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Background: Low Back Pain (LBP) is most common symptom among dentists due to working in a standing position and prolonged stooping over a reclined or supine patients which lead to trigger points formation at lower back. Aims of Study: Localized most common level of trigger point formation among dentists at lumbosacral area and identified the possible risk factors for the development of trigger points by Algometer which eased for physical therapist to find trigger point easily and save time and effort for treatment. Subjects and Methods: This study was carried out on fifty dentists males with low back pain and their ages were ranged from 30 to 45 years, dentists have recurrent episode of pain at lower back and all dentists worked daily at hospital or in thier private clinics examinated from El-Yom El-Wahed and El-Hayaa El-Arabya Hospitals in Maadi District, Cairo Governorate. Results: L5 level was the common site of trigger points at lower back detected in 15 (48.3%) subjects followed by S1 level in 7 (22.5%) subjects and S2 level in 7 (22.5%) subjects and Trigger points at lower back was detected in L4 level in 2 (6.7%) subjects 19. Conclusion: L5 level was the common site of trigger point formation at lower back among dentists.

Background and objectives Candida species are one of the most common causes of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections. However, recurrent candidemia is rare, and the characteristics of late recurrent (LR) candidemia are partly unclear. Our aim was to evaluate the characteristics of LR candidemia in adult patients. Patients and methods A retrospective cohort study was performed in the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa in Finland (2007-2016). All candidemia cases were searched in an electronic database during the study period. Patients with LR candidemia were compared with patients with a single candidemia episode to evaluate the characteristics of LR candidemia. LR candidemia was defined as having at least two episodes of candidemia more than 30 days apart. Results We identified 24 episodes of LR candidemia in 20 patients. Patients with LR candidemia represented 6% of all patients with candidemia during the study period, and most of the these cases were nosocomial. The median time between the first and the recurrent episode was 5.1 months. One-year mortality in LR candidemia was 45%. Underlying gastrointestinal disease (OR 7.21, 95% CI 2.52-20.61) and history of intra venous drug use (IVDU) (OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.03-12.69) were independent risk factors for LR candidemia in the multivariable analysis. Conclusion Our study indicates that the gastrointestinal tract may be a continuous source of infection in patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Gastrointestinal diseases and IVDU should be regarded as risk factors for LR candidemia.

Background The pathophysiology of takotsubo syndrome (TTS) and its recurrence (REC-TTS) is still elusive. Various ventriculographic “ballooning” patterns in response to a variety of triggers are observed in patients with REC-TTS. Although patients with and without REC-TTS have been previously compared, no comparison of patients' 1st TTS episode (1stTTS) with the 1st REC-TTS episode (1stREC-TTS) has been attempted. Methods All patients with ≥1 REC-TTS episodes with patient-based data (45 variables) from the world literature, retrieved via PubMed, were meta-analyzed, and the patients' 1st REC-TTS and stREC-TTS were compared. Results The time interval between the 1stTTS and 1stREC-TTS of the meta-analyzed 128 patients, 117 (91.4%) female, was 30.4 ± 36.1 months, with 47 (36.7%) patients having a neurological and/or psychiatric comorbidity(ies). Among 113 patients with paired 1stTTS and 1stREC-TTS data on the ventriculographic “ballooning” appearance, 101 (78.9%) had a different variant during the 1stTTS as compared with the 1stREC-TTS. Six patients (4.7%) died during hospitalization. Thirty patients (23.4%) were taking a β-blocker prior to their 1strTTS. Among 19 variables compared between the 1st TTS and 1st REC-TTS episodes, only mean age (by 2.5 years) and use of β-blockers were statistically significantly different. The precipitating triggers, and the in-hospital adverse events were similar in the 1st TTS and 1st REC-TTS episodes. Conclusions A comparison of the 1st TTS and 1st REC-TTS episodes of patients with REC-TTS, revealed large variation in the ventriculographic “ballooning” patterns, similarity in the TTS triggers, and no difference in the in-hospital adverse events. There was no protective effect for imparted by β-blockers in REC-TTS.

