Penile Calciphylaxis: A Successfully Treated Case.

Penile calciphylaxis is a rare presentation of calcific uremic arteriolopathy and can be a life-threatening condition usually seen in patients with end-stage renal failure with hemodialysis. The clear etiopathogenesis of calciphylaxis is not fully understood, but it is postulated to be characterized by the accumulation of calcium in the microvessels of adipose tissue and skin, which leads to ischemia and necrosis, causing painful ulcerations, and could potentially be complicated by sepsis and mortality. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is one of the major risk factors for penile calciphylaxis. In this report, we describe a case of a 53-year-old Hispanic male patient with ESRD and diabetes on hemodialysis, who presented with a five-day history of acute, severe, burning, non-radiating pain to the head of his penis associated with black discoloration. He was diagnosed with penile calciphylaxis and received a combination of conservative and surgical interventions, resulting in a highly positive outcome marked by complete healing of the scar without any reported complications.

Septic Pylephlebitis in the Setting of COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.

Portal vein thrombophlebitis is a rare complication that can occur in various hypercoagulable states, including COVID-19. We are presenting a 74-year-old female with a history of hypertension, diabetes, and lymphoma who contracted the COVID-19 infection and presented with persistent fever, leukocytosis, and mild epigastric tenderness. She developed hypotension, acute hypoxic respiratory failure, and worsening leukocytosis with bandemia and was diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and superior mesenteric vein thrombosis. The patient received broad-spectrum IV antibiotics and full anticoagulation therapy with heparin and was discharged on oral Warfarin after completing 14-day antibiotic therapy. She presented again with recurrent watery diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and fatigue and was diagnosed with pylephlebitis and multiple small liver abscesses. The patient was treated with antibiotics for six weeks and was discharged on warfarin, furosemide, and spironolactone with close outpatient follow-up. Prolonged fever in COVID-19 patients can indicate extensive thrombosis at unusual sites, which can lead to major morbidity and mortality in patients.

Predictors of Escalation to Intensive Care Unit Level of Care Among Admissions for Alcohol Withdrawal.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had alcohol abuse disorder. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) can be defined as a collection of physical symptoms experienced due to abrupt cessation of alcohol after long-term dependence. In instances where regular inpatient management fails to control AWS symptoms, patients are shifted to intensive care units (ICUs) for closer monitoring and prevention of life-threatening complications like withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens (DTs), labeled as severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS). Although this represents a significant healthcare burden, minimal studies have been conducted to determine objective predictors. In this study, we aim to determine the effect of patient demographics, socio-economic status, biochemical parameters, and clinical factors on the need for escalation to ICU level of care among admissions for AWS. Our study showed that factors such as a history of DTs or alcohol-related seizures, the initial protocol of management, degree of reported alcohol usage, activation of rapid response teams, mean corpuscular value, alcohol level on admission, highest Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Revised (CIWA-Ar) scored during the hospital stay, and the total amount of sedatives used were significantly associated with escalation to ICU level of care. Clinicians must use these objective parameters to identify high-risk patients and intervene early. We encourage further studies to establish a scoring algorithm incorporating biochemical parameters to tailor management algorithms that might better suit high-risk patients.

Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy: Initial Experience Evaluating Patients Satisfaction and Oncological Safety in a Tertiary Care Centre in Jordan.

Introduction Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM), a procedure involving careful dissection of the breast tissue whilst keeping the nipple-areola complex (NAC) intact, is now increasingly practiced amongst surgeons in the treatment of certain situations of breast cancer. Given the importance of breasts to the female body image, this type of conservative breast surgery takes into account patient satisfaction and overall cosmesis, whilst ensuring appropriate oncological safety. Methods and results Four nipple-sparing mastectomy procedures were performed in our tertiary care centre, Princess Basma Teaching Hospital, in Jordan between June and September 2019. Indications for these procedures included invasive ductal carcinoma, malignant phyllodes, and high-grade ductal carcinoma in-situ. Patients were carefully assessed prior to surgical intervention using radiological imaging, ensuring a distance from NAC of >2 cm in all cases. Procedures were performed successfully with minimal intraoperative and no post-operative complications. Follow-up was carried out at 24 months, with no cases of local or distant post-operative recurrence, and patient satisfaction was qualitatively measured with the use of a BREAST-Q questionnaire. The questionnaire demonstrated improved overall physical well-being and satisfaction with an average overall post-operative physical well-being of 97%. Conclusion Following nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate submuscular reconstruction with silicone implants,patients demonstrated high levels of satisfaction and quality of life (QoL) as measured by BREAST-Q survey. Two years of follow-up confirmed high patient satisfaction with increased scores from the preoperative baseline level.

