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Meningioma represents the most frequently diagnosed primary brain tumor, accounting for over one-third of central nervous system neoplasms. The majority of tumors are categorized as benign. However, albeit rarely, meningiomas may metastasize to distant sites. We describe a 78-year-old man with a history of recurrent World Health Organization grade I meningioma managed who presented for evaluation of weakness and urinary retention. A computed tomography scan obtained in the emergency department revealed multiple scattered low-density liver lesions. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging showed a 5.5-centimeter heterogeneous enhancing mass with 2 smaller enhancing lesions suspicious for a primary or secondary malignant neoplasm. Microscopic examination of a tissue sample obtained via liver biopsy demonstrated a metastatic spindle cell neoplasm with histologic features compatible with a diagnosis of World Health Organization grade I transitional meningioma. The patient was referred to hematology/oncology for systemic therapy. Keywords: Meningioma, Meningioma staging, Metastatic meningioma, Liver metastases, Central nervous system neoplasms, WHO grade I meningioma

Study aimTo develop and apply a natural language processing algorithm for characterization of patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis in a diverse integrated U.S. healthcare system.MethodsRetrospective cohort study including patients initially diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis (CP) within a regional integrated healthcare system between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2015. Imaging reports from these patients were extracted from the electronic medical record system and split into training, validation and implementation datasets. A natural language processing (NLP) algorithm was first developed through the training dataset to identify specific features (atrophy, calcification, pseudocyst, cyst and main duct dilatation) from free-text radiology reports. The validation dataset was applied to validate the performance by comparing against the manual chart review. The developed algorithm was then applied to the implementation dataset. We classified patients with calcification(s) or ≥2 radiographic features as advanced CP. We compared etiology, comorbid conditions, treatment parameters as well as survival between advanced CP and others diagnosed during the study period.Results6,346 patients were diagnosed with CP during the study period with 58,085 radiology studies performed. For individual features, NLP yielded sensitivity from 88.7% to 95.3%, specificity from 98.2% to 100.0%. A total of 3,672 patients met cohort inclusion criteria: 1,330 (36.2%) had evidence of advanced CP. Patients with advanced CP had increased frequency of smoking (57.8% vs. 43.0%), diabetes (47.6% vs. 35.9%) and underweight body mass index (6.6% vs. 3.6%), all pConclusionPatients with advanced CP experienced increased disease-related complications and pancreatic cancer-related mortality. Excess all-cause mortality was driven primarily by potentially modifiable risk factors including malnutrition, smoking and diabetes.

