Prevalence of pretreatment drug resistance in persons initiating and reinitiating antiretroviral therapy in Sri Lanka: results from a national representative survey.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to estimate pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) prevalence in adults initiating ART in Sri Lanka following the WHO's recommendations. METHODS: HIV drug resistance was determined on dried blood spots (DBSs) using population-based sequencing of the protease and reverse transcriptase genes and interpretation was based on Stanford HIVdb v9.0. Analyses were weighted to adjust for multistage sampling and genotypic failure rate. We used logistic regression to assess differences between groups. RESULTS: Overall, in 10% (15 of 150) of patients initiating ART, HIV drug resistance mutations were detected. The prevalence of resistance to NNRTI drugs efavirenz/nevirapine was 8.4% (95% CI 4.6-15.0) but differed among those reporting having prior antiretroviral (ARV) exposure (24.4%, 95% CI 13.8-39.5) compared with 4.6% (95% CI 1.6-12.8) for those reporting as being ARV naive (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.3-16.6, P = 0.021). PDR to efavirenz/nevirapine was also nearly twice as high among women (14.1%, 95% CI 6.1-29.4) compared with men (7.0%, 95% CI 3.1-14.7) (P = 0.340) and three times high among heterosexuals (10.4%, 95% CI 2.4-35.4) compared with MSM (3.8%, 95% CI 1.1-12.7) (P = 0.028). NRTI PDR prevalence was 3.8% (95% CI 1.1-12.1) and no PI PDR was observed in the study. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of efavirenz/nevirapine PDR was reported, especially in patients with prior ARV exposure, in women and those reporting being heterosexual. These findings highlight the need to fast-track the transition to the WHO-recommended dolutegravir-based first-line ART.

Hydrodisplacement in the percutaneous cryoablation of 50 renal tumors.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe the technique, safety, and effectiveness of percutaneous hydrodisplacement during the course of percutaneous renal cryoablation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our experience in performing percutaneous hydrodisplacement during the cryoablation of renal tumors. In this subset of patients, we addressed tumor location within the kidney, tumor position relative to critical structures, effectiveness of hydrodisplacement, and complications in performing this adjunct technique. Comparisons between the two groups were made using Wilcoxon's rank sum test or chi-square test, as appropriate. RESULTS: Hydrodisplacement was attempted 52 times in 50 (24%) of 206 percutaneous renal tumor cryoablations. Tumors that were located anteriorly (p < 0.0001) or in the lower pole (p = 0.001) of the kidney were more likely to require hydrodisplacement. The colon required displacement most often (n = 41), followed by the body wall (n = 3), duodenum (n = 2), jejunum and ileum (n = 2), ureter (n = 1), and psoas muscle (n = 1). There was a single complication of hemorrhage resulting from injury to an intercostal artery branch that required termination of the procedure before fluid infusion. When fluid was infused, the critical structure was displaced in 50 (96%) of 52 attempts, displacing the critical structure from its initial location by a mean distance of 16 mm (range, 3-46 mm). Both failures occurred early in our experience with hydrodisplacement, and both required balloon displacement. CONCLUSION: Hydrodisplacement is a safe, effective, and commonly needed technique for displacement of critical structures before percutaneous cryoablation of renal tumors, particularly for tumors located anteriorly or in the lower pole of the kidney.

Autoimmune pancreatitis: pancreatic and extrapancreatic imaging findings.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to discuss the systemic nature of autoimmune pancreatitis and its various pancreatic and extrapancreatic imaging findings. CONCLUSION: Autoimmune pancreatitis is a systemic disease with a wide range of pancreatic and extrapancreatic imaging findings. These findings can mimic those of other diseases in the pancreas or other organs and therefore are commonly misdiagnosed and mistreated. It is important for radiologists to understand both the pancreatic and extrapancreatic imaging findings of autoimmune pancreatitis to make accurate and timely diagnoses.

Screening the partial coding region of metallothionein isoform-2 gene in Zebu cattle.

