Large renal arteriovenous fistula treated by embolization: a case report.

Renal arteriovenous fistula (RAVF) is an uncommon vascular malformation of the kidney, which can be congenital, acquired or idiopathic. Although most patients are asymptomatic, RAVF can lead to hypertension, heart failure, renal insufficiency, hematuria, and progressive increase in size of renal vessels. Diagnosis is aided by radiological studies, with digital subtraction angiography as a gold standard. Besides, ultrasound with color Doppler and computed tomography angiography are noninvasive imaging techniques and can be useful for planning the treatment. A large fistula are generally treated by nephrectomy. Intervention can ameliorate the hemodynamic effects of high flow and to preserve the renal parenchymal function. Although endovascular therapy may be challenging due to the large size and high flow of fistula, this report describes a case of huge RAVF was successfully treated by embolization instead of surgery.

Adult-onset mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome with progressive sensorineural hearing loss: A case report.

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is one of the most common maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders, with no specific treatment available. We report a case of a 34-year-old female in whom symptoms of MELAS were initially misdiagnosed as herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). Her clinical course was marked by an acute episode of consciousness disturbance with newly developed lesions on brain MRI five years after disease onset and followed by progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Brain imaging sequences throughout the seven years of her illness are presented. The final diagnosis of MELAS syndrome was confirmed by m.3243A>G mitochondrial mutation. In conclusion, understanding the overlapping imaging features between MELAS syndrome and other mimickers, such as HSE or ischemic stroke, is crucial to help establish early diagnosis and initiate appropriate treatment.

Timing jitter reduction of passively Q-switched solid-state lasers by coupling resonance between pumping and firing rates.

The coupling resonance between pumping and firing rates is originally proposed to achieve the timing jitter reduction of a Nd:YVO4 laser passively Q-switched with a saturable absorber. When the pumping rate is higher than the spontaneous emission rate, it is experimentally confirmed that the pulse firing rate can be fractionally locked with the pumping rate by controlling the pump power. The locking characteristics of the firing rate display a variety of complex plateaus that can be excellently manifested with the sine-circle map. From numerical analyses, the coupling strength can be verified to be effectively enhanced by reducing the duty cycle of the pumping rate.

Do we need post-pregnancy screening with human chorionic gonadotrophin after previous hydatidiform mole to identify patients with recurrent gestational trophoblastic disease?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether post-pregnancy human chorionic gonadotrophin screening after previous hydatidiform mole identifies patients with recurrent gestational trophoblastic disease. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective evaluation of 9315 patients who underwent post-pregnancy screening from 2000 to 2009, as part of the National Gestational Trophoblastic Disease Service in the UK. RESULTS: Patients with previous hydatidiform mole, who had human chorionic gonadotrophin screening after one or more subsequent pregnancies, were identified (n = 9315). Of these, 8630 patients had an initial hydatidiform mole that did not require chemotherapy. In 12,329 subsequent pregnancy events, screening with human chorionic gonadotrophin identified 3 cases of gestational trophoblastic neoplasm. The remaining 685 patients developed gestational trophoblastic neoplasm, following their initial hydatidiform mole and required chemotherapy. In this group there were 1012 further pregnancy events, human chorionic gonadotrophin screening identified 3 patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasm. The overall recurrence rate was 6 in 13,341 events (risk 1: 2227). The rate was 3 in 12,329 (risk 1:4110) for HM that did not require chemotherapy and 3 in 1012 (1:337) for previously treated gestational trophoblastic neoplasm. All 6 patients with recurrent disease were successfully treated with chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Routine post-pregnancy human chorionic gonadotrophin screening may be safely discontinued in patients with one previous uncomplicated hydatidiform mole.

Iatrogenic subcutaneous facial emphysema secondary to a Class V dental restoration: a case report.

Subcutaneous facial emphysema (SFE) following routine dental operative procedure is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening complication. The present case details a Class V restoration where air was introduced into the fascial tissue planes via the gingival sulcus from the use of an air-driven dental handpiece. Although the SFE is usually self-limiting within 3-10 days, such instances should be regarded as a medical emergency as in severe cases, the air may spread to the neck, mediastinum and thorax to result in cervicofacial emphysema with potential pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax.

Gate-opening upon CO2 adsorption on a metal-organic framework that mimics a natural stimuli-response system.

A dynamic metal-organic framework that consists of d-champhorate-based homochiral protuberant-grid-type networks can successively participate in gate-opening and closing processes for many cycles, which were triggered by the stimuli of the adsorption and desorption of CO2 to highly and specifically recognize CO2 over N2 and H2 with a high CO2 uptake of 90 mg g-1 under 35 bar at 298 K. It is highly thermally stable and the structure remains intact at least for ten reversible gate-opening and -closing processes. Thus, it is a potential candidate for industrial CO2 capture and facile release.

