BACKGROUND Trauma to the left submandibular gland is an infrequent entity, with only a few cases reported in the literature. Recommended management consists of excision of the gland if trauma is ...suspected; if trauma is not clearly identified during the surgical exploration and the gland is not removed, post-traumatic complications such as fistula or sialocele may occur. In such cases, conservative measures including aspiration, pressure bandages, and anti-sialogogues are the first step of treatment and surgical excision is reserved for unsuccessful cases. CASE REPORT This report describes a case of post-traumatic surgical emphysema and sialocele with fistula following knife wounds to the head and neck of a 30-year-old woman. The patient had an incised wound to the left submandibular gland. Subsequently, a painful slow-growing mass developed and the diagnosis of sialocele was considered. Confirmation of this diagnosis was achieved by performing a fine-needle aspiration, which revealed a high amylase level within the collection. Afterwards, pressure bandages were applied and no recurrence of the sialocele was observed in imaging follow-up. CONCLUSIONS This report shows that although submandibular gland trauma is rare, it can lead to salivary fistula or sialocele. The diagnosis of sialocele can be confirmed by imaging combined with fine-needle aspiration and measurement of amylase levels in the aspirate. Identification of traumatic sialocele and fistula at an early stage will lead to the most appropriate management.
A progressively increasing percentage of the elderly live during the last years of their lives in nursing homes. Although these institutions are intended to mimic life at home as much as possible, ...they have characteristics that make them quite similar to a "nosocomiun", i.e. an establishment for the treatment of the sick. The very coexistence among the elderly, the fact of sharing caregivers and the very significant exposure to third parties, together with the frequent predisposing diseases to infection in this population, make infection frequent among residents and also easily transmissible. This leads us to ask what can be done to prevent infection in this environment and more specifically what is the state of the art of the matter in a Western European nation such as ours. The Board of Trustees of the Health Sciences Foundation has asked itself a series of questions on the subject of infection prevention in Nursing Homes, the structure of procedures, the legislation available, compliance with the measures indicated, the best indicators of the processes and therefore, the need to promote in Spain a document of recommendations to avoid infections in this poplation whose morbidity and mortality need not be highlighted. To this end, a multidisciplinary group of experts in different aspects of this problem has been convened and asked the proposed questions. The questions were discussed by the group as a whole and led to a series of conclusions agreed upon by the participants. The results of the meeting are reported below.
To estimate adult (15-49 years old) prevalence and incidence of active syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, and incidence of congenital syphilis (CS) and adverse birth outcomes (ABOs) in Colombia, ...over 1995-2016.
The Spectrum-STI epidemiological model tool estimated gonorrhea and chlamydia prevalences as moving averages across prevalences observed in representative general population surveys. For adult syphilis, Spectrum-STI applied segmented polynomial regression through prevalence data from antenatal care (ANC) surveys, routine ANC-based screening, and general population surveys. CS cases and ABOs were estimated from Spectrum's maternal syphilis estimates and proportions of women screened and treated for syphilis, applying World Health Organization case definitions and risk probabilities.
The Spectrum model estimated prevalences in 2016 of 0.70% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15%-1.9%) in women and 0.60% (0.1%-1.9%) in men for gonorrhea and of 9.2% (4.4%-15.4%) in women and 7.4% (3.5%-14.7%) in men for chlamydia, without evidence for trends over 1995-2016. The prevalence of active syphilis in 2016 was 1.25% (1.22-1.29%) in women and 1.25% (1.1%-1.4%) in men, decreasing from 2.6% (2.1%-3.2%) in women in 1995. Corresponding CS cases in 2016 (including cases without clinical symptoms) totaled 3 851, of which 2 245 were ABOs. Annual CS and ABO estimates decreased over 2008-2016, reflecting decreasing maternal prevalence and increasing cases averted through ANC-based screening and treatment.
The available surveillance and monitoring data synthesized in Spectrum-STI- and the resulting first-ever national STI estimates for Colombia-highlighted Colombia's persistently high STI burden. Adult syphilis and congenital syphilis are estimated to be falling, reflecting improving screening efforts. Strengthened surveillance, including with periodic screening in low-risk populations and future refined Spectrum estimations, should support planning and implementation of STI prevention and control, including CS elimination.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with impaired glycemic control and a higher risk of vascular complications, such as diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the effect of apnea-hypopnea ...suppression on DKD progression is unclear.
To assess the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) in patients with DKD and OSA.
In a 52-week, multicentric, open-label, parallel, and randomized clinical trial, 185 patients with OSA and DKD were randomized to CPAP and usual care (
= 93) or usual care alone (
= 92).
UACR, estimated glomerular filtration rate, serum concentrations of creatinine and glycated hemoglobin, insulin resistance, lipid concentrations, sleepiness, and quality of life. A 52-week change in UACR from baseline did not differ significantly between the CPAP group and the usual-care group. However, in per-protocol analyses that included 125 participants who met prespecified criteria for adherence, CPAP treatment was associated with a great reduction in UACR (mean difference, -10.56% 95% confidence interval, -19.06 to -2.06;
= 0.015). CPAP effect on UACR was higher in nonsleepy patients with more severe OSA, worse renal function, and a more recent diagnosis of DKD. CPAP treatment also improved glycemic control and insulin resistance, as well as sleepiness and health-related quality of life.
In patients with OSA and DKD, the prescription of CPAP did not result in a statistically significant reduction in albuminuria. However, good adherence to CPAP treatment in addition to usual care may result in long-term albuminuria reduction compared with usual care alone. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02816762).