Metallothionein (MT) is important because it binds tightly to heavy metals to decrease their toxicity. DNA was isolated from 30 toxic metal exposed and 30 toxic metal unexposed Zebu cows. The amplified metallothionein isoform-2 (MT-2) PCR product (489 bp) was further used for PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing. MT-2 TaqI PCR-RFLP revealed homozygous genotype (AA) except for the E23 animal (AB). The genotype frequency of AA and AB (E23) genotypes in the exposed groups was 0.967 and 0.033 respectively. DNA sequencing was carried out for the toxic metal exposed sample (E23) and the control group sample (C13). Blast comparisons of the sequences were then aligned against a nucleotide database which revealed 150 nucleotide substitutions consisting of 70 transitions and around 80 transversions. DNA sequencing followed by PCR-RFLP for MT-2 revealed a higher number of nucleotide substitutions (150) for the AB genotype of E23 as compared to the AA genotype (38) of E21. The proportions of transversion mutations in the AB genotype were higher as compared to the MT-2 AA genotype. DNA sequencing was carried out based on random sampling for E21 and C13. Alignment analysis of the E21 and C13 sample revealed 38 nucleotide substitutions consisting of equal numbers of transition and transversion. BLAST analysis of the identified partial sequence revealed 89% identity with Bos taurus, 85% identity with sheep, 98% identity with buffalos and 100% identity with goat MT-2 sequences. Overall findings of the present study revealed DNA sequence variation in the coding region of the MT-2 gene of Zebu cattle which can be utilised to characterize and explore markers for heavy metal homeostasis in Zebu cattle.

Nonradiologists as second readers for intraluminal findings at CT colonography.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Multiple trials have documented wide interobserver variability between radiologists interpreting computed tomography colonography (CTC) exams. We sought to determine if nonradiologists could learn to interpret intraluminal findings at CTC with a high degree of sensitivity to determine if they could play a role as second readers in interpreting CTC exams. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven nonradiologists (five medical students, two radiologic technologists) undertook self-directed CTC training using a teaching file of 50 cases; thereafter, each reader blindly interpreted 50 cases with colonoscopic correlation (30 positive, 20 negative). Results were compared with a previously studied cohort of radiologists. The two technologists additionally repeated the exam after 6 weeks of clinical experience. RESULTS: The sensitivity of nonradiologists for small (5-9 mm) polyps, large (>9 mm) lesions, and cancers was similar to that of radiologists (0.45 versus 0.63, 0.74 versus 0.71, and 0.80 versus 0.88, respectively). After 6 weeks of clinical experience as second readers, the accuracy of one technologist significantly improved (from 74% to 90%, P = .008), whereas accuracy of the other tended toward improvement (from 74% to 86%%, P = .25). Nonradiologists detected, on average, 6/36 additional polyps (17%) missed by any radiologist, and the sensitivity of 5/7 nonradiologists was significantly greater than at least one of the radiologists (P = .05). CONCLUSION: Nonradiologists can perform similarly to radiologists in interpreting intraluminal findings at CTC, with nonradiologist performance improving even after experience with more than 100 cases. Skilled nonradiologists may play a vital role as a second reader of intraluminal findings or by performing quality control of examinations before patient dismissal.

An integrative approach for identifying a metabolic phenotype predictive of individualized pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus.

Individual variation in drug response is influenced by both genes and environment. We evaluated the potential of a metabolic phenotype to predict individual variation in the pharmacokinetics (PK) of tacrolimus. Liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS)-based metabolic profiling was performed on 29 healthy volunteers by measuring the levels of 1,256 metabolite ions in their predose urine samples. After oral administration of tacrolimus, we monitored its plasma concentrations in these volunteers for up to 72 h and calculated the pharmacokinetic parameters. Partial least-squares (PLS) modeling was conducted with data relating to predose urine metabolites to predict the pharmacokinetic parameters of tacrolimus and to select the metabolites that substantially contributed to such prediction. The selection of these metabolites allowed us to understand their functional role and generate a clinically applicable index to predict individualized PK of tacrolimus. In conclusion, this integrative pharmacometabolomic approach, combining the metabolic profiling of predose urine with PLS modeling, can serve as a useful tool in "individualized drug therapy."

Oral hobnail hemangioma--a case report.

Hobnail hemangioma is a rare benign vascular tumor. It usually develops in young adults as a single, small, well-circumscribed, angiomatous/pigmented, and flat or exophytic lesion and has a distinctive biphasic histopathologic appearance. Lesions commonly affect the trunk and lower and upper extremities, although head and neck involvement has also been described. Until now, only 3 intraoral cases have been reported. The present article reports a case of hobnail hemangioma on the mandibular left gingiva in a 24-year-old male patient. Awareness of this rare entity rests on the differential diagnosis, which includes retiform hemangioendothelioma, patch-stage Kaposi sarcoma, benign lymphangioendothelioma, and well-differentiated angiosarcoma.

Crohn Disease: mural attenuation and thickness at contrast-enhanced CT Enterography--correlation with endoscopic and histologic findings of inflammation.

