Paraumbilical Perforator Flap: A Reliable Option for Coverage of Soft Tissue Defects of Forearm and Hand.

Soft tissue injuries of the hand or forearm often results in exposure of tendon or bone which needs coverage with a suitable flap. This prospective observational study was carried out in National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 2019 to January 2020, to evaluate the use of the pedicled paraumbilical perforator flaps as a reliable flap to cover such defects. Total 34 patients having soft tissue defects in the hand and forearm with exposed tendons, bones or implant were included in this study. All the defects were covered by paraumbilical perforator flap. The defects were caused by road traffic accident (n=22), machinery injury (n=10) and burn injury (n=2). Sixteen patients had defects involving the forearm, six over dorsum of hand, another two over first web space and the rest had defects over two or more areas of forearm, hand and wrist. Lateral extent of flaps was upto anterior axillary line in 41.18% cases and upto mid-axillary line in 55.88% cases. Flap division and final inset was done in second stage after 3 weeks. Donor site closed primarily in all cases, except in two cases where it was covered by skin graft. All the flaps survived with no incidence of flap necrosis, dehiscence or infection after first stage. However, after the division of the flap, two patients developed marginal necrosis of the proximal margin which healed spontaneously by conservative treatment. The mean flap surface area utilized was 108 cm2. Donor area healed well without any major complications. Three patients developing scar hypertrophy were treated with intra-lesional triamcinolone injections. The paraumbilical perforator flap is a reliable option to cover soft tissue defects of hand and forearm due to easier planning and harvesting of the flap, adequate skin paddle and minimum donor site morbidity.

Distribution of acute appendicitis care in children: A statewide assessment of the surgeons and facilities providing surgical care.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric appendicitis is managed by general and pediatric surgeons at both children's hospitals and non-children's hospitals. A statewide assessment of surgeons and facilities providing appendicitis care was performed to identify factors associated with location of surgical care. METHODS: Children aged <18 years undergoing appendectomy for appendicitis in Wisconsin from 2018-2020 were identified through the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, and Current Procedural Terminology codes using Wisconsin Hospital Association data. Patient residence and hospital locations were used to determine travel distance, rurality, and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Among 3,604 children with appendicitis, 36.0% and 12.8% had an appendectomy at 2 major children's hospitals and 4 other children's hospitals, respectively, and 51.2% had an appendectomy at 99 non-children's hospitals. Pediatric surgeons performed 76.1% of appendectomies at children's hospitals and 2.9% at non-children's hospitals. Only 32.2% of patients received care at the hospital closest to their homes. Non-children's hospitals disproportionally cared for older, non-Hispanic White, and privately insured children, those with uncomplicated appendicitis, and those living in rural areas, in mid-socioeconomic status neighborhoods, and greater distances from children's hospitals (all P < .001). After multivariable adjustment, receipt of care at children's hospitals was associated with younger age, minority race, complicated appendicitis, shorter distance to children's hospitals, and urban residence. CONCLUSION: Over half of surgical care for pediatric appendicitis occurred at non-children's hospitals, especially among older children and those living in rural areas far from children's hospitals. Future work is necessary to determine which children benefit most from care at children's hospitals and which can safely receive care at non-children's hospitals to avoid unnecessary time and resource utilization associated with travel to children's hospitals.

The Decay of Disease Association with Declining Linkage Disequilibrium: A Fine Mapping Theorem.

Several important and fundamental aspects of disease genetics models have yet to be described. One such property is the relationship of disease association statistics at a marker site closely linked to a disease causing site. A complete description of this two-locus system is of particular importance to experimental efforts to fine map association signals for complex diseases. Here, we present a simple relationship between disease association statistics and the decline of linkage disequilibrium from a causal site. Specifically, the ratio of Chi-square disease association statistics at a marker site and causal site is equivalent to the standard measure of pairwise linkage disequilibrium, r2. A complete derivation of this relationship from a general disease model is shown. Quite interestingly, this relationship holds across all modes of inheritance. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations using a disease genetics model applied to chromosomes subjected to a standard model of recombination are employed to better understand the variation around this fine mapping theorem due to sampling effects. We also use this relationship to provide a framework for estimating properties of a non-interrogated causal site using data at closely linked markers. Lastly, we apply this way of examining association data from high-density genotyping in a large, publicly-available data set investigating extreme BMI. We anticipate that understanding the patterns of disease association decay with declining linkage disequilibrium from a causal site will enable more powerful fine mapping methods and provide new avenues for identifying causal sites/genes from fine-mapping studies.

H1N1 in dialysis units: prevention and management.

Dialysis patients are at increased risk of contracting influenza A H1N1 and developing serious illness. Increasing the awareness of dialysis patients and continuous education and training of medical staff on early recognition and management of influenza A H1N1 can help in saving the life of patients. Antiviral drugs and influenza vaccines are effective in providing adequate immunity in dialysis patients with strict implementation of infection control policies and procedures can help in preventing and controlling the dissemination of influenza A H1N1 in dia-lysis units. We report a case of a patient who presented with H1N1 influenza and developed acute kidney injury during his hospitalization and his course with disease.

[Liver hyperdensity during arterial phase on CT exams]. / Hiperdensidades hepáticas durante la fase arterial en TC.

