Search

Hypercalcemia may be induced by a variety of etiologies, most commonly primary hyperparathyroidism. Although primary hyperparathyroidism represents a relatively common endocrinological disorder, ectopic PTH secretion is a rare entity that is less well described in literature. We describe the first case to our knowledge of severe, symptomatic hypercalcemia found to be secondary to a PTH-secreting pancreatoblastoma. The patient initially presented with fatigue and progressive upper extremity intermittent muscular twitching. He was found to have biochemical evidence of primary hyperparathyroidism. A computed tomography scan of the neck and a sestamibi nuclear scan failed to definitively demonstrate a parathyroid adenoma or hyperplasia and bilateral surgical parathyroid exploration was unrevealing for any pathology. Abdominal imaging via computed tomography was obtained for evaluation of progressive postoperative epigastric pain, and the patient was found to have a retroperitoneal mass that, after biopsy, was diagnostic for a pancreatoblastoma. This mass was resected resulting in a fall in intraoperative PTH values and subsequent postoperative hypocalcemia secondary to hungry bone syndrome. Upon follow-up, the patient's parathyroid function recovered and doses of supplemental calcium and vitamin D could be tapered. Ectopic PTH-secreting masses represent a rare entity but should be considered in individuals with unclear etiology of recalcitrant primary hyperparathyroidism., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society.)

Recent advances in surgical neuromodulation have enabled chronic and continuous intracranial monitoring during everyday life. We used this opportunity to identify neural predictors of clinical state in 12 individuals with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy ( NCT05915741 ). We developed our neurobehavioral models based on continuous neural recordings in the region of the ventral striatum in an initial cohort of five patients and tested and validated them in a held-out cohort of seven additional patients. Before DBS activation, in the most symptomatic state, theta/alpha (9 Hz) power evidenced a prominent circadian pattern and a high degree of predictability. In patients with persistent symptoms (non-responders), predictability of the neural data remained consistently high. On the other hand, in patients who improved symptomatically (responders), predictability of the neural data was significantly diminished. This neural feature accurately classified clinical status even in patients with limited duration recordings, indicating generalizability that could facilitate therapeutic decision-making., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Importance: During the COVID-19 pandemic, stabilized COVID-19-positive patients were discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to alleviate hospital crowding. These discharges generated controversy due to fears of seeding outbreaks, but there is little empirical evidence to inform policy., Objective: To assess the association between the admission to SNFs of COVID-19-positive patients and subsequent COVID-19 cases and death rates among residents., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study analyzed survey data from the National Healthcare Safety Network of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cohort included SNFs in the US from June 2020 to March 2021. Exposed facilities (ie, with initial admission of COVID-19-positive patients) were matched to control facilities (ie, without initial admission of COVID-19-positive patients) in the same county and with similar preadmission case counts. Data were analyzed from June 2023 to February 2024., Exposure: The week of the first observable admission of COVID-19-positive patients (defined as those previously diagnosed with COVID-19 and continued to require transmission-based precautions) during the study period., Main Outcomes and Measures: Weekly counts of new cases of COVID-19, COVID-19-related deaths, and all-cause deaths per 100 residents in the week prior to the initial admission. A stacked difference-in-differences approach was used to compare outcomes for 10 weeks before and 15 weeks after the first admission. Additional analyses examined whether outcomes differed in facilities with staff or personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages., Results: A matched group of 264 exposed facilities and 518 control facilities was identified. Over the 15-week follow-up period, exposed SNFs had a cumulative increase of 6.94 (95% CI, 2.91-10.98) additional COVID-19 cases per 100 residents compared with control SNFs, a 31.3% increase compared with the sample mean (SD) of 22.2 (26.4). Exposed facilities experienced 2.31 (95% CI, 1.39-3.24) additional cumulative COVID-19-related deaths per 100 residents compared with control facilities, representing a 72.4% increase compared with the sample mean (SD) of 3.19 (5.5). Exposed facilities experiencing potential staff shortage and PPE shortage had larger increases in COVID-19 cases per 100 residents (additional 10.97 [95% CI, 2.76-19.19] cases and additional 14.81 [95% CI, 2.38-27.25] cases, respectively) compared with those without such shortages., Conclusion: This cohort study suggests that admission of COVID-19-positive patients into SNFs early in the pandemic was associated with preventable COVID-19 cases and mortality among residents, particularly in facilities with potential staff and PPE shortages. The findings speak to the importance of equipping SNFs to adhere to infection-control best practices as they continue to face COVID-19 strains and other respiratory diseases.