A 'Natural' thyroid storm!

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Over the counter supplements are often taken for granted during medication reconciliation in the emergency department. Supplements are not regulated by FDA, and some can be potentially dangerous. CASE SUMMARY: We report a case of thyrotoxicosis secondary to over the counter bovine thyroid supplements. Our patient presented with atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response refractory to calcium channel blockers. Had we not known about the supplement, the course of treatment would have been different with potential adverse outcome. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Natural thyroid supplements are marketed as over the counter products and are largely unregulated. Thyroid extracts have been found to have disparaging inconsistencies in composition, delivering anywhere from non-existent to supratherapeutic doses. Thyroid supplements should be regulated considering the potential side effects.

Tetanus outbreak in a sheep flock due to ear tagging.

Tetanus is an acute, often fatal, infectious neuromuscular disease in all farmed mammals caused by Clostridium tetani. The disease is sporadic but outbreaks of tetanus have been described, as a result of wound contaminated with spores of C. tetani, which sporulates to the vegetative form and produce toxins. The present study reports an outbreak of tetanus in a sheep flock, shortly after ear tagging. Three sheep from a large flock (with a population of 1000 sheep) were presented with signs of: convulsion, limb stiffness, incoordination and trismus ("lock jaw"). There were wounds and scabs in most livestock where ear tags had been attached 1 week prior. Clinical examination revealed tachycardia, dyspnoea with dilated nostrils, mild fever, erected ear pinnae, teeth grinding, mild bloat, muscles rigidity, prolapse of third eyelid and anxiety. According to the history stated by the owner, the case fatality rate of the disease from the beginning was 50% during the outbreak. Necropsy did not reveal any significant finding. Gram-positive bacilli with terminal spores representing C. tetani were isolated in anaerobic cultures which were taken from ear wounds. Procaine penicillin G was administrated at 20 000 IU/kg BW for 5 days, but antiglobulin was not available to treat affected animals. Mortality significantly declined one day after onset of treatment. In this report, the organism was probably introduced by contaminated instruments which were used for ear tagging of sheep. Wound exudation and adhesion following rubbing, created a favourable anaerobic condition for the spores to germinate with production of neurotoxin. Vaccination can protect animals against tetanus, but it does not preclude the need to apply standard hygienic principles when performing management procedures causing wounds. In pasture holding system, many pathogens are present in environment, so tetanus should be considered important in farm animals, because of its high fatality rate and the long course of convalescence.

Age-sex specific and sequela-specific disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to dental caries preventable through water fluoridation: An assessment at the national and subnational levels in Iran, 2016.

We assessed disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to dental caries preventable through water fluoridation apportioned by sex, age group, sequela, province, and community type in Iran, 2016. The burden of disease due to dental caries was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 (GBD 2016) and the caries preventive effect of water fluoridation was calculated using a database of fluoride levels in drinking water. All the preventable DALYs were caused by years lived with disability (YLDs) because of the non-fatal character of dental caries. DALYs and DALY rate (per 100,000 people) preventable through water fluoridation at the national level in 2016 were 14,971 (95% uncertainty interval 7348- 24,725) and 18.73 (9.19-30.93), respectively. The national population preventable fraction (PPF) of dental caries by water fluoridation was determined to be as high as 0.176 (0.141-0.189). The share of sequelae in the preventable DALYs at the national level were estimated to be 76.8% for edentulism and severe tooth loss, 21.4% for caries of permanent teeth, and 1.8% for caries of deciduous teeth. The national DALYs and DALY rate preventable through water fluoridation exhibited no difference by sex, but considerably increased by age from 110 (37-223) and 1.5 (0.5-3.1) for the age group 0-4 y to 4331 (2334-6579) and 88.9 (47.9-135.1) for the age group 65 y and older, respectively. Over 80% of the national preventable DALYs occurred in urban areas due to higher population and lower coverage of fluoridated drinking water. The highest provincial DALYs and DALY rate preventable by water fluoridation were observed in Tehran and Gilan to be 3776 (1866-6206) and 37.2 (18.6-60.8), respectively. The results indicated that water fluoridation can play a profound role in the promotion of dental public health and compensate the spatial inequality and increasing temporal trend of health losses from dental caries at the national level.

Monitoring of fluoride in groundwater resources of Iran.

Fluoride concentration in groundwater resources that used as the source of drinking water in urban areas of Iran was determined. All of the groundwater wells located in urban areas were monitored in 2008. Fluoride concentration of water samples was measured using SPADNS method. The nationwide mean fluoride concentration in the groundwater resources was found to be 0.47 +/- 0.28 (+/- standard deviation) mg/L. Only in Bushehr Province, the provincial mean fluoride level in the groundwater resources was higher than the WHO guideline value of 1.5 mg/L (1.86 +/- 0.86 mg/L). At nationwide level, the portion of extracted groundwater with fluoride concentration lower than the minimum permissible level of 0.5 mg/L, desirable fluoride range of 0.5-1.5 mg/L and elevated fluoride level was 69.2, 29.3 and 1.4%, respectively. In the areas with low fluoride content drinking water, it is recommended that fluoride is absorbed by use of high fluoride content foods and beverages. The recommendations for the circumstances with excessive fluoride content of drinking water are provision of drinking water from alternative sources and defluoridation of drinking water by point-of-use systems, respectively.

FIRST: a practical approach to the causes and management of febrile seizures.

