Medicine
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Case Reports
Using a Distant Abdominal Skin Flap to Treat Digital Constriction Bands: A Case Report for Vohwinkel Syndrome.
In this study, a Vohwinkel syndrome case is presented where in 5th digit constriction bands in the right hand were reconstructed using a distant abdominal skin flap. Vohwinkel syndrome, or keratoderma hereditarium mutilans, is a rare, autosomal dominant genetic skin condition that causes palmoplantar hyperkeratosis and constricts finger and/or toe bands. ⋯ Only 1 effective approach for autoamputation has been accepted, reconstructive surgery. Applying a distant abdominal skin flap produced satisfying postoperative effects at the 18-month follow-up.
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Observational Study
Atorvastatin Use Associated With Acute Pancreatitis: A Case-Control Study in Taiwan.
Few data are present in the literature on the relationship between atorvastatin use and acute pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to explore this issue in Taiwan. Using representative claims data established from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program, this case-control study consisted of 5810 cases aged 20 to 84 years with a first-time diagnosis of acute pancreatitis during the period 1998 to 2011and 5733 randomly selected controls without acute pancreatitis. ⋯ The odds ratio decreased to 1.15 for those with late use of atorvastatin (95% confidence interval 0.87, 1.52), but without statistical significance. Current use of atorvastatin is associated with the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Clinically, clinicians should consider the possibility of atorvastatin-associated acute pancreatitis when patients present with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis without a definite etiology but are taking atorvastatin.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the Pentax Airwayscope, Glidescope Video Laryngoscope, and Macintosh Laryngoscope During Chest Compression According to Bed Height.
We aimed to investigate whether bed height affects intubation performance in the setting of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and which type of laryngoscope shows the best performance at each bed height. A randomized crossover manikin study was conducted. Twenty-one participants were enrolled, and they were randomly allocated to 2 groups: group A (n = 10) and group B (n = 11). ⋯ The TTI of Glidescope video laryngoscope was not significantly shorter than that of Macintosh laryngoscope at the minimum height (17.6 ± 4.0 vs 19.6 ± 4.8; P = 0.02). The bed height, whether adjusted to the minimum or maximum setting, did not affect intubation performance. In addition, regardless of the bed height, the intubation time with the video laryngoscopes, especially AWS, was significantly shorter than that with the direct laryngoscope during chest compression.
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Meta Analysis
Warfarin Use and Risk of Stroke in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Meta-Analysis.
In spite of the substantial burden of atrial fibrillation and associated elevated ischemic stroke risk in patients undergoing hemodialysis, the role of warfarin in these high-risk patients remains uncertain. Our objective was to clarify the association between warfarin use and risk of stroke for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing dialysis. PubMed and Embase from January 1966 to January 2015 were searched to identify relevant studies. ⋯ By stroke type, warfarin was not significantly linked to risk of ischemic stroke (RR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.65-1.57, P = 0.97), but was related to greater hemorrhagic stroke risk (RR 2.30, 95% CI: 1.62-3.27). Warfarin heightened overall bleeding risk (RR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.03-1.56), but not death (RR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.37-1.21). Among patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing hemodialysis, use of warfarin is associated with a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke, but did not increase overall mortality.
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One of the main concerns in psychiatric care is safety related to drug management. Pharmacogenetics provides an important tool to assess causes that may have contributed the adverse events during psychiatric therapy. This study illustrates the potential of pharmacogenetics to identify those patients for which pharmacogenetic-guided therapy could be appropriate. ⋯ All bipolar patients with poor metabolizer status showed maniac switching when CYP2D6 substrates such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were prescribed. No specific patterns were identified for adverse events for other disorders. We propose to utilize pharmacogenetic testing as an intervention to aid in the identification of patients who are at risk of developing affective switching in bipolar disorder treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, CYP2D6 substrates, and inhibitors.