A gentler approach to monitor for heart transplant rejection.

Despite developments in circulating biomarker and imaging technology in the assessment of cardiovascular disease, the surveillance and diagnosis of heart transplant rejection has continued to rely on histopathologic interpretation of the endomyocardial biopsy. Increasing evidence shows the utility of molecular evaluations, such as donor-specific antibodies and donor-derived cell-free DNA, as well as advanced imaging techniques, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, in the assessment of rejection, resulting in the elimination of many surveillance endomyocardial biopsies. As non-invasive technologies in heart transplant rejection continue to evolve and are incorporated into practice, they may supplant endomyocardial biopsy even when rejection is suspected, allowing for more precise and expeditious rejection therapy. This review describes the current and near-future states for the evaluation of heart transplant rejection, both in the settings of rejection surveillance and rejection diagnosis. As biomarkers of rejection continue to evolve, rejection risk prediction may allow for a more personalized approach to immunosuppression.

The Impact of Homemade Laparoscopic Box Trainers on Medical Student Surgical Skills: A Randomized Control Pilot Study.

Objective: While instructional videos are commonly used in surgical education, there is a paucity of data on home laparoscopic box trainers. This pilot study evaluated impacts of augmenting instructional videos with these devices. Design: This was a randomized controlled pilot study evaluating laparoscopic surgical performance on the LapSim virtual surgical simulator before and after a 2 week curriculum of instructional videos alone (n = 8, 47.1%) vs videos plus a home laparoscopic box trainer (n = 9, 52.9%). The LapSim recorded mistake number, time, and instrument path length to complete each task. Participants completed surveys about their perceptions of surgery before and after the course. Participants: Preclinical medical students were recruited. Those with extensive surgical experience or did not complete the course were excluded. Results: For the box trainer group vs the videos alone group: mean change in mistakes was -10.0 (standard deviation [SD]:17.1) vs +.5 (SD:21.59) (P = .28); mean change in time was -433.24 (SD:304.67) seconds vs -366.16 (SD:240.10) seconds (P = .62); mean change in instrument path length was -4.27 (SD:4.38) meters vs -3.19 (SD:4.86) meters (P = .64). The box trainer group ranked "I feel as though surgery comes naturally" 1.58 points higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: .85, 2.32; P < .01) and "I am worried about being skilled at surgery" 1.26 points lower (95% CI: 2.29, -.24; P = .02) upon completing the study. The videos alone group reported no significant changes in survey responses. Conclusion: Home laparoscopic box trainers can generate confidence and reduce anxiety regarding surgical fields. This study provides a framework for future larger scale works.

An Unusual Case of Buerger's Disease in a Pregnant Female.

Thromboangitis obliterans or Buerger's disease is a segmental inflammatory condition of small and medium-sized arteries and veins. It is commonly seen in males with age under 45 years and with a current or recent history of tobacco use, and in smokers. It is sporadic in young women. This report describes a primigravida with dry gangrene in both upper and lower limbs because of Buerger's disease. The primary diagnosis of the disease occurred first time in pregnancy at the 17th week of gestation with the patient reporting dry gangrene and pain in the digits and confirmed with a non-invasive Doppler study. The patient was screened for autoimmune diseases, diabetes mellitus, and the presence of hypercoagulable disorders. Echocardiography and arteriography were performed to rule out any source of emboli. The case report aims to discuss a rare diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma in the case of a pregnant woman presenting with gangrene without any history of tobacco addiction.

Atrial Myxoma Presenting as an Atypical Stroke in a Young Patient With a Recent COVID-19 Infection.

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary tumor of the heart and can occasionally present as an ischemic stroke with neurologic symptoms secondary to embolic phenomena. We present a case of a 42-year-old male with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection two months prior who presented to the emergency department with unilateral left-sided weakness and paresthesia. After being diagnosed with multifocal ischemic strokes, further evaluation utilizing a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) revealed a 5 × 2 cm left atrial myxoma prolapsing the mitral valve, which was the presumed cause of the patient's strokes. The myxoma was successfully removed via robotic thoracoscopy. Our case demonstrates the importance of considering atrial myxoma in the evaluation of stroke in young and middle-aged patients even in the presence of multiple cardiovascular and thrombotic risk factors.

