Contraceptive Vaginal Rings: Do They Pose an Increased Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Aesthetic Surgery?

Unlabelled: Nuvaring (Organon, Kenilworth, NJ) is a vaginal contraception ring inserted by the patient. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001 for the prevention of pregnancy. The intent of this paper is to increase the awareness of Nuvaring among plastic surgeons, and to explore the risks associated with its use.

Ipilimumab-Induced Granulomatous Disease Occurring Simultaneously With Disease Progression in a Patient With Metastatic Melanoma.

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive cutaneous malignancy with dismal prognosis in the advanced setting. The food and drug administration approval of ipilimumab, the monoclonal antibody against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4, has significantly changed treatment strategies for this disease. However, the spectrum of immune-related adverse events secondary to ipilimumab therapy is a growing area of research, and clinical observations of rare immune events as a result of such therapies continue to be reported since the approval.

Meniere's disease: importance of socioeconomic and environmental factors.

Study Objectives: 1. Describe the prevalence of Meniere's disease in the United States. 2.

POEMS syndrome - A case report revealing a complex evolving diagnosis.

Description of POEMS syndrome (Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal gammopathy, Skin changes) goes back to 1938 when a patient with sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy, hyperpigmemntation, solitary plasmacytoma, and elevated cerebral spinal fluid protein was reported. Since then, numerous other cases of this condition have been described by various authors including one that followed the first case 18 years later about two patients. Even though this rare condition still remains an oddity in diagnosis calling for clinicians to have a high index of suspicion due to its manifestation with varied clinical features.

Another cause of chest pain: Staphylococcus aureus sternal osteomyelitis in an otherwise healthy adult.

Chest pain requires a detailed differential diagnosis with good history-taking skills to differentiate between cardiogenic and noncardiogenic causes. Moreover, when other symptoms such as fever and elevated white blood cell count are involved, it may be necessary to consider causes that include infectious sources. A 53-year-old female with no significant past medical history returned to the hospital with recurrent complaints of chest pain that was constant, substernal, reproducible, and exacerbated with inspiration and expiration.

Observation following tonsillectomy may be inadequate due to silent death.

The focus on the first 24 hours of care for respiratory events following tonsillectomy may be misplaced and a broader focus is warranted. Nocturnal hypoxemia, an elevated apnea-hypopnea index, or obstructive sleep apnea contributes to an increased sensitivity to narcotics and postoperative complications. Narcotic pain management depresses respiration through an increase in the frequency of central sleep apnea, decreased minute ventilation, increased hypercarbia pressure, and a decrease in the hypoxic ventilator response.

Association Between Antidepressants Use During Pregnancy and Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: Antidepressants have been reported in several studies in the literature to be associated with the development of autistic disorder symptoms in children exposed to them during the time of their mothers' pregnancies. There have also been reports of neurodevelopment delays associated with exposure to antidepressants in the same conditions.

Design: We searched the PUBMED, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, and ERIC for original articles published between January 1983 and May 2013 to identify studies on the association between autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and neurodevelopment delays in children and exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy.

Elevated plasma total cholesterol level is associated with the risk of asymptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis.

Background: Intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is one of the most common causes of stroke, and dyslipidemia was one of the most common risk factors related to ICAS. However, the correlation between the plasma total cholesterol level (PTC) and ICAS, especially asymptomatic ICAS (AICAS) is not clear.

Materials And Methods: 5,300 participants were enrolled in this study.

Hamate body and capitate fracture in punch injury.

Hamate fractures represent only 2% to 4% of all carpal bone fractures because they require a large degree of force to the hand or wrist. This is a case report of a patient with hamate and capitate fractures after a punch injury. It details the minute change seen in routine 3-view radiographic imagery and indications for computed tomography.

Empyema due to severe Pasteurella multocida treated with quinolone: a case report.

Pasteurella multocida (PM) is gram-negative coccobacillus that is commonly acquired through a cat scratch or bite. The standard antibiotic of choice for treating PM is penicillin. We present a case of PM empyema in a penicillin allergic 56-year-old female who has a history of contact with domestic cats and is known to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a chronic history of smoking.

Carbohydrate-restricted diet and acute coronary syndrome: a case report and review of this conflicting and yet unknown association.

We describe a case of a young patient, motivated to follow a carbohydrate-restricted diet intake for 6 years, who presented with an acute myocardial infarction.

Stent fracture in the brachiocephalic trunk.

Stents are commonly used as a tool for revascularization of different vascular beds in the body. However, many pitfalls have been reported with their use, such as thrombosis, migration, restenosis or fractures. The latter have been strongly correlated to in-stent restenosis with long-term follow-up.

Perceived impact of cancer treatment on diabetes self-management.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the impact that cancer and its treatment had on diabetes self-management and to identify common issues that individuals with diabetes encounter while undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: This exploratory study utilized a baseline self-administered written survey and an 8-week telephone follow-up survey that included 2 open-ended questions. Forty-three adults aged 50 or older with diabetes and a solid tumor cancer receiving chemotherapy were recruited from 8 community outpatient cancer centers in Michigan and Ohio.

Management of familial hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis during pregnancy with therapeutic plasma exchange: a case report and review of literature.

Familial severe hypertriglyceridemia (levels greater than 1000 mg/dL) is a known cause of acute pancreatitis. Pregnancy can dysregulate controlled lipid levels in women with familial hypertriglyceridemia and lead to acute pancreatitis and significant morbidity in both mother and fetus. We report a case of hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis during pregnancy that was successfully treated using therapeutic plasma exchange, resulting in delivery of a healthy preterm infant.

Tibial osteomyelitis caused by Gordonia bronchialis in an immunocompetent patient.

Gordonia species are aerobic Gram-positive bacilli that rarely cause human infections, often in the setting of indwelling intravascular catheters. We report the first case of osteomyelitis caused by Gordonia bronchialis in a healthy immunocompetent host in the absence of an intravascular catheter.

Fluctuation of spuriously elevated troponin I: a case report.

Serum troponin is a useful laboratory study for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. However, elevations can also be seen in a variety of other diseases processes. Falsely positive troponin values caused by interference with current troponin assays have been reported.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome following Lyme disease.

Background: A subgroup of patients suffering from Lyme disease (LD) may initially respond to antibiotics only to later develop a syndrome of fatigue, joint pain and cognitive dysfunction referred to as 'post treatment LD syndrome'. We report on a series of patients who developed autonomic dysfunction in the form of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Methods: All of the patients in this report had suffered from LD in the past and were successfully treated with antibiotics.

Neurocardiogenic syncope coexisting with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in patients suffering from orthostatic intolerance: a combined form of autonomic dysfunction.

Introduction: There is anecdotal evidence that one or more forms of orthostatic intolerance (OI) subgroups may coexist in the same patients. However, there is a paucity of published data on the clinical features and management of patients who suffer from coexisting features of postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS). We herein present our experience of 18 patients who we found displayed evidence of coexisting NCS and POTS.

McConnell Sign in a Patient with Massive Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

A 48-year-old female was admitted after experiencing a brief syncopal episode. Three weeks ago the patient sustained a right arm humerus bone fracture in a motor vehicle accident. Since the accident, her mobility has been limited.