Management of chest trauma in children.

Chest trauma in children is caused by high-energy blows, due in general to traffic accidents, that involve several other body regions. They occur mainly in the first decade of life and can be penetrating but are more often non-penetrating. Rib fractures and lung contusions, sometimes associated with pneumothorax or haemothorax, are the more usual injuries, but tracheobronchial rupture, cardiac, oesophageal or diaphragmatic injuries may also occur. These injuries are treated with supportive respiratory and haemodynamic measures, drainage of air or blood from the pleural space and, at times, surgical repair of the injured organ(s). Ruptures of the airway may be difficult to treat and occasionally require suture, anastomosis or resection. Oesophageal injuries can be treated conservatively with antibiotics, drainage and parenteral nutrition. Diaphragmatic tears should be repaired operatively. Overall mortality ranges from 6 to 20%. Mortality is high but this is mainly due to the associated presence of extra-thoracic trauma, and particularly to head injuries.

The role of assistive robotics in the lives of persons with disability.

Robotic assistive devices are used increasingly to improve the independence and quality of life of persons with disabilities. Devices as varied as robotic feeders, smart-powered wheelchairs, independent mobile robots, and socially assistive robots are becoming more clinically relevant. There is a growing importance for the rehabilitation professional to be aware of available systems and ongoing research efforts. The aim of this article is to describe the advances in assistive robotics that are relevant to professionals serving persons with disabilities. This review breaks down relevant advances into categories of Assistive Robotic Systems, User Interfaces and Control Systems, Sensory and Feedback Systems, and User Perspectives. An understanding of the direction that assistive robotics is taking is important for the clinician and researcher alike; this review is intended to address this need.

Influence of mineral and organic components on copper, lead, and zinc sorption by acid soils.

Sorption isotherms were constructed for the sorption of Cu, Pb and Zn by the surface horizons of three soils [a Humic Cambisol (G1), a Haplic Podzol (G2) and an Umbric Gleysol (G3)] and by fractions obtained by sequential removal of organic matter and oxides. All were of L-type except the H-type isotherms recorded for sorption of lead by whole G2, and all were fitted well by the Langmuir model, with determination coefficients > 0.91. Langmuir equation parameter beta correlated well (r(2) = 0.985) with experimentally maximum sorption capacity. For all soils, metal sorption capacities decreased in the order Zn > Cu > Pb. Sorption by organic matter was one of the main contributions to total sorption. Sorption by oxides was generally most substantial in G1, which had the largest total oxides content, while the sorption of lead by G3 was attributable to its high Mn oxides content. The clayey residue contributed significantly to sorption of zinc by G1, and G3 (due to their respective vermiculite and gibbsite contents) and to sorption of copper by G1 due to its vermiculite content.

Clinical, virologic, and immunologic response to efavirenz-or protease inhibitor-based highly active antiretroviral therapy in a cohort of antiretroviral-naive patients with advanced HIV infection (EfaVIP 2 study).

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical, immunologic, and virologic outcomes of efavirenz (EFV)-based versus protease inhibitor (PI)-based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in severely immunosuppressed HIV-1-infected patients. DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study. METHODS: Responses were analyzed according to the intent-to-treat principle among antiretroviral-naive patients with < 100 CD4 cells/muL who started EFV (n = 92) or a PI (n = 218) plus 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The primary end point was time to treatment failure. Secondary end points were percentage of patients with a viral load < 400 copies/mL, time to virologic failure, time to CD4 lymphocyte count > 200 cells/microL, and incidence of opportunistic events or death. RESULTS: The median baseline CD4 cell count and viral load were 34 cells/microL and 5.54 log10 copies/mL (EFV group) and 38 cells/microL and 5.40 log10 copies/mL (PI group). Time to treatment failure was shorter with a PI-based regimen than with an EFV-based regimen (adjusted relative hazard [RH] = 2.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-3.89). After 12 months of therapy, a significantly higher proportion of patients receiving EFV reached a viral load < 400 copies/mL (69.4 vs. 45.1%; P < 0.05). The probability of virologic failure was higher with a PI than with EFV (adjusted HR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.14-5.61; P = 0.024). There was no difference in time to CD4 cell count > 200 cells/microL or in incidence of opportunistic events or death. CONCLUSION: : In severely immunosuppressed, antiretroviral-naive, HIV-1-infected patients, treatment with an EFV-based regimen compared with a nonboosted PI-based regimen resulted in a superior virologic response with no difference in immunologic or clinical effectiveness.

Tomografía axial computarizada y resonancia magnética en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Whipple con afectación del sistema nervioso central / Diagnostic features of central nervous system involvement in WhippleÆs disease by magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography

Se presenta un paciente con enfermedad de Whipple y síntomas exclusivamente neurológicos, entre los que destacaron alteraciones cognoscitivas, cuadro comicial, movimientos oculares anormales y síndrome piramidal. En las técnicas de imagen (TAC y RM) se observaron en diversas regiones cerebrales masas que, en la RM, se realzaban con gadolinio. Se identificó además importante ependimitis, así como una lesión de volumen en la médula cervical. La PCR fue negativa y el diagnóstico se confirmó con microscopía electrónica. Lo más notable de este caso fue la excelente respuesta a la antibioterapia.

Interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 gene polymorphisms in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Several genes coding for different cytokines may affect host susceptibility to tuberculosis. This study investigates the relationship of the single base change polymorphic variants identified in the first intron of interferon-gamma (+874 T/A) and in the promoter region of interleukin-10 gene (-1,082 G/A), with cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tuberculosis susceptibility. We studied a Spanish population of 113 patients with culture-proven pulmonary tuberculosis, 207 healthy close contacts (125 tuberculin reactive and 82 tuberculin negative), and 100 healthy tuberculin-negative control subjects. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that individuals homozygous for the interferon-gamma (+874) A allele had a 3.75-fold increased risk of developing tuberculosis (95% confidence interval, 2.26-6.23, p = 0.0017). Stimulated production of interferon-gamma by peripheral mononuclear cells from patients with genotype AA was depressed compared with that of non-AA homozygotes at the time of diagnosis and after completion of therapy. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of an AA genotype and the absolute number of lymphocytes were the only independent predictors of interferon-gamma production. In contrast, the different rates of interleukin-10 production associated with the interleukin-10 polymorphism did not affect susceptibility to tuberculosis. Thus, a genetic defect in the production of interferon-gamma in individuals homozygous for the (+874) A allele could contribute to their increased risk of developing tuberculosis.

Chronic aortic dissection as a cause of fever of unknown origin.

Chronic aortic dissection presenting as a prolonged febrile syndrome is an uncommon condition. We believe that only 22 cases have been previously reported. We present a case of a patient with an aortic dissection whose diagnosis was delayed because persistent fever, malaise, and night sweats dominated his clinical picture. These complaints may be accompanied by an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, and anemia of chronic disease. Knowledge of this atypical presentation, a high degree of suspicion, and investigation using an adequate imaging method will help to avoid missing this potentially lethal entity.