Bilateral secondary testicular, epididymal and spermatic cords carcinoma of prostatic origin: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Prostatic carcinoma is emerging as the most common male malignancy in Nigeria and the second most common male cancer worldwide. Patients often present with locally advances stages, and common sites of metastasis are the spine, pelvis, chest, and long bones. Metastases to the testes and spermatic cords are reputed to be rare and may be indicative of a worse outcome, when they occur. We recently encountered a clinical case of bilateral testicular, epididymal and spermatic cords prostatic cancer metastases. CASE PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old Nigerian man, who presented at our hospital with 1-month-old complaints of inability to walk together with low back and bilateral thigh pains. This presentation had been preceded by a 5-month history of lower urinary tract symptoms. On examination, the prostate was hard and nodular as were the left testis and spermatic cord. On histological assessment of a needle biopsy, prostatic adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 5 + 5 = 10) was diagnosed. A subsequent therapeutic bilateral total orchidectomy specimen was found to contain metastatic prostatic carcinoma deposits, in the testes, epididymides, and spermatic cords. Although our patient is currently doing well postoperatively on zoledronic acid, ketoconazole, bicalutamide, and tamsulosin, he is being re-evaluated periodically for any feature of recurrence. CONCLUSION: Since it has implications for eventual outcome, every clinically suspicious therapeutic orchidectomy specimen should be subjected to a detailed histopathological examination in order to exclude secondaries from the primary prostatic malignancy.

Pulmonary Fibrosis in COVID-19 Survivors: Predictive Factors and Risk Reduction Strategies.

Although pulmonary fibrosis can occur in the absence of a clear-cut inciting agent, and without a clinically clear initial acute inflammatory phase, it is more commonly associated with severe lung injury. This may be due to respiratory infections, chronic granulomatous diseases, medications, and connective tissue disorders. Pulmonary fibrosis is associated with permanent pulmonary architectural distortion and irreversible lung dysfunction. Available clinical, radiographic, and autopsy data has indicated that pulmonary fibrosis is central to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) and MERS pathology, and current evidence suggests that pulmonary fibrosis could also complicate infection by SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this review is to explore the current literature on the pathogenesis of lung injury in COVID-19 infection. We evaluate the evidence in support of the putative risk factors for the development of lung fibrosis in the disease and propose risk mitigation strategies. We conclude that, from the available literature, the predictors of pulmonary fibrosis in COVID-19 infection are advanced age, illness severity, length of ICU stay and mechanical ventilation, smoking and chronic alcoholism. With no proven effective targeted therapy against pulmonary fibrosis, risk reduction measures should be directed at limiting the severity of the disease and protecting the lungs from other incidental injuries.

Autopsy-certified maternal mortality at Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

AIM: Maternal mortality is a major health problem, especially in Nigeria, where accurate autopsy-based data on the prevalent causes are not readily available. The aim of this study was therefore to accurately determine the causes of maternal death as seen in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive, retrospective review of the postmortem autopsy findings from cases of maternal death at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria over a 5-year period. Analyses were performed for differences in proportions using PEPI computer programs for epidemiologists (P is significant at <0.05). RESULTS: A total of 84 cases of maternal deaths were used for the study. Approximately 71.4% of the maternal deaths were due to direct causes and 28.6% were due to indirect causes. The mean age at the time of death was 27.9±7.5 years. Overall, the three leading causes of death were obstetric hemorrhage (30.9%), complications of abortion (23.8%), and nongenital (nonobstetric) infections (14.2%). Of the direct causes of maternal death, obstetric hemorrhage (43.3%) was the leading cause, with postpartum hemorrhage accounting for most (65.0%) of such deaths; other causes included complications of unsafe induced abortion (33.3%) and of labor (11.7%). Of the indirect causes, nongenital infections (50.0%), anemia (25.0%), and preexisting hypertension (20.8%) accounted for the majority of the maternal deaths. There was disparity between the clinical and autopsy diagnoses in 34 of the 84 cases (38.1%). CONCLUSION: The leading causes of maternal death in this study are similar to those in other developing countries. Autopsy is an invaluable tool in accurately determining the cause of maternal death.

Severe gastrointestinal haemorrhage due to primary intestinal kaposi's sarcoma - a case report.

Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) was previously a relatively rare disease. With the advent of HIV/AIDS pandemic however, AIDS-related KS has been on the increase and so has interest in the disease. Ninety percent of patients with KS present with skin lesions. While the gastrointestinal tract is a fairly common site of metastatic KS, primary gastrointestinal KS is uncommon. The presentation of gastrointestinal KS with severe gastrointestinal bleeding is rarer still. In this report, we present a 56-year-old HIV-negative patient who presented with severe gastrointestinal bleeding without any skin lesions. Multiple hemorrhagic polypoidal lesions were found on the walls of the jejunum and ileum as well as the liver at exploratory laparotomy and these were found to be KS on histopathologic examination. We also discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges we had with this rare cause of severe GI bleeding.

Non-neoplastic diseases of the cervix in Nigerians: a histopathological study.

BACKGROUND: Diseases of the cervix are common in young sexually active women. Non-neoplastic diseases are predominantly inflammatory and are common but there are a few publications on the subject compared to neoplastic diseases of the cervix. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The surgical day books of the Histopathology department of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife, Nigeria from the year 1990-1999 (Ten years) were studied for all cervical biopsies. RESULTS: Four hundred (400) cervical surgical biopsies were received during this period. 150 (37.5%) of the cases were non-neoplastic lesions. Age range was 20-69 years with peak incidence at 40-49 years. Histological distribution showed 123 cases (82%) were chronic non-specific cervicitis. Eighteen cases (12%) were chronic cervicitis with koilocytic change pathognomonic of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, two-third (12 cases) of which occur within 40-49 years. There were five cases (3.3%) of chronic granulomatous cervicitis, three cases (2.0%) of acute cervicitis and only one case (0.7%) of microglandular endocervical hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: All the histological types were found within the peak age incidence of 40-49 years. Chronic non-specific cervicitis was the most common non-neoplastic cervical lesion and it occurs in all age groups of women studied. In 12% of patients it is associated with cytopathic effect of HPV. This has obvious implication for the occurrence of carcinoma of the cervix in our country. We recommend routine pap smear test in this group of patients especially, as a way of reducing the occurrence of carcinoma of the cervix.