J Neurosurg Case Lessons
December 2024
Background: Transorbital penetrating brain injury (PBI) accompanied by electrical injury is an extremely rare presentation. This type of traumatic injury has a unique set of diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to the potential multiple organ system involvement and severe neurological complications.
Observations: A 50-year-old male experienced a high-impact injury from a welding spike that penetrated the orbit just above the eyeball with a concurrent electrical injury; the electricity exited through the great toe.
Introduction/background: To assess racial/ethnic disparities in endocrine therapy (ET) adherence among women with breast cancer.
Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study of Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) linked to Arkansas Cancer Registry (ACR). Women with stages 0-3 HR+ breast cancer diagnosed in 2013-2017 were followed from cancer diagnosis for a year to determine ET initiation.
Background: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has achieved remarkable remission in patients with B-cell malignancies. However, its efficacy in treating solid tumors remains limited. Here, we investigated a combination therapy approach using an engineered long-acting interleukin (IL)-7 (rhIL-7-hyFc or NT-I7) and CAR-T cells targeting three antigens, glypican-2 (GPC2), glypican-3 (GPC3), and mesothelin (MSLN), against multiple solid tumor types including liver cancer, neuroblastoma, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA large pediatric hospital redesigned the traditional task-based orientation program to one based on the Synergy Model for Patient Care nurse competencies, enhanced identification of learning needs, critical thinking exercises, and use of experienced staff in the role of clinical mentor. Development of a role to coordinate the learning experiences of the new hire was essential to creation of a model built upon the framework of the core competencies needed to care for a unit's population of patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe repeated evolution of phenotypes provides clear evidence for the role of natural selection in driving evolutionary change. However, the evolutionary origin of repeated phenotypes can be difficult to disentangle as it can arise from a combination of factors such as gene flow, shared ancestral polymorphisms or mutation. Here, we investigate the presence of these evolutionary processes in the Hawaiian spiny-leg Tetragnatha adaptive radiation, which includes four microhabitat-specialists or ecomorphs, with different body pigmentation and size (Green, Large Brown, Maroon, and Small Brown).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndigenous peoples have cultivated biodiverse agroecosystems since time immemorial. The rise of metagenomics and high-throughput sequencing technologies in biodiversity studies has rapidly expanded the scale of data collection from these lands. A respectful approach to the data life cycle grounded in the sovereignty of indigenous communities is imperative to not perpetuate harm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Arkansas is one of only four known states that have linked All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) to state's cancer registry (Arkansas Cancer Registry [ACR]). We evaluated the reporting consistency of radiation therapy (RT) between the two sources.
Methods: Women age ≥ 18 years diagnosed in 2013-2017 with early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who received breast-conserving surgery were identified.
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains, including the foodborne pathogen E. coli O157:H7, are responsible for thousands of hospitalizations each year. Various environmental triggers can modulate pathogenicity in EHEC by inducing the expression of Shiga toxin (Stx), which is encoded on a lambdoid prophage and transcribed together with phage late genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The impact of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) occurring from adjuvant use of immunotherapy and of their management on relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes is currently not well understood.
Patients And Methods: E1609 enrolled 1673 patients with resected high-risk melanoma and evaluated adjuvant ipilimumab 3 mg/kg (ipi3) and 10 mg/kg (ipi10) versus interferon-α. We investigated the association of irAEs and of use of immunosuppressants with RFS and OS for patients treated with ipilimumab (n=1034).
Background: There is a paucity of research describing burnout among nurses who work in the role of a preceptor, in the inpatient setting. In 2017, precepting nurses at an academic children's hospital were surveyed using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OBI). Results of the survey inspired leadership to further explore this phenomenon using key informant interviews.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Natl Compr Canc Netw
March 2021
Background: Cancer care coordination across major academic medical centers and their networks is evolving rapidly, but the spectrum of organizational efforts has not been described. We conducted a mixed-methods survey of leading cancer centers and their networks to document care coordination and identify opportunities to improve geographically dispersed care.