The aim of this study was comparison of the severity of the recurrent episode in the group of subjects suffering from Major Depressive Disorder with comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the group of subjects suffering only from Major Depressive Disorder. A total of 120 subjects were assessed and divided into two groups. Group D/PTSD consisted of subjects who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for recurrent episode of Major Depressive Disorder and comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Group D/only consisted of subjects who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for Recurrent episode of Major Depressive Disorder. Assessments were performed using the following instruments: Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Quick Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology Self -Report Version. Statistical analyses were performed using chi square and independent-samples t-test. Results suggest that recurrent episode of Major Depressive Disorder occurring in comorbidity with Posttraumatic stress disorder is more severe than the recurrent episode in the category of patients suffering from recurrent episode of Major Depressive Disorder only and that recurrent episode occurring in comorbidity with Posttraumatic stress disorder might represent a significant clinical entity.

Background Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a common disorder occurring in young adults without underlying lung disease. Although tobacco smoking is a well-documented risk factor for spontaneous pneumothorax, an association between electronic cigarette use (that is, vaping) and spontaneous pneumothorax has not been noted. We report a case of spontaneous pneumothoraces correlated with vaping. Case presentation An 18-year-old Caucasian man presented twice with recurrent right-sided spontaneous pneumothoraces within 2 weeks. He reported a history of vaping just prior to both episodes. Diagnostic testing was notable for a right-sided spontaneous pneumothorax on chest X-ray and computed tomography scan. His symptoms improved following insertion of a chest tube and drainage of air on each occasion. In the 2-week follow-up visit for the recurrent episode, he was asymptomatic and reported that he was no longer using electronic cigarettes. Conclusions Providers and patients should be aware of the potential risk of spontaneous pneumothorax associated with electronic cigarettes.

Takotsubo syndrome is a rare cause of reversible ventricular dysfunction that imitate an acute coronary syndrome. The entity is unusual among pediatric populations and a recurrent episode is extremely rare. We report a case of recurrent takotsubo syndrome in an eight-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). His chest pain episodes were aggravated by a strong emotional stimuli. During episodes of chest pain, electrocardiograms (ECG) showed ST elevation while echocardiograms showed left ventricle apical ballooning; however, a coronary angiography was normal. Serial ECG and echocardiogram revealed a spontaneous resolution of ST elevation and normalized apical contraction which were compatible with the diagnosis of takotsubo syndrome. Interestingly, serial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated increasing subepicardial enhancement which was compatible with progression of cardiac involvement in DMD.

BackgroundRecurrent depressive episodes during adolescence result in significant impairment and increased risk for subsequent adverse outcomes throughout the life span. Evidence suggests that early pubertal timing predicts the onset of depressive episodes (particularly for girls); however, it is not known if pubertal timing prospectively predicts recurrent depressive episodes in youth.MethodsAt baseline, 603 youth (56% female, at baseline: Mage =12.09, SD=2.35) reported on their pubertal development. Youth and their parents completed a semistructured diagnostic interview to assess depressive episodes at baseline and then evaluated for onset repeatedly every 6months for a period of 36months.ResultsControlling for past history of depression, Cox proportional hazards models examined whether earlier pubertal timing predicted (a) days to first depressive episode from baseline and (b) days to a second (recurrent) depressive episode from the end of the first episode. Early pubertal timing predicted the onset of the first depressive episode after baseline (b=.19, Wald=5.36, p=.02, HR=1.21), as well as a recurrent episode during course of study follow-up episode (b=.32, Wald=6.16, p=.01, HR=1.38).ConclusionsFindings reinforce the importance of considering the impact of early pubertal timing on depression risk. Investigation on how pubertal timing interacts with other risk factors to predict depression recurrence is needed.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a recurrent episode of facial pain, that may be associated with other conditions such as multiple sclerosis, neoplasms, and nerve compromises or may occur due to an unknown cause. The available treatments are pharmacotherapy or surgery; however, both are susceptible to develop side effects. Photobiomodulation could be a promising alternative therapy for trigeminal neuralgia. A systematic review of literature was carried out using the PRISMA protocol, in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Risk of bias by ROB 2.0 protocol was performed in included studies. Initially, 20 identified articles were collected varying between the years of 1983-2018, from which 6 were included. A total of 193 patients were evaluated; photobiomodulation was compared to conventional therapies, TENS, and therapy combinations with pharmacotherapy. The overall risk of bias was low, with some concerns in the randomization and double-blinding process; moreover, there are few reports in the literature. Photobiomodulation appears to be as effective as conventional therapies, being a coadjutant therapeutic opportunity for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of several risk factors and, among them, the role of different types of antibiotics, in the development of the first recurrent episode of Clostridioides difficile (CD) infection. We performed a case control study from 2006 to 2016. We included patients admitted to the hospital with CD infection that received any antibiotic treatment during the year before the onset of the infection. First, we described the characteristics of CD infection in a Spanish third level hospital and then we compared first cases of CD infection that presented recurrence with those that did not. We included 110 cases, corresponding to 94 individuals. There were 14 first CD infection episodes that later presented recurrence (12.7%). Receiving more than 3 types of antibiotics during the year before the onset of symptoms was associated with higher risk of presenting a recurrent episode (OR = 4.69, 95% CI 1.01-21.78), as well as the past history of neoplasia (OR = 4.58, 95% CI 1.00-20.98). The number of previous hospital admissions was associated with the development of recurrences in the univariate study (p < 0.05). No differences were observed related to the type of antibiotic used immediately before the CD episode neither with the treatment received. The number of types of antibiotics used during the year before the first episode of CD infection or having a personal history of neoplasia was associated with 4 times higher risk of recurrent episodes. Type of antibiotic used did not show to influence recurrences.

