Medicine
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Review Case Reports
A rare case of Merkel cell carcinoma presenting as a giant intra-thoracic mass: A case report and review of the literature.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive neuroendocrine-derived cutaneous cancer. Ectopic or single metastatic MCC located in thorax is extremely rare; meanwhile, its definite management has not been elucidated yet. ⋯ Ectopic or single metastatic MCC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intrathoracic tumors, especially in patients with a history of MCC. Besides, a timely surgery combined with chemotherapy is effective for this disease.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of cold application on pain during chest tube removal: a randomized controlled trial: A CONSORT-compliant article.
Use of analgesics is the most common method to alleviate the pain induced by chest tube removal (CTR), but patient response to medication can vary and may not be achieved complete relaxation. This study was to determine the effectiveness of cold application in combination with standard analgesic administration before CTR on CTR-induced pain. ⋯ The results indicate that cold application is not more effective than sham treatment in decreasing pain during CTR, even among gender. Although statistically non-significant, clinically important differences of decreased pain score were observed with cold application among women (Clinical Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03307239).
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The aim of this study was to investigate if 2 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin-13 (IL-13) gene, rs1800925 and rs20541 are associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk. Case-control association studies were retrieved systematically from PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases using standardized subject terms. Eleven studies including 3077 participants (1896 cases and 1181 controls) were analyzed. ⋯ In subgroup analysis according to ethnicity, the T allele of rs1800925 was associated with an increased risk of COPD in Asians (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.23-2.87, Pz = .004) and Caucasians (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.01-1.67, Pz = .041), respectively. For rs20541, the results suggested an association between rs20541 and COPD risk in Caucasians under the recessive model (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.13-6.92, Pz = .026), whereas this SNP was not associated with COPD in Asians. This meta-analysis suggests that the T allele of rs1800925 is associated with the increased risk of COPD in both Asians and Caucasians, whereas rs20541 is associated with the risk of COPD in Caucasians but not in Asians.
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Review Case Reports
Primary malignant melanoma of the lung: A case report and literature review.
Primary malignant melanoma of the lung (PMML) is an extremely rare neoplasm with a dismal prognosis. The diagnosis of PMML is very difficult and is based on several clinical, radiological, and histopathological criteria. ⋯ The clinical manifestation and imaging features of PMML are not specific, and it does not differ from the more common primary bronchogenic carcinoma. In addition, it cannot be discriminated from other forms of primary melanoma according to its histology and immunohistochemistry. The treatment of choice is an aggressive surgical approach, combined with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.
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Review Case Reports
Catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmia originating from isolated outflow tract diverticulum: Two case reports and literature review.
Congenital ventricular diverticulum is a rare cardiac malformation with a prevalence of about 0.26% in unselected adult patients during other diagnostic procedures. Ventricular arrhythmia originating from outflow tract diverticulum is even rarer and its etiology, epidemiology and proper treatment still remain controversial. ⋯ For ventricular arrhythmia originating from outflow tract diverticulum, catheter ablation may be beneficial and choosing the mouth of the diverticulum or the outflow sites around as the ablation target may be reasonable. An observational follow-up strategy for the small and asymptomatic diverticulum may also be recommended.