Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research
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Case Reports
Association between Takayasu arteritis and ulcerative colitis - case report and review of serological HLA analysis.
Takayasu arteritis and ulcerative colitis are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases; genetic factors are assumed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of these 2 diseases. However, the coexistence of these 2 diseases has rarely been reported. ⋯ We present a case report and review of the pertinent literature on serological analysis of HLA haplotype of the patients who exhibit both these diseases. In patients with both Takayasu arteritis and ulcerative colitis, high frequency of HLA-A24, B52, and DR 2 is observed. The pathological relevance of HLA-A24, B52, and DR2 to concomitant Takayasu arteritis and ulcerative colitis requires further investigation.
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Case Reports
Use of fondaparinux in a pregnant woman with pulmonary embolism and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.
A serious complication of heparin treatment, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is rarely observed in pregnant women. Drug therapy during pregnancy should always be chosen to minimize fetal risk. The management of HIT in pregnancy represents a medical challenge. Unlike heparins, the anticoagulants used in patients with HIT do cross the placenta, with unknown fetal effects. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first case reports describing a successful use of fondaparinux in the treatment of HIT in a third-trimester pregnant woman, providing a novel approach for this subset of patients.
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Review Meta Analysis
Management of temporomandibular ankylosis--compromise or individualization--a literature review.
Temporomandibular joint ankylosis is defined as bony or fibrous adhesion of the anatomic joint components accompanied by a limitation in opening the mouth, causing difficulties with mastication, speaking and oral hygiene as well as inadvertently influencing mandibular growth. Surgical treatment procedures include arthroplasty of the joint cavity with or without a reconstruction and a coronoidectomy, an autogenous costochondral rib graft, distraction osteogenesis and intensive mouth-opening exercise, corrective orthognathic surgery or alloplastic joint prostheses. The authors of this study would like to provide the reader with an evidence-based review of the literature in order to determine the most efficient way to manage TMJ ankylosis and re-ankylosis. The authors have concluded that in order to achieve a satisfactory and durable effective treatment, an individualized approach is necessary in each case.
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To evaluate the incidence, risk factors and etiology of nosocomial infections (NIs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) of our hospital in order to improve our infection control policies. ⋯ The bloodstream was the most common site and Gram-negatives were the most commonly reported causes of ICU infections.
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ApneaLink (AL) is a single-channel type-4 device that measures airflow. A limited number of studies have assessed AL's usefulness in diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using automated scoring alone. This study was conducted to assess the sensitivity and specificity of AL in a selected group of people with clinical suspicion of OSA, using both automatic and manual scoring and comparing the results with those obtained for polysomnography (PSG). ⋯ Combining auto and manual scoring of data (automatic scoring followed by manual scoring) recorded by single-channel ApneaLink provides good diagnostic agreement with conventional PSG recordings.