BACKGROUND The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have emerged as markers of various outcomes of inflammatory and malignant diseases. The association of those markers with short-term outcomes of acute diverticulitis has been discussed in recent studies. This study aimed at evaluation of the association of NLR and PLR with long-term outcomes in patients presenting with acute diverticulitis. METHODS A retrospective single institute study included patients admitted with acute diverticulitis between 2012 and 2016. Associations were analysed of NLR and PLR values at admission with patient outcomes. RESULTS A total of 456 patients were included in the study. High NLR and PLR values were associated with complicated disease (P

Dramatic changes in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infections have been reported from the western world in the past decade. The proportion of severe cases is significantly elevating and clinicians now have to contend with the problem of additional and more frequent episodes of recurrences including an upward trend in the mortality rate. This situation led us to investigate the possibility of the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). An amount of 100 ml of fecal microbiota solution was instilled into a nasojejunal (NJ) tube in 16 cases and into a nasogastric (NG) tube in 44 cases. In all of the cases, where the solution was instilled via nasojejunal tubes, the symptoms resolved within 24 h. We did not note any recurrences in this group. When the material was flushed in through nasogastric tubes, the symptoms resolved in 39 (88.64%) cases within 24 h. In this group, we have experienced a recurrent episode of C. difficile infection in five (11.36%) cases. Three of them were cured with a second transplantation. We have found that in our practice the upper gastrointestinal tract methods had the primary cure rate of 91.67%, whereas the secondary cure rate is 96.67%. When we compared the NJ and NG methods, we have found that the differences in the outcomes are not significant statistically (p = 0.3113 using Fisher’s exact probability test). In conclusion, FMT proved to be very effective, particularly in recurrent infections and in cases where conventional treatment had failed.

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of postoperative peritoneal lavage (PPL) in prevention of recurrent Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction (ASBO).Patients and methods: a total of 36 patients were included in this study. All of these patients suffered from ASBO. They were randomized into two groups. Group I (18 patients) were treated with adhesiolysis followed by PPL and group II (18 patients) were treated with adhesiolysis alone . Patients were followed up for an average period of 15 months to detect the incidence of recurrent ASBO. Results: :In group1 only one (5.6%) patient had an attack of ASBO which responded to conservative management and did not need redo operation while in group II seven (38.9%) patients developed a recurrent episode of ASBO four of them(22.2%)needed surgical re exploration. So the rate of surgical reoperation in group 1 was zero in comparison to group 2 which was( 16.6%). Conclusion: PPL is a new hope for prevention of recurrent ASBO that achieved statistically significant reduction in the recurrence rate and surgical redo

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome is an acquired polyradiculo-neuropathy, often preceded by an antecedent event. It is a monophasic disease but a recurrence rate of 1–6 % is documented in a subset group of patients.Case presentation: Thirty-five-years-old female with past history of near complete recovery following Guillain-Barré syndrome 17 years back presented with acute, ascending symmetrical flaccid quadriparasis extending to bulbar muscles and respiratory compromise needing mechanical ventilation. Nerve conduction study revealed AMAN variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis done after 1 weeks during recurrent episode revealed albuminocytologic dissociation. She was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin resulting in a remarkable recovery.Conclusion: Recurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome can occur in a subset of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome even after many years of asymptomatic period. Most patients with recurrent GBS respond favourably to treatment with plasmapheresis or IVIG.Bangladesh Crit Care J September 2017; 5(2): 135-138