Bartonella endocarditis in patients with right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery conduit: 2 case reports and literature review.

Bartonella species are Gram-negative bacilli and fastidious bacteria that can cause a number of clinical syndromes, including blood culture-negative infective endocarditis (IE). The two most commonly isolated species in humans are Bartonella quintana, the agent of trench fever, and Bartonella henselae, mostly known for causing cat scratch disease (Edouard et al., 2015 [1]; Edouard and Raoult, 2010 [2]). Both species also cause bacillary angiomatosis, primarily in immunocompromised patients (Edouard et al., 2015 [1]; Fournier et al., 2001 [3]). The risk of B. henselae IE is increased in patients with cardiac valvular disease and congenital heart disease (CHD) (Edouard and Raoult, 2010 [2]; Das et al., 2009 [4]; Abandeh et al., 2012 [5]; Ouellette et al., 2016 [6]; Hoffman et al., 2007 [7]; Georgievskaya et al., 2014 [8]). In this article, we detail two cases of Bartonella IE in patients with right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduits who presented to our institution. We also perform a literature review on Bartonella IE in patients with a history of RV-PA conduit or pulmonary valve replacement.

5-Fluorouracil Induced Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Complicated by Left Ventricular Thrombosis.

A 42-year-old woman with a remote history of smoking and recently diagnosed anorectal cancer presented with typical anginal chest pain, dyspnea, palpitations, and hallucinations. She was started on continuous 5-flurouracil (5-FU) infusion five days before presentation. Her physical examination was significant for bilateral bibasilar crackles and tachycardia. Her bloodwork was significant for an increased troponin and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Electrocardiogram (EKG) showed sinus tachycardia with ST elevation in multiple contiguous leads, whereas transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed estimated ejection fraction of 17% with severe global hypokinesis with apical akinesis and matted thrombus at the apex. Coronary angiogram showed 20% occlusion of the left anterior descending artery. She was diagnosed with 5-FU induced Takotsubo cardiomyopathy complicated by left ventricular (LV) thrombosis. 5-FU was discontinued, uridine triacetate was given as reversal agent. Aspirin and apixaban were started for three months for LV thrombosis. Her six-week TTE showed return of normal heart function with resolution of LV thrombosis.

Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage in the setting of eosinophilic pneumonia.

A 65-year-old woman who presented with a constellation of symptoms, including cough with haemoptysis, fever, chills and hypoxia along with weight loss, was found to have diffuse alveolar haemorrhage. After a myriad of investigations returned normal, an open lung biopsy was performed, which revealed the diagnosis to be subacute eosinophilic pneumonia. This is one of its kind of rare presentations where eosinophilic pneumonia presents as diffuse alveolar haemorrhage and has been reported only five times prior to this.

Rare and unusual presentation of gastrocardiac syndrome.

Gastrointestinal pathology can cause cardiac symptoms and disorders. We present a case of a patient who had worsening of her palpitations with food intake. She was found to have a high burden of premature ventricular contractions in the setting of hiatal hernia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. After extensive investigations and ruling out cardiac causes, her arrhythmia resolved with the surgical correction of hiatal hernia.

Prevalence of Myopia in Newly Enlisted Airmen at Joint Base San Antonio.

PURPOSE: Myopia is the most common type of refractive error and can lead to significant visual impairment. The frequency of myopia has risen considerably, and its worldwide prevalence is expected to continue to increase. Myopia is present in an increasing number of Basic Military Trainees upon entry into the United States Air Force. This study aims to demonstrate the prevalence of myopia in newly enlisted members of the United States Air Force. METHODS: This study is an institutional retrospective analysis of data collected from the United States Air Force candidates entering Basic Military Training from 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017. A random selection of 767 Air Force Basic Military Trainees were included in the analysis, yielding 1534 total eyes. The primary outcome measure studied is the mean spherical equivalent (MSE) of participants at initial evaluation. A linear regression analysis was performed to identify any associations related to participant demographics. RESULTS: Of participants analyzed, 45% had myopia (<-0.5 D) and 2% high myopia (<-6.0 D) upon entry into the United States Air Force. Myopia was found to be associated with male gender (p = <0.001). CONCLUSION: Myopia is present in a significant proportion of Basic Military Trainees upon entry into the United States Air Force, regardless of age, gender, race, or ethnicity. The prevalence of myopia presented is higher than previous studies, reflecting a continued trend towards increased myopia prevalence worldwide.

