ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Blunt thoracic aorta injury is one of the most fatal injuries in multiple trauma patients and most of these injuries lead to death at the scene. Some patients remain undiagnosed because of the lack of specific symptoms for these injuries. Hemoptysis as a presentation of a neglected blunt aortic trauma is a very rare condition. In this study, we present a case with a 7-month delay in presentation and diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 49-year-old man with a complaint of intermittent hemoptysis was presented to the clinic. He had a history of chest trauma following falling 7 months ago. His physical examination was unremarkable. On Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) pseudoaneurysm of the descending aorta was detected and the patient was treated urgently with a stent graft. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Blunt thoracic aorta injury may occur following deceleration traumas. Descending aorta is the most involved segment but other segments may be involved as well. Bleeding can be stopped by tamponading the aorta with its overlying pleura. In some cases, pseudoaneurysms are formed and may remain undiagnosed for a long time after index trauma. CTA is the most useful diagnostic study and when the diagnosis is made, urgent treatment is mandatory. Although endovascular repair has significantly lower mortality and morbidity, open surgical repair may be inevitable in some cases. CONCLUSION: Thoracic aorta injury should be suspected in any patient with severe deceleration trauma and CTA should be used promptly for the diagnosis and treatment of these potentially fatal injuries.
ABSTRACT
People in different age groups are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection as a newly emerging virus. However, the clinical course, symptoms and disease outcome vary from case to case. Although COVID-19 is usually milder in children than adults, some studies reported nonspecific symptoms. Here, we report eight pediatric cases of COVID-19 admitted in the Taleghani Children Hospital in Gorgan city, north of Iran, with complicated symptoms. The current case series poses several challenges to the pediatricians regarding the pediatric cases of COVID-19. As most literature relating to adults are not always transferable to children, clinicians should be warned about such presentations among children with COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy control subjects as regards hemodynamics of cerebral venous drainage. MATERIAL/METHODS: Between December 2012 and May 2013, 44 consecutive patients with multiple sclerosis and 44 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects underwent the B-mode, color Doppler, and duplex Doppler evaluations of the internal jugular vein (IJV) and vertebral vein. The following four parameters were investigated: IJV stenosis, reversal of postural control of the cerebral venous outflow pathways, absence of detectable blood flow in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins, and reflux in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins in the sitting or supine position. RESULTS: In the study group, IJV stenosis, postural control reversal of the cerebral venous outflow pathways, and absence of flow in the IJVs and/or vertebral veins were found in 3 (6.8%), 2 (4.5%), and 3 (6.8%) patients, respectively. In the control group, IJV stenosis (P=0.12), postural control reversal of the cerebral venous outflow pathways (P=0.50), and absence of flow (P=0.12) were not detected. Abnormal reflux was found neither in multiple sclerosis patients nor in healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference in the cerebral venous drainage through the IJV or vertebral vein was found between patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy subjects within any of the investigated ultrasonographic parameters.
ABSTRACT
In northeastern Iran, there is an area of high incidence of esophageal cancer, which is populated by residents of Turkmen ancestry. Several environmental risk factors for esophageal cancer have been proposed, but the roles of familial and genetic factors have not been studied extensively in the Turkmen population. We evaluated the importance of familial risk factors for esophageal cancer by performing a case-control study of 167 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 200 controls of Turkmen ethnicity. Detailed family pedigrees of the cases and controls were constructed, which documented all cancers in first- and second-degree relatives. The actuarial risk of cancer was then estimated in 2,097 first-degree relatives of cases and 2,783 first-degree relatives of the controls. A hazard ratio was constructed, based on a comparison of the 2 cumulative incidence curves. The risk to age 75 of esophageal cancer in the first-degree relatives of Turkmen patients with esophageal cancer was 34% versus 14% for the first-degree relatives of the controls (hazard ratio = 2.3; p = 3 x 10(-8)). Cases (9.6%) reported that their parents were related, versus 2.5% of the controls who reported this. (odds ratio = 4.1; p value = 0.006). Familial factors are important in the etiology of esophageal cancer among the Turkmen residents of Iran. The hazard ratio of 2.3 for cancer among first-degree relatives is consistent with an important contribution of heritable factors. It will be of interest to perform marker studies to establish which genes are responsible.
