Mistaking a Tumour for an Infection - Acrometastasis of the Finger from Endocervical Adenosquamous Carcinoma: A Case Report

@#Acrometastasis is rare with a very low incidence of all bone metastasis. It can present with swelling, pain and warmth with erythema that may mimic an infection especially in the distal phalanx. Due to its rarity and subtle clinical presentation, it can be misdiagnosed as an infection causing the treatment to be delayed. We report a 42-year-old female with an acrometastasis to the distal phalanx of the left middle finger which we mistook as an infection thus delaying her treatment. It was a terminal presentation of her endocervical adenosquamous carcinoma. We would like to highlight that acrometastasis has an indistinct presentation and in cases where the lesion does not respond to treatment, acrometastasis should be included as one of the differential diagnoses. Thus, physicians need to have a high level of suspicion in patients with a primary malignant tumour.

END-TO-SIDE NERVE TRANSFER IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN POST BRACHIAL PLEXUS INJURY

@#We report a case of a 59-year-old gentleman with complete left brachial plexus injury. He presented with chronic pain over the dorsum of his left hand since the injury eight years ago. Medical treatment had been optimized but the pain still persists. End-to-side nerve transfer was done involving superficial sensory radial nerve and median nerve to alleviate the pain. The surgery was considered successful as the patient claimed that the pain score had reduced a few weeks postoperatively. However, there was no sensory recovery and functionally no improvement was observed

Complete Brachial Plexus Injury - An Amputation Dilemma. A Case Report

Brachial plexus injuries with intact yet flail limb presents with problems of persistent neuropathic pain and recurrent shoulder dislocations, that render the flail limb a damn nuisance. As treating surgeons, we are faced with the dilemma of offering treatment options, bearing in mind the patient’s functional status and expectations. We present a case of a 55-year old housewife with complete brachial plexus injury begging for surgical amputation of her flail limb, 6 years post-injury. Here we discuss the outcome of transhumeral amputation and the possibility of offering early rather than delayed amputations in this group of patients.

Local versus international criteria in predicting gestational diabetes mellitus-related pregnancy outcomes / Philippine Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society Clinical Practice Guidelines (POGS-CPG) and the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) against pregnancy outcomes.METHODS: This is a randomized controlled trial which enlisted patients attending the Out-patient clinic of our institution. All women included in the study were requested to take a 2-hour 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between estimated 24th and 28th gestational weeks. In order to diagnose GDM, POGS-CPG consensus required a fasting plasma glucose of >92 mg/dl (5.1 mmol/L) or a 2-hour post-glucose load of >140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/ml) while lADPSG criteria required 92 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L) for fasting plasma glucose, 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L)1-hour post-glucose load, or 153 mg/dL (8.5 mmol/L) 2-hour post-glucose load. Only 1 abnormal value on the OGTT is needed on both criteria to diagnose GDM. Women with diabetes antedating pregnancy were excluded in this study. Based on the 75-g OGTT result, the patients were divided into 4 groups and were followed through delivery. Pregnancy out-comes of the 4 groups were then compared.RESULTS: Among the 389 patients studied, POGS-CPG group had a GDM prevalence rate of 29% whereas the IADPSG group had 16%. Trends have shown that in patients diagnosed with GDM under IADSGP and POGS criteria, no significant differences in the birth-weight status (p=0.156), mode of delivery (p=1.000), indication of cesarean section (p=1.000), and other complications (p=1.000) were noted. The 75 g OGTT values of patients in both groups were not significant predictors of APGAR scores. However, the 1-hour post-glucose load value was shown to be a significantpredictor of birth weight. Yet, the regression models of FBS parameters in predicting APGAR scores and birth weight were still weak.CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference noted between the IADPSG group versus the POGS-CPG group in terms of maternal neonatal outcome.

Approaches to deriving Schwann cells from human bone marrow for neural tube regeneration in a clinical setting

Bone marrow derived Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were evaluated as an alternative source for tissue engineering of peripheral nerves. Human MSCs were subjected to a series of treatment with a reducing agent, retinoic acid and a combination of trophic factors. This treated MSCs differentiated into Schwann cells were characterized in vitro via flow cytometry analysis and immunocytochemically. In contrast to untreated MSCs, differentiated MSCs expressed Schwann cell markers in vitro, as we confirmed by flow cytometry analysis and immunocytochemically. These results suggest that human MSCs can be induced to be a substitute for Schwann cells that may be applied for nerve regeneration since it is difficult to grow Schwann cells in vitro.

A Study on the Absence of Palmaris Longus in a MultiracialPopulation

Palmaris longus is a dispensable muscle with a long tendon which is very useful in reconstructive surgery. It is absent 2.8 to 24% of the population depending on the race/ethnicity studied. Four hundred and fifty healthy subjects (equally distributed among Malaysias 3 major ethnic groups) were clinically examined for the presence or absence of palmaris longus. This tendon was found to be absent unilaterally in 6.4% of study subjects, and bilaterally in 2.9% of study participants. Malays have a high preval