Cervical arterial injury after strangulation--different types of arterial lesions.

After strangulation, cervical arterial injuries (CAI) are uncommon. We report three unusual cases where strangulation induced immediate stroke. CAI were examined using brain CT scan and Doppler ultrasonography in the three cases and then by autopsy in one of the victims.

Preoperative computed tomography scan may fail to predict perilymphatic gusher.

Objectives: A stapes gusher is a very rare event in ear surgery, but the consequences for hearing can be dramatic. It can usually be predicted by characteristic radiologic abnormalities. We report 2 cases of gusher without any abnormalities seen on the preoperative computed tomography scans.

Is anti-platelet therapy needed in continuous flow left ventricular assist device patients? A single-centre experience.

Objectives: We report our 5-year experience of continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation without the use of anti-platelet therapy.

Methods: Between February 2006 and September 2011, 27 patients (26 men; 1 woman) were implanted with a continuous flow LVAD (HeartMate II, Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA, USA). The mean age was 55.

Topical treatment with a new matrix therapy agent (RGTA) for the treatment of corneal neurotrophic ulcers.

Purpose: Neurotrophic keratopathy is a degenerative disease of the corneal epithelium resulting from impaired corneal innervation, possibly leading to perforation. We aimed to assess the efficacy and tolerance of a new matrix therapy agent (RGTA, Cacicol20), mimicking heparan sulfates, for the management of neurotrophic keratopathy.

Methods: We carried out an uncontrolled, prospective, single-center clinical study on 11 patients (11 eyes) with severe corneal neurotrophic ulcers, despite the use of preservative-free artificial tears, for 15 days.

Magnetic resonance colonography in severe attacks of ulcerative colitis.

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of MR colonography (MRC) to detect lesions in severe attacks of ulcerative colitis (UC) and to assess its concordance with rectosigmoidoscopy.

Methods: Eighteen patients underwent MRC and rectosigmoidoscopy. MRC consisted of a water-filled colonic procedure followed by T1/T2w images.

A brain penetration after Taser injury: controversies regarding Taser gun safety.

We report the case of a 27 year old man who was injured by a Taser gun device which penetrated the frontal part of the skull and damaged the underlying frontal lobe. Cerebral penetration was revealed by a brain CT scan. A neurosurgical procedure was required to remove the dart from the skull and brain and the evolution was successful allowing discharge of the patient one week later.

Anatomical study and clinical relevance of the flexor superficialis synovial flap: an assessment of 31 hand dissections.

Purpose: The authors present an anatomical study of the flexor digitorum superficialis synovial flap and its clinical application for palmar soft tissue defects in hand trauma.

Methods: Green latex was injected into the brachial artery of thirty-one human upper limbs from corpses donated to science. Anatomical features of this pedicled flap were assessed: arterial vascularization, dimensions and covering surface.

Definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma: an alternative to surgery?

Background And Objectives: Definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is considered curative intent treatment for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Data concerning the usefulness of definitive CRT in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma (ADC) are lacking. The aim of the study was to compare the results of definitive CRT versus surgery in patients with an ADC.

Ovarian endometrioma ablation using plasma energy versus cystectomy: a step toward better preservation of the ovarian parenchyma in women wishing to conceive.

Objective: To use postoperative examination by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound to compare loss of ovarian parenchyma after ovarian endometrioma ablation with the use of plasma energy versus cystectomy.

Design: Retrospective "before and after" comparative study.

Setting: University tertiary referral center.

Endoscopic revision of external dacryocystorhinostomy failure.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of endoscopic analysis and surgery of the lacrimal sac in cases of external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) failure.

Material & Method: In a retrospective study, 17 endoscopic procedures in 17 patients during 11 years with recurrent lacrimal obstruction after external DCR were performed. Endoscopic analysis and procedures were carried out with a routine silicone tube catheterization for 3 to 6 months.

Impaired smooth pursuit in schizophrenia results from prediction impairment only.

Background: Oculomotor abnormality is one of the endophenotypes in schizophrenia. The predictive component of smooth pursuit can be studied by comparing the gain, i.e.

Gender influence on defecographic abnormalities in patients with posterior pelvic floor disorders.

Aim: To compare defecographic abnormalities in symptomatic men and women and to analyze differences between men and age- and symptom-matched women.

Methods: Sixty-six men (mean age: 55.4 years, range: 20-81 years) who complained of constipation and/or fecal incontinence and/or pelvic pain underwent defecography after intake of a barium meal.

The Emotional Stroop task: a comparison between schizophrenic subjects and controls.

The colour-word Emotional Stroop task (ES task) has been proposed to assess the interferences between emotion and attention. Using this task, first, we examined how attention (using reaction times) can be modified by emotionally relevant words in schizophrenics as compared with controls as a function of the emotional significance of the word; second, we tested the assumption that schizophrenics with the most negative symptoms will show higher impairment in relationship to negative emotional words. In general, schizophrenics were slower to react.