The use of helical CT, infusing pump and non-ionic contrast media has enabled the evaluation of different hepatic circulatory phases during contrast injection. Starting the acquisition of scans 20 to 30 seconds after the injection at a rate of 3 to 4 ml/sec the arterial enhancing of the liver is depicted. THROMBOSIS OR COMPRESSION OF THE PORTAL VEIN: Hypervascular triangle-shaped was with peripheral base can be seen, secondary to the increased arterial flow to compensate for the diminished portal flow. ARTERIOPORTAL SHUNTS: This condition can be caused by tumors such hepatocellular adenocarcinomas and hemangiomas, trauma, interventional procedures, cirrhosis, AVMs and surgery. INFLAMMATORY LESIONS: Hypervascular areas can be seen during the arterial phase in abscesses or cholecystitis, returning to their normal condition in the arterial phase. ANATOMIC VARIANTS: Third veins coming from the periphery (capsular veins, accessory cystic vein and an aberrant gastric vein) supply enhanced blood earlier than the portal circulation. OTHER CAUSES: In liver cirrhosis diffuse hyperattenuated areas can be seen during the arterial circulation. In right-sided heart failure, pericardial disease and Budd-Chiari Syndrome, "mosaic areas" can also be noted. In other patients these perfusion disorders were considered unknown. TUMORS: The well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma is a lesion with a predominant arterial blood supply, thus appearing in general hyperdense in this phase. Hemangiomas may appear as highly hyperdense lesions in the arterial phase and can be misinterpreted as HCC if smaller than 2 cm. (30% of cases). Focal nodular hyperplasia is a benign lesion (vascular malformation associated with focal nodules of hepatocellular hyperplasia) with increased arterial blood supply. Hepatic adenomas show an important hypervascularity during the arterial phase and, if large, they may present a small central scar and or capsule. Low or high-grade dysplastic nodules can sometimes be seen as hypervascular areas during the arterial phase. Although most metastasis are depicted as hypodense lesions sometimes they can show arterial hypervascularity such as carcinoid and pancreatic islet cell metastasis.

Hiperdensidades hepáticas durante la fase arterial en TC. / [Liver hyperdensity during arterial phase on CT exams]

The use of helical CT, infusing pump and non-ionic contrast media has enabled the evaluation of different hepatic circulatory phases during contrast injection. Starting the acquisition of scans 20 to 30 seconds after the injection at a rate of 3 to 4 ml/sec the arterial enhancing of the liver is depicted. THROMBOSIS OR COMPRESSION OF THE PORTAL VEIN: Hypervascular triangle-shaped was with peripheral base can be seen, secondary to the increased arterial flow to compensate for the diminished portal flow. ARTERIOPORTAL SHUNTS: This condition can be caused by tumors such hepatocellular adenocarcinomas and hemangiomas, trauma, interventional procedures, cirrhosis, AVMs and surgery. INFLAMMATORY LESIONS: Hypervascular areas can be seen during the arterial phase in abscesses or cholecystitis, returning to their normal condition in the arterial phase. ANATOMIC VARIANTS: Third veins coming from the periphery (capsular veins, accessory cystic vein and an aberrant gastric vein) supply enhanced blood earlier than the portal circulation. OTHER CAUSES: In liver cirrhosis diffuse hyperattenuated areas can be seen during the arterial circulation. In right-sided heart failure, pericardial disease and Budd-Chiari Syndrome, [quot ]mosaic areas[quot ] can also be noted. In other patients these perfusion disorders were considered unknown. TUMORS: The well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma is a lesion with a predominant arterial blood supply, thus appearing in general hyperdense in this phase. Hemangiomas may appear as highly hyperdense lesions in the arterial phase and can be misinterpreted as HCC if smaller than 2 cm. (30

of cases). Focal nodular hyperplasia is a benign lesion (vascular malformation associated with focal nodules of hepatocellular hyperplasia) with increased arterial blood supply. Hepatic adenomas show an important hypervascularity during the arterial phase and, if large, they may present a small central scar and or capsule. Low or high-grade dysplastic nodules can sometimes be seen as hypervascular areas during the arterial phase. Although most metastasis are depicted as hypodense lesions sometimes they can show arterial hypervascularity such as carcinoid and pancreatic islet cell metastasis.

[Liver cyst sclerotherapy: report of a case and review of the literature]. / Escleroterapia de quiste hepático: reporte de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

We present a case of a 49-year-old woman with a single hepatic symptomatic cyst. We performed US and CT examinations for correct diagnostic purposes and we approached it with a 18 G Chiba neddle. There after a 6 F "pig tail" catheter was inserted using Seldinger's method and after performing a cystography 95% ethilic alcohol was instilled within a 48 hs period. The third day the patient was discharged with no complication. The control examination revealed no cyst what suever four months later.

[Computed tomography-guided treatment of infected acute pancreatitis]. / Tratamiento percutáneo de pancreatitis aguda infectada guiado con tomografía computada.

We report a case of a 60 years old man admitted for infected acute pancreatitis and duodenal fistula with mediastinal extension at admission, successfully treated in a 40-days period with CT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage (Malecot 14F) inserted with Seldinger method, in spite of a colic fistula development during the treatment.

[Computed tomography of acute primary epiploic appendicitis]. / Tomografia computada de la apendicitis epiploica primaria aguda.

Primary epiploic appendicitis is a rare but well known intraabdominal inflammatory process that characteristically presents with an onset of symptoms similar to diverticulitis, appendicitis and other abdominopelvic processes. CT findings are pathognomonic, consistent with a pericolonic oval shaped area of increased density with peritoneal thickening, and fat stranding. The condition is self limited and resolves completely within days under non-steroid antiinflammatory therapy.

[Helical computed tomography of the liver: evaluation of the different circulatory phases]. / Tomografia computada helicoidal de higado: evaluación de las diferentes fases circulatorias.

With Helical CT development it is possible to examine the entire liver during one breath hold, marking difficult to miss any piece of parenchyma, and besides the speed of this method makes it capable to evaluated the different phases of the hepatic circulation after i.v. administration of contrast material. Both sensitivity and specificity of CT have improved since the use of this new device. Another advantage of the technique is the factibility of multidirectional and tridimensional reconstruction. We present in this paper our records of patients having hepatic lesions examined with this new methodology.