Sentinel lymph node imaging guided IMRT for prostate cancer: Individualized pelvic radiation therapy versus RTOG guidelines.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Current Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines for pelvic radiation therapy are based on general anatomic boundaries. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) imaging can identify potential sites of lymph node involvement. We sought to determine how tailored radiation therapy fields for prostate cancer would compare to standard RTOG-based fields. Such individualized radiation therapy could prioritize the most important areas to irradiate while potentially avoiding coverage in areas where critical structures would be overdosed. Individualized radiation therapy could therefore increase the therapeutic index of pelvic radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ten intermediate or high-risk prostate cancer patients received androgen deprivation therapy with definitive radiation therapy, including an SLN imaging-tailored elective nodal volume (ENV). For dosimetric analyses, the ENV was recontoured using RTOG guidelines (RTOG_ENV) and on SLNs alone (SLN_ENV). Separate intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans were optimized using RTOG_ENV and SLN_ENV for each patient. Dosimetric comparisons for these IMRT plans were performed for each patient. Dose differences to targets and critical structures among the different IMRT plans were calculated. Distributions of dose parameters were analyzed using non-parametric methods. RESULTS: Sixty percent of patients had SLNs outside of the RTOG_ENV. The larger volume IMRT plans covering SLN imaging-tailored elective nodal volume exhibited no significant dose differences versus plans covering RTOG_ENV. IMRT plans covering only the SLNs had significantly lower doses to bowel and femoral heads. CONCLUSIONS: SLN-guided pelvic radiation therapy can be used to either treat the most critical nodes only or as an addition to RTOG guided pelvic radiation therapy to ensure that the most important nodes are included.

Quality improvement of International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, diagnosis coding in radiation oncology: single-institution prospective study at University of California, San Francisco.

PURPOSE: Accurate International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis coding is critical for patient care, billing purposes, and research endeavors. In this single-institution study, we evaluated our baseline ICD-9 (9th revision) diagnosis coding accuracy, identified the most common errors contributing to inaccurate coding, and implemented a multimodality strategy to improve radiation oncology coding. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We prospectively studied ICD-9 coding accuracy in our radiation therapy--specific electronic medical record system. Baseline ICD-9 coding accuracy was obtained from chart review targeting ICD-9 coding accuracy of all patients treated at our institution between March and June of 2010. To improve performance an educational session highlighted common coding errors, and a user-friendly software tool, RadOnc ICD Search, version 1.0, for coding radiation oncology specific diagnoses was implemented. We then prospectively analyzed ICD-9 coding accuracy for all patients treated from July 2010 to June 2011, with the goal of maintaining 80% or higher coding accuracy. Data on coding accuracy were analyzed and fed back monthly to individual providers. RESULTS: Baseline coding accuracy for physicians was 463 of 661 (70%) cases. Only 46% of physicians had coding accuracy above 80%. The most common errors involved metastatic cases, whereby primary or secondary site ICD-9 codes were either incorrect or missing, and special procedures such as stereotactic radiosurgery cases. After implementing our project, overall coding accuracy rose to 92% (range, 86%-96%). The median accuracy for all physicians was 93% (range, 77%-100%) with only 1 attending having accuracy below 80%. Incorrect primary and secondary ICD-9 codes in metastatic cases showed the most significant improvement (10% vs 2% after intervention). CONCLUSIONS: Identifying common coding errors and implementing both education and systems changes led to significantly improved coding accuracy. This quality assurance project highlights the potential problem of ICD-9 coding accuracy by physicians and offers an approach to effectively address this shortcoming.

Implications of delayed initiation of radiotherapy: accelerated repopulation after induction chemotherapy for stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION: For patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer treated with induction chemotherapy (ICT), delayed initiation of subsequent radiotherapy (RT) may allow for repopulation in the interval between treatment modalities and during the early phase of RT. We quantified the impact of postinduction RT timing by evaluating the pace of tumor regrowth. METHODS: Institutionally approved retrospective review identified 21 analyzable patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer who had platinum-based ICT followed by RT+/- chemotherapy from 2002 to 2009. Radiographic response was determined by RECIST criteria and the volume of the single largest tumor mass on the pre-ICT, post-ICT, and RT-planning computed tomography scans. RESULTS: After ICT, the median percent volume change from pre-ICT baseline was -41% (range -86 to +86%). By the RT-planning computed tomography scan, the median percent volume change from the post-ICT timepoint was +40% (range -11 to +311%) and the median volume change was +20 ml (range -4 to 102 ml); these changes were significant (p = 0.0002). Similar results were seen for tumor diameter. A correlation was observed between the amount of delay and degree of regrowth for percent volume (p = 0.0006) and percent diameter change (p = 0.003). A delay greater than 21 days produced greater increases in percent volume change (p = 0.002) and percent diameter (p = 0.055) than lesser delays. CONCLUSIONS: After ICT, tumor regrowth can occur within a few weeks. Radiation treatment planning should begin as soon as possible after the administration of ICT to maximize the benefits of cytoreduction.