Background: Post-interventional cerebral hyperdensities (PCHD) are present 31.2 to 87.5% of the time on post-thrombectomy (PT) CT. It can be difficult for radiologists to differentiate if PCHD represents intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or contrast staining using conventional CT. The ability to accurately determine the etiology of PCHD may be important for a patient’s outcome. Methods: We retrospectively investigated clinical risk factors, imaging findings, and interventional technique of patients who had a thrombectomy from 2011-2017 (n=238) at a Comprehensive Stroke Center. 112 patients with anterior circulation infarcts and immediate PT CTs as well as either a PT MRI or follow-up CT within 48 hours were included. Two experienced neuroradiologists interpreted all imaging. Baseline demographics and imaging characteristics were collected. The presence of ICH was determined by dephasing on gradient echo or by its persistence > 2 days on repeat CT. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for statistical significance, and logistic regression to determine risk estimates. Results: 84% of patients had PCHD, of which 56% had ICH. Patients had similar demographics (ICH: median age 69, 47.5% female; non-ICH: median age 71, 42.5% female). Higher pre-thrombectomy ASPECTS score (OR 0.62, p < 0.05) decreased the risk of ICH, and higher Hounsfield units (HU) of PCHD both on immediate (OR 1.04, p < 0.05) and intermediate (OR 1.1, p < 0.0005) PT CT increased the risk of ICH. PCHDs in the deep grey matter (OR 2.84, p < 0.05) and demonstrating a confluent pattern (OR 3.9 p < 0.05) increased the likelihood of ICH. 10% increase risk of ICH was seen for every HU increase in density on PT CT at 24 or 48 hours. A 50% decrease in ICH was observed for each unit increase of the pre-thrombectomy ASPECTS score. ROC revealed the optimal cut-off for predicted probability as 0.64, sensitivity 70.2% and specificity 69.2%. The AUC for the predicted model was 0.84 (95%CI= (0.75- 0.92, p Conclusion: Several imaging characteristics of PCHDs and ASPECTS score can help differentiate between the PT ICH and contrast staining. Application of these variables to patients in the immediate PT period may change clinical management.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare the rates of secondary intervention following uterine artery embolization (UAE) versus myomectomy for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. Material and Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Eight hundred and sixty-three patients are included in this analysis, 451 patients who underwent UAE and 412 patients who underwent myomectomy between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012. The UAE group was significantly older than the myomectomy group with a median age of 46 versus 38 (P < 0.0001). Patient data were collected from electronic medical records between the time of their initial procedure and December 31, 2017. The primary endpoint was secondary intervention rate. Secondary endpoints included time to secondary intervention, post-procedural complications, differences in mean hemoglobin levels following the procedures, symptomatic improvement, and subsequent pregnancy outcomes. All statistical analyses were two sided and performed using SAS EG 7.13 (Cary, NC). Results: The median follow-up for the UAE and myomectomy groups was 7 and 7.3 years, respectively. Overall, the rates of secondary intervention were not statistically significant between the UAE and myomectomy groups, 8.9% and 11.2%, respectively (P = 0.26). However, stratified analysis in women aged 30–39 years old demonstrated an increased rate of secondary intervention in the UAE arm with a hazards ratio of 3.76 (P = 0.0099). In patients ≥40 years old, there was no significant difference in secondary intervention rate. Both groups demonstrated a significant increase in mean hemoglobin at 1 year following initial procedure with a mean difference (SD) of 1.8 (2.1) in the UAE group and 1.8 (2.5) in the myomectomy group (P < 0.0001 for both groups). The myomectomy group had a higher rate of post-procedural blood transfusion than the UAE group, 2.9% versus 0.9%, respectively (P = 0.028). Both groups had comparable rates of post-procedural pelvic infection and rehospitalization. Patients with pre-procedural menorrhagia who received UAE reported a higher rate of symptomatic improvement when compared to the myomectomy group, 75.4% versus 49.5% (P < 0.0001). Both groups reported similar rates of improvement in bulk symptoms, 46.1% and 43.2%, respectively (P = 1.0). Conclusion: Overall, UAE and myomectomy have comparable rates of secondary intervention during a median 7-year follow-up period. However, in women between 30 and 39 years of age, UAE resulted in higher rates of secondary intervention. UAE may be more effective in controlling patients’ menorrhagia and has lower rates of post-procedural blood transfusions.

Introduction We report a rare case of Flood syndrome, which is a spontaneous rupture of an umbilical hernia. Case presentation A 42-year-old man with decompensated hepatitis C and alcoholic cirrhosis complicated by ascites and esophageal varices presented with 1 day of ascitic fluid drainage after rupture of a preexisting umbilical hernia associated with diffuse abdominal pain and tenderness. A pigtail drain was placed in the right upper abdominal quadrant to decrease fluid drainage from the abdominal wall defect, allowing it to heal naturally. Discussion The spontaneous rupture of an umbilical hernia in our patient highlights a rare complication with high mortality rates and stresses the challenge of treatment that falls in the area between medical and surgical management.

We report a case of a 51-year-old woman with a history of type II diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia presenting with pain, swelling, and crusting of the lips. One year after onset of mucosal lesions, she developed an abdominal eruption with several tense vesicles and bullae on an erythematous base. The hematoxylin and eosin stain sample was consistent with a diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris. The tense bullae of our patient highlight a rare phenotype of pemphigus vulgaris, which fits the mucocutaneous type because of involvement of the oral mucosa, with the exception of the findings of tense bullae.

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists.