Medicine
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Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is an alternative to whole breast irradiation in selected early-stage breast cancer patients. In this single institute analysis, we report the preliminary results of IORT given by Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy (eBT) system. Patients treated with lumpectomy and eBT within a minimum follow-up period of 12 months were analyzed. ⋯ There were no cancer related deaths, no distant metastases, and treatment side effects greater than grade 3 documented. We report the largest single institute analysis using the eBT system in Taiwan. The low recurrence and complication rates at a 31.1 month follow-up time support the use of the eBT system in selected early-stage breast cancer patients.
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While some acute pancreatitis (AP) patents with fever do not exhibit a corresponding increase in heart rate, the clinical significance of this phenomenon has not been studied. We investigated the clinical relevance of relative bradycardia (RB) in febrile AP. A retrospective electronic chart review was conducted on consecutive patients admitted for AP at a tertiary referral center in Japan from January 1, 2010, to May 31, 2018. ⋯ While RB was an independent predictors of postfever length of stay (LOS) in multiple regression analysis when the Ranson score was excluded (P = .010), it ceased to be significant when the Ranson score was included (P = .141). AP patients with RB at fever onset had milder disease and shorter LOS compared to those with higher heart rates at fever onset. RB may be useful as a simple, early predictor of shorter LOS before the Ranson score can be calculated.
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Case Reports
Bilateral cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula with initial ocular symptom: A case report.
Cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula (CSDAVF) is a rare intracranial vascular malformation. Because of its complicated clinical manifestations, it is easy to miss or misdiagnose CSDAVF. ⋯ DAS is the gold standard for the diagnose of CSDAVF. Intravascular embolization interventional therapy is an effective treatment for CSDAVF.
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Identification of advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients should be a mainstay before starting treatment; however, the limited access of many centres to transient elastography (TE) is often a barrier for early assessments. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serum indexes for predicting liver stiffness. Retrospective analysis of HCV patients (with or without HIV coinfection) routinely assessed in 7 centres in Spain. ⋯ Globally, this approach would avoid the need for TE in 53% of patients. HIV coinfection did not influence diagnostic accuracy. Inexpensive and simple serum indexes confidently allowed identifying the absence of cirrhosis and the presence of advanced fibrosis in 53% of a heterogeneous series of real-world HCV patients with or without HIV infection.
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Gliomas are the most intrinsic type of primary intracranial tumors. The protein encoded by The calponin 3 (CNN3) has been proven to be a member of the calponin family. Its relationships with cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and colon cancer have been emphasized by several studies. Our research aims to explore the prognosis value and immunotherapeutic targetability of CNN3 in glioma patients using bioinformatics approach. ⋯ Our results indicate that high CNN3 expression levels predict poor prognosis, and CNN3 may be a promising immunotherapy target.