Subaxial cervical foraminal chondromas: case-based discussion on surgical management.

Cervical foraminal chondromas are benign lesions that may require surgical resection when symptomatic due to radicular and/or spinal cord compression. The aim of surgery is to achieve gross tumor removal while preserving neurological function and spine stability. The authors describe a case of subaxial foraminal chondroma with a systematic review of the literature on patients with cervical chondromas.

Management of neonates exposed prenatally to opioids: Impact of a developmental care program implementation.

Background: Traditional approaches to management of neonates prenatally exposed to opioids are based on the use of pharmacotherapy (PT), adjusted to evolution of infant symptoms. Newer approaches focused on non-pharmacological care (NPC) are emerging, but there is little evidence on the active policies to implement to ensure their widespread practice. The primary objective of the study was to assess whether the implementation of a developmental care program in our neonatal medicine department had an impact on the management of these infants during hospitalization, notably exposure to NPC.

Delayed onset arginine vasopressin deficiency after traumatic brain injury.

Summary: Delayed arginine vasopressin deficiency (AVP-D) can present in patients following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may occur years after the trauma, presenting with nonspecific symptoms. The objective of this case is to highlight the importance of considering the delayed onset AVP-D in patients with a history of TBI. We report a case of a patient who had sustained severe traumatic brain injury 8 years before and who presented with polydipsia, behavioural disorder and frequent falls during the last 3 months.

Myocardial perfusion SPECT radiomic features reproducibility assessment: Impact of image reconstruction and harmonization.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) has one of the highest mortality rates in humans worldwide. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) provides clinicians with myocardial metabolic information non-invasively. However, there are some limitations to interpreting SPECT images performed by physicians or automatic quantitative approaches.

Fully Automated Region-Specific Human-Perceptive-Equivalent Image Quality Assessment: Application to 18 F-FDG PET Scans.

Introduction: We propose a fully automated framework to conduct a region-wise image quality assessment (IQA) on whole-body 18 F-FDG PET scans. This framework (1) can be valuable in daily clinical image acquisition procedures to instantly recognize low-quality scans for potential rescanning and/or image reconstruction, and (2) can make a significant impact in dataset collection for the development of artificial intelligence-driven 18 F-FDG PET analysis models by rejecting low-quality images and those presenting with artifacts, toward building clean datasets.

Patients And Methods: Two experienced nuclear medicine physicians separately evaluated the quality of 174 18 F-FDG PET images from 87 patients, for each body region, based on a 5-point Likert scale.

Recommendations for early identification of heart failure in patients with diabetes: Consensus statement of the Swiss Society of Endocrinology and Diabetology and the Heart Failure Working Group of the Swiss Society of Cardiology.

Diabetes is a well-recognised risk factor for the development of heart failure, with a prevalence higher than 30% in patients with diabetes aged over 60 years. Heart failure often emerges as the primary cardiovascular manifestation in patients with type 2 diabetes and appears to be even more prevalent in type 1 diabetes. In Switzerland, there are approximately 500,000 individuals with diabetes, and the number of affected people has been steadily rising in recent years.

Effect of Decompressive Craniectomy on Intracranial Pressure Waveforms and Vascular Reactivity: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Decompressive craniectomy (DC) primarily aims at decreasing intracranial pressure (ICP) by allowing for the brain tissue to expand. However, it is uncertain to what extent DC impacts the transmission of vasogenic slow waves and thus the validity and utility of the pressure reactivity index (PRx). The purpose of this systematically performed scoping review is to assess the current knowledge of the impact of DC on ICP waveforms and measures of vascular reactivity.

Rational use of immunoglobulins (IVIgs and SCIgs) in secondary antibody deficiencies.

Immunoglobulins for intravenous use (IVIgs) and subcutaneous use (SCIgs) can prevent recurrent and severe infections in patients with secondary antibody deficiencies that are frequently linked to haematological/oncological malignancies as well as other clinical conditions and their respective treatments. Even so, as IVIgs and SCIgs are costly and their supply is limited, their clinical use must be optimised. The aim of this position paper is to provide structured practical guidance on the optimal use of IVIgs and SCIgs in secondary antibody deficiencies, particularly in haematological and oncological practice.

Use of ultrasound for vascular access during cardiac catheterisation in children with congenital heart disease: a Swiss multicentre cohort study.

Aim Of The Study: Our study aimed to assess the first-attempt success rate of ultrasound (US) and anatomical landmark (ALM) guidance for vascular cannulation in children with congenital heart disease in Switzerland.

Methods: A prospective observational multicentre study was conducted from January 2022 to January 2023 in three university hospitals in Switzerland. We included patients with congenital heart disease aged 0 to 18 years who were scheduled for elective cardiac catheterisation.

Enhancing Lymphoma Diagnosis, Treatment, and Follow-Up Using F-FDG PET/CT Imaging: Contribution of Artificial Intelligence and Radiomics Analysis.

