Sequential class switch recombination to IgE and allergen-induced accumulation of IgE plasmablasts occur in the nasal mucosa of local allergic rhinitis patients.

Background: The involvement of allergen-specific (s)IgE in local allergic rhinitis (LAR) has been debated. Here, we investigate the effect of nasal allergen challenge with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (NAC-DP) in mucosal and peripheral B-cell subpopulations in LAR patients.

Methods: Nine LAR, 5 allergic rhinitis (AR), and 5 non-atopic healthy control (HC) individuals were subjected to a 3-day NAC-DP protocol, and nasal biopsies and blood samples were collected before and after provocation.

Impact on polytrauma patient prehospital care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The extraordinary situation caused by the onset of COVID-19 has meant that at prehospital level, the number of treatments, profile and time taken to respond for treating time-dependent pathologies has been greatly affected. However, it is not known whether the prehospital profile of polytrauma patients (PTP) has been affected.

Objective: To determine differences in the epidemiological characteristics and the clinical variables of prehospital polytrauma patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia.

Interventions to decrease short-term peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infections: impact on incidence and mortality.

Background: Short-term peripheral venous catheters are a significant source of healthcare-acquired bloodstream infections and a preventable cause of death.

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of interventions applied to reduce the incidence and mortality associated with short-term peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infections (PVCR-BSIs).

Methods: The intervention included continuous PVCR-BSI surveillance, implementation of preventive measures related to catheter insertion and maintenance in accordance with evidence-based recommendations and the hospital's own data, front-line staff educational campaigns, and assessment of adherence to hospital guidelines by ward rounds.

Direct intranasal application of the solid phase of ImmunoCAP® increases nasal specific immunoglobulin E detection in local allergic rhinitis patients.

Background: The measurement of nasal specific IgE (NsIgE) in local allergic rhinitis (LAR) patients is challenging and shows variability. The objective of this work was to evaluate a minimally-invasive method of direct detection of NsIgE in patients with LAR to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP) using an automated immunoassay.

Methods: Fifty patients participated (LAR, n = 14; allergic rhinitis (AR), n = 20; healthy controls [HC], n = 16).

A Comparison Between Wireless CROS and Bone-anchored Hearing Devices for Single-sided Deafness: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: This study compared wireless Contralateral Routing of Signals (CROS) hearing aid and bone-anchored hearing device (BAHD) in patients with single-sided deafness.

Methods: Eight adults with single-sided deafness previously implanted with a BAHD were given a 2-week trial with a CROS hearing aid and tested in unaided and aided conditions. Both devices were compared on head shadow effect reduction, speech perception measures in quiet and in noise, self-assessment questionnaires, and daily diaries.

Human papillomavirus DNA prevalence and type distribution in anal carcinomas worldwide.

Knowledge about human papillomaviruses (HPV) types involved in anal cancers in some world regions is scanty. Here, we describe the HPV DNA prevalence and type distribution in a series of invasive anal cancers and anal intraepithelial neoplasias (AIN) grades 2/3 from 24 countries. We analyzed 43 AIN 2/3 cases and 496 anal cancers diagnosed from 1986 to 2011.

Excessively long hospital stays after trauma are not related to the severity of illness: let's aim to the right target!

Importance: Reduction in length of hospital stay is a veritable target in reducing the overall costs of health care. However, many existing approaches are flawed because the assumptions of what cause excessive length of stay are incorrect; we methodically identified the right targets in this study.

Objective: To identify the causes of excessively prolonged hospitalization (ExProH) in trauma patients.

Are Open-Fit Hearing Aids a Possible Alternative to Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices in Patients with Mild to Severe Hearing Loss? A Preliminary Trial.

Open-fit hearing aids (OFHAs) may be of benefit for some individuals with chronic outer and middle ear conditions for which boneanchored hearing devices (BAHDs) are normally recommended. The purpose of this study was to compare performance between OFHAs and BAHDs. A Starkey Destiny 800 OFHA was fit on eight adult BAHD users and speech perception measures in quiet and in background noise were compared under two different test conditions: i) BAHD only and ii) OFHA only.

Colonoscopic perforation: useful parameters for early diagnosis and conservative treatment.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine useful parameters for the early diagnosis of colonoscopic perforation and to select those who would require surgical treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the demographics, clinical and colonoscopic data, diagnostic-surgical interval, operative findings, complications, and hospital stay of patients who developed postcolonoscopy iatrogenic colonic perforation between January 2002 and December 2008.

Results: A retrospective multicentric study of patients diagnosed of colonoscopic perforation was performed.

Long-term atmospheric deposition of current-use and banned pesticides in Atlantic Canada; 1980-2000.

The occurrence of current-use and banned pesticides is reported in wet-precipitation collected from four sites across Atlantic Canada during the period 1980-2000. The most frequently detected compounds were alpha-HCH, gamma-HCH (lindane), chlorothalonil, pentachlorophenol, atrazine, and endosulfan. Median site concentrations varied between not-detected and 10.

Possible macular exanthema associated with linezolid therapy.

Objective: To report a case of macular exanthema associated with linezolid therapy.

Case Summary: A 54-year-old white man diagnosed as having laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma attended our emergency department because of fatigue, fever, neck pain and a fistulized fixed mass in the right side of the neck with purulent exudation. Treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 875 mg/125 mg p.

[Primary angiosarcoma of the spleen with liver metastases. Case report and literature review].

Angiosarcomas of the spleen are infrequent tumors that often present with liver metastases. These tumors are usually multiple and have a poor prognosis. Immunohistochemical markers can aid preoperative diagnosis since radiological and ultrasonographic images are fairly nonspecific.

Cervical cystic lymph node metastasis as first manifestation of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma: report of seven cases.

Background: Cervical cystic lymph node metastases as first and sole manifestation of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma are observed exceptionally rarely. In the seven patients here reported, a cystic, ovoid mass in the lateral aspect of the neck was the initial symptom of the papillary microcarcinoma.

Methods: There were six men and one woman, aged between 17 and 54 years (mean 31.

Consumption of alcohol, coffee, and tobacco, and gastric cancer in Spain.

A case-control study on gastric cancer was carried out between 1987 and 1989 in four regions of Spain. Three hundred and fifty-four cases of histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma were included (235 men and 119 women). For each case, a control was selected, matched by sex, age, and area of residence, from the same hospital as the case.