Gas Gangrene of the Diabetic Foot.

A 67-year old man presented with a painful left foot and a putrid odor. His past medical history was significant for poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and peripheral vascular disease. His surgical history included a prior right below-knee amputation for a diabetic foot infection three years prior, and a left third toe amputation for osteomyelitis one month ago.

Carotid endarterectomy national trends over a decade: does sex matter?

Background: The objective was to evaluate the difference in timing (if any) of in-hospital carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or outcomes of CEA based on sex among men and women hospitalized for carotid artery disease.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database. All patients from 2000-2009 who underwent CEA during their hospitalization were examined.

Surgical site infections after lower extremity revascularization procedures involving groin incisions.

Background: We sought to evaluate the incidence, epidemiology, and factors associated with surgical site infections (SSIs) after lower extremity revascularization procedures involving groin incisions and determine outcomes based on SSI status.

Methods: This is a single-institution, retrospective cohort study of 106 patients who underwent lower extremity revascularization procedures involving femoral artery exposure through a groin incision at a tertiary referral hospital. The primary outcome was occurrence of SSI at the groin wound.

Short term outcomes following breast cancer surgery in pregnant women.

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in pregnancy with an estimated prevalence of 1 per 3000 pregnancies. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines advocate for surgical management in all trimesters for pregnant women with breast cancer but few studies have examined the impact breast cancer surgery has on outcomes in pregnant women. We aimed to identify differences in short term outcomes after breast cancer surgery between age-matched pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Gender based differences in management and outcomes of cholecystitis.

Background: During the reproductive years, women have a 4-fold higher prevalence of gallstones than men, making gallbladder disease a critically important topic in women's health. Among age-matched women and men hospitalized for cholecystitis, gender based differences in demographics, management, and economic and clinical outcomes were identified.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

A PCR-Based Technique for Detection of Neotyphodium Endophytes in Diverse Accessions of Tall Fescue.

A previously described polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method used for detection of Neotyphodium coenophialum in tall fescue detected Neotyphodium endophytes in some, but not all, infected plants from a geographically diverse sample. In the study reported here, a different set of primers, based on intervening sequences of the tubulin 2 gene, were prepared and used for PCR. PCR with these primers yielded the expected 444 base pair amplification product with DNA from 104 of the 106 infected accessions tested.