Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: No specific clinical or histological factors are recognized to be associated with the development of pericardial effusion in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) other than a metastatic disease.

Objectives: To assess whether specific clinical and histological features are associated with development of pericardial effusion in patients with NSCLC.

Methods: A consecutive cohort of patients with NSCLC who presented with symptomatic pericardial effusion 2014–2017 was compared to a control group of patients with advanced NSCLC without pericardial effusion.

Results: The 27 patients in the effusion group were generally younger, more often female, and with a higher percentage of never-smokers, compared to the 54 patients of the control group. Epidermal growth factor receptor/anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EGFR/ALK) mutation tumors were found in 48% of patients in the effusion group vs. 25% in the control group. In the multivariate analysis, the unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for the development of pericardial effusion in patients with somatic mutations was significantly higher compared to wild type tumors (OR 2.65, 95% confidence interval 1.00–7.00). However, a suspected association between pericardial effusion and mutation status was found to be confounded by age. While a high rate of recurrence was observed when pericardiocentesis was initially performed (9/17, 53%), no recurrence was documented when pericardial window procedure was performed (total of 17 patients).

Conclusions: Patients with EGFR/ALK mutations may be at higher risk for the development of pericardial effusion; therefore, attending physicians need to be aware and have a high index of clinical suspicion

Advances in Lymphoma management have resulted in significant improvements in patient outcomes over the last 50 years. Despite these developments, cardiotoxicity from lymphoma treatments remains an important cause of mortality and morbidity in this cohort of patients. We outlined the most common cardiotoxicities associated with lymphoma treatments and their respective investigation and management strategies, including the role of cardiac pre-assessment and late effects monitoring.

Increased life expectancy due to improved cancer prognosis, shared determinants (e.g., tobacco use), and cardiovascular toxicities related to cancer therapies, including the adverse cardiometabolic effects of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, make cardiovascular disease an frequent and important co-morbidity in patients with a genitourinary malignancy. Complex cardiovascular disease can pose significant challenges in the management of these patients given the uncertainties related to the best approach to reconcile ischemic and bleeding risks, and the role of invasive cardiovascular interventions in individuals with advanced cancer. In this review, we discuss the current evidence that informs decision-making in this clinical context.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is very common in cancer patients and is a marker of increased mortality in these patients. Treatment is associated with increased rates of recurrent thrombosis and bleeding and has undergone significant change in the last years with the increasing use of direct oral anticoagulants. Diagnosis of PE and risk stratification is possible with minor changes to existing risk scores. Thrombolytic therapy should be considered in appropriate patients.

Atrial fibrillation is becoming an increasingly important problem in cardio-oncology. Specific risk factors for atrial fibrillation occurrence include type of cancer disease and anticancer drugs. Anticoagulation is often abandoned. The CHA₂DS₂-VASc and CHA₂DS₂ scores may be important not only in predicting stroke but also in mortality. The role of new direct oral anticoagulants is growing, but they need to be used in a personalized approach depending on the risk of unbeneficial interactions with cancer treatment and the risk of bleeding.

The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is multifactorial, mainly driven by complex inflammatory processes. Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory drug used in a variety of clinical settings. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the role of colchicine in atherosclerotic vascular disease and more specifically, its promising impact on the outcome of patients with stable and acute coronary syndrome and to review its effect in patients undergoing angioplasty. A literature review was performed using the search terms colchicine, coronary heart disease, or acute coronary syndrome, stable coronary disease. We accessed PubMed, Google scholar, and the Cochrane Library databases to search for studies. Patients with chronic coronary disease may benefit from treatment with low dose colchicine to reduce the occurrence of a cardiovascular event. Among patients with a recent myocardial infarction, colchicine treatment was associated with reduced ischemic cardiovascular events, although without a meaningful difference in mortality. Colchicine was found to be a promising agent that can be potentially integrated into the armamentarium of treatments for patients with atherosclerotic coronary disease pending careful patient selection

Background: Risk factors for severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection include old age, chronic illness, and neurological conditions. In contrast, high vitamin D levels are known to augment immune activity and to reduce the severity of viral infections. Recently, a possible association between the likelihood of COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 severity, and vitamin D blood levels was reported.

Objective: To assess the possible association between vitamin D long-term supplementation and COVID-19 symptomatic severity and complications of COVID-19 infection in elderly psychiatric inpatients, a high at-risk group.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series study. Data of 14 elderly COVID-19 positive inpatients, presenting with dementia or schizophrenia and other medical conditions were extracted from medical records. All patients maintained a 800 IU daily dose of vitamin D prior to the infection.

Results: Most of the inpatients were asymptomatic or presented very few symptoms. No need for intensive care unit intervention or deaths were reported. Cognitive functioning of the patients remained unchanged.

Conclusions: Pre-existing vitamin D supplementation may reinforce immunity and reduce COVID-19 severity in elderly psychiatric inpatients.

