Environmental degradation of the Mexican Caribbean reef lagoons.

Insufficient attention to the large volumes of wastewater produced by expansive tourism and urban development in the north of the Mexican Caribbean has increased concerns on the ecological and economic sustainability of this important tourist destination, which is currently threatened by massive arrivals of pelagic Sargassum. Comparing environmental descriptions for sites exposed to contrasting anthropogenic pressure and before and during massive Sargassum tides, uncovered significant shifts in the environmental conditions in the last 20 years, from oligotrophic to mesotrophic-eutrophic conditions. The most significant changes were observed in the north, for habitats exposed to high anthropogenic pressure. Accordingly, the severe threat that massive Sargassum beaching currently represents for the survival of Caribbean coral reefs cannot be considered the only driver of reef eutrophication in the Mexican Caribbean, as the habitat degradation documented here has an important contribution from anthropogenic fertilization.

The Use of Bumper Wire Technique and Intravascular Ultrasound for Precise Aorto-Ostial Stenting.

Background: Aorto-ostial interventions are challenging due to the limitations of contemporary equipment, imprecise ostial demarcation, and problematic ostial lesion characteristics. Suboptimal stent placement is common and portends worse clinical outcomes. Procedural and long-term outcomes of the bumper wire technique with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) assessment have not been investigated. Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted. Patients who underwent ostial lesion percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the bumper wire technique between January 2019 and September 2020 were identified. The primary endpoint was to determine the geographic miss rate defined by inadequate ostial coverage or excess stent protrusion of > 2 mm by IVUS or angiography. The secondary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) at 6 months after PCI, defined as the composite of cardiovascular death, target vessel myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization. Results: In total, 45 patients were identified. The average age was 71.7 years old, and 85.4% were men. Indication for PCI was acute coronary syndrome in about a third of patients. Twenty-six patients had left main ostial lesions and 19 patients had right coronary artery ostial lesions. Geographic miss was detected in two patients (4.4%): one patient (2.2%) had excess proximal stent protrusion and one patient (2.2%) had an ostial miss. Six patients were lost to follow-up. TLF, stroke, or major bleeding were not observed in any of the patients. Conclusion: The bumper wire technique is safe and efficient with low rates of geographic miss or adverse clinical outcomes. This is the first study to confirm precise aorto-ostial stent implantation with the bumper wire technique using IVUS confirmation.

A 50-Year-Old Woman With Uterine Myomatosis, Rapidly Progressive Dyspnea, and Lower Extremity Edema.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old woman with morbid obesity (BMI, 49 kg/m2) was admitted to the ED due to shortness of breath triggered by mild to moderate efforts over the previous 3 weeks that rapidly progressed to dyspnea at rest and became associated with oppressive chest pain and edema of the lower extremities. Four months prior to admission, she had been diagnosed with a uterine mass (18 × 21 cm2) suggestive of a leiomyoma, manifesting with abnormal vaginal bleeding and microcytic hypochromic anemia (Fig 1).

Respiratory distress in a 2-month-old infant: Is the primary cause cardiac, pulmonary or both?

A 2-month-old female with worsening cough, respiratory distress and an abnormal chest X-ray was referred to our institution for further evaluation of suspected scimitar syndrome. She was found to have normal pulmonary venous drainage with a large patent ductus arteriosus and severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. Chest CT was suggestive of interstitial lung disease. Wedge lung biopsy revealed alveolar simplification and patchy pulmonary interstitial glycogenosis. A definitive diagnosis of Filamin A deficiency was made with genetic studies. The patient is currently showing clinical improvement on systemic glucocorticoid therapy.

A cohort study evaluating the role of surgery for lung metastases from colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Surgery may be curative in some patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We analyzed the role of lung metastatectomy in this population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, cases were defined as mCRC patients with lung metastases (LM's) who underwent metastatectomy. Controls had LM's but did not undergo resection. RESULTS: There were 28 cases and 46 controls. The median overall survival (OS) was 53 months among the cases and 26.3 months for the controls. The cases were more likely to have 1 or 2 lung metastases, unilateral versus bilateral LM's, metachronous versus synchronous presentation of LM's and more likely to have a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level less than 10 ng/ml at diagnosis. The interval from diagnosis to the development of lung metastases was significantly longer in cases versus controls (22.9 versus 8.5 months). CONCLUSION: Patients selected using these criteria may have prolonged survival with therapy that includes lung metastatectomy.