Glioblastoma in adolescents and young adults: An age-based comparative study from Jordan over a 17-year period.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor. Epidemiologic studies on GBM are rarely reported in the special age group of adolescents and young adults (AYA) in comparison to other age groups. We aim to present data on GBM in Jordan, with a focus on the AYA age, including the incidence, gender, location and outcome, as well as long term survival (LTS). METHODS: Data on GBM was requested from the Jordan Cancer Registry (JCR), and statistical analysis was performed. All data were retrospective and anonymized. RESULTS: Eight hundred GBM cases were analyzed from 2000 to 2016 including 505 males (63.1 %). Males outnumbered females across are studied years (p-value <0.001). There were 49 pediatrics (0-14 years, 6.1 %), 125 AYA (15-39 years, 15.6 %), 358 adults (40-59 years, 44.8 %) and 268 elderly (60+ years, 33.5 %) cases. Supratentorial location predominated across all age groups (p-value <0.001). The preponderance of males and supratentorial tumors remained across the AYA age group in comparison to others. The median overall survival (OS) was 23.61 months. AYA age group had a better outcome in comparison to the adults/elderly age group (p-value< 0.001). LTS appear to be more common in the AYA age group (p-value 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first comparative epidemiologic study of GBM in Jordan, focusing on the AYA age group. The AYA age group appears to be associated with a better outcome compared to older age groups, with more LTS compared to others.

Frequency of mismatch repair protein deficiency and PD-L1 in high-grade gliomas in adolescents and young adults (AYA).

Central nervous system tumors in adolescents and young adults (AYA) are rarely reported in the literature. The association with cancer predisposition syndrome is not established. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) can predict the potential response of patients to immunotherapy. A link between mismatch repair protein deficiency (MMRP-D) and response to immunotherapy is established. P53 is reported to be positive in MMRD-D cases. We aim to investigate the frequency of MMRP-D in AYA with high-grade glioma and any potential association with PD-L1. A total of 96 cases were tested including 49 (51.0%) cases of glioblastoma. Six cases (6.25%) were MMRP-D, 17 (17.7%) were PD-L1 positive, mostly in grade IV tumors (8.7% in grade III compared to 26% in grade IV, p value = 0.027), and 69 (71.9%) were P3 positive. None of the MMRP-D cases expressed PD-L1. P53-positive cases were mostly MMRP proficient (n = 67; 74.4%, p value 0.051). Fourteen cases (28.7%) were positive for both PD-L1 and P53, while p53-positive grade IV tumors were mostly associated with negative PD-L1 (n = 29, 58%, p value = 0.043). MMRP deficiency does not appear to be prevalent in high-grade glioma in AYA. Expression of PD-L1 in a quarter of cases might suggest a role for immunotherapy in high-grade glioma.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Among the Healthy Jordanian Adult Population: Diagnostic Levels, Symptomology and Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND: Compared to the data available for developed countries, there is a marked scarcity of information on the levels and symptomology of vitamin B12 deficiency in developing countries, particularly in the Middle Eastern region. OBJECTIVE: To explore (a) the risk factors associated with a deficiency of vitamin B12, and (b) the baseline (cut-off) serum level of vitamin B12 for a clinically-symptomatic deficiency in the Jordanian adult population. METHODS: A total of 485 subjects were included in this study. Blood samples were drawn for biochemical analysis and data regarding socio-demographics, general health, anthropometric measures, and past medical, surgical, and medication history were collected. To explore the cut-off point, we compared all parameters included in a standard complete blood count as well as the main symptoms reported to be associated with B12 deficiency between groups of different B12 cut-off values, consisting of those above and below 200, 175, 150 and 125 pg/ml. RESULTS: Low dairy intake habits, age, recurrent headaches, heartburn, and peptic ulcer disease were found to be significantly associated with lower vitamin B12 levels. Surprisingly, daily smoking was associated with significantly higher B12 levels. The results revealed that none of the included potential indicators of B12 deficiency could be considered an indicative feature of deficiency. There were no significant differences neither in the symptoms nor in the CBC parameters between any of the tested study groups. CONCLUSION: Low dairy intake, older ages, recurrent headaches, heartburn, and peptic ulcer disease all could be considered as risk factors of having low vitamin B12 levels within the Jordanians. Also, they tend to have lower levels of vitamin B12 levels, in comparison to countries in the West, without necessarily having deficiency symptoms. The cut-off value to diagnose functional B12 deficiency could be less than 125 pg/ml for the Jordanians. More local studies are needed to establish an accurate vitamin B12 cut-off value for the population in Jordan.

Demographic features of patients with colorectal carcinoma based on 14 years of experience at Jordan University Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide. In the West, the incidence has stabilized or decreased. There are only occasional published studies that describe the epidemiology of CRC and its changing trends in Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries. OBJECTIVES: Describe the epidemiological features of CRC, predict future trends and compare the results with those from other Arab and Middle Eastern countries and the West. DESIGN: Retrospective epidemiologic study. SETTING: Tertiary center, teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study covering 14 years (2003 to 2016). All cases of CRC were retrieved from the computerized system. Demographic data were recorded and analyzed using Mathematica 11.2 and IBM SPSS version 23 software. Mathematical grey forecasting models were used to predict future trends. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of cases and accumulated average over time, percentages of demographic variables and results of mathematical forecasting models. SAMPLE SIZE: 970. RESULTS: The male-to-female ratio was 1.5:1 and 97.4% were adenocarcinomas. The accumulated mean number of diagnosed cases doubled from 44.8 between 2003 and 2007 to 82.9 from 2008 to 2016. The accumulated annual average increased beginning in 2008. The forecasting models predicted a further increase in CRC. The mean age was 60.5 years and the median 62.0. Half of the cases presented at an advanced stage (TNM stage III or IV). CONCLUSION: CRC is increasing and is expected to increase further. Better health care planning that includes education and screening is needed to reverse these rising trends and to improve early detection. LIMITATIONS: Single institution study. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.