Comparative evaluation of arch form among the Nepalese population: A morphological study.

Aims: The study aims to identify sexual dimorphic features in the arch patterns based on tooth arrangement patterns and the maxillary and mandibular arches using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis (EDMA). Settings and Design: A total of 96 Nepalese subjects, aged 18 to 25 were assessed using casts and photographs. Materials and Methods: Thirteen landmarks representing the most facial portions of the proximal contact areas on the maxillary and mandibular casts were digitised. Seventy-eight possible, Euclidean distances between the 13 landmarks were calculated using the Analysis ToolPak of Microsoft Excel®. The male-to-female ratios of the corresponding distances were computed and ratios were compared to evaluate the arch form for variation in the genders, among the Nepalese population. Statistical Analysis Used: Microsoft Excel Analysis ToolPak and SPSS 20.0 (IBM Chicago) were used to perform EDMA and an independent t-test to compare the significant differences between the two genders. Results: The maxillary arch's largest ratio (1.008179001) was discovered near the location of the right and left lateral incisors, indicating that the anterior region may have experienced the greatest change. The posterior-molar region is where the smallest ratio was discovered, suggesting less variation. At the intercanine region, female arches were wider than male ones; however, at the interpremolar and intermolar sections, they were similar in width. Females' maxillary arches were discovered to be bigger antero-posteriorly than those of males. The highest ratio (1.014336113) in the mandibular arch was discovered at the intermolar area, suggesting that males had a larger mandibular posterior arch morphology. At the intercanine area, the breadth of the arch form was greater in males and nearly the same in females at the interpremolar and intermolar regions. Female mandibular arch forms were also discovered to be longer than those of males from the anterior to the posterior. Conclusions: The male and female arches in the Nepalese population were inferred to be different in size and shape. With references to the landmarks demonstrating such a shift, the EDMA established objectively the presence of square arch forms in Nepali males and tapering arch forms in Nepalese females.

Impact of Early Rejection Treatment on Infection Development in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Propensity Analysis.

Introduction: The impact of renal allograft rejection treatment on infection development has not been formally defined in the literature. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 185 rejection (case) and 185 nonrejection (control) kidney transplant patients treated at our institution from 2014 to 2020 to understand the impact of rejection on infection development. Propensity scoring was used to match cohorts. We collected data for infections within 6 months of rejection for the cases and 18 months posttransplant for controls. Results: In 370 patients, we identified 466 infections, 297 in the controls, and 169 in the cases. Urinary tract infections (38.9%) and cytomegalovirus viremia (13.7%) were most common. Cumulative incidence of infection between the case and controls was 2.17 (CI 1.54-3.05); p < 0.001. There was no difference in overall survival (HR 0.90, CI 0.49-1.66) or graft survival (HR 1.27, CI 0.74-2.20) between the groups. There was a significant difference in overall survival (HR 2.28, CI 1.14-4.55; p = 0.019) and graft survival (HR 1.98, CI 1.10-3.56; p = 0.023) when patients with infection were compared to those without. Conclusions: As previously understood, rejection treatment is a risk factor for subsequent infection development. Our data have defined this relationship more clearly. This study is unique, however, in that we found that infections, but not rejection, negatively impacted both overall patient survival and allograft survival, likely due to our institution's robust post-rejection protocols. Clinicians should monitor patients closely for infections in the post-rejection period and have a low threshold to treat these infections while also restarting appropriate prophylaxis.

'I Thought It Was My Diabetes': An Acute Presentation of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is an immune-mediated neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Patients typically present with sensory deficits, weakness, and incontinence. This is a case of a 43-year-old female with diabetes mellitus admitted for acute onset leg weakness and stool incontinence. Spinal MRI imaging revealed transverse myelitis, and her lab work was significant for an anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibody titer of 1:2,560. Initial treatment consisted of a high-dose steroid taper and plasmapheresis. This unique case illustrates the importance in recognizing delayed presentations of rare neuroinflammatory conditions previously assumed to be a sequela of diabetic neuropathy.

Infections and antimicrobial prescribing in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the first pandemic wave.

Objective: To evaluate the rate of coinfections and secondary infections seen in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and antimicrobial prescribing patterns. Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included all patients aged ≥18 years admitted with COVID-19 for at least 24 hours to a 280-bed, academic, tertiary-care hospital between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020. Coinfections, secondary infections, and antimicrobials prescribed for these patients were collected. Results: In total, 331 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were evaluated. No additional cases were identified in 281 (84.9%) patients, whereas 50 (15.1%) had at least 1 infection. In total, of 50 patients (15.1%) who were diagnosed with coinfection or secondary infection had bacteremia, pneumonia, and/or urinary tract infections. Patients who had positive cultures, who were admitted to the ICU, who required supplemental oxygen, or who were transferred from another hospital for higher level of care were more likely to have infections. The most commonly used antimicrobials were azithromycin (75.2%) and ceftriaxone (64.9%). Antimicrobials were prescribed appropriately for 55% of patients. Conclusions: Coinfection and secondary infections are common in patients who are critically ill with COVID-19 at hospital admission. Clinicians should consider starting antimicrobial therapy in critically ill patients while limiting antimicrobial use in patients who are not critically ill.

