Matan Elkan MD, Yarden Zohar MD, Shani Zilberman-Itskovich MD, Ronit Zaidenstein MD, Ronit Koren MD
Background: Higher body mass index (BMI) has been shown to be a protective factor from mortality in sepsis patients. Yet, whether this effect is different in the very elderly is currently unknown.
Objective: To investigate the relationship between BMI and sepsis outcomes in patients older and younger than 80 years of age.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients admitted with sepsis to Shamir Medical Center, Israel, was conducted. We compared patients older than and younger than 80 years of age with a BMI higher and lower than 25 kg/m² for hospitalization outcomes.
Results: Patients older than 80 years presented with multiple co-morbidities compared to younger patients, but with no difference between BMI groups. Similarly, hospitalization outcomes of functional deterioration, discharge to long-term care facilities, and readmission were not significantly different between BMI groups in the same age category. Mortality was significantly different between BMI groups in patients older than 80 years of age, with higher mortality in BMI < 25 kg/m²: in-hospital mortality (23.4% vs. 14.9%, P < 0.001), 30-day mortality (27.6% vs. 17.9%, P < 0.001), and 90-day mortality (43.4% vs. 28.9%, P < 0.001). This difference was not significant between the groups younger than 80 years old. On logistic regression, BMI over 25 kg/m² was protective in all mortality categories. Nevertheless, there was no significant interaction between age over 80 years to BMI over 25 kg/m² in all mortality outcomes.
Conclusions: Among patients hospitalized with sepsis, higher BMI is a protective factor against mortality in both elderly and younger patients.
Matityahou Ormianer MD, Benjamin Z. Koplewitz MD, Ron Eliashar MD, Menachem Gross MD, Jeffrey M. Weinberger MD, Nir Hirshoren MD
Background: Unilateral intratonsillar abscess (ITA) is an underreported, well-known complication of acute tonsillitis. The prevalence of unilateral ITA compared to peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is 1:14. However, bilateral ITA is an extremely rare entity, with only four cases reported thus far.
Objectives: To describe past cases and our experience, elaborating the diagnostic challenge and the surgical treatment for bilateral ITA.
Methods: We conducted a literature search in the PubMed database using the key words intra-tonsillar abscess, tonsillar abscess, bilateral tonsillar abscess, bilateral intra-tonsillar abscess and bilateral peritonsillar abscess. Our search was limited to the years 1980 to 2020.
Results: We found that only four cases of bilateral ITA were previously published. All were characterized by a delay in diagnosis with a median of 10 days (4–14 days), symmetrical oral cavity appearance, enlarged bilateral kissing tonsils, and subsequent treatment by surgical drainage/paracentesis. Respiratory compromise was a concern in most cases. Our patient was treated with bilateral quinsy tonsillectomy and had a prompt recovery.
Conclusions: Bilateral ITA is a rare, deceiving entity, with a diagnosis delay attributed to the symmetrical oral bulging. We present the fifth case reported and the first ever reported in a pediatric patient. We describe the assumed pathogenesis and the main characteristics among all five patients, emphasizing the important role of a high index of suspicion and appropriate imaging, guiding to proper diagnosis and treatment.
Muhamed Masalha MD, Lev Shlizerman MD, Salim Mazzawi MD, Ophir Handzel MD, Firas Kassem MD, Daniel Briscoe MD, Kfir Siag MD
Background: Chronic suppurative otitis media is a long-standing middle ear infection with a perforated tympanic membrane. Tympanoplasty is the mainstay of treatment. Most surgeons prefer to operate on dry ears; however, this may be difficult to achieve.
Objectives: To investigate the effect of otorrhea and positive cultures on the outcome of tympanoplasty.
Methods: This retrospective analysis reviewed patients with chronic suppurative otitis media who underwent tympanoplasty 2008–2015. Patients were divided into three groups: active discharge and bacterial growth, active discharge without bacterial growth, and no ear discharge. Surgical outcomes were compared among the groups.
Results: Among 101 patients included, 43 ears (42.6%) had discharge preoperatively, 58 (57.4%) were dry. Overall closure rate was 81.2% (82/101). Preoperative active discharge closure rate was 88.3% (38/43) and without discharge 75.9% (44/58). There were 38 positive cultures preoperatively and five negative cultures. Cultures were not obtained in 58 cases. Success rates were 89.5%, 80%, and 75.9%, respectively. No significant difference was found between patients who had positive or negative cultures before the procedure (P > 0.48) or among the three groups (P = 0.25). The most common bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=17), followed by Staphylococcus species (n=10). None was significantly associated with operative failure (P = 0.557). The postoperative air threshold difference was not affected by culture results (P = 0.3).
