Medicine
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Review Case Reports
Treatment of pancreatic head cancer with obstructive jaundice by endoscopy ultrasonography-guided gastrojejunostomy: A case report and literature review.
Ultrasonography-guided gastrojejunostomy (EUS-GJ) might be a safe, innovative and minimally invasive interventional treatment for patients with gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) as an alternative to the surgical approach. To date, few cases have been reported in the literature. ⋯ EUS-GJ may be reliable and effective for patients with GOO.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
High- versus low-energy extracorporeal shock-wave therapy for myofascial pain syndrome of upper trapezius: A prospective randomized single blinded pilot study.
To compare the efficacy of high- and low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for patients with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) of the upper trapezius. ⋯ ESWT effectively improves VNS, NDI, neck ROM, and PT to patients with MPS of the upper trapezius. High-energy ESWT was more effective in improving NDI and neck flexion ROM compared to the low-energy ESWT, suggesting superiority in functional improvement. Further studies are required to specify the effect of ESWT by energy intensity.
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Case Reports
Disseminated histoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient from an endemic area: A case report.
Disseminated histoplasmosis is a rare fungal infection and most documented cases are in immunocompromised individuals such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. However, histoplasmosis easily goes unrecognized in immunocompetent populations. ⋯ Emphasizing histoplasmosis as a cause of fever of unknown origin in an immunocompetent patient, this case highlights the need for an index of suspicion and the importance of prompt diagnosis, as any delay of treatment can be life threatening.
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Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) commonly afflicts most aged people resulting back pain, substantial vertebral deformity, functional disability, decreased quality of life, and increased adjacent spinal fractures and mortality. Percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) included percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP), nerve block (NB), and conservative treatment (CT) are used for the nonsurgery treatment strategy of OVCFs, however, current evaluation of their efficacy remains controversial. ⋯ The present results suggest that PVA (PVP/PKP) had better performance than CT in alleviating acute/subacute and chronic OVCFs pain for short and long-term. NB may be used as an alternative or before PVA, as far as pain relief is concerned. Various nonsurgery treatments including CT, PVA (PVP/PKP), NB, or a combination of these treatments are performed with the goal of reducing pain, stabilizing the vertebrae, and restoring mobility.
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This study aimed to determine the ability of tricuspid annular displacement measured by 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to predict right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. Here, we present a new method for assessing RV function that also employs STE and is based on measurement of tricuspid annular displacement. A total of 225 patients were divided into 2 groups according to the pulmonary artery systolic blood pressure (PASP), estimated by echocardiographic measurement of tricuspid regurgitation: group I (PASP ≥50 mm Hg) and group II (36 mm Hg ≤ PASP <50 mm Hg). ⋯ The TMAD parameters had moderate predictive value for predicting RV dysfunction in PH patients (all P < .01). From receiver operating characteristic curves, we determined the optimal cut-off values for TMAD parameters for detecting RV dysfunction with good sensitivity and specificity. The TMAD parameters can predict the decline of RV function in patients with PH and thus provide new diagnostic indices for clinical management of these patients.