Background: Infections in neonates with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) following circumcision due to Metzitzah Be'Peh (MBP) performed by a Mohel occur each year in small numbers. One solution to this problem is the use of a mucus extractor device instead of MBP, which has been authorized by some rabbis. Yet, using a mucus extractor remains controversial among ultra-Orthodox Jews; thus, creating a need for additional solutions.

Objectives: To seek to reduce HSV-1 infection of neonates due to MBP.

Methods: We tested several oral rinse solutions for their ability to destroy virus infectivity following incubation for 30 seconds and using plaque reduction assays.

Results: Corsodyl, Decapinol, and Listerine® all destroyed plaques formation of spiked virus, while Gengigel and Tantum Verde were found to be less effective. We focused specifically on Listerine® due to its efficacy in eliminating contagious HSV-1 from saliva after a 30-second oral rinse. Five different products of Listerine® reduced the infectivity of a spiked virus by more than 4 orders of magnitude in 30 seconds. We also showed that Listerine (up to 7% v/v) can stay in the mouth but did not harm living cells and therefore will not cause any damage to the injured tissue.

Conclusions: Significant reduction in cases of infection with HSV-1 due to MBP can be achieved if Mohalim consistently adopt the practice of careful mouth washing with Listerine® just before performing MBP.

Background: Accuracy of the number and location of pathological lymph nodes (LNs) in the pathology report of a neck dissection (ND) is of vital importance.

Objectives: To quantify the error rate in reporting the location and number of pathologic LNs in ND specimens.

Methods: All patients who had undergone a formal ND that included at least neck level 1 for a clinical N1 disease between January 2010 and December 2017 were included in the study. The error rate of the pathology reports was determined by various means: comparing preoperative imaging and pathological report, reporting a disproportionate LN distribution between the different neck levels, and determining an erroneous location of the submandibular gland (SMG) in the pathology report. Since the SMG must be anatomically located in neck level 1, any mistake in reporting it was considered a categorical error.

Results: A total of 227 NDs met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The study included 128 patients who had undergone a dissection at levels 1–3, 68 at levels 1–4, and 31 at levels 1–5. The best Kappa score for correlation between preoperative imaging and final pathology was 0.50. There were nine cases (3.9%) of a disproportionate LN distribution in the various levels. The SMG was inaccurately reported outside neck level 1 in 17 cases (7.5%).

Conclusions: At least 7.5% of ND reports were inaccurate in this investigation. The treating physician should be alert to red flags in the pathological report

Background: Pilonidal disease in the natal cleft is treated traditionally by a wide and deep excision of the affected area. There is growing awareness, however, to the advantages of minimally invasive surgeries.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of wide excision operations and minimal trephine surgery in patients with primary pilonidal disease.

Methods: In this retrospective study we examined surgical and inpatient records of 2039 patients who underwent surgery for primary pilonidal disease in five private hospitals between 2009 and 2012. Most procedures were of lay-open, primary midline closure, and minimal surgery types. Pilonidal recurrence rates were evaluated in a subset of 1260 patients operated by 53 surgeons each performing one type of surgery, regardless of patient characteristics or disease severity.

Results: With a mean follow-up of 7.2 years, 81.5%, 85%, and 88% of patients were disease-free after minimally invasive surgery, wide excision with primary closure, and lay-open surgery, respectively, with no statistically significant difference in recurrence rates. Minimal surgeries were usually performed under local anesthesia and involved lower pain levels, less need for analgesics, and shorter hospital stays than wide excision operations, which were normally performed under general anesthesia. The use of drainage, antibiotics, or methylene blue had no effect on recurrence of pilonidal disease.

Conclusions: Minimally invasive surgeries have the advantage of reducing the extent of surgical injury and preserving patient’s quality of life. They should be the treatment of choice for primary pilonidal disease

Background: Pilonidal sinus is a chronic, inflammatory condition. Controversy exists regarding the best surgical  management for pilonidal sinus, including the extent of excision and type of closure of the surgical wound.

Objectives: To assess the short- and long-term outcomes and success rate of the trephine procedure for the treatment of pilonidal sinus.

Method: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted at a single center. Patients who underwent trephine procedure between 2011 and 2015 were included. Data collection included medical records review and a telephone interview to establish long-term follow-up.

Results: A total of 169 patients underwent the trephine technique for the repair of pilonidal sinus. Follow-up included 113 patients, median age 20 years. Initial postoperative period, 35.6% recalled no pain and 58.6% reported a mild to moderate pain. Postoperative complications included local infection (7.5%) and mild bleeding (15.1%). On early postoperative follow-up, 47.1% recalled no impairment in quality of life, and 25%, 21.2 %, and 6.7% had mild, moderate and sever disturbance respectively. The median time to return to work or school was 10 days. At a median follow-up of 29 months (IQR 19–40), recurrence rate was 45.1% (51/113), and 38 (33.9%) of the patients underwent another surgical procedure. Overweight, smoking, and family history were associated with higher recurrence rate.

Conclusion: The trephines technique has a significant long-term recurrence rate. Short-term advantages include low morbidity, enhanced recovery, and minimal to mild postoperative impairment to quality of life. The trephine procedure may be justified as a first treatment of pilonidal disease