BACKGROUND: We commonly encounter fractures secondary to trauma on and off in our daily practice. While it is not uncommon to see fractures due to underlying pathology, we need to be on the alert when patients present atypically because the treatment for pathological fractures is far different from that for simple fractures. METHODS: We presented a case of left clavicle fracture secondary to minor trauma, in which the initial X-ray shows suspicious lesion around the fracture site and further investigation reveals multiple myeloma. The patient received treatment at the clinical oncology department upon diagnosis. Since he was relatively young and fit, he was started on the induction therapy of VTD, which was followed by high dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant. RESULTS: He is currently free from symptoms and on maintenance thalidomide. CONCLUSIONS: Though multiple myeloma is not commonly encountered in emergency practice, earlier identification of relatively subtle symptoms can allow early treatment. Missing this diagnosis will delay treatment and produce severe outcome to the patient. We should be on the alert for such important condition.

Radiofrequecy ablation is the most widely used local ablative therapy for both primary and metastatic liver tumours. However, it has limited application in the treatment of large tumours (tumours >3cm) and multicentric tumours. In recent years, many strategies have been developed to extend the application of radiofrequency ablation to large tumours. A promising approach is to take advantage of the rapid advancement in imaging and robotic technologies to construct an integrated surgical navigation and medical robotic system. This paper presents a review of existing surgical navigation methods and medical robots. We also introduce our current developed model - Transcutaneous Robot-assisted Ablation-device Insertion Navigation System (TRAINS). The clinical viability of this prototyped integrated navigation and robotic system for large and multicentric tumors is demonstrated using animal experiments.
Catheter Ablation ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Robotics ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; methods

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence and predictors of OSA in Chinese bariatric surgery candidates. Materials and Methods: The clinical data were collected from 326 patients evaluated for bariatric surgery and referred for polysomnography. Multiple logistic regression was used for identifying independent predictors of presence of OSA and ROC curve analysis to determine the best cut-off value for continuous variable. Results: Baseline BMI and age were 33.3±3.7 kg/m2 and 24.3±3.1 years. 62.9% of the patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for OSA; Of these, 22.7% had mild OSA; 11.3% had moderate OSA, and 28.8% had severe OSA. The prevalence was significantly higher in males (84.2%) than in females (47.3%) (P＜0.001). The superobese patients and the obese patients aged older than 50 years that all of those were diagnosed with OSA. A multivariate logistic regression model displayed that increasing age, BMI and neck circumference together with presence of habitual snoring and male sex were identified as risk factors of OSA. The best cut-off values for the presence of OSA for age, BMI, neck circumference were 24.5 years, 39.45 kg/m2 , 40.40 cm. Conclusion The prevalence of OSA is very prevalent (62.9%) in Chinese bariatric surgery candidates, especially in male patients (84%). Age, BMI and neck circumference together with presence of habitual snoring and male sex are independent predictors of OSA in these patients. As clinical predictors are not enough to be a properly screening for OSA, routine PSG testing should be recommended to bariatric surgery candidates.

Recently, several scoring systems have been proposed to predict remission from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after metabolic surgery. The ABCD score was compared to the individualized metabolic surgery (IMS) score in terms of the prediction of long-term T2DM remission; however, which of the two scoring systems is better remains controversial. Thus, Three East Asian countries Metabolic Surgery (TEAMS), which has been organized as a study group since 2016, is conducting a retrospective, international, multi-institutional study to compare the two scoring systems in East Asian obese patients after metabolic surgery. The primary study objective is to compare the ABCD score with the IMS score at 3 and 5 years after sleeve gastrectomy (SG), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, one anastomosis gastric bypass and SG with duodenojejunal bypass. The secondary objectives include evaluating patients who were good candidates for SG, and adjusting the IMS scoring system for East Asian patients.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bariatric Surgery ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Gastrectomy ; Gastric Bypass ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence and predictors of OSA in Chinese bariatric surgery candidates. Materials and Methods: The clinical data were collected from 326 patients evaluated for bariatric surgery and referred for polysomnography. Multiple logistic regression was used for identifying independent predictors of presence of OSA and ROC curve analysis to determine the best cut-off value for continuous variable. Results: Baseline BMI and age were 33.3±3.7 kg/m2 and 24.3±3.1 years. 62.9% of the patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for OSA; Of these, 22.7% had mild OSA; 11.3% had moderate OSA, and 28.8% had severe OSA. The prevalence was significantly higher in males (84.2%) than in females (47.3%) (P＜0.001). The superobese patients and the obese patients aged older than 50 years that all of those were diagnosed with OSA. A multivariate logistic regression model displayed that increasing age, BMI and neck circumference together with presence of habitual snoring and male sex were identified as risk factors of OSA. The best cut-off values for the presence of OSA for age, BMI, neck circumference were 24.5 years, 39.45 kg/m2 , 40.40 cm. Conclusion The prevalence of OSA is very prevalent (62.9%) in Chinese bariatric surgery candidates, especially in male patients (84%). Age, BMI and neck circumference together with presence of habitual snoring and male sex are independent predictors of OSA in these patients. As clinical predictors are not enough to be a properly screening for OSA, routine PSG testing should be recommended to bariatric surgery candidates.