Outcomes following hysterectomy or endometrial ablation for heavy menstrual bleeding: retrospective analysis of hospital episode statistics in Scotland.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of further gynaecological surgery and gynaecological cancer following hysterectomy and endometrial ablation in women with heavy menstrual bleeding. DESIGN: Population-based retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Scottish hospitals between 1989 and 2006. Population or sample Scottish women treated with hysterectomy or endometrial ablation for heavy menstrual bleeding between 1989 and 2006. METHODS: Anonymised data collected by the Scottish Information Services Division were analysed using appropriate methods across the hysterectomy and endometrial ablation groups. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine the survival experience for different surgical outcomes after adjustment for age, year of primary operation and Carstairs quintile. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Further gynaecological surgery and gynaecological cancer in women. RESULTS: A total of 37,120 women had a hysterectomy, 11,299 women underwent endometrial ablation without a subsequent hysterectomy and 2779 women underwent endometrial ablation followed by a subsequent hysterectomy. The median (interquartile range) duration of follow-up was 11.6 years (7.9, 14.8) and 6.2 years (2.7, 10.8) in the hysterectomy and endometrial ablation (without hysterectomy) cohorts, respectively. Compared with women who underwent hysterectomy, those who underwent ablation were less likely to need pelvic floor repair [adjusted hazards ratio, 0.62; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.50, 0.77] or tension-free vaginal tape surgery for stress urinary incontinence (adjusted hazards ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.41, 0.74). Abdominal hysterectomy was associated with a lower chance than vaginal hysterectomy of pelvic floor repair surgery (hazards ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.45, 0.64). Overall, the number of women diagnosed with cancer was small, the largest group being breast cancer (n = 584, 1.57% and n = 130, 1.15% in the hysterectomy and endometrial ablation groups respectively; adjusted hazards ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.93-1.39). CONCLUSIONS: Hysterectomy is associated with a higher risk than endometrial ablation of surgery for pelvic floor repair and stress urinary incontinence. Surgery for pelvic floor prolapse is more common after vaginal than abdominal hysterectomy.