"I Felt Like I Had Something I Could Do About It": Pediatric Clinician Experiences With a Food Insecurity-Focused Produce Prescription Program.

Efforts to address food insecurity (FI) in pediatric clinics have increased over the last decade, particularly after a groundbreaking 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement supporting universal routine screening and intervening. Produce prescription programs are a novel strategy addressing FI. Limited data exist on effectiveness and feasibility in pediatric clinical settings. This study explored clinician experiences after enrolling patients who completed a produce prescription program in an urban primary-care clinic in Washington, DC. One year after program completion, the experiences of 11 clinicians were explored through qualitative interviews and coded using thematic content analysis. Identified themes explored changes in clinician knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Clinicians expressed that the program offered a tangible resource to address FI, building trust and strengthening their sense of self-efficacy in addressing families' concerns. Incorporation of a produce prescription intervention to address FI was feasible and well accepted by pediatric primary-care clinicians.

Neuroinvasive West Nile virus infection in solid organ transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Literature on the natural course of neuroinvasive West Nile virus (WNV) infection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is sparse. In the setting of a 2021 WNV outbreak in Arizona, we reviewed our institution's experience with neuroinvasive WNV infection in patients with SOT. METHODS: We retrospectively identified SOT recipients treated for neuroinvasive WNV at Mayo Clinic in Arizona from 2007 through 2021. Clinical manifestations, disease course, and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 24 SOT recipients with WNV infection identified during the study period, 13 infections occurred in 2021. Most patients had gastrointestinal tract symptoms and fever at disease presentation. Five patients had cognitive impairment, and 14 initially or eventually had acute flaccid paralysis. Clinically significant deterioration occurred at a median of 4 (range, 1-11) days after hospital admission. Seventeen patients (71%) were transferred to the intensive care unit, with 15 requiring mechanical ventilation. Initial cerebrospinal fluid analysis mainly demonstrated a neutrophil-predominant pleocytosis. Almost all patients (n = 23) were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin alone or in combination with interferon alfa-2b. Sixteen patients had clinical improvement, 4 of whom recovered completely. Six patients died during hospitalization due to complications of neuroinvasive WNV infection. Two patients were discharged to hospice without clinical recovery. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 36%. CONCLUSION: Despite advances in supportive care, neuroinvasive WNV infection is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in SOT recipients. Flaccid paralysis is an indicator of poor prognosis.

"We Feel Like We Are in It Alone": A Mixed-Methods Study of Pediatric Primary Care Barriers for Weight Management.

Background: Obesity is a chronic multifactorial disease affecting approximately one in five youth. Many pediatric clinical strategies focus on behavioral change/lifestyle modification efforts, but are limited by their intensity and muted by their inability to address the sociocultural contexts of obesity. The primary objective of the study was to explore primary care pediatric clinicians' current barriers/management practices of patients with obesity. Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted by distributing an electronic survey to pediatric providers in Washington, DC, and its surrounding metropolitan area. Three focus groups were conducted with a subgroup of these primary care clinicians to further explore their responses. Results: Pediatric clinicians (n = 81) completed the survey out of 380 invitations sent, and 20 took part in 3 focus groups, ranging in size between 4 and 8 clinicians. Over 90% of clinicians felt comfortable advising patients. However, 52% lacked confidence in addressing obesity and over 80% indicated that time constraint is a barrier to care and emphasized the need for more training in obesity management. Six themes emerged regarding clinician barriers to addressing obesity, including (1) limited time, (2) clinician perceived familial resistance, (3) challenges with racial and ethnic concordance, (4) perceived environmental barriers, (5) limited knowledge of community resources, and (6) inadequate collaborative support. Conclusions: Clinicians have difficulty implementing obesity management strategies into their everyday practice due to a variety of barriers. This study emphasized the need for better implementation strategies, tools, and collaboration with community stakeholders for clinicians to engage weight management more effectively.

Fluconazole Failure in the Treatment of Coccidioidal Meningitis.

