Recalcitrant intussusception: exploring potential associations with Helicobacter pylori infection - a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Intussusception, a common cause of abdominal pain in children, often lacks clear underlying causes and is mostly idiopathic. Recurrence, though rare, raises clinical concerns, with rates escalating after each episode. Factors like pathological lead points and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) are associated with recurrent cases. On the other hand, the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), often asymptomatic, in children has been declining. Although its infection is reported to be linked with HSP, its role in recurrent intussusception remains unexplored. Further research is needed to understand the interplay among H. pylori (culprit pathogen), HSP (trigger), and intractable intussusception so as to develop effective management strategies. CASE PRESENTATION: A two-year-old girl experienced four atypical episodes of intussusception at distinct locations, which later coincided with HSP. Despite treatment with steroids, recurrent intussusception persisted, suggesting that HSP itself was not a major cause for intractable presentations. Subsequent identification of H. pylori infection and treatment with triple therapy resulted in complete resolution of her recalcitrant intussusception. CONCLUSION: This instructive case underscored a sequence wherein H. pylori infection triggered HSP, subsequently resulting in recurrent intussusception. While H. pylori infection is not common in young children, the coexistence of intractable intussusception and steroid-resistant recurrent HSP necessitates consideration of H. pylori infection as a potential underlying pathogen.

An enigma of hypothyroidism and hyponatremia coexistence: a nationwide population-based retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Hypothyroidism is a rare and possible cause of hyponatremia. However, the clinical epidemiology and risk of mortality (ROM) when they coexist still remain elusive. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the epidemiology and ROM among index patients with coexisting hypothyroidism and hyponatremia via a national population database. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized Taiwan's National Health Insurance program database. Distributions of definite sociodemographic factors were analyzed. The annual incidence among the overall group and sex-subgroups was investigated. In addition, potential factors influencing the ROM were also evaluated. RESULTS: Of 4,549,226 patients from 1998 to 2015, a total of 3,140 index patients with concurrent hypothyroidism and hyponatremia were analyzed. The incidence rate increased tenfold from 1998 to 2015; average annual incidence rate was 174. Among the total participants, 57.1% were women; mean age was 72.6 ± 14.7 years and 88.8% were aged > 55 years. Although average length of stay (LOS) was 13.1 ± 15.4 days, the mortality group had significantly longer LOS than that in the survival group (12.9 days vs 22.2 days). Old age, catastrophic illness, cardiac dysrhythmia, and low hospital hierarchy were independent predictors of hospital mortality. The optimal LOS cutoff value for ROM prediction was 16 days. Index patients with LOS > 16 days increased ROM by 2.3-fold. CONCLUSIONS: Coexistent hypothyroidism and hyponatremia is rare, although the incidence increased gradually. Factors influencing the ROM, such as old age, underlying catastrophic status, cardiac dysrhythmia, hospital hierarchy, and LOS should be considered in clinical care.

New dimension on potential factors of successful pediatric peripheral intravenous catheterization.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral intravenous catheterization (PIVC) is pivotal to pediatric medical care; however, it is a challenging technique for pediatricians, and the parameters affecting successful pediatric PIVC establishment have not been fully investigated. METHODS: This prospective observational study collected data from pediatric patients aged less than 18 years who required PIVC. The participants were categorized into five groups for subgroup analysis: newborn, infant, toddler, pre-school, and student (children and adolescent). Data on demography, biochemistry, and PIVC executors were examined to elucidate the most powerful factors affecting the success of PIVC. RESULTS: A total of 935 peripheral venous cannulations conducted within 1 year were studied. Age-subgroup analysis showed the highest failure rate (FR) of PIVC in the infant group (18.4%). No significant difference in BMI standard deviation score was noted among the groups (p-value = 0.430). Compared with those for the success group, more attempts, longer completion time, and more medical staff were needed for the failure group (all p-values < 0.05). A high serum procalcitonin level was correlated with an increased FR (p-value = 0.016). In addition, the success rate was positively associated with the seniority of the operators, except for the 3-year experienced R3 group (93.5%) showing a higher success rate than the 4-year experienced CR group (84.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Difficulty in setting up PIVC was the greatest in infants and even greater than that in newborns. Even though seniority was a cardinal factor in successful PIVC, a high FR was still noted despite the lack of continuous and steady practice.

