BMC research notes
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Access to sufficient food is essential for household welfare as well as for accomplishing other development activities. Households with insufficient access to food often face other challenges related to food insecurity including poor health and a decline in productivity. These challenges can often create a vicious circle whereby households are unable to produce enough food even during a good crop season. Thus, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of food insecurity and its determinants in rural households of Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia. ⋯ This study revealed that most households of the district were food insecure. Hence, the promotion of contraceptive use, off-farm employment activities and the development of small scale irrigation are important recommendations to reduce food insecurity.
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Case Reports
Rib plating of acute and sub-acute non-union rib fractures in an adult with cystic fibrosis: a case report.
Rib fractures associated with osteoporosis have been reported to occur ten times more frequently in adults with cystic fibrosis. Fractures cause chest pain, and interfere with cough and sputum clearance leading to worsened lung function and acute exacerbations which are the two main contributors to early mortality in cystic fibrosis. Usual treatment involves analgesics and time for healing; however considerable pain and disability result due to constant re-injury from chronic repetitive cough. Recently, surgical plating of rib fractures has become commonplace in treating acute, traumatic chest injuries. We describe here successful surgical plating in a White cystic fibrosis patient with multiple, non-traumatic rib fractures. ⋯ In our case report, rib plating with bone grafting improved rib pain and allowed healing of the fractures and recovery, although the immediate post-op period required close attention and care. We believe repair may be of benefit in selected cystic fibrosis patients, such as our patient who had suffered multiple rib fractures that were healing poorly.
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Case Reports
Resolution of a fungal mycotic aneurysm after a contaminated steroid injection: a case report.
In the past ten years there have been three separate outbreaks of fungal contaminated steroid injections from compounding pharmacies. The 2012 outbreak of central nervous system fungal infections associated with contaminated methylprednisolone produced by a United States compounding pharmacy has led to 750 infections (151 with meningitis and paraspinal infections and 325 cases with paraspinal infections without meningitis) and 64 deaths as of October 23, 2013. Exserohilum rostratum has been the predominant pathogen identified by culture, polymerase chain reaction or antibody tests. According to previous reports, cerebral involvement with phaeohyphomycosis has a high risk of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ This is the rare case report of successful medical management of a cerebral mycotic aneurysm with stroke symptoms related to a presumed phaeohyphomycosis in an immunocompetent individual. Further studies are needed to determine the utility of cerebrospinal fluid (1, 3) beta-D-glucan in diagnosing and monitoring patients with meningitis thought to be related to fungal infection.
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Data on prevalence rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in different patient populations are scarce. Most studies on this topic focus on older patients or patients with malignancies, immobilization or thrombophilia. Less is known about the VTE risk profile of non-surgical patients presenting with a variety of medical diseases of differing severity. Aim of the present study was to investigate VTE prevalence in a pospective cohort study of ambulatory medical intensive care unit patients within 24 h after acute admission. ⋯ Prevalent VTE and concomitant PE were frequent in acutely admitted ICU patients.
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Intubation of patients with laryngeal granulomas on the vocal folds are sometimes difficult to manage because of potential airway obstruction. Laryngeal granulomas usually have flexible stalks where they attach to the vocal folds. We report a worst-case scenario of dislocation of the laryngeal granuloma during induction of anaesthesia. ⋯ In our case, the tumour was benign and relatively small in size; therefore, we did not select tracheotomy as an airway management strategy. The case had a granulomatous tumour arising from the posterior vocal folds on the right side, and the tumour was very flexible. To promptly gain control of the airway in such a case using direct laryngoscopy, thus avoiding tracheotomy, other strategies are suggested, such as bronchoscopic visualization with awake or semi-awake intubation.