INTRODUCTION: Coccidioidal meningitis (CM) is the most lethal form of disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Current guidelines recommend fluconazole as initial therapy but there has been a paucity of data regarding failure of fluconazole and optimal fluconazole dosage in the treatment of CM. We conducted this study to understand risk factors for fluconazole failure. METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with coccidioidal meningitis between 1 January 1988 and 15 May 2021. Relevant demographic and clinical variables were collected, along with outcomes including treatment failure and death at any point. Univariate tests were conducted using the chi-squared goodness of fit test and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Among 71 patients who began treatment for CM with fluconazole, 22 (31%) developed worsening meningitis at a median time of 206 days. Longer time from symptom onset to diagnosis of CM was a risk factor for fluconazole failure. Although the absolute failure rate of fluconazole starting dose of 400 mg daily was higher than that of 800 mg daily, the differences did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.39). CONCLUSION: Fluconazole failure is not uncommon in the treatment of CM. A dose of 800 mg daily was not superior to a dose of 400 mg daily. All patients on fluconazole for CM require close monitoring.

Infections following rejection therapies in kidney and liver transplant recipients.

INTRODUCTION: Infections are known complications of solid-organ transplant. Treatment for rejection may increase risk of infection. We aimed to study frequency of infection and identify the risk factors for infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) (liver and kidney) recipients treated for rejection. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of all liver and kidney transplant recipients treated for rejection at our institution from 2014 to 2020. We collected information on episodes of acute rejection in the first year of transplant and infections within 6 months following rejection treatment. RESULTS: We identified 257 transplant patients treated for rejection. One hundred twelve (43.6%) developed infections, with a total of 226 infections. Urinary tracts infections were the most common, 72 (31.9%), followed by cytomegalovirus viremia in 37 (16.4%), bacteremia in 24 (10.6%), and BK virus in 14 (6.2%). Female sex (p = .047), elevated neutrophil count at rejection (p = .002), and increased number of rejection episodes (p = .022) were predictors of infection in kidney and simultaneous liver-kidney recipients. No specific type of induction or rejection therapy was identified as a risk factor for infection, likely due to the prophylaxis protocols at our institution. Infection post rejection treatment was associated with higher graft loss (p = .021) and mortality (p = .031) in kidney transplant recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Infections are common complications after treatment of SOT rejection. Female gender, higher neutrophil at time of rejection, and increased numbers of rejection episodes were predictors of infections after rejection in simultaneous liver-kidney and kidney transplant patients. Infections were predictors of graft loss at 6 months and mortality at any point in follow-up in kidney transplant patients.

Impact of COVID-19 on diagnosis of primary pulmonary coccidioidomycosis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical care worldwide and caused delays in care for many illnesses and procedures unrelated to COVID-19; however, less clear is how it may have affected diagnosis of conditions that present with similar symptoms, such as primary pulmonary coccidioidomycosis (PPC). We conducted an observational cohort study of patients diagnosed with PPC between March 1 and December 1 in 2 years: 2019 (before COVID-19) and in 2020 (after COVID-19) to compare the time from symptom onset to PPC diagnosis. Relevant demographic and clinical variables were collected, and statistical analyses were performed with the χ2 test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. During 2019, 83 patients were diagnosed with PPC. During 2020, 113 patients were diagnosed with PPC. For both groups, the median time from symptom onset to diagnosis of PPC was 14 days (P = .13). No significant differences in time to diagnosis existed between the 2 years for location of diagnosis (outpatient clinic, emergency department, or in hospital), for computed tomographic imaging performed before diagnosis, or for number of COVID-19 tests received before PPC diagnosis. In addition, there were no differences in the 2 years between the total number of clinical visits before diagnosis. However, patients in the post-COVID-19 group who had fever were diagnosed with PPC earlier than those without fever (hazard ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.73; P = .01). Contrary to what we expected, no significant delay in diagnosis of PPC occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cerebral abscess with Streptococcus intermedius as a complication of pelvic inflammatory disease in the setting of intrauterine device use.

A 43-year-old healthy female with no significant medical problems except for recently diagnosed pelvic inflammatory disease presented to our hospital with acute onset, severe head and neck pain. Brain imaging revealed a rim-enhancing lesion consistent with an abscess. The patient underwent successful surgical removal of the abscess and its capsule. Intraoperative cultures grew Streptococcus intermedius and she was discharged with a plan for four weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone.

