Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: Social distancing, implemented to decrease the spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), forced major changes in medical practices, including an abrupt transition from face-to-face to remote patient care. Pre-clinical medical studies were concomitantly switched to electronic distance learning.

Objectives: To explore potential implications of COVID-19 on future pre-clinical medical studies.

Methods: We examined responses of pre-clinical medical students to the remote electronic learning in terms of quality of and satisfaction with teaching and technical support, attendance to classes, and the desire to continue electronic learning in the post-epidemic era. A survey of responses from first-year students at the Adelson School of Medicine was conducted. To optimize the reliability of the survey, a single research assistant conducted telephone interviews with each student, using a structured questionnaire concerning aspects of participation and satisfaction with teaching and with technical components of the remote electronic learning.

Results: With 100% response rate, the students reported high satisfaction with the electronic learning regarding its quality, online interactions, instructions given, technical assistance, and availability of recording for future studies. Most of the students (68.6%) noted a preference to continue < 90% of the learning online in the post-outbreak era. A high level of overall satisfaction and a low rate of technical problems during electronic learning were significantly correlated with the desire to continue online learning (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: The high satisfaction and the positive experience with the electronic distance learning imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic implied a successful transition and might induce future changes in pre-clinical medical studies.

Background: There is a lack of information regarding acute pancreatitis in Israel. However, the most prevalent worldwide etiologic causes of acute pancreatitis are biliary stones and alcohol abuse.

Objectives: To delineate the prevalence, main causes, rate of recurrence, mortality, and complications of acute pancreatitis in southern Israel.

Methods: In this retrospective study medical files of all hospitalized patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis during a 13-year period were reviewed.

Results: The study comprised 602 patients with acute pancreatitis (120/100,000 patients or 1.2/1000 admissions). The main causes were: biliary stones (41.5%), alcohol (8.8%), and drugs (8.3%). Disothiazide was the most common drug associated with acute pancreatitis followed by sitagliptin, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and simvastatin. Undetermined etiology made up 33.6% of the cases. Recurrence rate was 33.8% (alcohol 3.7%, hypertriglyceridemia 1.8%). This finding had no implications on mortality rate, which was stable at 4.3%. Bilateral pleural effusion, advanced computed tomography severity index (CTSI) grading, older age, and being single were found to be poor prognostic predictive factors.

Conclusions: Biliary pancreatitis is the main cause of acute pancreatitis in southern Israel, similar to the rest of the world, and constitutes a much more common etiology than alcohol. Furthermore, drug-induced pancreatitis is a common etiology, with disothiazide being the most common drug associated with pancreatitis followed by ACE-Inhibitors, sitagliptin, and simvastatin. Recurrence of pancreatitis is common in this geographic area, and older age, advanced CTSI grading, bilateral pleural effusion, and being single are all poor prognostic predictive factors.

Background: Pancreatic injuries during nephrectomy are rare, despite the relatively close anatomic relation between the kidneys and the pancreas. The data regarding the incidence and outcome of pancreatic injuries are scarce.

Objectives: To assess the frequency and the clinical significance of pancreatic injuries during nephrectomy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all patients who underwent nephrectomy over a period of 30 years (1987–2016) in a large tertiary medical center. Demographic, clinical, and surgical data were collected and analyzed.

Results: A total of 1674 patients underwent nephrectomy during the study period. Of those, 553 (33%) and 294 patients (17.5%) underwent left nephrectomy and radical left nephrectomy, respectively. Among those, four patients (0.2% of the total group, 0.7% of the left nephrectomy group, and 1.36% of the radical left nephrectomy) experienced iatrogenic injuries to the pancreas. None of the injuries were recognized intraoperatively. All patients were treated with drains in an attempt to control the pancreatic leak and one patient required additional surgical interventions. Average length of stay was 65 days (range 15–190 days). Mean follow-up was 23.3 months (range 7.7–115 months).

Conclusions: Pancreatic injuries during nephrectomy are rare and carry a significant risk for postoperative morbidity.

Background: The introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine-13 (PCV-13) has reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease.

Objective: To characterize true positive blood cultures of children who presented to our hospital following implementation of the PCV-13 vaccine.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on positive blood cultures of children presenting with fever from 2010–2017. Subjects were divided into two age groups: a younger group 3–36 months and an older group 3–18 years. Patients were classified as either having or not having a focus of infection at the time of their bacteremia. Pneumococcal isolates were typed at Israel's Streptococcal Reference Laboratory.