The significant public health burden associated with late-life depression (LLD) is magnified by the high rates of recurrence. In this session, we review what is known about recurrence risk factors, conceptualize recurrence within a model of homeostatic disequilibrium, and discuss the potential significance and challenges of new research into LLD recurrence. The proposed model is anchored in the allostatic load theory of stress. We review the allostatic response characterized by neural changes in network function and connectivity and physiological changes in the HPA axis, autonomic nervous system, immune system and circadian rhythm. We discuss the role of neural networks’ instability following treatment response as a source of downstream disequilibrium, triggering and/or amplifying abnormal stress response, cognitive dysfunction and behavioral changes, ultimately precipitating a full-blown recurrent episode of depression. We propose strategies to identify and capture early change points that signal recurrence risk through mobile technology to collect ecologically-measured symptoms, accompanied by automated algorithms that monitor for state shifts (persistent worsening) and variance shifts (increased variability) relative to a patient's baseline. Identifying such change points in relevant sensor data could potentially provide an automated tool that could alert clinicians to at-risk individuals or relevant symptom changes even in a large practice

Introduction: Botulinum toxin (BTX) type A is now the most often used medicine with an excellent result for upper facial rejuvenation. Case Presentation: This article represents one of the rare adverse effects of the Botulinum toxin type A for cosmetic use in a 50 years-old woman with moderate to severe peri-orbital rhytides. She received four injection of botulinum with six to twelve more interval and 1- day after last injection, she developed mid frontal recurrent episode edema, which spontaneously remitted. Conclusions: Adverse effects of the Botulinum toxin type A for cosmetic use, should be considered before administration.

Ansa pancreatica is a rare anatomic variation of pancreatic ducts. It is a predisposing factor of recurrent pancreatitis. In this case report, we describe a case of a 24-year-old male suffering from an ansa pancreatica with a non-patent major papilla, diagnosed on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).The ansa pancreatica was revealed by an episode of acute pancreatitis attacks in chronic pancreatitis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) confirmed important abrupt dilation in the main pancreatic duct with an ansa loop in the pancreatic duct in the head of the pancreas, and a sphincterotomy of the minor papilla was performed. The procedure was difficult and the placement of a long-term pancreatic stent during the ERCP was impossible, thus a surgical pancreatico-jejunostomy was proposed as a treatment of an ansa pancreatica with a non-patent major papilla.

We present a 62-year-old gentleman with history of Crohn’s disease, G6PD deficiency, who presented with immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (iTTP) one week after the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. He was admitted with worsening dyspnea, acute renal failure, and profound thrombocytopenia with marked schistocytosis on peripheral smear. ADAMTS13 level was severely deficient. He was treated with oral prednisone, plasma exchange and rituximab with complete clinical resolution. Given the temporal association of this recurrent episode of iTTP with COVID-19 infection and no other discernible cause, COVID-19 infection was the most likely trigger.

Kidney stones affect 11% of men and 6% of women and incidence is on the rise. When stones pass through urinary tract, the symptoms can be debilitating, resulting in significant morbidity and cost to the medical system. Almost half of first-time stone formers have a recurrent episode. Thus, prevention of recurrence is important. Evaluation of the patient for stone-forming risk factors includes history, imaging, stone analysis, and metabolic workup. The evaluation begins with patient history focused on medications, diseases, diet, and work habits that increase the risk. Imaging with computed tomography and ultrasound helps determine the burden, size, and location of the stone(s) in the urinary tract. Stone analysis when available is important in determining the type of stone. Metabolic workup consists of targeted blood work and urinalysis as well as a 24-hour urine collection. The cornerstone of the stone evaluation is the 24-hour urine collection especially in recurrent stone formers as its components determine the risk of stone formation. The 24-hour urine values guide medical management and dietary modifications for prevention of recurrence, and follow-up collections determine the effectiveness of the therapy.

