Effectiveness of Dual Medication Therapy (Oral Acetaminophen and Oral Ibuprofen) for the Management of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Extremely Premature Infants: A Feasibility Trial.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of dual medication therapy (DMT) with oral acetaminophen and oral ibuprofen for the closure of a hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA).

Study Design: In a prospective case-control cohort study (July 2017-May 2019), infants <29 weeks' gestational age and birth weight <1,000 g at ≤14 postnatal days with hsPDA and ratio of the smallest ductal diameter to the ostium of the left pulmonary artery diameter >0.5 were eligible.

Right ventricular mechanics using a novel comprehensive three-view echocardiographic strain analysis in a normal population.

Background: Although quantitative right ventricular (RV) strain analysis may be useful in congenital and acquired heart disease populations with RV failure, a comprehensive, standardized approach is lacking. An 18-segment RV strain analysis obtained from three standardized RV apical echocardiographic images was used to determine the feasibility, normal values, and reproducibility of the method in normal adults.

Methods: Forty healthy, prospectively enrolled volunteers with no cardiac histories and normal QRS durations underwent echocardiography optimized for strain analysis including three RV apical views.

Disseminated toxoplasmosis: an atypical presentation in an immunocompetent patient.

Acute acquired toxoplasmosis is considered a self-limited mononucleosis-like disease that rarely requires treatment. We report an unusual severe case of disseminated toxoplasmosis complicated with meningitis and pneumonia in a previously 41-year-old healthy Brazilian man. Toxoplasmosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute febrile diseases due to the non-specific clinical symptoms and the possibility of severe outcome.