Cigarette Smoking Behaviors and Beliefs in Persons Living With Hepatitis C.

Background And Rationale: Tobacco use is common among persons living with hepatitis C (PLHC), yet little is known about their smoking behaviors and beliefs. Modern hepatitis C treatment offers a unique opportunity to intensively engage this population about other health risks, including smoking.

Main Results: Seventy-seven tobacco users (40 hepatitis C virus [HCV] seropositive and 37 HCV seronegative) enrolled in an interview study in a New York City clinic.

Persistent neutrophilia is a marker for an increased risk of venous thrombosis.

In patients with cancer and myeloproliferative disorders, leukocytosis has been associated with an increased venous thromboembolic (VTE) risk. Our goal was to determine whether persistent neutrophilia (PN), not associated with known causes such as malignancies, infections or steroids, is independently associated with VTE. All adult patients with >3 outpatient complete blood counts (CBCs) within 3 years were included.

Gender differences in self-reported withdrawal symptoms and reducing or quitting smoking three years later: A prospective, longitudinal examination of U.S. adults.

Background: Little is known about gender differences in withdrawal symptoms among smokers in the community. This study used longitudinal epidemiologic data to examine gender differences in current smokers' report of withdrawal symptoms during past quit attempts and the relationship between withdrawal symptoms and the odds of reducing or quitting smoking three years later.

Methods: Data were drawn from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; Wave 1, 2001-2001, n=43,093; Wave 2, 2004-2005, n=34,653).

Ultrasound-guided cannulation of the femoral vein in electrophysiological procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: In an effort to minimize periprocedural stroke risk, increasingly, electrophysiological (EP) procedures are being performed on anticoagulation. The decrease in stroke has been accompanied by an increase in potentially devastating vascular access complications. Ultrasound guidance for femoral vein cannulation reduces complications in other applications.

Analytical validation of a standardized scoring protocol for Ki67: phase 3 of an international multicenter collaboration.

Pathological analysis of the nuclear proliferation biomarker Ki67 has multiple potential roles in breast and other cancers. However, clinical utility of the immunohistochemical (IHC) assay for Ki67 immunohistochemistry has been hampered by unacceptable between-laboratory analytical variability. The International Ki67 Working Group has conducted a series of studies aiming to decrease this variability and improve the evaluation of Ki67.

Behavioral Interventions for Tobacco Use in HIV-Infected Smokers: A Meta-Analysis.

Context: Smoking is responsible for increased morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected smokers.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of behavioral interventions for smoking cessation among HIV-infected smokers compared with the standard care.

Data Sources: PubMed, Cochrane, CINHAL, PsychINFO, and Google Scholar were searched for randomized controlled trials published in English.

Triggered EMG Potentials in Determining Neuroanatomical Safe Zone for Transpsoas Lumbar Approach: Are They Reliable?

Study Design: In vivo analysis in swine model.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of triggered EMG (t-EMG) and its reliability in lateral lumbar interbody fusions surgery. We also aim to document changes in psoas muscle produced during the approach.

Ultrasound-Guided Catheterization of the Femoral Artery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objectives: The goal of this meta-analysis was to determine the utility of real-time two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound guidance for femoral artery catheterization.

Background: Despite the shift toward establishing vascular access via the radial artery rather than the femoral artery, femoral artery cannulation is still frequent in cardiac catheterization. Since vascular complications related to femoral artery cannulation can be quite devastating, preventing these complications is vital.

Correlation of histopathologic features of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast with the oncotype DX DCIS score.

The Oncotype DX Breast Cancer Assay for ductal carcinoma in situ is used to determine local recurrence risk in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ. The results help select patients with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ who could forgo radiation therapy after conservative surgery. The genes assessed include five proliferation genes, progesterone receptor (PR), and GSTM-1.

An international study to increase concordance in Ki67 scoring.

Although an important biomarker in breast cancer, Ki67 lacks scoring standardization, which has limited its clinical use. Our previous study found variability when laboratories used their own scoring methods on centrally stained tissue microarray slides. In this current study, 16 laboratories from eight countries calibrated to a specific Ki67 scoring method and then scored 50 centrally MIB-1 stained tissue microarray cases.

Seizure clusters: characteristics and treatment.

Purpose Of Review: Many patients with epilepsy experience 'clusters' or flurries of seizures, also termed acute repetitive seizures (ARS). Seizure clustering has a significant impact on health and quality of life. This review summarizes recent advances in the definition and neurophysiologic understanding of clustering, the epidemiology and risk factors for clustering and both inpatient and outpatient clinical implications.