To assess the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) as add-on treatment for intractable cholangitis (IC) after Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE) in biliary atresia (BA) patients. 113 BA patients who had one or more episodes of cholangitis after KPE were recruited in this study. According to whether response to routine conservative treatment, all patients were divided into IC group and simple cholangitis (SC) group. Meanwhile, patients with IC subdivided into IVIG group and control group according to whether application of IVIG. The IC group had higher serum procalcitonin (PCT) (P = 0.014), C-reactive protein (CRP) (P = 0.023), and γ-Gltamyltranspeptidase (γ-GGT) (P = 0.031) level than the SC group. The IVIG group had shorter duration of fever after treatment (P = 0.011) and length of hospital stay (P = 0.018) than the control group. The time until recurrent episode of cholangitis was significant longer in IVIG group than in control group (P = 0.019). IVIG as add-on treatment may be an effective treatment for the cholangitis acute episode, and we conclude by calling for more prospective studies to attest to the role of IVIG in the treatment of cholangitis.

Vasospastic angina (VA) patients have a potential of recurrent chest symptoms and life-threatening arrhythmias. Despite of regular medications, many of VA patients experience a recurrent episode of VA. In this study, we evaluate the clinical and angiographic predictors of recurrent-VA. From January

Objective—To evaluate the effect of nutrition on recurrent clinical signs of lower urinary tract (LUT) disease in cats with idiopathic cystitis. Design—Randomized, controlled, masked clinical trial. Animals—31 cats with acute nonobstructive idiopathic cystitis. Procedures—Cats were assigned to receive 1 of 2 foods (a cystitis prevention or control food) that differed in mineral (calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium), antioxidant, and fatty acid profiles. Owners documented LUT signs daily for up to 1 year. The primary endpoint was the number of recurrent episodes in which a cat had multiple (≥ 2 concurrent) LUT signs within a day (defined as multiple-sign day). Consecutive days in which a cat had multiple LUT signs were considered as a single episode. Results—4 cats fed prevention food and 2 cats fed control food were excluded from analysis because of noncompliance, gastrointestinal signs, food refusal, or owner voluntary withdrawal. The proportion of cats fed prevention food that had ≥ 1 recurrent episode of multiple-sign days (4/11) was not significantly lower than that of cats fed control food (9/14). However, cats fed prevention food had significantly lower mean incidence rates for recurrent episodes of multiple-sign days (0.7 episodes/1,000 cat-days) and episodes of hematuria (0.3 episodes/1,000 cat-days), dysuria (0.2 episodes/1,000 cat-days), and stranguria (0.2 episodes/1,000 cat-days) as single LUT signs, compared with cats fed control food (5.4, 3.4, 3.1, and 3.8 episodes/1,000 cat-days, respectively). Significantly fewer cats fed prevention food required analgesics (4/11), compared with cats fed control food (12/14). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Foods with differing nutritional profiles appeared to impact mean incidence rates of recurrent feline idiopathic cystitis-associated signs.

Background: Increasing array of medical intervention available to modify the likelihood of developing recurrent episode of myocardial ischemia, it is important to identify patients of risk of provocable myocardial ischemia before discharge. Material Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out in a tertiary care hospital of central India, during July 2012 to October 2014. During the monitoring period, the patient was once subjected for 100-meter brisk walk. Result: Out of 64 cases, 6 (9.5%) cases developed ischemia during Holter, in male it was 5(10.2%) while in female it was 1(6.67%). 13.33% of cases with tobacco consumption developed ischemia on Holter monitoring and this was found to statistically significant ( x 2 = 5.36, p

SummaryVenous thromboembolism (VTE) poses a worldwide health burden affecting millions of people each year. The annual incidence of symptomatic VTE, the collective term used here for deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or both, is 2–3 per thousand inhabitants. The one-year mortality is 20% after a first VTE. Of the surviving patients 15–25% will experience a recurrent episode of VTE in the three years after the first event. Primary and secondary prevention is key to reducing death and disability from VTE. How to make use of our current knowledge of inherited risk of VTE for primary and secondary disease prevention is not straightforward. This despite the fact that in the past two or three decades we have made major strides in enlarging our understanding of inherited VTE risk, and that new inherited risk factors continue to be identified.For primary prevention of VTE genetic testing is not likely to play a role in the future. Genetic variations also determine recurrence risk, albeit that the effect sizes for individual genetic variations are invariably lower than those for first VTE events. Multilocus genetic risk scores improve risk classification, and it is now possible to stratify patients who have had a first venous thrombosis, into subgroups with a high and low risk of recurrence. Whether this approach can be used to tailor intensity and duration of treatment remains to be established.