Lymphoma, encompassing a wide spectrum of immune system malignancies, presents significant complexities in its early detection, management, and prognosis assessment since it can mimic post-infectious/inflammatory diseases. The heterogeneous nature of lymphoma makes it challenging to definitively pinpoint valuable biomarkers for predicting tumor biology and selecting the most effective treatment strategies. Although molecular imaging modalities, such as positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), specifically F-FDG PET/CT, hold significant importance in the diagnosis of lymphoma, prognostication, and assessment of treatment response, they still face significant challenges.

Sex Differences in Patient-rated Outcomes After Lumbar Spinal Fusion for Degenerative Disease: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Study Design: Heterogeneous data collection via a mix of prospective, retrospective, and ambispective methods.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of biological sex on patient-reported outcomes after spinal fusion surgery for lumbar degenerative disease.

Summary Of Background Data: Current literature suggests sex differences regarding clinical outcome after spine surgery may exist.

ASH living guidelines on use of anticoagulation for thromboprophylaxis in patients with COVID-19: executive summary.

COVID-19-related critical and acute illness are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). These evidence-based recommendations of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) are intended to support patients, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals in decisions about the use of anticoagulation for thromboprophylaxis in patients with COVID-19-related critical illness, acute illness, and those being discharged from the hospital, who do not have suspected or confirmed VTE. ASH formed a multidisciplinary panel, including three patient representatives, and applied a conflicts of interest management policy to minimize potential bias.

Insights from Ecstatic Epilepsy: From Uncertainty to Metacognitive Feelings.

Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy linked to the anterior insula in which patients experience a blissful state with a unique set of symptoms, including a feeling of physical well-being, mental clarity, a sense of oneness with the universe, and time dilation. In this chapter, we reflect on how these symptoms coincide with our current knowledge of the insula's functions and explore how this stunning natural model can further inform our understanding of the insula's role in the sentient self, uncertainty and surprise monitoring, and metacognitive feelings.

Baricitinib as monotherapy for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: analysis of real-world data.

Objective: Baricitinib is an oral, reversible and selective inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK)1 and JAK2 that is approved as monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have responded inadequately to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Evidence supporting the approved monotherapy indication is growing in real-world settings that reflect routine clinical practice.

Methods: Results of separate analyses of real-world data from the observational prospective RA-BE-REAL, Erlangen Baricitinib cohort, the BSRBR-RA, and Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases (SCQM) registries, and the retrospective ORBIT-RA and SUSTAIN long-term chart reviews were reported, documenting baseline data and outcomes for a total of 932 patients with active RA receiving baricitinib as monotherapy.

Corticosteroid therapy in older adults with cancer: Expert recommendations from a task force of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology.

Corticosteroids are used frequently in oncology and many patients require short- or long-term corticosteroid therapy. General clinical guidelines and recommendations exist on the use of corticosteroids; however, evidence is lacking for recommendations on their appropriate use in older adult with cancer. Treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) has dramatically improved over the last decade with 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists and neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor antagonists or a combination of both.

Margin derivation from intrafraction patient motion of multi-target, single isocentre, brain stereotactic radiosurgery treatments.

Background: Brain metastases are the most common intracranial malignancy and remain a substantial source of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Linear accelerator based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is widely used and is frequently delivered by hypo-fractionnated volumetric modulated arc therapy using non-coplanar beams, where geometric accuracy and planning margins are a major concern.

Purpose: To give a practical analysis of intrafraction patient motion for multi-target, single isocentre, brain SRS treatments and to derive adapted GTV-to-PTV margins.

Explainable AI for automated respiratory misalignment detection in PET/CT imaging.

Positron emission tomography (PET) image quality can be affected by artifacts emanating from PET, computed tomography (CT), or artifacts due to misalignment between PET and CT images. Automated detection of misalignment artifacts can be helpful both in data curation and in facilitating clinical workflow. This study aimed to develop an explainable machine learning approach to detect misalignment artifacts in PET/CT imaging.

Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Neurofilament Light Chain Levels Reflect Different Mechanisms of Disease Progression under B-Cell Depleting Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate the longitudinal dynamics of serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP) and serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) under B-cell depleting therapy (BCDT) and their capacity to prognosticate future progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) events.

Methods: A total of 362 pwMS (1,480 samples) starting BCDT in the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Cohort were included. sGFAP levels in 2,861 control persons (4,943 samples) provided normative data to calculate adjusted Z scores.

Effectiveness of fractionated rituximab in preventing tumor lysis syndrome in aggressive B-cell lymphoma: Insights from real-life clinical practice.

Background: Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a potentially life-threatening condition resulting from the rapid destruction of malignant cells, leading to electrolyte imbalances and severe complications, such as acute kidney injury, arrhythmias, and seizures. TLS can be managed through hyperhydration, urate-lowering treatments, and a steroid prophase strategy.

Aims: This study aims to explore the impact of fractionated rituximab, an anti-CD20 antibody, on the occurrence and severity of TLS during the initial cycle in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).