury. Late complications occurred in three patients (0.6%) and included two umbilical hernias and one vault evisceration. The overall complication rate, excluding transfusions, was 2.1% (11/515). CONCLUSION: The rate of late postoperative complications, including umbilical port site hernia and vault evisceration, was not increased in this study, as compared to previous reports of single-port and conventional laparoscopic surgeries.