Ovarian steroid cell tumor causing isosexual pseudoprecocious puberty in a young girl: an instructive case and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Steroid cell tumors (SCTs) are very rare sex cord-stromal tumors and account only for less than 0.1% of ovarian neoplasms. SCTs might comprise diverse steroid-secreting cells; hence, the characteristic clinical features were affected by their propensity to secrete a variety of hormones rather than mass effect resulting in compression symptoms and signs. To date, ovarian SCTs have seldom been reported in children, particularly very young children; and pseudoprecocious puberty (PPP) as its unique principal manifestation should be reiterated. CASE PRESENTATION: We reported a 1-year-8-month-old girl presenting with rapid bilateral breast and pubic hair development within a 2-month period. Undetectable levels of LH and FSH along with excessively high estradiol after stimulation with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), as well as a heterogeneous mass inside left ovary shown in pelvic sonography indicate isosexual PPP. Her gonadal hormones returned remarkably to the prepubertal range the day after surgery, and histology of the ovary mass demonstrated SCTs containing abundant luteinized stromal cells. CONCLUSION: The case highlighted that SCTs causing isosexual PPP should be taken into consideration in any young children coexistent with rapidly progressive puberty given a remarkable secretion of sex hormones. This article also reviewed thoroughly relevant reported cases to enrich the clinical experience of SCTs in the pediatric group.

Stress hyperglycemia as first sign of asymptomatic type 1 diabetes: an instructive case.

BACKGROUND: Stress hyperglycemia (SH) is considered a transient manifestation and routine diagnostic evaluation was thought to be unnecessary due to the lack of definite correlation with diabetes mellitus (DM). Although SH was usually benign and long-term treatment was superfluous, it might be the first sign of insulinopenic status such as type 1 DM (T1DM). CASE PRESENTATION: We reported a boy with acute asthma attack presented incidentally with high blood glucose levels exceeding 300 mg/dL and obvious glycemic variability. A prolonged hyperglycemic duration of more than 48 h was also noticed. To elucidate his unique situation, glucagon test and insulin autoantibody survey were done which showed insulinopenia with positive anti-insulin antibody and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody despite the absence of overt DM symptoms and signs. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights that SH might be a prodromal presentation in T1DM children, especially when accompanied simultaneously with extreme hyperglycemia, apparent glucose variability, as well as prolonged hyperglycemic duration.

Mimics of malignancy caused by concurrent imperforate hymen and transverse vaginal septum: an instructive case and review of the literature.

The coexistence of imperforate hymen and vaginal septum is rare and their ability to mimic malignant manifestations have not been frequently reported. This current case report describes a 13-year-old girl that presented with cyclic abdominal pain for 6 months. She was found to have a huge mass via abdominal plain film X-ray and sonography, with inexplicably high levels of serum carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen (CA)-19-9 and CA-125. Pelvic computed tomography imaging disclosed two huge cystic lesions in the uterine and upper vaginal cavities. Surgical intervention conformed the diagnosis of a concurrent imperforate hymen and transverse vaginal septum, echoing the imaging findings of haematocolpometra. Her tumour marker levels gradually returned to normal after surgery. This rare case of concomitant imperforate hymen and transverse vaginal septum highlights that haematocolpometra, a benign disease that might mimic malignancy, should be taken into consideration in any adolescent females with an abdominal mass and amenorrhoea to ensure an early diagnosis and timely appropriate management.

End-Bonded Metal Contacts on WSe2 Field-Effect Transistors.

Contact engineering has been the central issue in the context of high-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) made of atomic thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Conventional metal contacts on TMDs have been made on top via a lithography process, forming a top-bonded contact scheme with an appreciable contact barrier. To provide a more efficient pathway for charge injection, an end-bonded contact scheme has been proposed, in which covalent bonds are formed between the contact metal and channel edges. Yet, little efforts have been made to realize this contact configuration. Here, we bridge this gap and demonstrate seeded growth of end-bonded contact with different TMDs by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Monolayer WSe2 FETs with a CVD-grown channel and end contacts exhibit improved performance metrics, including an on-current density of 30 µA/µm, a hole mobility of 90 cm2/V·s, and a subthreshold swing of 94 mV/dec, an order of magnitude superior than those of top-contact FET counterparts that share the same channel material. A fundamental NOT logic gate constructed using top-gated and end-bonded WSe2 and MoS2 FETs is also demonstrated. Calculations using density functional theory indicate that the superior device performance stems mainly from the stronger metal-TMD hybridization and substantial gap states in the end-contact configuration.