Successful use of Trastuzumab with anthracycline-based chemotherapy followed by trastuzumab maintenance in patients with advanced HER2-positive gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is no standard chemotherapy regimen that is universally accepted for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Trastuzumab added to chemotherapy improves survival in patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her2/neu)-overexpressing gastric cancer. Data are lacking for the combination of trastuzumab with other chemotherapy regimens, apart from the cisplatin/fluorouracil backbone used in the pivotal TOGA trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, we included patients with gastric cancer with HER2 overexpression who received trastuzumab in addition to their first-line chemotherapy, with or without trastuzumab maintenance therapy. The end-points were response and tolerance to treatment. RESULTS: We identified seven patients who met the search criteria; six had metastatic disease and one had locally advanced unresectable disease. Four patients received epirubicin/oxaliplatin/capecitabine/trastuzumab, and the others had non-anthracycline-based chemotherapy with trastuzumab. All patients had radiological responses to treatment - one had a complete response and six had partial responses. Among the four patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy with trastuzumab, there was a transient decline in cardiac ejection fraction in three, but all resolved without sequelae. All patients received a period of chemotherapy induction followed by trastuzumab monotherapy for maintenance. The median progression-free survival was 14.6 months and median overall survival was 16.4 months. CONCLUSION: Trastuzumab is an important agent for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing gastric cancer. We recorded an acceptable safety and efficacy profile in this small cohort treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy with trastuzumab followed by trastuzumab maintenance.

Platelet satellitism and dual surface immunoglobulin light-chain expression in circulating splenic marginal zone lymphoma cells.

Platelet satellitism is believed to be an in vitro phenomenon induced at room temperature in ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid-anticoagulated blood. Most reports involve neutrophils; involvement with circulating lymphoma cells are exceedingly rare. Normally, mature B cells exhibit allelic exclusion in which a single class of surface immunoglobulin light chains (either κ or λ) is expressed. The simultaneous expression of both κ and λ immunoglobulin light chains is rare. Herein, we report the unusual case of a patient with splenic marginal zone lymphoma in which circulating lymphoma cells express dual surface immunoglobulin light chains and exhibit platelet satellitism. In addition to clinical findings, a comprehensive analysis of the peripheral blood including correlated light and electron microscopy as well as flow cytometry are described.

Pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis in a patient receiving adjuvant docetaxel and cyclophosphamide for stage 3 breast cancer: a case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary toxicities associated with chemotherapeutic agents utilized as adjuvant therapy in patients with breast cancer are distinctly uncommon. The chemotherapy regimen of docetaxel/cyclophosphamide has a more favorable therapeutic index compared to anthracycline-based regimens due to a significantly lower incidence of heart failure and leukemia. Consequently, docetaxel/cyclophosphamide is the preferred adjuvant chemotherapy of choice in older women or in women where anthracyclines may be contraindicated. Pulmonary complications in patients with breast cancer receiving taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy in the absence of radiation are distinctly uncommon. Here, we report the case of a patient receiving adjuvant docetaxel/cyclophosphamide who developed rapid-onset, biopsy-proven interstitial pneumonitis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 72-year-old Hispanic woman was diagnosed as having stage 3 hormone-receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu negative, invasive breast cancer. Due to the estimated 10-year risk of recurrence of approximately 80 percent, a decision was made to treat our patient with adjuvant chemotherapy. Due to her age and increased risk of cardiac toxicity with anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens, our patient was treated with docetaxel/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy for a total of four planned cycles. However, approximately two weeks after receiving the third cycle of chemotherapy, our patient developed rapidly progressive dyspnea, and a non-productive cough and went to the emergency room at an outside medical facility. She was found to have mild hypoxemia, and new onset of peripheral, subpleural fibrotic changes not present on pre-treatment scans. A thorascopic-guided wedge biopsy of the lung tissue revealed subacute interstitial pneumonitis. Our patient made a rapid clinical recovery after treatment with corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS: Interstitial pneumonitis is a rare complication of docetaxel/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy that carries a high mortality rate. The only way to make a definitive diagnosis is with a wedge biopsy of the lung, which should be performed when feasible. Our patient's case illustrates that no therapeutic intervention is without its intrinsic and unanticipated risks, and interstitial pneumonitis should be discussed as a potential side effect with all patients prior to administering docetaxel/cyclophosphamide chemotherapy.

Caracterización del tumor ovárico en la mujer centroamericana / Characterization of ovarian tumor in American women

El diagnóstico de una masa anexial es uno de los hallazgos más frecuentes en la práctica clínica de un ginecólogo. De los tumores ováricos el 80% son benignos y se presentan generalmente en mujeres menores de 45 años, el 20% son malignos y se presentan principalmente en mujeres postmenopáusicas...

Biomarkers, prediction, and prognosis in non-small-cell lung cancer: a platform for personalized treatment.

