An Unusual Cause of Intestinal Obstruction: Abdominal Cocoon

ABSTRACT Abdominal cocoon syndrome is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction, which is difficult to diag- nose preoperatively. We here report a case of abdominal cocoon. A 47-year-old male patient was referred to the general surgery department with complaints of abdominal pain, distension, nausea and vomiting for 1 day. An abdominal computed tomography examination detected the dilated small intestinal loops clustered in the abdomen and surrounded by a sac-like membrane. During the exploratory surgery, a capsular structure was identified in the lower quadrant with a regular surface that was solid fibrous in nature. The combination of physical examination, imaging signs and medical history may be helpful in the diagnosis.

Accuracy of the refractive prediction determined by intraocular lens power calculation formulas in high myopia

Purpose: Our study was conducted to evaluate and compare the accuracy of the refractive prediction determined by the calculation formulas for different intraocular lens (IOL) powers for high myopia. Methods: This study reviewed 217 eyes from 135 patients who had received cataract aspiration treatment and IOL implantation. The refractive mean numerical error (MNE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the IOL power calculation formulas (SRK/T, Haigis, Holladay, Hoffer Q, and Barrett Universal II) were examined and compared. The MNE and MAE at different axial lengths (AL) were compared, and the percentage of every refractive error absolute value for each formula was calculated at ±0.25D, ±0.50D, ±1.00D, and ±2.00D. Results: In all, 98 patients were recruited into this study and 98 eyes of them were analyzed. We found that Barrett Universal II formula had the lowest MNE and MAE, SRK/T and Haigis formulas arrived at similar MNE and MAE, and the MNE and MAE calculated by Holladay and Hoffer Q formula were the highest. Barrett Universal II formulas have the lowest MAE among different AL patients, whereas it reached the highest percentage of refractive error absolute value within 0.5D in this study. The MAE of each formula is positively correlated with AL. Conclusion: Barrett Universal II formula rendered the lowest predictive error compared with SRK/T, Haigis, Holladay, and Hoffer Q formulas. Thus, Barrett Universal II formula may be regarded as a more reliable formula for high myopia.

A randomized controlled study of bedside electrocardiograph-guided tip location technique & the traditional chest radiography tip location technique for peripherally inserted central venous catheter in cancer patients

Background & objectives: The peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) has the advantages of higher safety, lower infection rate and longer retention time than peripherally inserted catheter. This study was aimed to evaluate the accuracy and safety of bedside electrocardiograph (ECG)-guided tip location technique in PICC in cancer patients, and compared with traditional chest radiography tip location technique. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: The ECG test group patients underwent PICC insertion with ECG-guided tip location, while the control group patients had PICC insertion by the conventional method. The precision of tip location was verified by chest radiography in both groups. The groups were compared with regard to the accuracy of tip placement, anxiety levels before and after the procedure; medical cost and incidence of complications at one week, three months and six months after PICC insertion. Results: Accurate tip location was achieved in 99.30 per cent in the ECG test group vs 92.30 per cent in the control group (P<0.001). At 24 h after the procedure, the anxiety level was significantly lower in the ECG test group. The presence of thrombogenesis was significantly lower in the ECG test group at both three months and six months after the procedure (P=0.04 and P=0.03, respectively). Interpretation & conclusions: The ECG-guided PICC tip location technique was accurate and caused fewer procedure-related complications and less anxiety in patients compared to chest radiography tip location technique. Radiographic confirmation of PICC tip position may not be needed when ECG guidance is used and thus it can help avoid radiation exposure.

Salvaged single-unit cord blood transplantation for 26 patients with hematologic malignancies not in remission

Treatments for patients with hematologic malignancies not in remission are limited, but a few clinical studies have investigated the effects of salvaged unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT). We retrospectively studied 19 patients with acute leukemia, 5 with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS with refractory anemia with excess blasts [RAEB]), and 2 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who received 1 CBT unit ≤2 loci human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched after undergoing myeloablative conditioning regimens between July 2005 and July 2014. All of them were in non-remission before transplantation. The infused total nucleated cell (TNC) dose was 4.07 (range 2.76-6.02)×107/kg and that of CD34+ stem cells was 2.08 (range 0.99-8.65)×105/kg. All patients were engrafted with neutrophils that exceeded 0.5×109/L on median day +17 (range 14-37 days) and had platelet counts of >20×109/L on median day +35 (range 17-70 days). Sixteen patients (61.5%) experienced pre-engraftment syndrome (PES), and six (23.1%) patients progressed to acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The cumulative incidence rates of II-IV acute GVHD and chronic GVHD were 50% and 26.9%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 27 months (range 5-74), 14 patients survived and 3 relapsed. The estimated 2-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and non-relapse mortality (NRM) rates were 50.5%, 40.3%, and 35.2%, respectively. Salvaged CBT might be a promising modality for treating hematologic malignancies, even in patients with a high leukemia burden.

Diagnostic value of SPECT, PET and PET/CT in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease: A systematic review

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the diagnostic value of SPECT, PET and PET/CT in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, based on a systematic review. Material and Methods: A search of PubMed/Medline and Sciencedirect databases in the English-language literature published over the last 24 years was performed. Only studies with at least 10 patients comparing SPECT, PET or combined PET/CT with invasive coronary angiography in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (50% stenosis) were included for analysis. Sensitivities and specificities estimates pooled across studies were analysed using a Chisquare test. Results: Twenty-five studies met the selection criteria and were included for the analysis. Ten studies were performed with SPECT alone; while another six studies were performed with PET alone. Five studies were carried out with both PET and SPECT modalities, and the remaining four studies were investigated with integrated PET-CT. The mean value of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of these imaging modalities for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease was 82% (95%CI: 76 to 88), 76% (95%CI: 70 to 82) and 83% (95%CI: 77 to 89) for SPECT; 91% (95%CI: 85 to 97), 89% (95%CI: 83 to 95) and 89% (95%CI: 83 to 95) for PET; and 85% (95%CI: 79 to 90), 83% (95%CI: 77 to 89) and 88% (95%CI: 82 to 94) for PET/CT, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of these imaging modalities was dependent on the radiotracers used in these studies, with ammonia resulting in the highest diagnostic value. Conclusion: Our review shows that PET has high diagnostic value for diagnosing coronary artery disease, and this indicates that it is a valuable technique for both detection and prediction of coronary artery disease.