Results: The samples included 94 true positive blood cultures. Focal infection with concomitant bacteremia was more common than bacteremia without a focus both overall: 67/94 (71%) vs. 27/94 (28.7%), P <0.001 as well as in the two groups: 32/48 (66%) vs. 16/48 (33%), P = 0.02 in the younger group and 35/46 (76%) vs. 11/46 (24%), P = 0.001 in the older group. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common pathogen overall, 27/94 (29%), and in the younger group, 21/48 (44%), but rare in the older group, 6/46 (13%). In the latter, Brucella species predominated, 12/46 (26%), along with Staphylococcus aureus 12/46 (26%).

Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with other studies reporting decreased pneumococcal bacteremia, bacteremia primarily accompanying focal infection, and changing etiological agents among PCV-13-vaccinated children. Brucella species was prominent in older children with osteoarticular infections. Ongoing surveillance is warranted to better understand the implications of PCV-13.

Background: Nasal polyps are three-dimensional structures arising from the mucosa of the upper airway. Due to their complexity, the reliability of single-layer cell cultures and animal systems as research models is limited.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of an ex vivo organ culture of human polyps, preserving tissue structure and function.

Methods: Nasal polyps were excised during routine endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis and polyposis. Fresh tissue samples were used for pathological evaluation and for the preparation of 250–500 µm sections, which were incubated in culture media. Tissue viability was assessed by visualisation of cilia motility, measurement of glucose uptake, and an infectivity assay. Cytokine secretion was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction before and after the introduction of steroids.

Results: Polyp tissue viability was retained for 2–3 days as demonstrated by cilia motility, glucose uptake and preserved cellular composition. Tissue samples maintained their capacity to respond to infection by herpes simplex virus 1 and adenovirus. Introduction of dexamethasone to cultured tissue samples led to suppression of interferon-g production.

Conclusions: The ex vivo nasal polyp organ culture reproduces the physiological, metabolic, and cellular features of nasal polyps. Furthermore, it shows a preserved capacity for viral infection and response to drugs. This system is a useful tool for the investigation nasal-polyps and for the development of novel therapies.

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare disease that has been classified into two subtypes. Type 1 is believed to be mediated by immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) and type 2 is related to granulocytic epithelial lesions, but the pathogenetic mechanisms in both are still unknown. The patho-mechanism of AIP type 1 is suggested to be secondary to autoimmunity or allergy due to the increased serum IgG4 and immunoglobulin E levels, abundant infiltration of IgG4, plasmacytes and lymphocytes in the pancreas, and fibrosis. Both types of AIP respond to steroid treatment. The relapse rate after remission is high and reaches 30–50% within 6–12 months in AIP type 1; however, in AIP type 2 relapse is rare. The maintenance therapy and therapeutic strategy for relapsing patients with type 1 is managed with low dose steroids, however there are no consensus guidelines. In this review we discuss the current understanding of AIP, highlighting the emerging potential role of eotaxin in pathogenesis, classification, and management of the disease

Background: The currently accepted treatment for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) is systemic steroids as first-line and intratympanic steroids as salvage therapy. Intratympanic (IT) treatment is applied worldwide in many different ways with no universally accepted protocol.

Objectives: To present the current disparity in ISSHL management and to discuss the necessity for establishing a common national protocol.

Methods: In 2014 we conducted a national survey by sending questionnaires on ISSHL management to otologists in every otolaryngology department in the country.

Results: The majority of otolaryngology departments (56%) admit patients with sudden sensorineural hearing. Almost two-thirds (61%) of departments recommend supplementary initial treatment in addition to systemic steroids. None of the medical centers offer intratympanic steroid treatment as primary therapy, but 94% offer this treatment as a salvage therapy. Fewer than half the medical centers (44%) consider the maximal period for intratympanic therapy to be 4 weeks since hearing loss appears. Almost half (48%) the departments use intratympanic steroids once every 5–7 days, usually in an ambulatory setting. Almost half (44%) the medical centers tend to use not more than four courses of IT steroids. In 44% of departments an audiogram is performed at the beginning and at the end of the intratympanic course.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate a variability among Israeli medical centers in many aspects of intratympanic treatment. We believe this reinforces the need for a comparative international study in order to establish a standard protocol.