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent and extremely heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) with a strong genetic component. In recent years, the clinical relevance of de novo ...mutations to the aetiology of ASD has been demonstrated. Current guidelines recommend chromosomal microarray (CMA) and a
testing as first-tier tests, but there is increasing evidence that support the use of NGS for the diagnosis of NDDs. Specifically in ASD, it has not been extensively evaluated and, thus, we performed and compared the clinical utility of CMA,
testing, and/or whole exome sequencing (WES) in a cohort of 343 ASD patients. We achieved a global diagnostic rate of 12.8% (44/343), the majority of them being characterised by WES (33/44; 75%) compared to CMA (9/44; 20.4%) or
testing (2/44; 4.5%). Taking into account the age at which genetic testing was carried out, we identified a causal genetic alteration in 22.5% (37/164) of patients over 5 years old, but only in 3.9% (7/179) of patients under this age. Our data evidence the higher diagnostic power of WES compared to CMA in the study of ASD and support the implementation of WES as a first-tier test for the genetic diagnosis of this disorder, when there is no suspicion of fragile X syndrome.
It has been shown that the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) is a useful and reliable tool for calculating the complexity of the pharmacotherapeutic regimen (CPR). Furthermore, a high MRCI ...is associated with lower adherence. However, the MRCI of opioid-dependent patients (ODP) has not been studied. The aim of this study is to calculate the Methadone Maintenance Program (MMP) persistence and the MRCI score in a ODP cohort. Second, to analyze its relationship and association with other variables. To accomplish this research, an observational study including adults with a confirmed diagnosis of opiate-dependency according to the DSM-5 in a MMP center was carried out. To define MMP-persistence, a group was created by the researchers who defined five weighted items according to their agreed importance. Our first contribution was to create a new definition of MMP-persistence. This study also identified age, comorbidities, and received methadone maintenance doses as successful predictors for MMP-persistence. We have also shown that the MRCI does not seem to be a useful tool to determine MMP-persistence, probably because there are multiple factors that influence it in addition to the CPR. It is necessary to continue searching for more precise selection and stratification tools for ODP to improve their persistence.
Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) are proposed to participate in enhancing pathways of recovery after stroke through paracrine signaling. To verify this hypothesis in a proof-of-concept study, ...blood-derived allogenic EVs from rats and xenogenic EVs from humans who experienced spontaneous good recovery after an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) were administered intravenously to rats at 24 h after a subcortical ICH. At 28 days, both treatments improved the motor function assessment scales score, showed greater fiber preservation in the perilesional zone (diffusion tensor-fractional anisotropy MRI), increased immunofluorescence markers of myelin (MOG), and decreased astrocyte markers (GFAP) compared with controls. Comparison of the protein cargo of circulating EVs at 28 days from animals with good vs. poor recovery showed down-expression of immune system activation pathways (CO4, KLKB1, PROC, FA9, and C1QA) and of restorative processes such as axon guidance (RAC1), myelination (MBP), and synaptic vesicle trafficking (SYN1), which is in line with better tissue preservation. Up-expression of PCSK9 (neuron differentiation) in xenogenic EVs-treated animals suggests enhancement of repair pathways. In conclusion, the administration of blood-derived EVs improved recovery after ICH. These findings open a new and promising opportunity for further development of restorative therapies to improve the outcomes after an ICH.
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Treatment with blood-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) enhance brain protection and repair post-ICH and improve functional recovery. The administration of allogeneic or xenogenic blood-derived EVs, regardless of origin, is safe. Proteins in EVs are involved in biological pathways of neural protection and repair.
There is no standardized treatment for grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors (G3 NETs). We aimed to describe the treatments received in patients with advanced G3 NETs and compare their efficacy. Patients ...with advanced digestive G3 NETs treated between 2010 and 2018 in seven expert centers were retrospectively studied. Pathological samples were centrally reviewed, and radiological data were locally reviewed. We analyzed RECIST-defined objective response (OR), tumor growth rate (TGR) and progression-free survival (PFS) obtained with first- (L1) or second-line (L2) treatments. We included 74 patients with advanced G3 NETs, mostly from the duodenal or pancreatic origin (71.6%), with median Ki-67 of 30%. The 126 treatments (L1 = 74; L2 = 52) included alkylating-based (n = 32), etoposide-platinum (n = 22) or adenocarcinoma-like (n = 20) chemotherapy, somatostatin analogs (n = 21), targeted therapies (n = 22) and liver-directed therapies (n = 7). Alkylating-based chemotherapy achieved the highest OR rate (37.9%) compared to other treatments (multivariable OR 4.22, 95% CI (1.5-12.2); P = 0.008). Adenocarcinoma-like and alkylating-based chemotherapies showed the highest reductions in 3-month TGR (P < 0.001 and P = 0.008, respectively). The longest median PFS was obtained with adenocarcinoma-like chemotherapy (16.5 months (9.0-24.0)) and targeted therapies (12.0 months (8.2-15.8)), while the shortest PFS was observed with somatostatin analogs (6.2 months (3.8-8.5)) and etoposide-platinum chemotherapy (7.2 months (5.2-9.1)). Etoposide-platinum CT achieved shorter PFS than adenocarcinoma-like (multivariable HR 3.69 (1.61-8.44), P = 0.002) and alkylating-based chemotherapies (multivariable HR 1.95 (1.01-3.78), P = 0.049). Overall, adenocarcinoma-like and alkylating-based chemotherapies may be the most effective treatments for patients with advanced G3 NETs regarding OR and PFS. Etoposide-platinum chemotherapy has poor efficacy in this setting.
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