Tissue characterization of benign cardiac tumors by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, a review of core imaging protocol and benign cardiac tumors.

Generally, cardiac masses are initially suspected on routine echocardiography. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is further performed to differentiate tumors from pseudo-tumors and to characterize the cardiac masses based on their appearance on T1/T2-weighted images, detection of perfusion and demonstration of gadolinium-based contrast agent uptake on early and late gadolinium enhancement images. Further evaluation of cardiac masses by CMR is critical because unnecessary surgery can be avoided by better tissue characterization.

Case report: Diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler Weber Rendu Syndrome) in a 23-year-old male presented with anemia and thrombocytopenia and its response to bevacizumab.

Osler Weber Rendu Syndrome (OWS) is characterized by the development of abnormally dilated blood vessels, which manifest as arteriovenous shunts (pulmonary, gastrointestinal, hepatic, and cerebral) and mucocutaneous telangiectasias (lips, tongue, and fingertips). It is an autosomal dominant disease with a defect in transforming growth factor beta superfamily genes. This defect results in increased angiogenesis and disruption of vessel wall integrity.

An Analysis of the Predictors of Major Bleeding After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Transplantation Using the National Inpatient Sample (2015-2018).

Background Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is now a common procedure to treat and improve quality of life, clinical outcomes, and self-sufficiency in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis, and its use has been expanding rapidly in younger and low-risk populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes, trends, and predictors of major bleeding in patients undergoing TAVR. Methodology We utilized the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from the year 2015 to 2018.

The Impact of Door to Diuretic Time in Acute Heart Failure on Hospital Length of Stay and In-Patient Mortality.

Background Acute heart failure (AHF) can be life-threatening if not treated promptly and can significantly increase the number of annual emergency department (ED) encounters in the United States. Achieving adequate and prompt euvolemic state in AHF patients using intravenous (IV) diuretics is the cornerstone of treatment, which not only reduces in-hospital stay and mortality but also decreases healthcare expenditures. Surprisingly, the door to diuretic (D2D) time in AHF patients has always been a debatable issue among physicians worldwide, and so far, there are no set guidelines.

Does the removal of contact precautions for MRSA and VRE infected patients change health care-associated infection rate?: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Update existing meta-analysis to analyze if discontinuation of contact precautions (CPs) for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization or infection affects hospital-associated MRSA or VRE infection rates.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of 17 studies evaluating discontinuation of CPs for MRSA and VRE. Random-effects and fixed-effects models were used to determine the pooled risk ratios (RR) of preincidence hospital-associated infection rate to postincidence rate.

Carcinosarcoma of the Uterus: A Study From the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) Database.

Background: Uterine cancer (UC) is one of the leading gynecologic neoplastic disorders in the United States (US), of which over 80% are endometrioid adenocarcinomas (EA). In contrast to EA, carcinosarcoma (CS) of the uterus is a sporadic and highly malignant tumor, phylogenetically containing both epithelial and mesenchymal histologic elements. This study sought to analyze demographic, pathological retrospectively, and survival characteristics of a large cohort of CS patients compared to EA patients to identify prognostic factors and treatment approaches that may improve the current clinical management of CS patients.

Diet and Dermatology: The Role of a Whole-food, Plant-based Diet in Preventing and Reversing Skin Aging-A Review.

Previous studies have demonstrated that a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet can aid in the prevention, and in some cases reversal, of some of the leading chronic diseases in the United States. The medical literature on the relationship between diet and disease is steadily growing. Over the last decade, the possible connection between diet and many dermatological conditions has been studied, including skin aging.

Iatrogenic Pneumothorax with Subsequent Subcutaneous Emphysema.

This presentation reports a case of a 67-year-old former smoker who presented to the emergency department with new-onset hemoptysis. During the workup, a left lung mass was identified. During the biopsy, he experienced a pneumothorax.

Assessing the Long-term Patency and Clinical Outcomes of Venous and Arterial Grafts Used in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Meta-analysis.

Introduction The long-term patency of the grafts used during the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is one of the most significant predictors of the clinical outcomes. The gold standard graft used during CABG with the best long-term patency rate and the better clinical outcomes is left internal thoracic artery (LITA) grafted to the left coronary artery (LCA). The controversy lies in choosing the second-best conduit for the non-left coronary artery (NLCA) with similar patency rate as LITA.

Sarcoidosis Presenting as a Right Paraesophageal Mass Abutting the Left Atrium.

We herein report a unique case of sarcoidosis in a 44-year-old Caucasian female. The patient was initially evaluated for hematochezia and diagnosed with diverticulitis after computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis. This imaging also incidentally showed a large mass abutting the esophagus.

Mamma Mia: Finger Injury in a Basketball Player in the Italian Professional League.

In many professional sports, the dexterity and importance of the player's hands are crucial for optimal importance. The health and treatment of injuries focuses on protection while providing the ability to function. This is a case of a professional basketball player whose team was fighting for a playoff position in the Italian basketball league.

The Importance of Risk-Reducing Prophylactic Mastectomy in Breast Cancer (BRCA) Carriers: A Case Report.

