Racial Disparities in Outcomes After Foot and Ankle Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis delved into the impact of race and ethnicity on outcomes following foot and ankle surgery, an area garnering increasing attention within the medical community. Despite significant literature on postsurgical clinical and functional outcomes, limited research has explored the influence of racial and ethnic factors on postoperative outcomes. In this study, data from 33 relevant studies, involving a total of 557,734 patients, were analyzed to assess outcomes across different racial and ethnic groups.

Implanted Port Patency: Comparing Heparin and Normal Saline.

Background: To maintain implanted port patency, clinicians can better determine the difference between the use of heparin and normal saline, including risk to patients, unnecessary cost to the healthcare system, and whether heparin is effective in maintaining port patency.

Objectives: The aim is to compare the effectiveness of saline to heparin for maintaining implanted port patency and to evaluate the cost differences.

Methods: Data were collected from 56 patients enrolled in oncology clinical trials; 37 had paired data.

Progression of Discoid Lupus to Lupus Panniculitis: An Unexplained and Likely Underreported Phenomenon.

Lupus erythematosus is a multiorgan disorder with a wide variance of clinical presentations. Disease processes are generally divided into systemic or cutaneous categories, with cutaneous findings being further subdivided into acute, subacute, and chronic variants. The chronic form of cutaneous lupus itself has multiple subsets.

Pembrolizumab-Induced Sarcoid-Like Reaction: FDG-PET Scan Interpretation in the Era of Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of malignant melanomas. Immunotherapy is associated with multi-system toxicities, which are referred to as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and CT is the preferred imaging modality to monitor disease progression in melanoma.

Chlamydia trachomatis-Induced Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome Presenting as Inspiratory Dyspnea.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome (FHCS) is a rare complication of pelvic inflammatory disease. We report a case of a 21-year-old African American female presenting with inspiratory dyspnea and right upper quadrant pain found to be secondary to FHCS. The patient received antibiotic therapy, as well as testing of her sexual partners.

Urgent mechanical circulatory support and transcatheter mitral valve repair for refractory hemodynamic compromise.

Patients presenting with hemodynamic instability attributable to left ventricular systolic dysfunction and concomitant severe mitral regurgitation (MR) are increasingly recognized and pose complex management challenges. Surgical therapy is typically precluded owing to prohibitive mortality. The role of percutaneous mechanical circulatory support in such cases is well established; however, such interventions may be neither sufficient to achieve optimal stability nor prove definitive.