Internal medicine
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Case Reports
Cervical spinal epidural abscess following acupuncture: successful treatment with antibiotics.
A 67-year-old man with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (DM) had acupuncture several times a month for chronic shoulder muscle stiffness. A few days after acupuncture in the posterior nuchal region, a low-grade fever and backache developed, and subacutely progressed. ⋯ Conservative treatment with antibiotics was effective and it was well documented by following serial MRIs. This case suggested that needle acupuncture should be avoided for immunocompromised subjects such as patients with poorly controlled DM.
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We investigated the effects of risk factors of atherosclerosis on soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) concentration and leukocyte count by using multivariate statistical analysis. The subjects were 90 people who were hospitalized for a complete check-up examination. ⋯ The predictor variables were selected using a stepwise method, [criterion variable - predictor variable (standardized regression coefficient)]; sICAM1 - age (0.1859), number of cigarettes (0.2558), triglyceride (0.2447); leukocytes - number of cigarettes (0.2827), triglyceride (0.2526), HDL-cholesterol (-0.2800); stab leukocytes - number of cigarettes (0.2460); segmented leukocytes - glycohemoglobin A1c (0.1495), number of cigarettes (0.2716), HDL-cholesterol (-0.3254); lymphocytes - BMI (0.2639), number of cigarettes (0.1495), triglyceride (0.3520); monocytes - glycohemoglobin A1c (0.2617). These findings indicated that the risk factors of atherosclerosis may influence sICAM1 concentration and leukocyte count.