Objective Laryngoscopic Measures From Older Patients With Voice Complaints and Signs of Aging.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to use objective measures of glottal gap, bowing, and supraglottic compression from selected images of laryngoscopic examinations from adults over 60 years of age with voice complaints and signs of aging to test current hypotheses on whether degree of severity impacts treatment recommendations and potential follow-through with treatment. METHOD: Records from 108 individuals 60 years or older with voice complaints and signs of aging were reviewed. Three objective measures (normalized glottal gap area [NGGA], total bowing index, and normalized true vocal fold width) were derived. Each measure was subsequently divided into three categories by severity: absence, small degree, or large degree. Nonparametric statistics tested associations between severity and treatment recommendations as well as potential follow-through. RESULTS: Noninvasive treatments (observation/voice therapy) were marginally associated with no glottal gap (p = .09). More invasive treatments (injection/bilateral thyroplasty) were associated with glottal gaps being present (p = .026), but bilateral thyroplasty recommendations were not significantly associated with the largest gaps. Treatment modalities were not characterized by specific severity categories for any of the objective measures. No significant differences were found for any of the three objective measures between those who followed through with recommended treatment and those who did not. DISCUSSION: Results demonstrated some support for current hypotheses on how degrees of severity of objective measures relate to treatment recommendations. Of the three measures, NGGA appears to be more informative regarding treatment recommendations and follow-through, but due to low power, larger sample sizes are needed to confirm clinical relevance.

Left Atrial Myxoma Presenting as Lateral Medullary (Wallenberg's) Syndrome.

Myxomas are benign, primary tumors of the heart. Atrial myxomas can present with a variety of clinical features including dyspnea, orthopnea, pulmonary edema, and pulmonary or systemic emboli. Constitutional symptoms such as fever and weight loss may also be present. We report the case of a young female presenting with headache, facial numbness, and vertigo, who was found to have a posterolateral medullary stroke secondary to a large left atrial cardiac myxoma.

Recurrent Shoulder Instability: Do Morbidity and Treatment Differ Based on Insurance?

BACKGROUND: Patients with public insurance often face barriers to obtaining prompt orthopaedic care. For patients with recurrent traumatic anterior shoulder instability, delayed care may be associated with increasing bone loss and subsequently more extensive surgical procedures. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether differences exist in patients undergoing treatment for shoulder instability between those with Medicaid versus non-Medicaid insurance. We hypothesized that at the time of surgery, Medicaid patients would have experienced greater delays in care, would have a more extensive history of instability, would have more bone loss, and would require more extensive surgical procedures than other patients. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Patients were identified who underwent surgical stabilization for traumatic anterior shoulder instability between January 1, 2011, and December 1, 2015, at a single sports medicine practice. Clinic, billing, and operative records were reviewed for each patient to determine age, sex, insurance type, total number of instability episodes, time from first instability episode to surgery, intraoperative findings, and procedure performed. Glenoid bone loss was quantified by use of preoperative imaging studies. RESULTS: During this time period, 206 patients (55 Medicaid, 131 private insurance, 11 Tricare, 9 workers' compensation) underwent surgical stabilization for traumatic anterior shoulder instability. Average wait time from initial injury to surgery was 1640 days (95% CI, 1155-2125 days) for Medicaid patients compared with 1237 days (95% CI, 834-1639 days) for others (P = .005). Medicaid patients were more likely to have sustained 5 or more instability events at the time of surgery (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.64-6.69; P = .001), had a higher risk of having 15% or more glenoid bone loss on preoperative imaging (OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.3-10.0; P = .01), and had a higher risk of requiring Latarjet or other open stabilization procedures as opposed to an arthroscopic repair (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.5-6.2; P = .002) when compared with other patients. CONCLUSION: Among patients undergoing surgery for traumatic anterior shoulder instability, patients with Medicaid had significantly more delayed care. Correspondingly, they reported a more extensive history of instability, were more likely to have severe bone loss, and required more invasive stabilization procedures.

Pulmonary artery intravascular abscess: A rare complication of incomplete infective endocarditis treatment in the setting of injection drug use.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious complication of injection drug use. Right-sided IE encompasses 5-10% of all IE cases, with the majority involving the tricuspid valve (TV). The predominant causal organism is Staphylococcus aureus. Most cases of right-sided IE can be successfully treated with antimicrobials, but approximately 5-16% require eventual surgical intervention. We report the case of a 36-year-old female with active injection drug use who developed methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus IE of the tricuspid valve. Associated with poor adherence to medical therapy as a consequence of opioid addiction, she developed septic emboli to the lungs and an intravascular abscess in the left main pulmonary artery. These long-term potentially fatal, sequelae of incompletely treated IE require surgical intervention, as medical therapy is unlikely to be sufficient. Surgical management may involve TV replacement, pulmonary artery resection, and pneumonectomy. Prevention of these complications may have been achieved by concurrent opioid addiction therapy. An intravascular pulmonary artery abscess is a novel complication of advanced IE that has not been previously reported. This complication likely arose due to incomplete IE treatment as a consequence of opioid addiction, highlighting the need for concurrent addiction management. Intravenous antimicrobial therapy is likely not adequate, and surgical intervention, including pulmonary artery resection and pneumonectomy may be necessary.