Asian cosmetic facial surgery.

Within the past decade, Asian economies have grown exponentially, resulting in increased personal wealth and subsequent consumption of cosmetic procedures. Asian cosmetic surgery procedures in Western countries have also seen a growth pattern parallel to Asia. As this growth continues, facial plastic surgeons in Western nations will inevitably witness increased Asians in their patient population base.

The utility of repeated stool toxin testing for diagnosing Clostridium difficile colitis.

Clostridium difficile is diagnosed using the enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) with the specificity and sensitivity ranging from 50-90% and 70-95%, respectively. Due to the wide ranges, there is considerable confusion regarding the value of the EIA toxin test. We undertook this study to evaluate the benefit of repeat stool toxin testing.

Ranolazine improves endothelial function in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Objectives: We investigated the effect of ranolazine on endothelial-dependent vasodilatation (EDV), serum markers of endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction has been shown to be independently associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular events. We sought to investigate whether ranolazine, a novel antianginal medication with no effect on heart rate or blood pressure, improves endothelial function in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Pioglitazone increases adiponectin levels in nondiabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

Objectives: Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Pioglitazone has been shown to increase levels of adiponectin in diabetic patients. We sought to assess whether administration of pioglitazone to patients with CAD and without diabetes would affect plasma adiponectin levels and endothelial function.

Cardiac epithelioid hemangioendothelioma with 8-year follow-up.

An incidentally discovered right atrial mass excised from the heart of a 51-year-old woman was found on pathological examination to be an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. No further therapy was undertaken, and the patient has remained free of recurrence for 8 years. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the behavior of this distinctive vascular neoplasm occurring as an isolated cardiac tumor.

Comparison of cardiovascular effects of tiletamine-zolazepam, pentobarbital, and ketamine-xylazine in male rats.

We allocated 35 male Sprague-Dawley rats into 7 groups and anesthetized each by using one of the following regimens: ketamine 50 mg+xylaxine 5 mg; ketamine 75 mg+xylazine 5 mg; pentobarbital 45 mg; and Telazol 30, 40, 50, and 60 mg/kg; supplemental doses were used as required. Respiratory rate, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cardiac index, and stroke index were measured every 30 min for 4 h. The Telazol groups showed a dose-dependent increase in duration of anesthesia.

Expression of melanoma-associated antigens in human dendritic cells pulsed with an interleukin-2 gene encoded vaccinia melanoma oncolysate (rIL-2VMO).

Dendritic cells (DCs) possess the unique abilities to initiate a primary immune response and to present antigens to naïve T lymphocytes. Recently, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the use of DCs in active specific immunotherapy (ASI) for the treatment of patients with cancer. In the present study, we determined the ability of DCs to express Melanoma-Associated Antigens (MAAs) from a polyvalent Melanoma Vaccine (DC-MelVac; Patent #11221/5) developed in our facility.

September 11, 2001, revisited: a review of the data.

Hypothesis: The September 11, 2001, World Trade Center (WTC) attack was a disaster of epic proportion in New York City, NY. It was unprecedented in terms of the number of people who were killed in the bombings, as well as in terms of the volume of patients received at local (New York City) hospitals. The strain on local emergency medical services, hospitals, and the citywide trauma system is still felt today as the hospitals, physicians, and agencies involved struggle to train for similar events that may occur in the future, cope with the psychological and social aftermath, and even pay for the response to the bombing.

The distinctive role of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in breast carcinoma with brown adipose tissue 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake.

The diagnostic power of an integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) system for whole-body 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) imaging is clearly demonstrated in this case report. The precise anatomic localization of FDG uptake with CT in a PET/CT scan of a patient with known breast carcinoma helped identify a contralateral breast tumor with axillary lymph node metastasis despite the presence of extensive physiologic brown fat FDG uptake. Accordingly, the patient received appropriate surgical management and pathologic confirmation of the disease.

Healing presence.

Medicine is the art and science of restoring and preserving health through the healing process. The science of medicine lies in evidenced based practices and the technological achievements of the last century, which enable practitioners to preserve the physical body. A growing number of research articles and writings have also appeared addressing the spiritual dimension of healing (the art of medicine), which often ignored creates a gap in the medical care of the patient.

Clinical significance of increased lipase levels on admission to the ICU.

Study Objectives: To examine the incidence, risk factors, and sequelae associated with asymptomatic hyperlipasemia in the ICU.

Setting: Medical and surgical ICUs.

Patients: Two hundred forty-five adult critically ill patients admitted to an ICU for > 72 h with a diagnosis other than pancreatitis were studied prospectively.

Aeromonas meningitis complicating medicinal leech therapy.

Medicinal leeches have an important and expanding role in medicine, but infection can complicate their use. We describe a unique case of Aeromonas meningitis associated with the use of leech therapy to salvage a skin flap after central nervous system surgery.

Long-term survival in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated small non-cleaved cell lymphoma: the role for short course intensive chemotherapy.

While intensive chemotherapy is recommended for the treatment of non-HIV related adult small non-cleaved lymphoma (SNCL), including Burkitt's and Burkitt-like lymphoma, optimal treatment for patients with HIV-associated SNCL is not known. We assessed remissions and survival in a cohort of 44 consecutive HIV positive patients diagnosed with SNCL at our hospital between June 2000 and November 2001 using chart and pathology data. Median follow-up, survival and survival at the median follow-up time were 4.

Yield of dual endoscopy for positive fecal occult blood test.

Objectives: Dual endoscopy is frequently performed on the same day in patients whose stools are found to be positive on fecal occult blood testing (FOBT). This is often done to localize the potential sources of GI bleed. The diagnostic yield of same day dual upper endoscopy (EGD) and lower endoscopy (colonoscopy) for the detection of positive FOBT is uncertain.

A scale for measuring patient perceptions of the quality of end-of-life care and satisfaction with treatment: the reliability and validity of QUEST.

We report on the adaptation and evaluation of a previously developed patient-centered instrument that we call the Quality of End-of-life care and Satisfaction with Treatment (QUEST) scale. In a separate group of 30 inpatients, test-retest reliability for QUEST items ranged from 63% agreement (kappa = 0.43) to 93% agreement (kappa = 0.