Diplopia and Strabismus After Corneal Refractive Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Diplopia and strabismus are known complications after corneal refractive surgery (CRS). Within the U.S. Armed Forces, refractive surgery is used to improve the operational readiness of the service member, and these complications could cause significant degradation to their capability. This study was performed in order to identify the incidence of strabismus and diplopia following CRS within the U.S. Military Health System. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in the Department of Defense from January 2006 through September 2013 was designed and approved by the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Institutional Review Board. The military health system data mart was queried for all patients who underwent one of these procedures and subsequently had an International Classification of Disease-9 code for any strabismus or diplopia through 2014 allowing at least 1 year of follow-up. We then calculated the incidence of both diplopia and strabismus for these procedures as the primary measure and the overall prevalence as a secondary measure. RESULTS: A total of 108,157 patients underwent PRK or LASIK during our study period with 41 of these patients subsequently having a diagnosis of diplopia or strabismus. After chart review, 16 of these patients were excluded resulting in 25 patients for inclusion in either the strabismus (23 patients, 0.02%) or diplopia (3 patients, 0.003%) cohorts with one patient having both. Of the 23 patients with postoperative strabismus, 4 were new cases giving an incidence of 0.004% and 2 new cases of diplopia for an incidence of 0.002%. CONCLUSION: Diplopia and strabismus are rare complications after CRS in the U.S. military population. These procedures continue to increase the operational readiness of our service members with minimal risk of these potentially debilitating complications. Overall, this study provides support for the continued use of PRK and LASIK despite study limitations related to the use of large databases for retrospective review. Future prospective studies using delineated preoperative and postoperative examinations with sensorimotor testing included may be able to resolve the limitations of this study.

Evisceration Versus Enucleation Following Ocular Trauma, a Retrospective Analysis at a Level One Trauma Center.

INTRODUCTION: Penetrating and perforating ocular trauma is often devastating and may lead to complete visual loss in the traumatized eye and subsequent compromise of the fellow eye. Enucleation is commonly utilized for management of a non-salvageable eye following penetrating and perforating ocular injuries. Recently, the use of evisceration for non-salvageable traumatized eyes has increased. As a technically easier alternative, evisceration offers several advantages to the ocular trauma surgeon to include faster surgical times, better cosmesis and motility, and improved patient outcomes. Debate still persists concerning whether or not evisceration is a viable option in the surgical management of a non-salvageable eye following ocular trauma given the theoretical increased risk of sympathetic ophthalmia and technical difficulty in construction of the scleral shell with extensive and complex corneoscleral lacerations. A retrospective analysis at a level 1 trauma center was performed to evaluate the practicality of evisceration in ocular trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eyes that underwent evisceration or enucleation following ocular trauma at San Antonio Military Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center, between 01 January 2014 and 30 December 2016 were examined. Factors evaluated include mechanism of injury, defect complexity, ocular trauma score, and time from injury to surgical intervention. Surgical outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: In total, 29 eyes were examined, 15 having undergone evisceration and 14 enucleation. The average size of the scleral defect before evisceration was 20 mm in length, and 23 mm before enucleation. The mechanism of injury and characterization of the defects among the two groups were relatively similar and described. Overall comparison of the two study groups in terms of surgical outcomes and complications was also relatively similar, as demonstrated. No cases of postoperative persistent pain, sympathetic ophthalmia, infection, or hematoma were identified for either group. CONCLUSIONS: The postoperative outcomes demonstrated for the evisceration group are comparable to enucleation, which is consistent with the recent literature. Defect size and complexity did not affect surgical construction of the scleral shell during evisceration. If consistently proven to be a safe and viable alternative to enucleation, evisceration can offer shorter surgical times and better cosmesis for patients. More research into the long-term complication rates and more cases of evisceration for use following ocular trauma should be assessed. Still, this analysis demonstrates that evisceration is a viable surgical alternative and perhaps superior to enucleation for the management of a non-salvageable eye following extensive ocular trauma in many cases.