Background Perimesencephalic nonaneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (PNSAH) is a benign form of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a favorable prognosis. The risk of recurrent hemorrhage of this benign entity is extremely low. Case Description We describe a rare case of recurrent, spontaneous PNSAH in a 56-year-old man. This hypertensive patient suffered a recurrent episode of PNSAH 1 month after its first ictus, suggesting rebleeding can still occur in the setting of PNSAH; however, the risk is much less than that in aneurysmal SAH. No source of the hemorrhage was identified in the imaging examinations, even with the performance of a 6-vessel angiography. Conclusions Despite the PNSAH owning benign clinical manifestations and a favorable outcome, this distinct case of recurrent PNSAH demonstrated that the risk of recurrent hemorrhage of PNSAH does exist, although it is rather low. A conservative approach with close follow-up is still warranted for PNSAH patients.

Recently, there has been a great interest in the analysis of longitudinal data in which the observation process is related to the longitudinal process. In literature, the observation process was commonly regarded as a recurrent event process. Sometimes some observation duration may occur and this process is referred to as a recurrent episode process. The medical cost related to hospitalization is an example. We propose a conditional modeling approach that takes into account both informative observation process and observation duration. We conducted simulation studies to assess the performance of the method and applied it to a dataset of medical costs.

Background: Acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) is a rare but life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy, with an untreated mortality rate of >90%. Prompt treatment with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and immunosuppression improves outcomes in patients with aTTP, but 10-20% of patients still die acutely from this disease. The aim of this analysis was to describe in more detail the characteristics and disease courses of the patients who died during the caplacizumab clinical development program. Methods: Patient narratives on all deaths occurring during the phase 2 TITAN and phase 3 HERCULES studies were extracted. Results: In the overall study periods, a total of 6 patients died, 2 patients enrolled in TITAN (Patients 1 and 2) and 4 patients enrolled in HERCULES (Patients 3-6). Five patients received placebo, while 1 (Patient 6) received caplacizumab. Demographics and baseline disease characteristics are summarized in Table 1. The patient narratives are provided below. Patient 1 (placebo) was a 57-year-old male, with a recurrent episode of aTTP. Baseline platelet count was 25 x109/L and ADAMTS13 activity Patient 2 (placebo) was a 49-year-old female, with an initial presumed aTTP episode. Baseline platelet count was 7 x109/L and baseline ADAMTS13 activity was 75%. The patient did not respond to therapy (TPE and corticosteroids), with platelet counts remaining below 35 x109/L over the whole period. On Day 10 of the study, the patient experienced a cerebral hemorrhage, for which study drug treatment was permanently discontinued. The patient was intubated and died the next day of cerebral hemorrhage. Patient 3 (placebo) was a 62-year-old female with an initial aTTP episode. Baseline platelet count was 18 x109/L and ADAMTS13 activity Patient 4 (placebo) was a 72-year-old female with an initial aTTP episode. Baseline platelet count was 21 x109/L and baseline ADAMTS13 activity was Patient 5 (placebo) was a 30-year-old female enrolled with her third aTTP episode. Baseline platelet count was 21 x109/L and ADAMTS13 activity Patient 6 (caplacizumab) was a 77-year-old female with her initial aTTP episode. Baseline platelet count was 38 x109/L and ADAMTS13 activity Conclusion: Although the use of TPE and immunosuppression reduces mortality in patients with aTTP, the disease is still associated with a substantial risk of mortality. The fact that all 5 immediate deaths occurred in the placebo arm suggests that the use of caplacizumab has the potential to reduce acute mortality in patients with aTTP. Table 1. Baseline demographics and disease characteristics. Table 1 Disclosures Cataland: Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Alexion: Consultancy, Research Funding. Scully:Alexion: Consultancy; Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Shire/Takeda: Consultancy; Shire: Research Funding. Peyvandi:Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Grifols: Honoraria; Kedrion: Honoraria; Alnylam: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bioverativ: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Octapharma: Research Funding. Knoebl:Roche: Consultancy; Shire/Takeda: Consultancy; Novo-Nordisk: Consultancy, Research Funding; CSL-Behring: Consultancy; Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy. Kremer Hovinga:Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Honoraria go to employer (Insel Gruppe AG, Department of Hematology); Shire: Consultancy, Other: Honoraria go to employer (Insel Gruppe AG, Department of Hematology), Research Funding; CSL-Behring: Honoraria, Other: Honoraria go to employer (Insel Gruppe AG, Department of Hematology); Roche: Honoraria, Other: Honoraria go to employer (Insel Gruppe AG, Department of Hematology); Siemens: Honoraria, Other: Honoraria go to employer (Insel Gruppe AG, Department of Hematology). Coppo:Ablynx/Sanofi: Consultancy; Alexion: Consultancy; Shire: Consultancy. Metjian:Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; AblynxNV/Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding. De La Rubia:Takeda: Consultancy; AMGEN: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy. Pavenski:Ablynx: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bioverativ: Research Funding; Shire: Honoraria; Octapharma: Research Funding; Alexion: Honoraria, Research Funding. De Winter:Ablynx, a Sanofi company: Employment. Callewaert:Sanofi (formerly employed by Ablynx, a Sanofi company): Employment.

A boy developed immune thrombocytopenia 2 weeks after receiving his measles-mumps-rubella and varicella vaccines at 12 months of age. He then had a recurrent episode 1 week after the booster doses of his quadrivalent diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-polio, pneumococcal and meningococcal group C vaccines at 5 years of age. On both the occasions he required hospitalisation and treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. He received other vaccines, before and in between, without any adverse events. Future vaccines are to be determined on an individual risk-benefit basis and he will be reviewed at the age of 11 when his next routine immunisations are due.

Recurrent tuberculosis (TB) can result from reactivation of a previous TB episode or reinfection with a new Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain. A retrospective analysis of all recurrent TB cases reported in the United States during 1993-2010 was conducted. The proportion of recurrent cases remained stable during the study period (annual range 4.2-5.7%). Compared with persons without a previous diagnosis of TB, persons with recurrent TB experienced lower treatment completion within 12 months and higher mortality during the recurrent episode. Persons with recurrent TB have poorer outcomes, suggesting the need for targeted interventions to ensure treatment completion.

Objective To systematically review the evidence base on the effectiveness of short-course antibiotic therapy in adult patients with a recurrent episode of acute rhinosinusitis as part of a disease pattern on severity and duration of symptoms and recurrences.Data Sources PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library.Review Methods A comprehensive search was performed up to March 21, 2013. Articles reporting studies on the effects of short-course antibiotic therapy compared with placebo in patients with recurrent acute rhinosinusitis were included. For included articles, the design of reported studies was assessed for directness of evidence and risk of bias.Results In total, 3473 unique publications were retrieved, of which 30 were considered eligible based on title and abstract screening. In addition, 8 eligible articles were retrieved using cross-reference checking. Based on full-text evaluation, none of the retrieved 38 articles satisfied our predefined selection criteria. They did not compare antibiotic treatment with placebo, excluded patients with recurrent acute rhinosinusitis, or did not report findings for a subgroup of patients with recurrent acute rhinosinusitis.Conclusion and Recommendation To date, there is no evidence available on differences in effect of antibiotic therapy in primary or sporadic and recurrent episodes of acute rhinosinusitis. As such, decisions for or against initial antibiotic therapy in patients with recurring episodes of acute rhinosinusitis should be based on the same criteria used in managing primary or sporadic episodes of uncomplicated acute rhinosinusitis.

We describe a patient with anomalous left coronary artery with a short intramural course and a previously unrecognized myocardial bridge who presented with a recurrent episode of aborted sudden cardiac death. Intravascular ultrasound and fractional flow reserve showed significant compression at the left coronary artery ostium by the intercoronary pillar and at the myocardial bridge. Intravascular ultrasound and fractional flow reserve were normal after coronary translocation and unroofing of the myocardial bridge. All potential anatomic culprits should be addressed when operating on patients with anomalous coronaries.

index (BMI) of our population continues to rise, nurses in almost all areas of health care are increasingly faced with managing the heavy limbs and skin problems typical of chronic oedema. Any swelling persisting beyond 3 months is defined as chronic oedema (Moffatt et al, 2003; Lymphoedema Framework, 2006) and is indicative of a lymphatic system that is no longer able to deal with the fluid load, whatever the cause (Mortimer and Rockson, 2014). While insufficiency of the veins or lymphatics is the primary cause, obesity is a known contributor. Lymphoedema brings a 71-fold increased risk over normal (Dupuy et al, 1999), with 29% having a recurrent episode within 12 months (Moffatt et al, 2003). Cellulitis admissions already account for 2–3% of all hospital admissions (Halpern et al, 2008) and the resultant costs are estimated to be in the millions. Research has shown that early identification and management of lymphoedema reduces the morbidity, improves outcomes and reduces health and social costs Compression moves on: advances in care are changing practice

