Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Peripheral Vascular Disease Admissions Using a Nationally Representative Sample.

Our study aimed to identify clinical outcomes and resource utilization associated with race and ethnicity in patients admitted with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) across the United States. We queried the National Inpatient Sample database from 2015 to 2019 and identified 622,820 patients admitted with PVD. Patients across 3 major race and ethnic categories were compared in terms of baseline characteristics, inpatient outcomes, and resource utilization. Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to be younger and of the lowest median income but incur higher total hospital costs. Black race predicted higher rates of acute kidney injury, need for blood transfusion, and need for vasopressor but lower rates of circulatory shock, and mortality. Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to undergo limb-salvaging procedures and more likely to undergo amputation than White patients. In conclusion, our findings indicate that Black and Hispanic patients experience health disparities in resource utilization and inpatient outcomes for PVD admissions.

Four synchronous primary tumors in a male patient.

Multiple primary malignancies are defined as two or more primary malignant tumors diagnosed in one individual; they are further classified to synchronous or metachronous based on the period between each cancer diagnosis and the other. The diagnosis of four synchronous cancers is exceedingly rare. We report a case of a 72-year-old man, diagnosed with synchronous quadruple cancers, Hurthle cell carcinoma and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, as well as squamous cell carcinoma and carcinoid tumor of the lung.

Occurrence of Diarrhea and Feeding Practices among Children below Two Years of Age in Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Growing evidence suggests that feeding practices in early childhood play a major role in the occurrence of childhood diarrhea. However, there is a lack of information regarding feeding practices and its relationship with occurrences of diarrhea in young children from Saudi Arabia. The present study is aimed to measure the prevalence of diarrhea and assess its relationship with feeding practices among children between two months and two years of age in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was carried out in two large cities in the Aseer region in southwest Saudi Arabia. A total of 302 mothers attending well-baby clinics across six primary health centers were included. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Factors associated with diarrheal disease were identified by multivariable logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of diarrhea among children during the study period was 56.3% (95% CI: 50.7%-61.8%). Only 15.9% of children in our study were exclusively breastfed. The occurrence of diarrhea was significantly associated with age 7-12 months (aOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.42-4.91). We found that diarrhea was prevalent among children between two months and two years of age, and that exclusive breastfeeding was not a common practice in this region. Health education programs should be directed towards mothers to improve rates of breastfeeding, weaning practices, food hygiene, and childcare. Special attention and support should be provided for working mothers.

Bezlotoxumab use as adjunctive therapy with the third fecal microbiota transplant in refractory recurrent Clostridium difficile colitis; a case report and concise literature review.

Clostridium difficile is the most commonly reported pathogen to cause nosocomial infections in the United States with a high burden affecting morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure. The use of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is one of the current standard therapies for recurrent C. difficile infection (CDIr). One emerging promising approach is the use of monoclonal antibodies that bind to and neutralize C. difficile toxins such as Bezlotoxumab. We present the first case report on combining the third FMT with bezlotoxumab after the failure of standard-of-care antibiotics and two trials of FMT alone, with subsequent success in preventing the recurrence of refractory CDI for 12 weeks following treatment. This case highlights the need for further studies and guidelines to recommend the best combination among different treatment options and modalities.