In lung cancer, the introduction of targeted agents in those patients who carry a genetic abnormality has resulted in better clinical outcomes with better quality of life. These molecular abnormalities have also become predictive biomarkers. It is imperative that we continue searching for these biomarkers in different tumorigenesis pathways, so we can provide the most appropriate therapy to each individual in the near future. Since the 1980s, chemotherapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer has been shown to provide a small improvement in survival. In the early 1990s, platinum-based regimens became the backbone of treatment for this disease. In 2002, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 1594 clinical trial showed that there was no overall survival difference among four common chemotherapy regimens used in non-small-cell lung cancer. It was not until 2006 when the introduction of biologic agents into the field of lung cancer improved, for the first time ever, median overall survival beyond 1 year. To date, we recognize that there are differences between all histologic subtypes of non-small-cell lung cancer in terms of their response to specific agents. All these plus the introduction of molecular medicine have resulted in the identification of markers for prognosis and prediction in lung cancer. In this review, we describe the actual and ongoing clinical efforts to validate the prognostic and predictive value of these potential markers in lung cancer. We hope that the clinical use of biomarkers will help us to deliver personalized medicine to our lung cancer patients by improving their quality of response which may translate into further survival advantage.

A myxoid chondrosarcoma associated with an anti-Hu-positive paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis.

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma is a rare tumor with less than 100 cases reported in the literature. The prevalence of anti-Hu positive myxoid chondrosarcoma-associated paraneoplastic subacute cerebellar degeneration is exceedingly rare. We present a report of a patient with confirmed myxoid chondrosarcoma-associated paraneoplastic subacute cerebellar degeneration, who exhibited marked improvement within 1 week of receiving chemotherapy, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and hydrocortisone treatment.

Intestinal obstruction: trends in imaging utilization and their influence in its rising hospital bill.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate trends in the utilization of different imaging modalities and review how imaging utilization practices affect hospital charges for patients with intestinal obstruction. All patients discharged with a primary diagnosis of intestinal obstruction during 6 fiscal years (1999-2004) were retrospectively studied. We obtained data on patients' demographics, procedures, outcomes, imaging services utilization, and hospital and imaging charges from our institution's transition system (a clinical and financial decision support software system). The institutional review board approved this study. Surgery was performed in 26% of patients in 1999 and in 40% in 2004 (p = 0.01) with the mortality rate significantly (p < 0.01) dropping from 3.8% to 0.4%. A total of 5,292 abdominal imaging studies were obtained; 93% of those were either abdominal radiographs or abdomino-pelvic computed tomography (CT) scans. CT studies per patient increased from 0.5 in 1999 to 1 in 2004 (p < 0.01), while abdominal radiographs (mean = 2.4) did not significantly change over the entire study period (p = 0.6). Average imaging charges doubled during the study period ($1,572 to $3,012, p < 0.01). Average hospital charges increased from $18,138 in 1999 to $32,808 in 2004 (p < 0.01). The fraction of hospital charges attributed to imaging varied between 8.7% and 9.2%. CT utilization for intestinal obstruction increased from 1999 to 2004 without modality substitution. While hospital and imaging charges have significantly increased, the fraction represented by imaging has remained constant, suggesting that imaging is an unlikely cause for the increase in hospital charges.

Imaging utilization in the management of appendicitis and its impact on hospital charges.

The objective of this study is to assess the trends in imaging utilization in adults with diagnosis of appendicitis and the role that imaging plays in the escalating appendicitis hospital charges. Data on demographics, imaging utilization, and charges of all patients discharged after a diagnosis of appendicitis during 6 years (1999-2004) were obtained from the integrated database of a large hospital. The number of discharges from 1999 to 2004 in the institution steadily decreased. An average of 2.34 imaging studies per patient were obtained, increasing from 1.85 in 1999 to 3.07 in 2004 (p = 0.001). Computed tomography (CT) studies represented 65.9% of the total of studies obtained, while plain films and ultrasound represented 19 and 14%, respectively. The percentage of patients who underwent CT increased from 51.4 to 75.7%, with relative decreases of 12 and 54% for plain abdominal films and ultrasound, respectively. Patients older than 65 years had higher rates of imaging utilization, averaging 4.3 compared with 1.86 studies in their younger counterparts (p = 0.001). Imaging utilization rates did not significantly differ among races (p > 0.5), genders (p > 0.8), discharge services (p > 0.1), or payer groups (p > 0.5). Average hospital charges for appendicitis increased by 16.3%, while imaging charges increased as a fraction of hospital charges from 7.89 to 10.87%. Imaging utilization has increased rapidly, but trends show a slowdown that might correspond with achievement of standardization. This suggests that long-term continuous rising is unlikely. Imaging charges correlate with increased hospital charges but cannot explain or accurately predict them.