In very young infants severity of acute bronchiolitis depends on carried viruses.

Background: RT amplification reaction has revealed that various single viruses or viral co-infections caused acute bronchiolitis in infants, and RV appeared to have a growing involvement in early respiratory diseases. Because remaining controversial, the objective was to determine prospectively the respective role of RSV, RV, hMPV and co-infections on the severity of acute bronchiolitis in very young infants.

Methods And Principal Findings: 209 infants (median age: 2.

Risk factors and management of diabetes in elderly French patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of elderly diabetic patients, evaluate the relationship between glycaemic control and diabetes complications, and compare the day-to-day management of such patients with the published recommendations.

Methods: The study included 238 elderly diabetic patients, for whom data for the past six months' medical history, clinical examination (including ocular fundus) and standard biological tests were collected.

Results: The patients' mean age was 82.

Surgical aortic valve replacement after percutaneous aortic valve implantation: what have we learned?

Objective: We report the first case description of surgical aortic valve replacement after percutaneous valve implantation.

Methods: An 87-year-old man with severe aortic stenosis who was rejected for surgical intervention underwent percutaneous valve implantation through a retrograde femoral approach. The procedure was complicated by cardiogenic shock caused by severe aortic insufficiency, leading to emergency surgical aortic valve replacement.

Radiologic evaluation of pelvic floor disorders.

Several imaging modalities are available ranging from fluoroscopic techniques to ultrasonography and MRI for the evaluation of patients with pelvic floors disorders. High-resolution ultrasonography and MRI not only provide superior delineation of the pelvic floor anatomy but also reveal pathology and functional changes. This article focuses on standard imaging procedures including defecography, ultrasonography, and MRI and discusses its use in clinical practice by illustrating both normal and abnormal patterns.

Usefulness of the serum carcinoembryonic antigen kinetic for chemotherapy monitoring in patients with unresectable metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) kinetic and response to chemotherapy in patients with unresectable metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: The kinetic was calculated using the slope of an exponential-regressive curve connecting the semi-logarithmic values of CEA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to select the CEA slope thresholds to define patients with progressive or responsive disease with the highest sensitivity, specificity, and diagnosis accuracy odds ratio (DOR).

Prenatal revelation of Niemann-Pick disease type C in siblings.

Objectives: To report two cases of prenatal Niemann-Pick disease type C in siblings, with different prenatal semiology and postnatal outcome.

Case Reports: First fetus presented at 22 weeks'gestation with ascites, hepatosplenomegaly, then polyhydramnios. At birth, the infant developed severe cholestasis and died at day 5.

Bleeding gastric vascular ectasia treated by argon plasma coagulation: a comparison between patients with and without cirrhosis.

Background: Gastric vascular ectasia (GVE) is an uncommon etiology of GI bleeding. GVE can affect not only patients with cirrhosis but also patients with a variety of chronic diseases.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare clinical and endoscopic patient characteristics and responses to treatment by argon plasma coagulation (APC) of bleeding GVE between patients with cirrhosis and noncirrhotic patients.

Neutrophil but not eosinophil inflammation is related to the severity of a first acute epidemic bronchiolitis in young infants.

Acute bronchiolitis is the main cause of emergency visits and hospitalizations in infants. Recent data suggest that neutrophil- and eosinophil-mediated inflammations were part of bronchiolitis pathophysiology. Apart from the defined risk factors, few was known on the underlying pathophysiology, which might point out the differences observed in the severity of the disease.

Calcified aneurysm of the abdominal aorta 12 years after umbilical artery catheterization.

We report a 12-year-old boy who presented with abdominal pain and who was found to have an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta (AAA). The patient was born from a quadruplet pregnancy induced by in vitro fertilization. Postnatal transient respiratory distress required assisted ventilation that had been monitored by two consecutive umbilical arterial catheters (UAC).

Biofilm formation on pyrolytic carbon heart valves: influence of surface free energy, roughness, and bacterial species.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the interaction of surface free energy and roughness characteristics of different pyrolytic carbon heart valves with three bacterial species on biofilm formation.

Methods: Three pyrolytic carbon heart valves (St Jude Medical [St Jude Medical Inc, Minneapolis, Minn], Sulzer Carbomedics [CarboMedics Inc, Austin, Tex], and MedicalCV [Medical Incorporated, Inver Grove Heights, Minn]) were tested. Roughness was measured by interferential microscopy and surface free energy by contact angle technique.

Multidetector CT in patients with esophageal stent as a palliative treatment for stenosing esophageal cancer: a feasibility study.

Objective: The self-expanding metallic stent (SEMS) is widely used in the palliative treatment of stenosing esophageal cancer. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) allows volumetric investigation including virtual endoscopy. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of MDCT follow-up of esophageal SEMS and to describe the imaging patterns encountered as well as correlating them with fibroscopic evaluation.