Hysterectomy, endometrial ablation and Mirena® for heavy menstrual bleeding: a systematic review of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this project was to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of hysterectomy, first- and second-generation endometrial ablation (EA), and Mirena® (Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding. DESIGN: Individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of existing randomised controlled trials to determine the short- to medium-term effects of hysterectomy, EA and Mirena. A population-based retrospective cohort study based on record linkage to investigate the long-term effects of ablative techniques and hysterectomy in terms of failure rates and complications. Cost-effectiveness analysis of hysterectomy versus first- and second-generation ablative techniques and Mirena. SETTING: Data from women treated for heavy menstrual bleeding were obtained from national and international trials. Scottish national data were obtained from the Scottish Information Services Division. PARTICIPANTS: Women who were undergoing treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding were included. INTERVENTIONS: Hysterectomy, first- and second-generation EA, and Mirena. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Satisfaction, recurrence of symptoms, further surgery and costs. RESULTS: Data from randomised trials indicated that at 12 months more women were dissatisfied with first-generation EA than hysterectomy [odds ratio (OR): 2.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.54 to 3.93; p = 0.0002), but hospital stay [WMD (weighted mean difference) 3.0 days, 95% CI 2.9 to 3.1 days; p < 0.00001] and time to resumption of normal activities (WMD 5.2 days, 95% CI 4.7 to 5.7 days; p < 0.00001) were longer for hysterectomy. Unsatisfactory outcomes associated with first- and second-generation techniques were comparable [12.2% (123/1006) vs 10.6% (110/1034); OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.62; p = 0.2). Rates of dissatisfaction with Mirena and second-generation EA were similar [18.1% (17/94) vs 22.5% (23/102); OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.53; p = 0.4]. Indirect estimates suggested that hysterectomy was also preferable to second-generation EA (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.24; p = 0.006) in terms of patient dissatisfaction. The evidence to suggest that hysterectomy is preferable to Mirena was weaker (OR 2.22, 95% CI 0.94 to 5.29; p = 0.07). In women treated by EA or hysterectomy and followed up for a median [interquartile range (IQR)] duration of 6.2 (2.7-10.8) and 11.6 (7.9-14.8) years, respectively, 962/11,299 (8.5%) women originally treated by EA underwent further gynaecological surgery. While the risk of adnexal surgery was similar in both groups [adjusted hazards ratio 0.80 (95% CI 0.56 to 1.15)], women who had undergone ablation were less likely to need pelvic floor repair [adjusted hazards ratio 0.62 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.77)] and tension-free vaginal tape surgery for stress urinary incontinence [adjusted hazards ratio 0.55 (95% CI 0.41 to 0.74)]. Abdominal hysterectomy led to a lower chance of pelvic floor repair surgery [hazards ratio 0.54 (95% CI 0.45 to 0.64)] than vaginal hysterectomy. The incidence of endometrial cancer following EA was 0.02%. Hysterectomy was the most cost-effective treatment. It dominated first-generation EA and, although more expensive, produced more quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) than second-generation EA and Mirena. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for hysterectomy compared with Mirena and hysterectomy compared with second-generation ablation were £1440 per additional QALY and £970 per additional QALY, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite longer hospital stay and time to resumption of normal activities, more women were satisfied after hysterectomy than after EA. The few data available suggest that Mirena is potentially cheaper and more effective than first-generation ablation techniques, with rates of satisfaction that are similar to second-generation techniques. Owing to a paucity of trials, there is limited evidence to suggest that hysterectomy is preferable to Mirena. The risk of pelvic floor surgery is higher in women treated by hysterectomy than by ablation. Although the most cost-effective strategy, hysterectomy may not be considered an initial option owing to its invasive nature and higher risk of complications. Future research should focus on evaluation of the clinical effectivesness and cost-effectiveness of the best second-generation EA technique under local anaesthetic versus Mirena and types of hysterectomy such as laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy versus conventional hysterectomy and second-generation EA. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Inhibition of peripheral blood natural killer cell cytotoxicity in patients with myasthenia gravis treated with plasmapheresis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder that may involve natural killer (NK) cells. Although NK cells are part of the innate immune system, they also influence adaptive immune responses. Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFP) is an effective therapy for MG crisis. Thus, we examined the effects of DFP on the cytotoxicity of NK cells. METHODS: A total of 20 patients with MG and 16 healthy controls were recruited for the study. Ficoll-Paque-isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and K562 cells were used as the effector and target cells, respectively. NK cell cytotoxicity was analyzed using flow cytometry immediately before and after DFP and upon course completion. RESULTS: Double-filtration plasmapheresis treatment decreased significantly the NK cell cytotoxicity in patients with MG, especially in good responders, those who were positive for acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies, and those receiving immunosuppressants. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in NK cell cytotoxicity after DFP and the decline of AChR antibody titer were observed in good responders indicating that this could benefit patients with MG.

Changes in serum cytokine levels during plasmapheresis in patients with myasthenia gravis.

BACKGROUND: The effect of plasmapheresis on cytokine levels in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) has not been well established. METHODS: Cytokine levels were measured in 19 patients with MG before and after treatment with one course of double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFP). The control group comprised 6 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. RESULTS: At baseline, patients with MG had higher levels of IL-10 than normal controls. The levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were almost undetectable in MG patients. After a single session of DFP treatment, IL-10 levels were significantly increased. After three sessions, IL-10 levels were still higher than those at baseline. Elevated IL-10 level was significantly associated with use of immunosuppressant drugs, thymectomy, and good response to DFP treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Interleukin-10 might play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and perpetuation of MG.

Multicentre randomised controlled trials in obstetrics and gynaecology: an analysis of trends over three decades.

To assess the trend in multicentre randomised controlled trials (RCTs), a database of 670 RCTs was assembled from four generic obstetric and gynaecological journals (Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Obstetrics & Gynecology and American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology) for 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. During this period, there was an inflationary trend with the proportion of published multicentre RCTs (from 12.9% in 1975 of all RCTs to 23.8% in 2005; P = 0.008). Multicentre RCTs had multiauthored publications (OR = 2.90; 95% CI 1.99-4.22) and more often received external funding (OR = 2.41; 95% CI 1.70-3.48) than single centre RCTs. The inflationary trend in multicentre RCTs requiring funding and collaboration represents the increasing complexity of medical research necessary to underpin evidence-based practice.