Medicina
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Background and Objectives: To compare the long-term pain characteristics and its chronic management following minimally invasive spinal (MIS) decompression and open laminectomy with fusion for lumbar stenosis. Materials and Methods: The study cohort included patients with a minimum 5-year postoperative follow-up after undergoing either MIS decompression or laminectomy with fusion for spinal claudication. The primary outcome of interest was chronic back and leg pain intensity. ⋯ In the fusion group, 20% of the patients described their back and leg pain as persistent throughout the day compared to only 2.2% in the MIS decompression group (p < 0.05). A trend toward higher chronic dependence on analgesic medication and repetitive pain clinic treatments was found in the fusion group. Conclusions: MIS decompression for the treatment of degenerative spinal stenosis resulted in decreased long-term back pain and similar leg pain outcomes compared to open laminectomy and instrumented fusion surgery.
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Background and Objectives: Up until now, only one case of unilateral proximal tibiofibular synostosis caused by osteochondroma has been reported. This report is the first well-documented bilateral case of proximal tibiofibular synostosis caused by an osteochondroma. Case Report: A 21-year-old, highly active male patient with bilateral proximal tibiofibular synostosis caused by an osteochondroma suffering from persistent knee pain is presented. ⋯ Histopathological findings confirmed the preoperative diagnosis. The patient returned to sports three weeks after surgery and continued soccer training six weeks after surgery. Discussion: The case report presents the successful treatment of a bilateral proximal tibiofibular synostosis caused by an osteochondroma by bilateral open resection of the connecting bone.
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Case Reports
A Rare Evolution to Pneumopericardium in Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia Treated with High Flow Nasal Cannula.
Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which was revealed an official pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. The current pandemic, the third of this decade, is the worst in terms of suffering and deaths related. COVID-19 represents an unprecedented challenge for medical communities and patients around the world. ⋯ We were one of the first groups to share our experiences in uncommon parenchymal complications of COVID-19 with spontaneous pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum, but also with new-onset bronchiectasis and cysts. A finding of pneumopericardium is also unusual. We hereby report a rare case of spontaneous pneumopericardium in a patient with COVID-19 pneumonia treated only with a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC).
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Background and Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems worldwide made major changes to their organization, delaying diagnosis and treatment across a broad spectrum of pathologies. Concerning surgery, there was an evident reduction in all elective and emergency activities, particularly for benign pathologies such as acute diverticulitis, for which we have identified a reduction in emergency room presentation with mild forms and an increase with more severe forms. The aim of our review was to discover new data on emergency presentation for patients with acute diverticulitis during the Covid-19 pandemic and their current management, and to define a better methodology for surgical decision-making. ⋯ Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic we observed an increased number of complicated forms of diverticulitis, while the total number decreased, possibly due to delay in hospital or ambulatory presentation because of the fear of contracting COVID-19. We observed a greater tendency to treat these more severe forms by conservative means or drainage. When surgery was necessary, there was a preference for an open approach or a delayed operation.
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Background and Objectives: Appropriate catheter selection when conducting transradial coronary angiography (CAG) helps shorten examination time, preventing vascular complications and lowering medical expense. However, catheter selection is made based on the practitioner's experience in almost all cases. Therefore, we undertook this study to define radiologic and echocardiographic indices that would enable physicians to anticipate appropriate catheter selection. ⋯ Aortic root diameter, which is used here as the echocardiographic index, was significantly larger in the switched group compared to the control group (34.94 ± 4.18 mm vs. 32.66 ± 3.99 mm, p < 0.001). In the multivariable logistic regression model, mediastinal-cardiac ratio (OR 5.197, 95% CI 2.608-10.355, p < 0.001) and increased aortic root (OR 2.115, 95% CI 1.144-3.912, p = 0.017) were significantly associated with catheter change. Conclusions: Mediastinal-cardiac ratio and aortic root diameter provide helpful and effective indices for appropriate catheter selection during transradial coronary angiography.