Use of the expanded Apgar score for the assessment of intraventricular and intraparenchymal haemorrhage risk in neonates.

OBJECTIVES: Preterm birth is a key factor contributing to haemorrhage incidence in neonates. This study focused on defining relevant parameters for the assessment of intraventricular and intraparenchymal haemorrhage risks in neonates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Chi-square automatic interaction detection was used to analyse the Apgar score (AS), the Apgar max score, and the course of resuscitation documented according to the expanded AS in 696 infants born between 2009 and 2011 in the Neonatal and Intensive Care Department of the Medical University of Warsaw. RESULTS: Gestational age was the most relevant discriminating variable for the prediction of intraventricular III degree and intraparenchymal haemorrhage incidences. Infants born before the 31st week of pregnancy made up 80% of the intraventricular or intraparenchymal haemorrhage cases. Additionally, a fraction of inspired oxygen > 0.8 at ten minutes after birth was a better discriminating variable in the youngest neonates than an Apgar max score ≤ 5, identifying 31.6% and 20.6% of infants with intraventricular and intraparenchymal haemorrhage, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Consideration of the oxygen concentration supplied during resuscitation significantly improves the prognosis of intraventricular and intraparenchymal haemorrhages in preemies compared to the use of the classical AS.

Recurrent pyoderma gangrenosum precipitated by breast cancer: a case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare clinical entity of poorly understood pathogenesis, characterized by rapidly progressing skin necrosis. In around half of patients pyoderma gangrenosum is a manifestation of underlying systemic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or myeloproliferative disorders. There have been very few reports on the association of pyoderma gangrenosum with solid malignancies. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 68-year-old Caucasian woman in whom pyoderma gangrenosum first appeared around 30 years earlier, at the time of exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis, and recurred as a manifestation of locally advanced breast cancer. The causative role of the neoplastic process was partly confirmed by the healing of the skin ulceration only following effective endocrine cancer therapy, whereas earlier attempts with standard anti-inflammatory therapy were unsuccessful. CONCLUSIONS: Pyoderma gangrenosum has a recurrent nature and may be reactivated by various causes within several years. Therefore, a prompt and thorough diagnosis accompanied by treatment of the underlying disease is necessary.