Comparison of effectiveness and safety of sodium polystyrene sulfonate and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate for treatment of hyperkalemia in hospitalized patients.

Purpose: Potassium binders are frequently utilized for the treatment of hyperkalemia in hospitalized patients; however, there is limited data directly comparing individual agents. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness and safety of sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) for hyperkalemia treatment in hospitalized patients.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated adult patients who were admitted within a 7-hospital health system and received SPS or SZC for a serum potassium level greater than 5.

Perioperative Anticoagulation in Patients with Cancer.

Purpose Of Review: There is a paucity of evidence for managing perioperative anticoagulation in patients with cancer. This review aims to provide clinicians who provide care for patients with cancer an overview of the available information and strategies needed to provide optimal care in a perioperative setting.

Recent Findings: There is new evidence available around the management of perioperative anticoagulation in patients with cancer.

Perioperative Anticoagulation Management.

Management of anticoagulation in individuals undergoing operative procedures is a complex situation. Each case should be assessed individually with proper risk assessment, monitoring, and plan for perioperative and postoperative anticoagulation. Clinical evidence for the management of these patients is relatively scarce, and clinicians are often assessing each individual case with minimal guidance.

Apixaban and Rivaroxaban Anti-Xa Level Monitoring Versus Standard Monitoring in Hospitalized Patients With Acute Kidney Injury.

Background: Oral direct factor Xa inhibitors (FxaIs) are renally eliminated; thus, acute kidney injury (AKI) may increase the risk for drug accumulation and bleeding. There is minimal data describing the effects of AKI on FxaI anti-Xa levels or clinical outcomes.

Objective: To compare anti-Xa level monitoring with standard monitoring in patients who experience AKI on apixaban or rivaroxaban.

The Role of Colchicine in Coronary Artery Disease.

There is increasing experimental and clinical evidence that inflammation appears to play an important role in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Treatment of coronary artery disease currently involves management of cardiovascular risk factors, lipid-lowering strategies and antiplatelet medications. Inflammation seems to be central to the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic plaque development, instability, and rupture seen in coronary artery disease.

Rare Systemic Response to Titanium Spinal Fusion Implant: Case Report.

Neurosurgical patients with titanium spinal implant hypersensitivity can be difficult to diagnosis due to its rarity. Suspicion for titanium allergy is generally localized to the hardware site and may initially be thought to be an infectious process. Patients who report anorexia and fatigue over a long duration after the initial post-operative period may be diagnosed with depression rather than a systemic response to spinal metallic instrumentation.

Minimizing cortical disturbance to access ventricular subependymoma - A novel approach utilizing spinal minimally invasive tubular retractor system.

Background: Subependymomas are rare benign tumors found primarily in the lateral and fourth ventricles. Patients become symptomatic when the tumor obstructs cerebrospinal fluid pathways. We present a novel minimally invasive technique for lateral ventricular subependymoma resection.

Modified Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion Technique Can Potentially Improve Safety of Interbody Graft Placement.

Background: Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MITLIF) is a well-described procedure with excellent reported outcomes. A modification of interbody graft placement can potentially improve the ease and safety of this procedure.

Objective: To describe a modification of the MITLIF graft placement and retrospectively review our experience including intraoperative and postoperative complications.

The role of the RAS pathway in iAMP21-ALL.

Intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 (iAMP21) identifies a high-risk subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), requiring intensive treatment to reduce their relapse risk. Improved understanding of the genomic landscape of iAMP21-ALL will ascertain whether these patients may benefit from targeted therapy. We performed whole-exome sequencing of eight iAMP21-ALL samples.

Stand-alone LLIF Lateral Cage Migration: A Case Report.

Lateral approaches to the lumbar disc space have become popular in recent years with very few reported complications. We report on a rare case of a stand-alone cage migration. A 77-year-old female presented with a right L2-3 radiculopathy that was refractory to maximum medical management.

Concentrations and geographic distribution of selected organic pollutants in Scottish surface soils.

Concentrations of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) representing three chemical classes (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and the organic pollutant diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), were determined in surface soil samples (0-5 cm) collected at 20 km grid intersects throughout Scotland over a three-year period. Detectable amounts of all chemical classes and most individual congeners were present in all samples. There were no consistent effects of soil or vegetation type, soil carbon content, pH, altitude or distance from centres of population on concentrations which exhibited extreme variation, even in adjacent samples.

Haplotypes in the promoter region of the ADIPOQ gene are associated with increased diabetes risk in a German Caucasian population.

Adiponectin, which is encoded by the ADIPOQ gene, has been shown to modulate insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis. Plasma adiponectin levels are decreased in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Genetic variations within the ADIPOQ gene are associated with decreased adiponectin hormone levels.

Linking biosensor responses to Cd, Cu and Zn partitioning in soils.

Soils bind heavy metals according to fundamental physico-chemical parameters. Bioassays, using bacterial biosensors, were performed in pore waters extracted from 19 contrasting soils individually amended with Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations related to the EU Sewage Sludge Directive. The biosensors were responsive to pore waters extracted from Zn amended soils but less so to those of Cu and showed no toxicity to pore water Cd at these environmentally relevant amended concentrations.

Soil macropores and compaction control the leaching potential of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The influence of soil structure in controlling leaching of Escherichia coli O157:H7 through soil was investigated under controlled conditions using both intact and repacked soil cores. Leaching rates of E. coli O157:H7 decreased with increasing dry bulk density and were significantly increased by the presence of earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) burrows in repacked cores.