Perineal Injury via Personal Watercraft Hydrostatic Jet: A Case Report.

Background: Traumatic injuries resulting from personal watercraft hydrostatic jets are expected to increase as personal watercrafts are affordable, portable, and used in an increasingly wide range of locales.

Case Presentation: This case study presents an unusual severe perineal injury in a 17-year-old adolescent girl resulting from a fall from a personal watercraft and contact with the vehicle's hydrostatic jet. This case report provides an overview of the mechanism, treatment, and prevention of personal watercraft injuries.

Burnout: exploring the differences between U.S. and international medical graduates.

Background: International medical graduates (IMGs) have less burnout than U. S. medical school graduates (USMGs) during residency training.

Impact of Coaching on the Nurse-Physician Dynamic.

Background: Limited resources and increased patient care demands have strained nurse-physician relationships in our hospital's neurosurgical intensive care unit, leading to low morale and adversarial dynamics. Studies exploring benefits of coaching interprofessional teamwork demonstrate performance improvements. Therefore, a coaching program designed to improve nurse-physician teamwork was initiated by the neurosurgery department of the hospital's affiliated university.

Thinking Styles and Regret in Physicians.

Background: Decision-making relies on both analytical and emotional thinking. Cognitive reasoning styles (e.g.

Delayed primary excision with subsequent modification of radiotherapy dose for intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group Soft Tissue Sarcoma Committee.

The majority of intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) patients have gross residual disease (Group III) after their first operative procedure. It is currently not known if local control rates can be maintained when, following induction chemotherapy, the radiation therapy (RT) dose is decreased after a delayed primary excision (DPE). To answer this question we evaluated patients enrolled on COG D9803 (1999-2005) who had Group III tumors of the bladder dome, extremity or trunk (thorax, abdomen and pelvis) were candidates for DPE at Week 12 if the primary tumor appeared resectable.

Evaluation of Physicians' Cognitive Styles.

Background: Patient outcomes critically depend on accuracy of physicians' judgment, yet little is known about individual differences in cognitive styles that underlie physicians' judgments. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' individual differences in cognitive styles relative to age, experience, and degree and type of training.

Methods: Physicians at different levels of training and career completed a web-based survey of 6 scales measuring individual differences in cognitive styles (maximizing v.

Delayed presentation of complete pancreatic ductal transection in children: management of two cases without resection.

Pancreatic ductal injuries in children are rare, and ductal transections presenting in a delayed or subacute fashion are seldom reported. We describe two cases of traumatic pancreatic ductal transection secondary to physical abuse, both of which presented late to medical care. Both were managed successfully without pancreatic resection.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® limping child--ages 0 to 5 years.

The appropriate imaging for pediatric patients (ages 0-5 years) being evaluated for limping depends on the clinical presentation, specifically, the presence of signs of infection, any localization of pain, and history of or suspected trauma. Common diagnoses causing limping in children are briefly reviewed, and recommended imaging techniques are discussed, including toddler's fracture, transient synovitis, septic arthritis, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, and osteomyelitis. The ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 2 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel.

The perforated appendiceal carcinoid in children: a surgical dilemma.

The decision for aggressive reoperation after discovery of an appendiceal carcinoid is generally based upon criteria such as size, grade, degree of involvement of the mesoappendix or the appendiceal base, lymphovascular invasion, and the presence of goblet cell or adenocarcinoid features. No guidelines currently exist for the management of perforated appendiceal carcinoids. We present a case of perforated appendiceal carcinoid that was subsequently treated with right hemicolectomy, and we review the pertinent literature.

Tumor volume and patient weight as predictors of outcome in children with intermediate risk rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: The objectives of this study were to compare tumor volume and patient weight versus traditional factors of tumor size (greatest dimension) and patient age and to determine which parameters best discriminated outcome among pediatric patients with intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS).

Methods: Complete information was available for 370 patients with nonmetastatic RMS who were enrolled in the Children's Oncology Group (COG) intermediate-risk study D9803 (1999-2005). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival distributions.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) on suspected physical abuse-child.

The appropriate imaging for pediatric patients being evaluated for suspected physical abuse depends on the age of the child, the presence of neurologic signs and symptoms, evidence of thoracic or abdominopelvic injuries, and whether the injuries are discrepant with the clinical history. The clinical presentations reviewed consider these factors and provide evidence-based consensus recommendations by the ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) Expert Panel on Pediatric Imaging.

Randomized phase II window trial of two schedules of irinotecan with vincristine in patients with first relapse or progression of rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Purpose: To compare response rates for two schedules of irinotecan with vincristine in patients with rhabdomyosarcoma at first relapse or disease progression.