Quantitative and Qualitative Antibody Responses to Immunization With the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine in HIV-Infected Patients After Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment: Results From a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for human immunodeficiency virus-infected (HIV+) persons; the best timing for immunization with respect to initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is unknown.

Methods: Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in HIV+ with CD4(+) T cells/µL (CD4) ≥ 200 randomized to receive the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) or placebo at enrollment, followed by placebo or PPV23, respectively, 9-12 months later (after ≥6 months of ART). Capsular polysaccharide-specific immunoglobin (Ig) G and IgM levels to serotypes 1, 3, 4, 6B, and 23F, and opsonophagocytic killing activity (OPA) to serotypes 6B and 23F were evaluated 1 month postvaccination.

Contouring and constraining bowel on a full-bladder computed tomography scan may not reflect treatment bowel position and dose certainty in gynecologic external beam radiation therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate, in a gynecologic cancer setting, changes in bowel position, dose-volume parameters, and biological indices that arise between full-bladder (FB) and empty-bladder (EB) treatment situations; and to evaluate, using cone beam computed tomography (CT), the validity of FB treatment presumption.

Methods And Materials: Seventeen gynecologic cancer patients were retrospectively analyzed. Empty-bladder and FB CTs were obtained.

Localized synchronous squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus and hypopharynx treated with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy with a unified radiotherapy plan.

Because of common risk factors, synchronous squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus and head and neck are common, and their concurrent presence can significantly complicate disease eradication and survival. Here, we report the case of a patient with a history of extensive tobacco and alcohol use who was diagnosed with a localized thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and in whom positron-emission tomography-computed tomography discovered a nearby asymptomatic localized hypopharyngeal focus that was confirmed by biopsy to also be malignant. He was treated with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy in a single unified radiotherapy plan, with surgery reserved for salvage treatment.

Loss of lower limb motor evoked potentials and spinal cord injury during the initial exposure in scoliosis surgery.

Purpose: To report a case of motor evoked potential changes and spinal cord injury during the initial dissection in scoliosis surgery.

Methods: Motor evoked potentials to transcranial electrical stimulation were recorded from multiple muscles. Somatosensory evoked potentials to limb nerve stimulation were recorded from the scalp.

Retroperitoneal hemangioma demonstrated on blood pool scan.

Retroperitoneal hemangioma is a rare but clinically significant condition that can be challenging to diagnose and characterize on anatomical imaging alone. We present a case of an 80-year-old woman with diabetes and hypertension, who was found to have an abdominal mass diagnosed first on CT abdomen and pelvis in March 2011 and demonstrated to be stable on subsequent MRI study performed 16 months later in July 2012. The mass was later confirmed to be a hemangioma on a 99mTc-red cell study.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields potentiate neurite outgrowth in the dopaminergic MN9D cell line.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) exert biological effects and are in clinical use to facilitate bone repair and wound healing. Research has demonstrated that PEMF can induce signaling molecules and growth factors, molecules that play important roles in neuronal differentiation. Here, we tested the effects of a low-amplitude, nonthermal, pulsed radiofrequency signal on morphological neuronal differentiation in MN9D, a dopaminergic cell line.

Median nerve somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during carotid endarterectomy: does reference choice matter?

Median nerve somatosensory evoked potential monitoring is commonly used during carotid endarterectomy to permit selective shunting in only those patients who are determined to have inadequate collateral flow after carotid cross-clamping. The N20 component is recorded from the CPc (contralateral centroparietal) electrode; either CPi (ipsilateral centroparietal) or Fpz (forehead) can be used as the reference. Because of the distribution of the subcortically generated N18 component, the CPc-Fpz derivation might record both the N20 and the N18 components and might therefore inadequately detect hemispheric ischemia after carotid cross-clamping.

Assessment of tumor growth in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in von Hippel Lindau syndrome.

Background: The incidence of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) is increasing, but only a subset of these heterogeneous tumors will progress to malignant disease, which is associated with a poor prognosis. Currently, there are limited data on the natural history of these tumors and it is difficult to determine which patients require surgical intervention because the risk of metastatic disease cannot be accurately determined.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective study of 87 patients with von Hippel Lindau syndrome-associated solid pancreatic lesions to determine the natural history of these tumors with biochemical testing, follow-up anatomic and functional imaging, and advanced imaging analysis, with a median follow-up of 4 years.