Postprandial hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (PHH) is one of the serious complications after bariatric surgery, it can lead life-threatening neuroglycopenic symptoms, such as seizures, disorientation, impairment of version and loss of consciousness without any premonitory. The presentation, prevalence, diagnosis, pathology and treatment are reviewed in this summary.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous recovery of severe alopecia areata is rare and the condition is difficult to treat. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the effects and safety of steroid pulse therapy between oral and intravenous administrations between 1999 and 2010 at the Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital. METHODS: Data were retrospectively retrieved. A satisfactory response was defined as more than 75% hair regrowth in the balding area. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients with more than 50% hair loss were identified and treated, with an overall satisfactory response rate of 51.8%. The mean follow-up time was 37.6 months, with a relapse rate of 22.7%. Patients with alopecia areata (hereafter, AA) of recent onset within one year showed higher response rates (p<0.001) and lower relapse rates compared to patients with AA persisting for more than 1 year. Further, even in patients with alopecia totalis, alopecia universalis or ophiasis type, early treatment resulted in a satisfactory response rate of 47% among the treated patients. In general, oral therapy was as effective and well-tolerated as intravenous therapy. CONCLUSION: The response rate is determined by disease severity and time of intervention, not by the administration form of steroid pulse therapy. Oral steroid pulse therapy can be considered as the first-line treatment for patients with severe AA of recent onset within one year.
Administration, Intravenous ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Dermatology ; Early Intervention (Education)* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hair ; Humans ; Pulse Therapy, Drug ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies*

Alectinib, an inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here we investigated the reversal effect of alectinib on multidrug resistance (MDR) induced by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which is the primary cause of chemotherapy failure. We provide the first evidence that alectinib increases the sensitivity of ABCB1- and ABCG2-overexpressing cells to chemotherapeutic agents in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, alectinib increased the intracellular accumulation of ABCB1/ABCG2 substrates such as doxorubicin (DOX) and Rhodamine 123 (Rho 123) by inhibiting the efflux function of the transporters in ABCB1- or ABCG2-overexpressing cells but not in their parental sensitive cells. Furthermore, alectinib stimulated ATPase activity and competed with substrates of ABCB1 or ABCG2 and competed with [125I] iodoarylazidoprazosin (IAAP) photolabeling bound to ABCB1 or ABCG2 but neither altered the expression and localization of ABCB1 or ABCG2 nor the phosphorylation levels of AKT and ERK. Alectinib also enhanced the cytotoxicity of DOX and the intracellular accumulation of Rho 123 in ABCB1-overexpressing primary leukemia cells. These findings suggest that alectinib combined with traditional chemotherapy may be beneficial to patients with ABCB1- or ABCG2-mediated MDR.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Resistance, Multiple* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Leukemia ; Lymphoma ; Parents ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Rhodamine 123 ; United States Food and Drug Administration

Endometriosis is a common chronic gynecological disease with endometrial cell implantation outside the uterus.Angiogenesis is a major pathophysiology in endometriosis.Our previous studies have demon-strated that the prodrug of epigallocatechin gallate(ProEGCG)exhibits superior anti-endometriotic and anti-angiogenic effects compared to epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG).However,their direct binding targets and underlying mechanisms for the differential effects remain unknown.In this study,we demonstrated that oral ProEGCG can be effective in preventing and treating endometriosis.Additionally,1D and 2D Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration assay-based chemical proteomics identified metadherin(MTDH)and PX domain containing serine/threonine kinase-like(PXK)as novel binding targets of EGCG and ProEGCG,respectively.Computational simulation and BioLayer interferometry were used to confirm their binding affinity.Our results showed that MTDH-EGCG inhibited protein kinase B(Akt)-mediated angiogenesis,while PXK-ProEGCG inhibited epidermal growth factor(EGF)-mediated angiogenesis via the EGF/hypoxia-inducible factor(HIF-1a)/vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)pathway.In vitro and in vivo knockdown assays and microvascular network imaging further confirmed the involvement of these signaling pathways.Moreover,our study demonstrated that ProEGCG has superior therapeutic effects than EGCG by targeting distinct signal transduction pathways and may act as a novel anti-angiogenic therapy for endometriosis.

Background and Objectives: We compared real-world clinical outcomes of patients receiving intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) versus rotational atherectomy (RA) for heavily calcified coronary lesions. Methods: Fifty-three patients who received IVL from January 2017 to July 2020 were retrospectively compared to 271 patients who received RA from January 2017 to December 2018.Primary endpoints were in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Results: IVL patients had a higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome (56.6% vs 24.4, p<0.001), multivessel disease (96.2% vs 73.3%, p<0.001) and emergency procedures (17.0% vs 2.2%, p<0.001) compared to RA. In-hospital MACE (11.3% vs 5.9%, p=0.152), MI (7.5% vs 3.3%, p=0.152), and mortality (5.7% vs 3.0%, p=0.319) were not statistically significant. 30-day MACE was higher in the IVL cohort vs RA (17.0% vs 7.4%, p=0.035). Propensity score adjusted regression using IVL was also performed on in-hospital MACE (odds ratio [OR], 1.677; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.588–4.779) and 30-day MACE (OR, 1.910; 95% CI, 0.774–4.718). Conclusions These findings represent our initial IVL experience in a high-risk, real-world cohort. Although the event rate in the IVL arm was numerically higher compared to RA, the small numbers and retrospective nature of this study preclude definitive conclusions. Theseclinical outcomes are likely to improve with greater experience and better case selection, allowing IVL to effectively treat complex calcified coronary lesions.