Patients And Methods: Patients with first relapse or progression of rhabdomyosarcoma and an unfavorable prognosis were randomly assigned to one of two treatment schedules of irinotecan with vincristine: regimen 1A included irinotecan 20 mg/m(2)/d intravenously for 5 days at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 5 with vincristine 1.5 mg/m(2) administered intravenously on day 1 of weeks 1, 2, 4, and 5; regimen 1B included irinotecan 50 mg/m(2)/d intravenously for 5 days at weeks 1 and 4 with vincristine as in regimen 1A.

Thirteen-year-old child with a malignant chest tumor: clinicopathologic conference.

A case of pleuropulmonary blastoma in a 13-year-old child, exposed to the Chernobyl disaster while in-utero, is presented and discussed by both clinician and pathologist, in this traditional clinical-pathologic conference. The discussion includes the differential diagnoses of chest mass in children.

Vincristine, actinomycin, and cyclophosphamide compared with vincristine, actinomycin, and cyclophosphamide alternating with vincristine, topotecan, and cyclophosphamide for intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma: children's oncology group study D9803.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the outcome of patients with intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) treated with standard VAC (vincristine, dactinomycin, and cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy to that of patients treated with VAC alternating with vincristine, topotecan, and cyclophosphamide (VAC/VTC).

Patients And Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to 39 weeks of VAC versus VAC/VTC; local therapy began after week 12. Patients with parameningeal RMS with intracranial extension (PME) were treated with VAC and immediate x-ray therapy.

Pectus bar repair of pectus excavatum in patients with connective tissue disease.

Purpose: Few studies address the surgical correction of pectus excavatum (PE) in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD). We have identified the preoperative characteristics, postoperative complications, and outcomes of patients with CTD undergoing bar repair of PE and compared these outcomes to a control group without CTD.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing primary repair of PE with a bar procedure from 1997 to 2006 identified 22 patients with CTD.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria on developmental dysplasia of the hip--child.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) affects 1.5 of every 1,000 caucasian Americans and less frequently affects African Americans. Developmental dysplasia of the hip comprises a spectrum of abnormalities, ranging from laxity of the joint and mild subluxation to fixed dislocation.

Family burden after traumatic brain injury in children.

Objective: Traumatic brain injury has a substantial impact on caregivers. This study describes the burden experienced by caregivers of children with traumatic brain injury and examines the relationship between child functioning and family burden during the first year after injury.

Patients And Methods: Children aged 5 to 15 years hospitalized for traumatic brain injury at 4 participating trauma centers were eligible.

Lorenz bar repair of pectus excavatum in the adult population: should it be done?

Background: Although extensive literature exists on the Lorenz bar repair of pectus excavatum (PE) in pediatric patients, few data examine this repair in adults or compare long-term outcomes in adults with the pediatric population. We identified the preoperative characteristics, postoperative complications, and outcomes of adult patients undergoing Lorenz bar repair of PE who had bar removal and compared these outcomes with a pediatric population undergoing the same procedure.

Methods: A retrospective review (1997 to 2006) of patients undergoing primary repair of PE with a Lorenz bar identified 107 individuals aged older than 18 and 137 patients aged 6 to 14, of whom 52 and 80 had their bar(s) removed, respectively.

Alveolar soft part sarcoma: clinical, histopathological, molecular, and ultrastructural aspects.

Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare soft tissue tumor occurring mainly in the adolescents and young adults. Multimodality treatment has not been effective, and excision remains the mainstay of treatment. Histopathologically, it varies little from case to case.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma arising in the ureter.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, botryoid variant, is a malignant tumor that usually arises in the urinary bladder and other mucosal sites. This is a case of a 4-year-old girl presenting with a mass initially thought to arise within the urinary bladder. Macroscopic and microscopic examination proved that this botryoid rhabdomyosarcoma had its origin within the left ureter.

The impact of surgical excision in chest wall rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Aims: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue tumor of childhood. Patient age, size, histologic finding, and site of the tumor are primary determinants of prognosis in RMS. Chest wall RMS is a site in which the limitations of surgical excision are realized.

Upper sternal depression following Lorenz bar repair of pectus excavatum.

An upper sternal depression following Lorenz bar repair of pectus excavatum (PE) represents a partial recurrence and poses a difficult problem for the surgeon. There is no published experience detailing the management options or best course of therapy for this complication. This study presents our institutional experience in treating eight patients with this specific subtype of recurrence and we discuss intraoperative considerations which aid in the identification and better management of this deformity.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the midesophagus.

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMFT) is a rare entity that can arise in a multiplicity of organs including the lung, liver, and at any location within the gastrointestinal tract. Typically, an IMFT presents as a localized mass with clinical symptoms dependent upon its site of origin. IMFTs pathologically resemble a neoplastic process but are theorized to arise from an unknown inflammatory event.