A Rare Recurrence of a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst Accompanied by Several Postoperative Complications in an Eight-Year-Old Boy: A Case Report.

A thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) is a fluid-filled mass in the neck resulting from the persistence of a duct from fetal development that typically regresses spontaneously. When it persists, it is most often removed in a surgical procedure known as a Sistrunk operation. This case study presents the intriguing case of an eight-year-old boy who presented to an otolaryngology clinic with both a recurrence of his TGDC, as well as several postoperative complications, after the Sistrunk operation was performed.

21 Gy single fraction prostate HDR brachytherapy: 5-year results of a single institution prospective pilot study.

Purpose: To present the outcome and toxicity results of a prospective trial of 21 Gy single fraction high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for men with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Patients were treated according to an IRB-approved prospective study of single fraction HDR brachytherapy. Eligible patients had low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer with tumor stage ≤ T2b, PSA ≤ 15, and Gleason score ≤ 7.

Pediatric hemolysis in emergency departments: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications of hemolyzed laboratory samples in the pediatric emergency department (ED), a subject on which existing data remains scarce.

Methods: We conducted a multi-site observational cohort analysis of pediatric ED encounters in Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States. The study included participants below 18 years of age who had undergone peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) placement and laboratory testing.

Vasa previa in singleton pregnancies: diagnosis and clinical management based on an international expert consensus.

Background: There are limited data to guide the diagnosis and management of vasa previa. Currently, what is known is largely based on case reports or series and cohort studies.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically collect and classify expert opinions and achieve consensus on the diagnosis and clinical management of vasa previa using focus group discussions and a Delphi technique.

Optimizing linear energy transfer distribution in intensity-modulated proton therapy using the alternating direction method of multipliers.

Purpose: This study develop a novel linear energy transfer (LET) optimization method for intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) with minimum monitor unit (MMU) constraint using the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM).

Material And Methods: The novel LET optimization method (ADMM-LET) was proposed with (1) the dose objective and the LET objective as the optimization objective and (2) the non-convex MMU threshold as a constraint condition. ADMM was used to solve the optimization problem.

Complication rates and efficacy of single-injection vs. continuous interscalene nerve block: a prospective evaluation following arthroscopic primary rotator cuff repair without a concomitant open procedure.

Background: To compare the complications and efficacy of pain relief of the interscalene anesthetic block using either a single-injection (SI) vs. a continuous, indwelling catheter (CIC) for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery.

Methods: Patients undergoing primary, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair without concomitant open procedure or biceps tenodesis were prospectively enrolled by 4 fellowship-trained sports medicine and shoulder surgeons.

Successful Endoscopic Treatment of a Pancreatic Pseudocyst in a Patient with Situs Inversus Totalis and Upper GI Duplication.

BACKGROUND Duplication of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare congenital malformation that can develop in any part of the digestive tract. These duplications may be asymptomatic into adult age. Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by a mirror transposition of thoracic and abdominal organs.

Hospital Acquired Venous Thromboembolism: A Preventability Assessment.

The American Heart Association has a call to action to reduce hospital acquired venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE) by 20% by the year 2030. There is increasing recognition that quality improvement initiatives for VTE reduction should focus on reducing potentially preventable HA-VTE. The objective of our study was to determine what proportion of HA-VTE events are potentially preventable.

Chondrosarcoma With Pulmonary Metastatic Calcifications: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

A chondrosarcoma with pulmonary metastatic calcifications is a rarely reported phenomenon. This report discusses chondrosarcomas and their clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment, using as an example the case of a 55-year-old female with a right pelvic chondrosarcoma that developed over 10 years. In the last two years, the patient had increasing pulmonary findings, including pulmonary nodules, ground glass opacities, and likely pulmonary metastatic calcifications.

An aggressive case of a thoracic undifferentiated SMARCA4-deficient tumor with extensive pleural involvement.

SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated thoracic tumors are a rare phenomenon. A 40-year-old male was newly diagnosed with SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated non-small cell lung cancer. He had a history of heavy smoking and job-related exposure to metal dust and melted nickel.