During almost 4 decades of clinical practice of pediatrics and pediatric neurology, the senior authors have rarely made a formal presentation on the topic of "febrile seizures." In any large pediatric teaching hospital, questions regarding the diagnosis and management of febrile seizures are raised by medical students, pediatric residents, and adult and pediatric neurology residents. The acronym FIRST was developed as a teaching tool to present a simple and pragmatic clinical approach to children presenting with a single seizure or cluster of seizures in 1 day associated with a febrile illness before, during, or after the seizure event(s). FIRST refers to Febrile, Illness, Related, Seizure(s) and Template, with the latter representing an outline of the basic cause(s). The authors propose the use of the Table as a tool to help determine the underlying etiology of febrile seizures because this is the major factor affecting the choice of treatment.

Triamcinolone acetonide in silicone-filled eyes as adjunctive treatment for proliferative vitreoretinopathy: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of adjunctive intraocular triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in silicone-filled eyes on outcomes of vitreoretinal surgery for proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-five eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and PVR grade C (posterior, anterior, or both) undergoing vitrectomy combined with silicone oil tamponade were included. Of these, 38 eyes were assigned randomly to the adjunctive treatment, whereas 37 eyes served as controls. INTERVENTION: All eyes underwent pars plana vitrectomy, membrane peeling, and silicone oil exchange, with or without relaxing retinotomy or retinectomy. In the treatment group, 4 mg TA was injected into the silicone-filled vitreous cavity at the end of the procedure. Silicone oil was removed 3 months after surgery in eyes with attached retinas. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was retinal reattachment rate at 6 months. Secondary outcome measures included visual acuity, rate of recurrent PVR, reoperation rate, and rise of intraocular pressure. RESULTS: Retinal reattachment without any reoperation was achieved in 32 eyes (84.2%) and 29 eyes (78.4%) in the adjunctive treatment and control groups, respectively, at 6 months (P = 0.5). No statistically significant difference was observed between the 2 groups in terms of any of the secondary outcome measures (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of vitreoretinal surgery for established PVR are not improved significantly by adjunctive TA injection in silicone-filled eyes.

Intravitreal bevacizumab with or without triamcinolone for refractory diabetic macular edema; a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of three intravitreal injections of bevacizumab (IVB) alone or combined with triamcinolone (IVT) in the first injection for treatment of refractory diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: In this prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, 115 eyes of 101 patients with refractory DME were included. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three study arms: 1) three injections of IVB (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) at 6-week intervals, 2) combined IVB and IVT (1.25 mg/0.05 ml and 2 mg/0.05 ml respectively) followed by two injections of IVB at 6-week intervals, and 3) sham injection (control group). The primary outcome measure was change in central macular thickness (CMT). Secondary outcome measures were change in best-corrected logMAR visual acuity (BCVA ) and incidence of potential adverse events. RESULTS: Central macular thickness was reduced significantly in both the IVB and IVB/IVT groups. At week 24, CMT change compared to the baseline was -95.7 microm (95% CI, -172.2 to -19.26) in the IVB group, -92.1 microm (95% CI, -154.4 to -29.7) in the IVB/IVT group, and 34.9 microm (95% CI, 7.9 to 61.9) in the control group. There was a significant difference between the IVB and control groups (P = 0.012) and between the IVB/IVT and control groups (P = 0.022). Improvement of BCVA was initiated at weeks 6 and 12 in the IVB/IVT and IVB groups respectively. In terms of BCVA change compared to the baseline at 24 weeks, the differences between the IVB and control groups (P = 0.01) and also between the IVB/IVT and control groups (P = 0.006) were significant. No significant differences were detected in the changes of CMT and BCVA between the IVB and IVB/IVT groups (P = 0.99). Anterior chamber reaction was noticed in eight (19.5%) and seven (18.9%) eyes respectively in the IVB and IVB/IVT groups the day after injection, and it resolved with no sequel. Elevation of IOP occurred in three eyes (8.1%) in the IVB/IVT group. CONCLUSION: Three consecutive intravitreal injections of bevacizumab had a beneficial effect on refractory DME in terms of CMT reduction and BCVA improvement. Addition of triamcinolone in the first injection seemed to induce earlier visual improvement; however, it did not show any significant additive effect later during follow-up.

Prophylaxis of acute posttraumatic bacterial endophthalmitis: a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of intraocular antibiotic injection, report 2.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of intraocular gentamicin sulfate and clindamycin in the prevention of acute posttraumatic bacterial endophthalmitis following penetrating eye injuries. METHOD: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-masked controlled trial of 346 eyes with penetrating eye injury. Following primary repair, eyes were randomized to intracameral or intravitreal injection of 40 microg of gentamicin sulfate and 45 microg of clindamycin (cases) vs balanced salt solution (controls). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Occurrence of endophthalmitis within 2 weeks. RESULTS: Endophthalmitis occurred in 8 (2.3%) of 167 eyes in the control group and only in 1 (0.3%) of 179 eyes in the case group (P = .04; odds ratio, 8.93 [95% confidence interval, 1.11-71.43]). In eyes with an intraocular foreign body, endophthalmitis developed in 7 of 25 control eyes and in none of 27 eyes receiving antibiotics. However, in eyes without an intraocular foreign body, endophthalmitis developed in 1 of 142 eyes and 1 of 152 eyes in the 2 groups, respectively (P value for interaction = .04). Intravitreal injection was superior to intracameral injection in preventing endophthalmitis (P value for interaction = .01). Vitreous culture results were positive in 6 (67%) of 9 eyes with endophthalmitis. CONCLUSION: Intraocular gentamicin and clindamycin are effective in the prevention of acute posttraumatic bacterial endophthalmitis in eyes with retained intraocular foreign body. APPLICATION TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Prophylaxis of traumatic endophthalmitis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00398658.