Conclusions: Tympanoplasty success rates and postoperative air threshold differences were not affected by the presence of preoperative otorrhea or positive ear cultures. Surgery can be performed even when the ear is not dry.
Maya Yakir MD, Adi Brom MD, Amitai Segev MD, Gad Segal MD
Background: The prognosis of long-term clinical outcomes for each patient is of utmost importance.
Objectives: To evaluate the association between rates of family attendance during rounds and long-term outcomes.
Methods: We conducted a historic cohort study.
Results: We followed 200 consecutive patients for a median of 19 months. Within the group of patients that had family members present in > 75% of rounds, the 30-day re-hospitalization rate was tenfold higher (P = 0.017). The overall prognosis (including median survival length) of patients who had the highest rates of family attendance (> 75%) was significantly worse compared to patients who had lower rates (P = 0.028). High rates of family attendance were found to correlate with other established risk factors for long-term mortality, including advanced age (r = 0.231, P = 0.001) and in-hospital delirium.
Conclusions: High family attendance during physician rounds in an internal medicine department is associated with worse patient prognosis.
Anis Kaldawy MD, Nadav Cohen MD, Wisam Assaf, Meirav Schmidt MD, Ofer Lavie MD, Yoram Abramov MD
Background: Diagnosing occult stress urinary incontinence (OSUI) prior to surgical intervention for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair may allow for adding an anti-incontinence procedure and thus prevent postoperative SUI.
Objectives: To compare preoperative detection rates for OSUI by either a multichannel urodynamic investigation or by a plain pelvic examination.
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the medical charts of all women who underwent urodynamic investigation prior to surgical repair of advanced POP at our institution between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2012.
Results: In total, 720 women underwent surgical POP repair during the study period, of whom 54 (7.5%) were diagnosed with OSUI preoperatively. Of these patients, 54 (100%) were detected by multichannel urodynamic investigation while only 27 (50%) were detected by a plain pelvic examination (P = 0.001). Bladder fullness during the pelvic examination was associated with higher detection rates for OSUI (P = 0.001). Women with OSUI who underwent concomitant tension-free vaginal tape and POP repair procedures did not develop de novo SUI or obstructive voiding symptoms (OVS) postoperatively.
Conclusions: Preoperative multichannel urodynamic investigation has significantly higher detection rates for OSUI than a plain pelvic examination. Utilizing this modality resulted in no cases of de novo SUI or OVS postoperatively.
Reut Rotem MD MPH, Adi Y. Weintraub MD
The prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) varies greatly and is reported to be between 3% and 50% differing greatly when based on POP symptoms or vaginal examination [1]. Age is a well-established risk factor in the reported prevalence of POP [2]. With advancing age, the prevalence escalates dramatically, from 6% at age of 30 years to over 50% at the age of 80 years [3]. The increase in life expectancy observed in recent years will most probably be accompanied by a respective increase in the absolute numbers of women presenting with POP [4]. POP is a major health burden and is expected to continue being so in the upcoming future; hence, the importance of a safe and efficient treatment.
Deema Arow Zahalka MD, Adi Klein MD, Vered Nir MD, Vered Schichter Konfino MD
Serum sickness is an immune-complex-mediated hypersensitivity reaction that classically presents with fever, rash, polyarthritis, or poly arthralgias. Damage is caused by formation or deposition of antigen-antibody complexes in vessels or tissues. Deposition of immune complexes causes complement activation and/or recruitment of neutrophils by interaction of immune complexes with Fc immunoglobulin G receptors. The condition was first recognized as an entity in the early 1900s in patients who had received heterologous antisera, which was historically used to treat infectious diseases. The symptoms typically occur one to two weeks after exposure to an offending agent and resolve within several weeks of discontinuation [1].
Aaron Sulkes MD, Daniel Reinhorn MD, Tzeela Cohen MD, Tatiana Peysakhovich MD, Victoria Neiman MD, Baruch Brenner MD
Docetaxel (Taxotere®), obtained from the European yew Taxus baccata, is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent active against a variety of solid tumors including breast, lung, ovarian, gastric, head and neck, and prostate cancers. The drug is administered intravenously on a weekly or three-weekly schedule. Its main side effects include myelosuppression, fatigue, myalgias, arthralgias, fluid retention, peripheral neuropathy, paronychia, and lacrimation [1]. Myositis, however, has rarely been reported.
We describe a breast cancer patient who developed severe acute myositis while on treatment with docetaxel.
Shoshana Amos MD, Hila Elinav MD, Elchanan Parnasa MD
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first identified in 2019, constitutes a global major public health burden. Most of morbidity and mortality is derived by the severe inflammatory reaction (cytokine release syndrome) that ensues in later stages. Baricitinib, a selective JAK inhibitor primarily used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1], was shown to reduce mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients in combination with remdesivir [2].