Methods: A mixed-methods survey was sent to 91 cancer centers in the United States and Canada.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are keystone symbionts of agricultural soils but agricultural intensification has negatively impacted AMF communities. Increasing crop diversity could ameliorate some of these impacts by positively affecting AMF. However, the underlying relationship between plant diversity and AMF community composition has not been fully resolved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Intensive care unit delirium is an increasingly recognized problem in pediatric patients. Controversy exists regarding the safety and efficacy of antipsychotic medications for this indication. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of and risk factors for QTc interval prolongation in pediatric patients treated with antipsychotics for ICU delirium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Vancomycin, a commonly used antimicrobial, has a narrow therapeutic index; therefore, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is required. Although the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) may improve patient care, without appropriate optimization, it can contribute to incorrectly drawn vancomycin levels. For medication administration, nurses utilize the Medication Administration Record (MAR) for medication administration documentation and medication workflow guidance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA pediatric teaching hospital developed a comprehensive leadership training program for midlevel nurse leaders with varying levels of management knowledge and experience. Content was based on American Organization for Nursing Leadership nurse manager competencies and data from a comprehensive needs assessment. Learners identified differentiating between leadership and management, influencing behavior, managing change, and communication as areas of increased confidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe zebrafish has recently emerged as a model system for investigating the developmental roles of glucocorticoid signaling and the mechanisms underlying glucocorticoid-induced developmental programming. To assess the role of the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) in such programming, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to produce a new frameshift mutation, GR, which eliminates all potential in-frame initiation codons upstream of the DNA binding domain. Using RNA-seq to ask how this mutation affects the larval transcriptome under both normal conditions and with chronic cortisol treatment, we find that GR mediates most of the effects of the treatment, and paradoxically, that the transcriptome of cortisol-treated larvae is more like that of larvae lacking a GR than that of larvae with a GR, suggesting that the cortisol-treated larvae develop GR resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Postcardiac arrest care bundles following adult cardiac arrest are associated with improved survival to discharge. We aimed to evaluate whether a clinical pathway and computerized order entry were associated with improved pediatric postcardiac arrest care and discharge outcomes.
Design: Single-center retrospective before-after study.
Immune response to a given antigen, particularly in cancer patients, is complex and is controlled by various genetic and environmental factors. Identifying biomarkers that can predict robust response to immunization is an urgent need in clinical cancer vaccine development. Given the involvement of DNA methylation in the development of lymphocytes, tumorigenicity and tumor progression, we aimed to analyze pre-vaccination DNA methylation profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from breast cancer subjects vaccinated with a novel peptide-based vaccine referred to as P10s-PADRE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Older age is a melanoma risk factor. Elderly individuals are likelier to have immunosenescence, which could help melanoma cells escape immune surveillance. Hence, it is believed that elderly people cannot mount a potent immune response to checkpoint inhibitors to eliminate melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Phase III adjuvant trials have reported significant benefits in both relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) for high-dose interferon alfa (HDI) and ipilimumab at 10 mg/kg (ipi10). E1609 evaluated the safety and efficacy of ipilimumab at 3 mg/kg (ipi3) and ipi10 versus HDI.
Patients And Methods: E1609 was a phase III trial in patients with resected cutaneous melanoma (American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition stage IIIB, IIIC, M1a, or M1b).
Most cancer deaths arise from metastases as a result of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) spreading from the primary tumor to vital organs. Despite progress in cancer prognosis, the role of CTCs in early disease diagnosis is unclear because of the low sensitivity of CTC assays. We demonstrate the high sensitivity of the Cytophone technology using an in vivo photoacoustic flow cytometry platform with a high pulse rate laser and focused ultrasound transducers for label-free detection of melanin-bearing CTCs in patients with melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoor outcomes of adults surviving critical illness are well documented, but data in children are limited. To identify factors associated with worse postdischarge function and health-related quality of life (HRQL) after pediatric acute respiratory failure. We assessed functional status at baseline, discharge, and 6 months after pediatric ICU discharge and HRQL 6 months after discharge in 2-week- to 17-year-olds mechanically ventilated for acute respiratory failure in the (Randomized Evaluation of Sedation Titration for Respiratory Failure) trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: GATA3 is a critical transcription factor in maintaining the differentiated state of luminal mammary epithelial cells. We sought to determine the prognostic and predictive roles of GATA3 genotypes for breast cancer.
Patients And Methods: Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 2 breast cancer cohorts, including the SWOG S8897 trial where patients were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (CAF [cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil] vs.