Adult-Onset Multifocal Cutaneous Myofibromas: A Case Report of a Rare Entity.

Myofibromas are observed in both infantile and adult presentations, with key differences in the number and severity of lesions between these two groups. Infantile presentations encompass both indolent, isolated cutaneous lesions, as well as aggressive, multicentric presentations with visceral involvement. Adult myofibromas appear to be characterized by a single isolated cutaneous lesion, generally asymptomatic and following a benign clinical course.

Statewide Initiative to Reduce Patient Radiation Doses During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Improved radiation safety practices are needed across hospitals performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was performed to assess the temporal trend in PCI radiation doses concurrent with the conduct of a statewide radiation safety initiative.

Methods: A statewide initiative to reduce PCI radiation doses was conducted in Michigan between 2017 and 2021 and included focused radiation safety education, reporting of institutional radiation doses, and implementation of radiation performance metrics for hospitals.

First direct machine-specific parameters incorporated in Spot-scanning Proton Arc (SPArc) optimization algorithm.

Background: Spot-scanning Proton Arc (SPArc) has been of significant interest in recent years because of its superior plan quality. Currently, the primary focus of research and development is on deliverability and treatment efficiency.

Purpose: To address the challenges in generating a deliverable and efficient SPArc plan for a proton therapy system with a massive gantry, we developed a novel SPArc optimization algorithm (SPArc) by directly incorporating the machine-specific parameters such as gantry mechanical constraints and proton delivery sequence.

Mini Aortic Valve Replacement Converted to Bentall Procedure Secondary to Chronic Type A Aortic Dissection.

In our case, a 46-year-old female with severe aortic insufficiency presented for minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. The patient was taken to the operating room, where transesophageal echocardiography showed severe aortic regurgitation with prolapse of the non-coronary cusp. The patient was placed on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine with peripheral cannulation.

Tropheryma whipplei Endocarditis Presenting as Valvulopathy and Multiple Septic Emboli.

A 63-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for nausea, vomiting, and right flank pain. He was found to have septic emboli in multiple organs secondary to aortic valve endocarditis. He was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics and underwent valve replacement.

Association between ABO blood type and coronavirus disease 2019 severe outcomes across dominant variant strains.

Objectives: Existing evidence suggests a link between ABO blood type and severe outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to assess the relationship between blood type and severe outcomes across variant strains throughout the pandemic.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective observational cohort analysis from a large health system in southeastern Michigan using electronic medical records to evaluate emergency encounters, hospitalization, and severe outcomes in COVID-19 based on ABO blood type.

Vanishing Lung Syndrome: A Case Report and Systematic Review of the Literature.

Vanishing lung syndrome (VLS), also known as idiopathic giant bullous emphysema, is defined by the emergence of sizable bullae causing compression on healthy lung tissue. The elusive etiology of VLS mandates a diagnosis based on radiographic evidence showcasing giant bullae occupying at least one-third of the hemithorax in one or both lungs. This report presents a case of VLS in a 36-year-old female smoker devoid of any prior medical history.

A Rare Case of Cardiac Tamponade Induced by Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

While cardiac tamponade is a commonly recognized complication in solid organ malignancies and acute leukemias, instances of cardiac involvement in the context of chronic hematologic malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), are rarely observed. A 66-year-old male, with a history of stage IV CLL/SLL, presented with three weeks of worsening edema, orthopnea, and dyspnea. Two days after admission, an echocardiogram revealed a large circumferential pericardial effusion.

Prevalence of Guideline-Discordant Aspirin Use and Associated Adverse Events in Patients on Warfarin for Mechanical Valve Replacement.

Background: For patients on warfarin for mechanical heart valve replacement, the 2020 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association Guidelines recommend only adding aspirin in patients with a specific indication for antiplatelet therapy. This contrasts with prior guidelines, which recommended concomitant aspirin therapy. We sought to assess the prevalence of guideline-discordant aspirin use among patients on warfarin for mechanical heart valve replacement and to compare adverse event rates among patients with and without concomitant aspirin.