Publications by authors named "Mauricio Mejia"

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex disorder that includes various phenotypes, leading to different manifestations. It also shares different disadvantages typical of rare diseases, including limited recognition, lack of prospective studies assessing treatment, and little or delayed access to advanced treatment options. Reliable data about the prevalence and natural history of cardiomyopathies in South America are lacking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Glucagon-like peptide one-receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) are drugs that differ in their pharmacological composition and homology to human GLP-1 and are used most frequently for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and weight loss. There are isolated reports of eosinophilic adverse reactions associated with GLP-1 RA. We present the case of a 42-year-old female patient who, after starting weekly subcutaneous semaglutide, developed eosinophilic fasciitis with favorable clinical evolution after the discontinuation of semaglutide and the initiation of immunosuppression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective:  The immediate referral of patients with risk factors for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) to specialized centers is recommended, thus favoring an early diagnosis and an interdisciplinary management. However, diagnostic errors are frequent, even in referral centers (RCs). We sought to evaluate the performance of the prenatal diagnosis for PAS in a Latin American hospital.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this article, we report the third case, to our knowledge, of a congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries associated with an interrupted aortic arch. This is a more complex and rare presentation than dextro-transposition of great arteries with interrupted aortic arch. The child ultimately succumbed to sepsis before the surgical repair was possible.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The placenta accreta spectrum disorder may lead to severe complications. Helpful interventions to prevent placenta accreta spectrum bleeding include vascular control procedures in the aorta or pelvic vessels. Although these procedures are related to lower intraoperative bleeding, they are associated with complications, so the possibility of selecting patients at highest risk of bleeding while avoiding vascular procedures for all cases is attractive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The use of resuscitative endovascular balloon of the aorta (REBOA) is a useful strategy for bleeding control in placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) management. The incidence of complications associated with this procedure is variable. We report three cases of arterial thrombosis associated with REBOA, and we also analyze the factors that facilitated its occurrence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Resective-reconstructive treatment of an abnormally invasive placenta, also known as conservative surgical management, allows a comprehensive treatment of the pathology in only one surgery; however, this alternative is not generally included in international consensus, as it requires specific training. Here, we report our experience of this type of treatment and its plausibility after training facilitated by interinstitutional collaboration via telemedicine. A total of 48 women who were diagnosed with abnormally invasive placenta, before and after changes due to the resection-reconstruction protocol were included in the study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The management of patients with placenta accreta (PA) poses a challenge to health services. Although it may lead to devastating complications, its low incidence limits the development of expertize in all obstetric centers. We evaluated the results obtained from a multidisciplinary approach in patients with PA in a Latin American hospital.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a serious systemic autoimmune condition primarily affecting proximal muscles and skin, which is frequently associated with calcinosis. We report a case of a 10-year-old boy with JDM and severe calcification deposits along fasciae and muscle planes. He complained of symptoms associated to JDM with pulmonary involvement since 1 year before receiving medical attention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the efficacy and safety of anti-interleukin 6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab [TCZ]) in patients with severe or refractory Takayasu arteritis (TA).

Methods: We describe 8 Colombian patients with severe and/or refractory TA treated with TCZ during a period of at least 9 months. Clinical, radiological, biological, and associated treatments were evaluated before, during, and after TCZ infusions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF