Acute appendicitis within an incisional hernia: a type of Amyand's hernia.

A man in his 60s presented to the emergency department with generalised abdominal pain and distention associated with the inability to pass stool or gas. The patient had undergone a laparoscopic partial right nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma a year ago. The workup diagnosis suggested an incarcerated incisional hernia. Surgical treatment was proposed. Intraoperatively, we found an ileocecal appendix with a macroscopically gangrenous appearance inside the hernia sac. An appendectomy was performed, and the hernia defect was closed using a tension repair. Amyand's hernia, a rare condition, is classically described as an inguinal hernia containing the appendix, but it can also refer to an incisional hernia containing the appendix. Amyand's hernia classification depends on the localisation of the hernia sac and its contents, including the presence or absence of appendix inflammation.This case report described a patient with Amyand's hernia, which was diagnosed intraoperatively. The treatment was also discussed including open appendectomy and primary repair of the defect using a tension repair approach.

Forward trunk lean with arm support affects the activity of accessory respiratory muscles and thoracoabdominal movement in healthy individuals.

Despite the reported benefits of postures involving leaning the trunk forward with arm support for relieving dyspnea, how those postures influence the mechanics of breathing remains unclear. In response, the aim of the study reported here was to evaluate how posture (i.e., standing and sitting) and leaning the trunk forward with arm support affect the activity of accessory respiratory muscles and thoracoabdominal movement in healthy individuals. Thirty-five volunteers (15 males and 20 females) aged 18-29 years breathed with the same rhythm in standing and sitting positions while upright and while leaning the trunk forward with arm support. Surface electromyography was performed to assess the activity of accessory inspiratory (i.e., during inspiration) and abdominal (i.e., during inspiration and expiration) muscles, and a motion capture system was used to assess thoracoabdominal movement. Results revealed that upper trapezius activity was significantly lower in forward-leaning postures than in upright ones (P = 005; ηp2 = 0.311), although the activity of the sternocleidomastoideus and scalenus (P < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.427-0.529), along with the anterior-to-posterior movement of the upper ribcage (P < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.546), were significantly greater in forward-leaning postures than in upright ones. The activity of the external oblique and transversus abdominis/internal oblique was significantly lower in sitting than in standing postures (P < 0.050; ηp2 = 0.206-0.641), and though the activity of the transversus abdominis/internal oblique was significantly lower in forward-leaning than in upright postures (P ≤ 0.001; ηp2 = 0.330-0.541), a significantly greater anterior-to-posterior movement of the abdomen was observed (P < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.662). However, the magnitude of the lower ribcage's medial-to-lateral movement was significantly lower in forward-leaning than in upright postures (P = 0.039; ηp2 = 0.149). Leaning the trunk forward with arm support not only increased the use of accessory inspiratory muscles but also decreased the use of the transversus abdominis/internal oblique, which improved thoracoabdominal movement.

Evaluación de un instrumento para cuantificar la estigmatización de la adolescente embarazada en el Perú / Evaluation of an instrument to quantify stigmatization of pregnant adolescents in Peru

El embarazo adolescente es un problema de salud pública que representa una situación que posiciona la vida de la adolescente en una condición de particular vulnerabilidad no solo biomédica, sino también social, siendo particularmente importante la estigmatización hacia la adolescente embarazada. Objetivo: Evaluar psicométricamente un instrumento destinado a cuantificar la estigmatización de la adolescente embarazada. Diseño: Estudio transversal. Lugar: Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Perú. Participantes: Adolescente puérperas. Intervenciones: Se estudió 292 adolescente puérperas atendidas durante los meses de enero a mayo del 2010. Se usó la Escala de Estigmatización de la Adolescente Embarazada (EEAA), la cual está compuesta de 7 ítems. Para la construcción teórica de la escala, se asumió dos entidades sociales promotoras de la estigmatización: la familia y el entorno social. Para evaluar la predictibilidad de la EEAE se trabajó con la siguiente hipótesis: los mayores niveles de estigmatización están asociados a un menor autoconcepto de la adolescente como madre. Principales medidas de resultados: Coeficiente de alfa de Cronbach, medias, T de student. Resultados: El análisis psicométrico de la EEAE reveló un coeficiente alfa de Cronbach de 0,78, con dos dimensiones que explicaron el 65,8 por ciento de la varianza total. Conclusiones: Se probó la hipótesis planteada: un menor autoconcepto de la adolescente como madre está asociado significativamente a mayores puntajes en la EEAE (p<0,05). La EEAE presentó consistencia alta. Además existió una asociación con un menor autoconcepto materno, por lo que se considera una escala confiable y válida para su uso en adolescentes embarazadas...

Teenage pregnancy is a public health problem that places the status of a teenager in biomedical and social vulnerability, the stigmatization of a pregnant adolescent. Objective: To evaluate psychometrically an instrument to measure stigmatization of pregnant adolescents. Design: Cross-sectional study. Location: National Maternal Perinatal Institute, Lima, Peru. Participants: Adolescent puerperae. Interventions: To 292 postpartum adolescents attended from January through May 2010 an Adolescent Pregnant Stigma Scale (APSS) consisting in 7 items was applied. For the theoretical construction of the scale, two promoter entities of social stigma were assumed: family and social environment. To assess the predictability of APSS the following hypothesis was considered: the higher levels of stigma are associated with a lower self-concept of the adolescent mother. Main outcome measures: Cronbach's alpha coefficient, medians, T student. Results: The psychometric analysis revealed for APSS a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.78; two dimensions accounted for 65.8 per cent of the total variance. Conclusions: The hypothesis was verified: a lower self-concept of the adolescent as a mother was significantly associated with higher scores of APSS (p<0.05). APSS had high consistency. There was also an association with a lower maternal self-concept, making the scale reliable and valid for use in pregnant adolescents...