A woman with recurrent umbilical bleeding: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Umbilical discharge in an adult is rare and generates broad diagnostic considerations. Umbilical anatomy is variable owing to congenital abnormalities and acquired pathology such as umbilical hernias. The umbilicus can be a site of primary or metastatic malignancy or endometriosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 40-year-old white American woman came to the clinic with a 2-day history of spontaneous umbilical bleeding. She reported periumbilical pain associated with nausea and emesis. There were no visible skin abnormalities, but deep palpation of the abdomen produced a thin, watery, serosanguineous fluid from the umbilicus. She experienced a similar episode of umbilical bleeding 5 years prior without clear cause. Laboratory workup was notable for mildly elevated C-reactive protein . Computed tomography imaging revealed a fat-containing umbilical hernia with fat necrosis, necessitating complete surgical resection of the umbilicus. CONCLUSIONS: Umbilical hernia with fat necrosis is a rare condition that should be considered in adults with umbilical discharge. Additional diagnostic considerations in adults with spontaneous umbilical bleeding/discharge include embryonal remnants, omphalitis, and metastasis. If the cause is not readily apparent on physical exam, imaging with computed tomography should be considered to assess for hernia and embryonal anomalies.

Dismissal disagreement and discharge delays: Associations of patient-clinician plan of care agreement with discharge outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Many hospitalized patients do not understand or agree with their clinicians about their discharge plan. However, the effect of disagreement on discharge outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To measure the correlation between patient-clinician care agreement and discharge outcomes. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study was performed from September 2019 to March 2020 (Rochester, MN, USA). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Internal medicine patients and their primary clinician (resident, advanced practice clinician or attending) hospitalized from September 2019-March 2020 at Mayo Clinic Hospital. Participants were independently surveyed following hospital day #3 ward rounds regarding the goals of the hospitalization and discharge planning. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: Patient-clinician agreement for main diagnosis, patient's main concern, and four domains of discharge planning was assessed. Readiness for hospital discharge, delayed discharge, and 30-day readmission was measured. Then, associations between patient-clinician agreement, delayed discharge, and 30-day readmissions were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 436 patients and clinicians, 17.7% completely agreed about what needs to be accomplished before dismissal, 40.8% agreed regarding discharge date, and 71.1% agreed regarding discharge location. In the multivariable model, patient-clinician agreement scores were not significantly correlated with discharge outcomes. Patient-clinician agreement on discharge location was higher for those discharged to home (81.5%) versus skilled nursing facility (48.5%) or assisted living (42.9%) (p < .0001). The agreement on the expected length of stay was highest for home-goers (45.9%) compared to skilled nursing (32.0%) or assisted living (21.4%) (p = .004). CONCLUSIONS: Patients and their clinicians frequently disagree about when and where a patient will go after hospitalization, particularly for those discharged to a skilled nursing facility. While disagreement did not predict discharge outcomes, our findings suggest opportunities to improve effective communication and promote shared mental models regarding discharge earlier in the hospital stay.

Microsporidium Infection-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in a Patient With HIV.

Patients infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) are at an increased risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) compared with patients without HIV infection. We report a rare case of disseminated Microsporidium infection-associated AKI affecting the native kidneys in a 30-year-old Asian woman with HIV infection. She initially presented to an outside institution with AKI after completing treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim [Hoffmann-La Roche]) and prednisone for Pneumocystis pneumonia. She was empirically treated with prednisone for presumed acute interstitial nephritis due to Bactrim, and her serum creatinine concentration improved from 3.0 mg/dL to 1.8 mg/dL. She was subsequently initiated on antiretroviral therapy and was also treated with ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus viremia. Because of persistent fever, she was transferred to our institution and was diagnosed with a disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection and a disseminated Microsporidium infection. Her serum creatinine concentration increased to 4.2 mg/dL. A kidney biopsy was performed because of her worsening kidney function, which revealed plasma cell-rich acute interstitial nephritis associated with disseminated Microsporidium infection. She was maintained on antiretroviral therapy and was treated with albendazole. This case highlights the fact that there are various etiologies and kidney manifestations of AKI in patients infected with HIV with equally various implications for management; thus, performing a kidney biopsy is often crucial to help elucidate the underlying pathology and guide management.

Females can solve the problem of low signal reliability by assessing multiple male traits.

Male signals that provide information to females about mating benefits are often of low reliability. It is thus not clear why females often express strong signal preferences. We tested the hypothesis that females can distinguish between males with preferred signals that provide lower and higher quality direct benefits. In the field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, females usually prefer higher male chirp rates, but chirp rate is positively correlated with the fecundity benefits females will receive from males only for males that have experienced low quality diets. We paired females with muted males that were maintained on low or high nutrition diets, during the interactions we broadcast a replacement high chirp rate, and we observed whether females mated with the assigned male. Females were more likely to mate when paired with low nutrition males. These results suggest that females have evolved assessment mechanisms that allow them distinguish between males with preferred signals that provide high quality benefits (low nutrition males with high chirp rates) and males with preferred signals that provide low quality benefits (high nutrition males with high chirp rates).