Genetic changes along with environmental exposures can play a role in the development of cancer. Individuals with significant risk factors for breast cancer including family history should be encouraged to undergo genetic testing along with breast cancer screening at an early age. Individuals who test positive for the breast cancer (BRCA) 1 or 2 gene can discuss potential risk-reducing management options, such as risk-reducing prophylactic mastectomy, with their physicians in order to protect them from the long-term consequences of developing breast cancer.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Colitis Secondary to Complicated Acute Diverticulitis: A Rare Case Report.

A 33-year-old obese female with a recent diagnosis of acute diverticulitis (AD) was admitted to the hospital for severe abdominal pain, intractable nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea two days following oral antibiotic treatment for AD. Stool cultures collected upon her readmission were negative for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) antigen and toxins A and B, but were notable for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

A Case of Venous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Primary Care Review of Physical Exam Provocative Tests and Osteopathic Manipulative Technique Considerations.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition that results from the compression of the neurovascular bundle of the upper extremities. It has generally been divided into neurogenic and vascular TOS with vascular further being divided into venous and arterial. This case report is of a healthy 24-year-old female who was misdiagnosed initially in an emergency department only to return two days later for reevaluation.

Demographics and Length of Stay for Osteomyelitis in Opioid Drug Users: A Unique Population with High Healthcare Costs.

Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone. Risk factors include, but are not limited to, diabetes and intravenous drug use. The hypotheses for the primary objectives of this study were that the opioid epidemic would cause a younger population of patients to be seen with osteomyelitis and the treatment for this population has special considerations including longer hospitalization for proper intravenous antibiotics.

Atheroma of the Innominate Artery Presenting as a Transient Ischemic Attack.

Supra-aortic atherosclerotic lesions, including innominate artery atheromas, are an uncommon but established cause of transient ischemic attacks, stroke, upper extremity ischemia, and vertebrobasilar insufficiency. We present a patient with a transient ischemic attack admitted with right hemispheric symptoms who was found to have a severe ulcerated innominate artery atheroma. The patient underwent an aortic arch angiogram with stenting of the innominate artery.

A confusing manifestation: a case report of neurosarcoidosis presenting with confusion.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory granulomatous multisystem disease with an unknown etiology. Neurosarcoidosis is a cryptogenic neuroinflammatory manifestation of sarcoidosis. We describe a case of neurosarcoidosis with initial presentation as confusion.

Brain metastasis in colorectal cancer presenting as refractory hypertension.

: Brain metastasis (BM) from colorectal cancer (CRC) is rare with the incidence ranging from 0.6% to 3.2%.

Adult idiopathic hypertrophic pyloric stenosis - a common presentation with an uncommon diagnosis.

Adult Idiopathic hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (AIHPS) is a rare but well-defined entity in adults with only 200-300 cases reported so far in the literature.We describe a case of AIHPS and the relevant literature review. The patient presented with acute onset upper abdominal pain associated with nausea, vomiting, foul-smelling black tarry stools, and anorexia.

Anatomically anchored template-based level set segmentation: application to quadriceps muscles in MR images from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

In this paper, we present a semi-automated segmentation method for magnetic resonance images of the quadriceps muscles. Our method uses an anatomically anchored, template-based initialization of the level set-based segmentation approach. The method only requires the input of a single point from the user inside the rectus femoris.

An automated method to segment the femur for osteoarthritis research.

In this paper we develop a fully automated method for the segmentation of the femur in axial MR images and its use in the analysis of imaging biomarkers for osteoarthritis (OA). The proposed method is based on anatomical constraints implemented using morphological operations to extract the femur medulla and a level set evolution to extract the femur cortex. The average agreement of the automated segmentation algorithm with ground truth manual segmentations was 0.

An automated method to detect interstitial adipose tissue in thigh muscles for patients with osteoarthritis.

In this paper we explore a method of segmentation of muscle interstitial adipose tissue (IAT) in MR images of the thigh. The objective is to apply the method towards research into biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA). T1-weighted images of the thigh are intensity standardized through bias field correction and intensity normalization.

Effectiveness of sports massage for recovery of skeletal muscle from strenuous exercise.

Objective: Sport massage, a manual therapy for muscle and soft tissue pain and weakness, is a popular and widely used modality for recovery after intense exercise. Our objective is to determine the effectiveness of sport massage for improving recovery after strenuous exercise.

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL using all current and historical names for sport massage.

Cyclic compressive loading facilitates recovery after eccentric exercise.

Purpose: To assess the biologic basis of massage therapies, we developed an experimental approach to mimic Swedish massage and evaluate this approach on recovery from eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage using a well-controlled animal model.

Methods: Tibialis anterior muscles of six New Zealand White rabbits were subjected to one bout of damaging, eccentric contractions. One muscle was immediately subjected to cyclic compressive loads, and the contralateral served as the exercised control.

Neurite development in PC12 cells cultured on nanopillars and nanopores with sizes comparable with filopodia.

We investigated the effect ofnanoscale topography on neurite development in pheochromocytoma (PC12 cells) by culturing the cells on substrates having nanoscale pillars and pores with sizes comparable with filipodia. We found that cells on nanopillars and nanopores developed fewer and shorter neurites than cells on smooth substrates, and that cells on nanopores developed more and longer neurites than cells on nanopillars. These results suggest that PC12 cells were spatially aware of the difference in the nanoscale structures of the underlying substrates and responded differently in their neurite extension.