Infectious Tenosynovitis of the Tibialis Anterior Due to Mycobacterium chelonae After Intravenous Heroin Injection.

Mycobacterium chelonae is a ubiquitous Gram-positive, acid-fast, non-spore-forming bacterium commonly encountered in nature associated with aquatic animals, soil, and water, including tap water. Nontuberculous mycobacterial tenosynovitis infections caused by M. chelonae in the lower extremity are uncommon, leading to a paucity of literature documenting the diagnosis and treatment of such cases.

Long-term comparison of endovascular and open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: Whether elective endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm reduces long-term morbidity and mortality, as compared with traditional open repair, remains uncertain.

Methods: We randomly assigned 881 patients with asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms who were candidates for both procedures to either endovascular repair (444) or open repair (437) and followed them for up to 9 years (mean, 5.2).

Outcomes following endovascular vs open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm: a randomized trial.

Context: Limited data are available to assess whether endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) improves short-term outcomes compared with traditional open repair.

Objective: To compare postoperative outcomes up to 2 years after endovascular or open repair of AAA in a planned interim report of a 9-year trial.

Design, Setting, And Patients: A randomized, multicenter clinical trial of 881 veterans (aged > or = 49 years) from 42 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with eligible AAA who were candidates for both elective endovascular repair and open repair of AAA.

Response of plasma matrix metalloproteinase-9 to conventional abdominal aortic aneurysm repair or endovascular exclusion: implications for endoleak.

Purpose: Matrix metalloproteinases are enzymes capable of breaking down all of the components of the extracellular matrix and have been implicated in the development of aneurysm formation. Because matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels are elevated in aortic aneurysmal tissue and in that patient plasma, we hypothesized that plasma MMP-9 levels should decrease significantly after conventional and endovascular infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair but that plasma MMP-9 levels would remain elevated in patients with endoleaks.

Methods: A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure plasma levels of MMP-9 in patients with AAA who underwent conventional (n = 26; mean age, 71.