Leishmaniasis, sarcoma de kaposi y strongyloidiasis en pacientes con SIDA / Leishmaniasis, kaposi' sarcoma and strongyloidiasis in patient with AIDS

La leismaniasis, el sarcoma de Kaposi y la strongyloidiasis, son patolog¡as que pueden aparecer en pacientes HIV, como infecciones oportunistas, especialmente si el número de CD4+ es menor a 200, implicando una mayor morbi-mortalidad para el paciente. La leishmaniasis se ha hecho más frecuente, como infección oportunista principalmente en áreas endémicas. El sarcoma de Kaposi es la patología maligna más frecuentemente asociada al HIV, pero desde que se ha extendido el tratamiento antirretrovial, los casos han disminuido de forma importante. La strongyloidiasis es una infección causada por helminto, que podría ocasinar en este tipo de pacientes inmunosuprimidos, el síndrome de superinfección, causando complicaciones difusas que pueden manifestarse a nivel cutáneo, gastrointestinales y pulmonar, y es muy frecuente en pacientes HIV con diarrea crónica. Se presenta el caso de un paciente masculino de 47 años de edad, con clínica de tres meses de evolución de diarrea, fiebre y pérdida de peso. Al examen físico: máculas y placas violáceas generalizadas en la piel, síndrome adenomegálico incluyendo mediastino y retroperitoneo, hepatoesplenomegalia, y en los exámenes complementarios; pancitopenia, hiperglobulinemia y serología positiva para el virus de inmunodeficiencia humana.

Saturnismo: reporte de dos casos y revisión de la literatura / Saturnismo: report of two cases and review of the literature

Se discuten 2 casos de intoxicación crónica por plomo; el primero es un paciente masculino de 29 años de edad, cauchero y con proyectil alojado en el tobillo derecho desde hace 5 años, quien inició enfermedad 15 meses previo a su hospitalización caracterizada por dolor abdominal difuso, hiporexia y pérdida de peso, posteriormente estreñimiento, debilidad muscular generalizada y como hallazgos relevantes de laboratorio anemia y plumbemia de 106 µg por ciento; y el segundo caso, es un paciente masculino de 31 años de edad, tornero y con proyectil alojado en la cabeza femoral derecha desde hace 5 años quien presentó dolor abdominal difuso, hiporexia, pérdida de peso y estreñimiento de 2 meses de evolución con desarrollo posterior de temblor distal, disfonía y debilidad muscular generalizada presentando paraclínicamente, anemia y plumbemia de 88,5 µg por ciento. En ambos casos se inició tratamiento con D-penicilamina, en ausencia de otro agente quelante en el país y la necesidad de terapia continua hasta lograr la extracción de la fuente endógena de plomo (proyectil), evidenciándose respuesta clínica y paraclínica favorables a las 4 semanas de tratamiento sin toxicidad medicamentosa

Hipercortisolismo: supresión persistente con la prueba de dexametasona 8 MG / Hypercortisolism: persistent elimination with the dexamethasone 8 MG of sample

Un hombre de 26 años de edad había presentado aumento de 10 Kg de peso durante 1993 con episodios de cefalea bitemporal y nerviosismo hasta noviembre cuando tuvo una primoconvulsión tónico-clónica generalizada. Se demostró Obesidad, Hipertensión, Hiperglicemia, Acidosis Metabólica descompensada, Cortisol plasmático un límite superior sin variación circadiana y cortisol urinario elevado, mayor de 100 mcg en 24 horas. No suprimió con Dexametasona 2 mg pero si con dexametasona 8 mg. Posterior a la prueba de supresión desaparecieron los síntomas, signos y hallazgos de laboratorio. Todos los estudios de imagenología fueron negativos. En 4 años de seguimiento el cortisol urinario no ha superado los 63 mcg/día

Experiencia con 75 casos de correlación clínico patológica en cirugía

La correlación Clínico-Patológica es el mejor instrumento que tenemos para evaluar nuestro indice de criterio tanto clínico como operatorio y la capacidad técnica instalada, conviertiéndose por lo tanto en el control de calidad del manejo directo de pacientes que fallecen, correlacionando la necropsia con el diagnóstico clínico y el diagnóstico operatório. Dicho control de calidad no queda circunscrito al caso clínico en particular ya que también califica al personal, así como las facilidades y equipamiento del area de trabajo. Pudiendo resumir que evalua y califica al departamento clínico en general. Fieles a las bondades y ventajas que tiene dicho procedimiento, para la educación médica y el desempeño de nuestro departamento de cirugía nos preocupamos por crear los mecanismos eficaces, para poder lograr un indice de necropsias el cual alcanzó niveles muy satisfactorios del 91// en un total de 82 fallecidos durante el período de estudio