PURPOSE: To determine retrospectively if quantitative measures of small-bowel mural attenuation and thickness at computed tomographic (CT) enterography correlate with endoscopic and histologic findings of small-bowel inflammation and to estimate the performance of these measures in predicting inflammatory Crohn disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The institutional review board approved this HIPAA-compliant retrospective study, which was conducted with patient informed consent. CT enterography data in 96 patients (31 male patients and 65 female patients) who underwent ileoscopy with or without biopsy were examined for CT signs of active Crohn disease. The most highly enhancing segment of terminal ileum and a normal-appearing ileal loop were identified. After it was confirmed that semiautomated software could accurately measure mural attenuation and thickness, the selected terminal ileal and normal-appearing (control) ileal loops were examined (20 automated measurements at each location) to quantify mural attenuation and wall thickness. Results were compared with endoscopy and histology reports by using logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Quantitative measures of terminal ileal mural attenuation and wall thickness correlated significantly with active Crohn disease (P < .001). Small-bowel wall thickness was not a significant factor after attenuation was taken into account. A threshold attenuation value with a sensitivity of 90% (18 of 20) for definite Crohn disease (compared with a sensitivity of 80% [16 of 20] for radiologist assessment) was selected. In patients who underwent ileal biopsy, threshold attenuation had a sensitivity identical to that of ileoscopy (81% [26 of 32]; 95% confidence interval: 64%, 93%) in predicting histologic inflammation. CONCLUSION: Quantitative measures of mural attenuation and wall thickness at CT enterography correlate highly with ileoscopic and histologic findings of inflammatory Crohn disease. Quantitative measures of mural attenuation are sensitive markers of small bowel inflammation.

Clinical significance of suprascapular nerve mobilization.

The anatomy of the suprascapular nerve is important to surgeons when focal nerve lesions necessitate surgical repair. Recent experience with a patient who had a complete suprascapular nerve lesion in the retroclavicular region (combined with axillary and musculocutaneous nerve lesions) is presented to illustrate that successful direct nerve repair is possible despite resection of a neuroma. Specifically, we found that neurolysis and mobilization of the suprascapular nerve and release of the superior transverse scapular ligament provided the necessary nerve length to achieve direct nerve repair after the neuroma was removed. A combined supraclavicular and infraclavicular approach to the suprascapular nerve provided excellent visualization, especially in the retroclavicular region. Postoperatively, the patient recovered complete shoulder abduction and external rotation with the direct repair, an outcome uncommonly achieved with interpositional grafting. Based on our operative experience, we set out to quantify the length that the suprascapular nerve could be mobilized with neurolysis. Mobilization of the nerve and release of the superior transverse scapular ligament generated an average of 1.6 cm and 0.7 cm of extra nerve length respectively, totaling 2.3 cm of additional usable nerve length overall. The ability to expose the suprascapular nerve in the retroclavicular/infraclavicular region and to mobilize the suprascapular nerve for possible direct repair has not been previously emphasized and is clinically important. This surgical approach and technique permits direct nerve repair after resection of a focal neuroma in the retroclavicular or infraclavicular region, thus avoiding interpositional grafting, and improving outcomes.

Inheritance of disease lesion mimic leaf trait in groundnut.

In groundnut, two identical mutants with disease lesion mimic leaf trait were isolated independently from two different parents through induced mutagenesis and in vitro culture technique. The leaf chlorophyll content in both the mutants was found to be drastically reduced. The segregation pattern in the F(2) and F(3) generations for normal and mutant traits fitted a 13:3 ratio, indicating that the disease lesion mimic trait in the mutants was due to suppressive gene action. Both mutants were allelic for the disease mimic trait.

Restoration of motor function of the deep fibular (peroneal) nerve by direct nerve transfer of branches from the tibial nerve: an anatomical study.

Traction injuries of the common fibular (peroneal) nerve frequently result in significant morbidity due to tibialis anterior muscle paralysis and the associated loss of ankle dorsiflexion. Because current treatment options are often unsuccessful or unsatisfactory, other treatment approaches need to be explored. In this investigation, the anatomical feasibility of an alternative option, consisting of nerve transfer of motor branches from the tibial nerve to the deep fibular nerve, was studied. In ten cadaveric limbs, the branching pattern, length, and diameter of motor branches of the tibial nerve in the proximal leg were characterized; nerve transfer of each of these motor branches was then simulated to the proximal deep fibular nerve. A consistent, reproducible pattern of tibial nerve innervation was seen with minor variability. Branches to the flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus muscles were determined to be adequate, based on their branch point, branch pattern, and length, for direct nerve transfer in all specimens. Other branches, including those to the tibialis posterior, popliteus, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles were not consistently adequate for direct nerve transfer for injuries extending to the bifurcation of the common fibular nerve or distal to it. For neuromas of the common fibular nerve that do not extend as far distally, branches to the soleus and lateral head of the gastrocnemius may be adequate for direct transfer if the intramuscular portions of these nerves are dissected. This study confirms the anatomical feasibility of direct nerve transfer using nerves to toe-flexor muscles as a treatment option to restore ankle dorsiflexion in cases of common fibular nerve injury.