Comparison of Antibiotic-Coated versus Uncoated Porcine Dermal Matrix.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial performance of a rifampin/minocycline-coated, non-cross-linked, acellular porcine dermal matrix (XenMatrix AB) compared to an uncoated, non-cross-linked, acellular porcine dermal matrix (Strattice) after implantation/inoculation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli in a dorsal rabbit model.

Methods: Forty male New Zealand White rabbits were bilaterally implanted with XenMatrix AB or Strattice grafts and inoculated with clinically isolated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (5 × 10 colony-forming units/ml) or E.

All the darkness we don't see.

Trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. This is a public health crisis; as physicians who have direct contact with victims, we have a unique opportunity to intervene. The authors developed a specialty clinic for survivors of sex trafficking in 2013 at an academic medical center in New York City.

The effect of in-hospital acquired thrombocytopenia on the outcome of patients with acute coronary syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In-hospital acquired thrombocytopenia (TP) is relatively common among patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). However, its effect on short-term and long-term outcomes has yet to be reviewed systematically.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies assessing the relationship between new-onset in-hospital TP and adverse outcomes among ACS patients.

Long-term event-free and overall survival after risk-adapted melphalan and SCT for systemic light chain amyloidosis.

Stem cell transplantation (SCT), an effective therapy for amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis patients, is associated with low treatment-related mortality (TRM) with appropriate patient selection and risk-adapted dosing of melphalan (RA-SCT). Consolidation after SCT increases hematologic complete response (CR) rates and may improve overall survival (OS) for patients with View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The effects of hematopoietic stem cell transplant on splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm-associated myelofibrosis.

Background/objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is the only curative treatment for myeloproliferative neoplasm-associated myelofibrosis (MPN-MF). The main clinical manifestation of MPN-MF is splenomegaly secondary to extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH). The effects of HSCT on splenic EMH and associated vascular and stromal changes are unknown.

Culprit-lesion only versus complete multivessel percutaneous intervention in ST-elevation myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Background: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients with concomitant multivessel (MV) coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with poor outcomes. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the culprit-lesion only (CLO) as compared with a MV PCI approach to revascularization remains uncertain. Our objective is to gain a better understanding of the efficacy and safety of CLO as compared with MV PCI in patients with STEMI by conducting an updated meta-analysis.

Association of Aromatase With Bladder Cancer Stage and Long-Term Survival: New Insights Into the Hormonal Paradigm in Bladder Cancer.

Background: Hormonal factors may play a role in bladder cancer (BCa). We investigated the expression of aromatase and estrogen receptor (ER)β and its association with pathological variables and survival outcomes.

Patients And Methods: BCa specimens from 40 patients were evaluated.

Prognostic Importance of Diastolic Dysfunction in Relation to Post Procedural Aortic Insufficiency in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Objectives: We sought to examine whether baseline diastolic dysfunction (DD) is associated with increased mortality in patients who develop aortic insufficiency (AI) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: Significant post-TAVR AI is associated with increased mortality, likely secondary to adverse hemodynamics secondary to volume overload and decreased LV compliance from chronic pressure overload. However, the effect of baseline DD on outcomes of patients with post-TAVR AI has not been studied.

Do On-Site Mental Health Professionals Change Pediatricians' Responses to Children's Mental Health Problems?

Objective: To assess the availability of on-site mental health professionals (MHPs) in primary care; to examine practice/pediatrician characteristics associated with on-site MHPs; and to determine whether the presence of on-site MHPs is related to pediatricians' comanaging or more frequently identifying, treating/managing, or referring mental health (MH) problems.

Methods: Analyses included American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) members who participated in an AAP Periodic Survey in 2013 and who practiced general pediatrics (n = 321). Measures included sociodemographics, practice characteristics, questions about on-site MHPs, comanagement of MH problems, and pediatricians' behaviors in response to 5 prevalent MH problems.

Patient knowledge and expectations in endoscopic sinus surgery.

Background: The potential for patient misconceptions about endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) has implications for the informed consent process. An understanding of patients' baseline knowledge and sources of information regarding ESS would improve surgeons' ability to counsel patients preoperatively and provide effective educational materials.

Methods: A prospective patient survey was performed at 2 independent tertiary care medical centers.

Nipple Resection and Reconstruction After Attempted Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.

Background: Occult nipple malignancy is detected in 0% to 58% of attempted nipple-sparing mastectomies (NSM), prompting excision of the nipple. We report our experience with nipple resection following attempted NSM and our outcomes with subsequent nipple reconstruction.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved retrospective review was performed of attempted NSM cases with immediate implant-based reconstruction from July 2006 to April 2015.

Transjugular liver access cannula as a guiding instrument for the recanalization of chronic venous occlusions.

Background: Chronic venous occlusions can result in debilitating symptoms and can be refractory to standard methods of venous recanalization because of the formation of dense fibrous tissue. A transjugular liver access cannula can be incorporated into recanalization efforts to treat such refractory cases. This report describes our experience using the transjugular liver access cannula technique in nine patients.

5-millimeter Trocar-site Hernias After Laparoscopy Requiring Surgical Repair.

Trocar-site hernias are rare complications of laparoscopic surgery. Although trocar-site hernias occur more often at >10-mm sites, hernias can still develop at 5-mm sites after laparoscopy and can lead to serious complications. The primary objective of this review is to summarize the current medical literature pertaining to the clinical presentation and predisposing risk factors of trocar-site hernias at 5-mm sites after laparoscopy.

Crohn's Disease: Evolution, Epigenetics, and the Emerging Role of Microbiome-Targeted Therapies.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, systemic, immune-mediated inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Originally described in 1932 as non-caseating granulomatous inflammation limited to the terminal ileum, it is now recognized as an expanding group of heterogeneous diseases defined by intestinal location, extent, behavior, and systemic extraintestinal manifestations. Joint diseases, including inflammatory spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, are the most common extraintestinal manifestations of CD and share more genetic susceptibility loci than any other inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) trait.

Therapeutic hypothermia in ST elevation myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials.

Objective: Our objective is to gain a better understanding of the efficacy and safety of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) through an analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Background: Several RCTs have suggested a positive outcome with the use of TH in the prevention of myocardial injury in the setting of an acute STEMI. However, there are currently no clinical trials that have conclusively shown any significant benefit.

Outcomes of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes who achieve stable disease after treatment with hypomethylating agents.

Treatment with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) improves overall survival (OS) in patients who achieve a response of stable disease (SD) or better (complete remission [CR], partial remission [PR], or hematologic improvement [HI]). It is not well established if patients who achieve SD at 4-6 months of therapy should be offered different therapies to optimize their response or continue with the same regimen. Clinical data were obtained from the MDS Clinical Research Consortium database.

PET-avid hepatocellular adenomas: incidental findings associated with HNF1-α mutated lesions.

Background: Hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) is the second most common benign liver neoplasm and occurs predominantly in women in their reproductive years. Positron emission tomography (PET) using [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is commonly used in cancer staging, surveillance and evaluation of treatment response. PET-avid HCA are rare and can be falsely interpreted as malignancies.

Playing in the "Gutter": Cultivating Creativity in Medical Education and Practice.

In comics, "gutters" are the empty spaces between panels that readers must navigate to weave disjointed visual sequences into coherent narratives. A gutter, however, is more than a blank space--it represents a creative zone for making connections and for constructing meaning from disparate ideas, values, and experiences. Over the course of medical training, learners encounter various "gutters" created by the disconnected subject blocks and learning experiences within the curriculum, the ambiguity and uncertainty of medical practice, and the conflicts and tensions within clinical encounters.