Trends in the risk of second primary malignancies among survivors of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

With improving survivorship in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) has not been systematically addressed. Differences in risk for SPMs among CLL survivors from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (1973-2015) were compared to risk of individual malignancies expected in the general population. In ~270,000 person-year follow-up, 6487 new SPMs were diagnosed with a standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 1.2 (95% CI:1.17-1.23). The higher risk was for both solid (SIR 1.15; 95% CI:1.12-1.18) and hematological malignancies (SIR 1.61; 95% CI:1.5-1.73). The highest risk for SPMs was noted between 2 and 5 months after CLL diagnosis (SIR 1.57; 95% CI:1.41-1.74) and for CLL patients between 50- and 79-years-old. There was a significant increase in SPMs in years 2003-2015 (SIR 1.36; 95% CI:1.3-1.42) as compared to 1973-1982 (SIR 1.19; 95% CI:1.12-1.26). The risk of SPMs was higher in CLL patients who had received prior chemotherapy (SIR 1.38 95% CI:1.31-1.44) as compared to those untreated/treatment status unknown (SIR 1.16, 95% CI:1.13-1.19, p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, the hazard of developing SPMs was higher among men, post-chemotherapy, recent years of diagnosis, advanced age, and non-Whites. Active survivorship plans and long-term surveillance for SPMs is crucial for improved outcomes of patients with a history of CLL.

Primary adenocarcinoma of the orbit initially diagnosed as idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation.

PURPOSE: Differentiating idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation from orbital inflammation secondary to neoplasia may be challenging, as both processes can present similarly. Neoplasms in the orbit may induce inflammation with accompanying fibrosis. Limited sections of histopathological specimens may demonstrate nonspecific inflammation and lead to an inaccurate diagnosis. OBSERVATIONS: The authors present a case of infiltrating adenocarcinoma of the orbit with mucinous features which was misdiagnosed as idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation due to three separate benign biopsy specimens. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: The ophthalmologist must remain suspicious of malignancy in cases of suspected idiopathic orbital inflammation with an atypical clinical course, regardless of apparently benign biopsy results.

Open globe trauma in a military hospital: a review of the Ocular Trauma Score to help predict enucleation or evisceration.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to use the Ocular Trauma Score (OTS) to review and analyze all the open globe injuries (OGIs) that presented to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) from July 2011 to March 2017, and whether or not the OTS can be used to predict enucleation or evisceration. METHODS: Retrospective chart review was performed through the medical record systems at BAMC for all OGIs from July 2011 to March 2017. This study was not performed on wartime patients. The primary outcome measures were the variables in the OTS and need for enucleation or evisceration. RESULTS: A total of 126 OGIs in 125 patients were identified from July 2011 to March of 2017. A lower calculated OTS was negatively associated with the outcome variables. A total of 25 cases resulted in enucleation or evisceration (19.8%). Of these, 17 underwent enucleation and 8 underwent evisceration. The average OTS for all eyes was 37.15, and the average OTS for eyes resulting in enucleation or evisceration was 22. Retinal detachment (RD), afferent pupillary defect (APD), globe rupture, globe perforation, and presenting visual acuity (VA) were all found to be statistically significant risk factors in patients who underwent enucleation or evisceration. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that the OTS and the OTS pre-operative variables can help predict the likelihood that an OGI will ultimately result in enucleation or evisceration. Our study shows that the OTS is a valuable tool to use when evaluating OGI and can help in evidence-based counseling.

Fibrous Histiocytoma of the Lacrimal Sac in an 11-Year-Old Male.

Fibrous histiocytoma is a soft tissue tumor with cells resembling both fibroblasts and histiocytes. Occasionally in the orbit, they rarely arise in the lacrimal sac. Similar to prior cases described, the patient presented with symptoms of epiphora and a slowly enlarging mass inferior to the right medial canthus. Imaging demonstrated a circumscribed 1.2 cm × 1.1 cm × 1.1 cm mass within the lacrimal sac without surrounding bony destruction. Grossly, the tumor appeared homogenous and rubbery. Pathologic study results from the case demonstrated zones of hypercellularity and hypocellularity with a fibrous appearance, admixed with spindle cells and collections of foamy histiocytes. A diagnosis of benign fibrous histiocytoma was rendered, with the patient experiencing a complete resolution of symptoms at subsequent follow up. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported solitary case report of a fibrous histiocytoma of the lacrimal sac in a pediatric patient.