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Objective To evaluate the effects of home-based exercise and physical activity on cardiac functional performance in patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods This retrospective study enrolled patients that received treatment of acute ST-segment elevation MI between and were followed-up 6 months later. The patients were divided into physically active and inactive groups based on their levels of home exercise after hospital discharge. Results A total of 78 patients were enrolled in the study: 32 were physically active and 46 were physically inactive. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. At the 6-month visit, left ventricular ejection fraction and six-minute walking test (6MWT) were significantly improved while the proportion of patients with a New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional III classification was decreased in the active patients, whereas these parameters were not significantly changed in the inactive patients. In addition, the 6MWT was greater while the proportion of patients with an NYHA III classification was lower in the active group than the inactive group at the 6-month visit. Conclusion Maintaining physical activity at home was associated with improved cardiac functional performance in patients after acute MI during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) of the skull is an uncommon clinical entity that is characterized by a localized proliferation of neoplastic monoclonal plasma cells. This case report describes a 50-year-old male that presented with a headache and an exophytic soft mass on the occiput. The diagnosis of SP was based on the pathological results and imaging examinations. The patient underwent occipital craniotomy, skull reconstruction and lower trapezius myocutaneous flap (LTMF) transplantation under general anaesthesia. The tumour was capsulized and extended to the subcutaneous and the subdural space through the dura mater with skull defects. The neoplasm of the occipital bone involved large areas of scalp and subcutaneous tissue, which resulted in a large postoperative scalp defect that was repaired using LTMF transplantation. All of the tumour was removed and the transplanted flap grew well. Follow-up at 5 months identified an aggressive mass lesion on the right frontal lobe. The patient received six cycles of the PAD chemotherapy regimen (bortezomib, doxorubicin and dexamethasone) and the lesion was significantly reduced. This case demonstrates that LTMF is an alternative approach for the repair of scalp and subcutaneous soft tissue defects caused by the excision of a large malignant tumour of the occipital region. Chemotherapy is the choice of treatment for neoplastic recurrence.