Rare case of brucellosis misdiagnosed as prostate carcinoma with lumbar vertebra metastasis: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Prostatitis caused by Brucella infection is rare and usually lacks typical lower urinary tract symptoms. However, Brucella infection can cause serum prostate-specific antigen levels to become abnormally elevated. When concurrent with lumbar vertebra infection and erosion, brucellosis can easily be misdiagnosed as prostate cancer with bone metastasis. CASE SUMMARY: A 45-year-old man complained of recurrent low back pain and fever for 2 wk. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar vertebrae showed abnormal signs at the rear of the L4-5 vertebral body. Serum prostate-specific antigen level was 17.64 ng/mL, and positron emission tomography/computed tomography suggested the possibility of prostate cancer with liver and lumbar metastases. The patient was transferred to our department for further treatment. He experienced repeated bouts of fever and low back pain during hospitalization. Biopsy results indicated prostatitis. There was no significant increase in white blood cell count or procalcitonin levels. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis smear and antibody detection results were negative. Cefoperazone sulbactam was not effective. Blood culture test results were positive for brucellosis, confirming the diagnosis of brucellosis. After oral anti-infection treatment with doxycycline and rifampicin, the body temperature gradually returned to normal, and lumbago improved. After continuous treatment for 6 mo, the patient recovered. CONCLUSION: In patients with low back pain and fever accompanied by elevated prostate-specific antigen levels and lesions of the prostate and lumbar spine, a detailed medical history and blood and urine cultures should be obtained, and attention should be given to the local epidemic infectious disease situation.

A mobile terminal application program was used for endotracheal tube cuff pressure measurement.

We studied the application of a mobile terminal application program in endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff pressure measurement to improve the implementation rate of scientific ETT cuff pressure measurement and to ensure that the pressure falls within the recommended range. A pre-post controlled study lasting for 18 months was undertaken in a 40-bed general intensive care unit (GICU). This included a 6-month baseline period (baseline group) and a 6-month intervention period (intervention group). The mobile terminal application program was applied to monitor the cuff pressure of endotracheal intubation as an intervention measure during the intervention period. ETT pressure was the main outcome measure, while gender, age, causes for ICU admission, sedation score, duration of prior intubation, size of ETT, and number of VAP patients were secondary outcomes. ETT cuff pressure was monitored 742 times in both the baseline group and the intervention group. A total of 56.9% of the cuff pressure measurements in the baseline group were within the recommended range, while 78.4% of measurements in the intervention group were within the recommended range, reflecting a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The application of the mobile terminal application program used for ETT cuff pressure measurement could improve the percentage of ETT cuff pressure measurements falling within the recommended range.

Giant Pelvic Adenoma Originating from Ectopic Prostatic Tissue.

Ectopic prostatic tissue detected outside the genitourinary system has been rarely reported. A case with a giant pelvic adenoma that originated from ectopic prostatic tissue is presented. A 71-year male was detected with lower abdominal mass for eight months and recurrent acute urinary retention for one week. This patient already had mild lower urinary tract symptoms for three years. The physical examination, laboratory tests, ultrasonography, and MRI of this patient were analysed, and the pathological diagnosis was ectopic prostatic adenoma. The suprapubic incision for pelvic exploration and tumorectomy was chosen. The recognition and awareness of this unusual lesion is important, in order not to confuse this particular lesion with other pelvic tumors.

Rare presentation of a right retroperitoneal accessory spleen: A case report.

An accessory spleen is a congenital malformation, which is defined as ectopic splenic parenchyma. Here, an extremely rare case of a right retroperitoneal accessory spleen, mimicking a retroperitoneal neoplasm, is reported. A 40-year-old woman was referred following the incidental detection of a retroperitoneal neoplasm. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans confirmed the presence of a retroperitoneal neoplasm at the hepatorenal recess. Retroperitoneoscopic excision was conducted, with excellent results. Pathological examination of the resected specimen revealed splenic tissue. In conjunction with a review of the literature and a discussion of the salient radiological features, the present case highlights the requirement for accurate preoperative diagnosis of an accessory spleen in the right retroperitoneal space, in order to avoid unnecessary surgical intervention.

Estrogen in combination with 5-azacitidine up-regulates p75NTR expression and induces apoptosis in 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells.

Previous studies suggest that the low-affinity neurotrophin receptor p75NTR inhibits the proliferation of human prostate cancer cells, and that estrogen interacts with p75NTR in many tissues. In this study, we exposed 22Rv1 androgen-independent prostate cancer cells to 17-ß-estradiol and the DNA demethylating agent 5-azacitidine (5-AzaC) to explore the interactions between estrogen and p75NTR. We found that estrogen induced estrogen receptor (ESR) subtype?2 and p75NTR expression in 22Rv1 cells, and that 5-AzaC further enhanced these effects. Estrogen in combination with 5-AzaC induced cell apoptosis, which was associated with the inhibition of NF-κB translocation to the nucleus. These results provide evidence that the up-regulation of ESR2 and p75NTR by estrogen plus 5-AzaC may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of androgen-refractory prostate cancer.