Objective . To analyse the psychometric properties of the Whooley questions and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21) in older adults with depression and chronic health problems. Design. A population-based study. Setting. Community. Subjects. 474 adults, aged 72 – 73 years, living in the city of Oulu, Finland. Main outcome measures . The screening parameters of the Whooley questions and the BDI-21 for detecting major depression. Results. The prevalence of major depression according to the DSM-IV was 5.3% (single or recurrent episode) obtained by the Mini Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The BDI-21 was best able to identify a current episode of major depression with a cut-off point of 11. The sensitivity and specifi city of this cut-off point were 88.0% (95% confi dence interval (95% CI) 68.8 – 97.5) and 81.7% (95% CI 77.8 – 85.2), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was 0.89 (95% CI 0.83 – 0.96). The two Whooley screening questions had a sensitivity of 62.5% (95% CI 40.6 – 81.2) and either screening question plus the help question had a sensitivity of 66.7% (44.7 – 84.4). Conclusions. The Beck Depression Inventory is a valid instrument for the diagnosis of depression in older adults. As a screening measure, the optimal cut-off score should be 11 or higher. Our results indicate that the sensitivity of the Whooley questions is not high enough to be used as a screening scale among the elderly.

SummaryWe describe a case of a young patient with a recurrent episode of very late stent thrombosis (VLST) in whom the sirolimus-eluting stent was implanted on the culprit lesion in the left anterior descending artery. The present case showed when the etiology of VLST was not clear or in doubt of stent fracture, vigorous investigation for other causes using high resolution technology such as intravascular ultrasound or computed tomography angiography might be helpful for prevention of catastrophic events such as VLST.

Patients with recurrent sudden deafness demonstrating normal vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in the lesion ear of the second episode may indicate a good hearing outcome.This study retrospectively reviewed our experience of patients with recurrent sudden deafness during the past 20 years.Sixteen (1.4 %) of 1156 patients with sudden deafness were diagnosed as having a recurrent episode, including ipsilateral type in 7 and contralateral type in 9. All patients underwent an audiovestibular test battery and blood and MRI examinations. After 2000, nine patients underwent the VEMP test.In the ipsilateral type, the mean interval between two episodes was 2 ± 2 years, which did not differ significantly from 3 ± 3 years in the contralateral type. There were no significant differences in relation to age at onset of the second episode, inter-episode interval, gender, presence of vertigo, and abnormal caloric results. However, abnormal rate of VEMP test in the contralateral type (five of five patients) was significantly higher than that in the ipsilateral type (none of four patients). At the second episode, all four patients with normal VEMPs on the lesion ear had improved hearing, while four of five patients with absent or delayed VEMPs showed unchanged hearing. Altogether, the hearing improvement rate in both types of recurrent sudden deafness was 50%.

A 59-year-old man presents with a recurrent episode of symptomatic atrial fibrillation despite attempts to maintain sinus rhythm with antiarrhythmic drugs. Catheter ablation can be effective in such patients, but more than one procedure may be necessary.

Despite the use of actigraphy in depression research, the association of depression ratings and quantitative motor activity remains controversial. In addition, the impact of recurring episodes on motor activity is uncertain. In 76 medicated inpatients with major depression (27 with a first episode, 49 with recurrent episodes), continuous wrist actigraphy for 24h and scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) were obtained. In addition, 10 subjects of the sample wore the actigraph over a period of 5 days, in order to assess the reliability of a 1-day measurement. Activity levels were stable over 5 consecutive days. Actigraphic parameters did not differ between patients with a first or a recurrent episode, and quantitative motor activity failed to correlate with the HAMD total score. However, of the motor-related single items of the HAMD, the item activities was associated with motor activity parameters, while the items agitation and retardation were not. Actigraphy is consistent with clinical observation for the item activities. Expert raters may not correctly rate the motor aspects of retardation and agitation in major depression.