Transdiaphragmatic intercostal hernia (TDIH) is a rare condition involving simultaneous disruption of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, allowing abdominal organs to herniate into the chest wall. It is usually traumatic and spontaneous cases are uncommon and can be easily overlooked. We report the case of a man in his late 60s with six years of progressive right chest wall swelling and recent vomiting and breathlessness. Initial imaging was misinterpreted as pleural effusion, but a computed tomography confirmed a five cm diaphragmatic defect with bowel herniation through the 7th –8th intercostal space. Prompt recognition is vital, as delayed diagnosis may lead to bowel obstruction, strangulation, and life -threatening complications

Transdiaphragmatic intercostal hernia (TDIH) is a rare condition involving simultaneous disruption of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, allowing abdominal organs to herniate into the chest wall. It is usually traumatic and spontaneous cases are uncommon and can be easily overlooked. We report the case of a man in his late 60s with six years of progressive right chest wall swelling and recent vomiting and breathlessness. Initial imaging was misinterpreted as pleural effusion, but a computed tomography confirmed a five cm diaphragmatic defect with bowel herniation through the 7th –8th intercostal space. Prompt recognition is vital, as delayed diagnosis may lead to bowel obstruction, strangulation, and life -threatening complications

Introduction: SABINA III assessed short-acting β2-agonist (SABA) prescription patterns and their association with asthma-related outcomes globally. Herein, we examined SABA prescription and clinical outcomes in the Malaysian cohort of SABINA III. Methods: In this observational, cross-sectional study, patients (≥12 years) were recruited between July and December 2019 from 15 primary and specialty care centres in Malaysia. Prescribed asthma treatments and severe exacerbation history within 12 months prior and asthma symptom control during the study visit were evaluated. Associations of SABA prescription with asthma control and severe exacerbation were analysed using multivariable regression models. Results: Seven hundred thirty-one patients (primary care, n=265 [36.3%]; specialty care, n=466 [63.7%]) were evaluated. The prevalence of SABA over-prescription (≥3 SABA prescriptions/year) was 47.4% (primary care, 47.1%; specialty care, 47.6%), 51.8% and 44.5% among all patients and patients with mild and moderate-to-severe asthma, respectively. Altogether 9.0% (n=66) purchased SABA without a prescription; among them, 43.9% (n=29) purchased ≥3 inhalers. The mean (standard deviation) number of severe asthma exacerbations was 1.38 (2.76), and 19.7% (n=144) and 25.7% (n=188) had uncontrolled and partly controlled symptoms, respectively. Prescriptions of ≥3 SABA inhalers (vs 1–2) were associated with lower odds of at least partly controlled asthma (odds ratio=0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.27–0.67) and higher odds of having severe exacerbation(s) (odds ratio=2.04; 95% CI=1.44–2.89). Conclusion The prevalence of SABA over-prescription in Malaysia is high, regardless of the prescriber type, emphasising the need for healthcare providers and policymakers to adopt latest evidence-based recommendations to address this public health concern.
Asthma ; Malaysia

Complex structural variants(CSVs)are genomic alterations that have more than two breakpoints and are considered as the simultaneous occurrence of simple structural variants.How-ever,detecting the compounded mutational signals of CSVs is challenging through a commonly used model-match strategy.As a result,there has been limited progress for CSV discovery com-pared with simple structural variants.Here,we systematically analyzed the multi-breakpoint con-nection feature of CSVs,and proposed Mako,utilizing a bottom-up guided model-free strategy,to detect CSVs from paired-end short-read sequencing.Specifically,we implemented a graph-based pattern growth approach,where the graph depicts potential breakpoint connections,and pattern growth enables CSV detection without pre-defined models.Comprehensive evaluations on both simulated and real datasets revealed that Mako outperformed other algorithms.Notably,validation rates of CSVs on real data based on experimental and computational validations as well as manual inspections are around 70％,where the medians of experimental and computational breakpoint shift are 13 bp and 26 bp,respectively.Moreover,the Mako CSV subgraph effectively characterized the breakpoint connections of a CSV event and uncovered a total of 15 CSV types,including two novel types of adjacent segment swap and tandem dispersed duplication.Further analysis of these CSVs also revealed the impact of sequence homology on the formation of CSVs.Mako is publicly available at https://github.com/xjtu-omics/Mako.

Increasing evidence suggests that the presence and spatial localization and distribution pattern of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is associate with response to immunotherapies. Recent studies have identified TGFβ activity and signaling as a determinant of T cell exclusion in the tumor microenvironment and poor response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. Here we coupled the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital image analysis and gene expression profiling as an integrative approach to quantify distribution of TILs and characterize the associated TGFβ pathway activity. Analysis of T cell spatial distribution in the solid tumor biopsies revealed substantial differences in the distribution patterns. The digital image analysis approach achieves 74% concordance with the pathologist assessment for tumor-immune phenotypes. The transcriptomic profiling suggests that the TIL score was negatively correlated with TGFβ pathway activation, together with elevated TGFβ signaling activity observed in excluded and desert tumor phenotypes. The present results demonstrate that the automated digital pathology algorithm for quantitative analysis of CD8 immunohistochemistry image can successfully assign the tumor into one of three infiltration phenotypes: immune desert, immune excluded or immune inflamed. The association between "cold" tumor-immune phenotypes and TGFβ signature further demonstrates their potential as predictive biomarkers to identify appropriate patients that may benefit from TGFβ blockade.

Breast Conserving Surgery Post Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Breast Carcinoma in a Developing Country: Is It Safe? Breast conserving surgery (BCS) is the standard treatment for early breast cancer and has similar survival with mastectomy. The role of BCS in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), post neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), is controversial. Surgeons, especially in developing countries, fear higher margin involvement and local recurrence (LR) in BCS. The aim of this study was to determine the LR in BCS compared to mastectomy in LABC post NACT and to ascertain the percentage of involved surgical margins following both methods of surgery. This was a retrospective study of breast cancer patients seen in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). All patients had NACT followed by either mastectomy or BCS. The patients with Her2 enriched carcinomas did not have access to targeted therapy (Trastuzumab or Pertuzumab). The patients with ill-defined tumours underwent ultrasound assessment in the surgical clinics. All had post-operative radiotherapy. All with ER or PR positive cancers were given Tamoxifen for a minimum of 5 years. This study demonstrated that BCS post NACT was safe to be performed in selected patients with LABC in a developing country.

Objective: to determine the distribution of various idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and their profile at the largest university hospitals in Yangon, Myanmar. Method: It was a hospital based prospective study recruiting IIM patients admitted to Neurology and Rheumatology ward over a 1.5 year period from September 2017 to February 2019. Results: Among total 51 IIM patients recruited, 62.7% presented to Neurology ward and 37.3% to Rheumatology ward. Overlap myositis (OM) was the commonest (43%), followed by immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) 27%, dermatomyositis (DM) 24%, polymyositis (PM) 6%. Among OM, anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) was 23%, and among IMNM, anti-SRP positive was 79%. IMNM and PM patients presented more to neurologists while OM/ASS and DM more to rheumatologists; 82% were females (F:M= 4.6:1). Mean age of onset of myositis was 40.2 + 17.8 years, and duration of symptoms before presentation was 10-3,600 days (shortest in anti-SRP and longest in anti-HMGCR myopathy). Myositis antibodies were positive in 67%. CK range was 40-25,690 U/l, highest in IMNM and lowest in DM. Associated connective tissue diseases among OM in order of descending frequency were 47% systemic lupus erythematosus, 24% Sjogren syndrome, 41% scleroderma and 12% rheumatoid arthritis. Associated cancer identified were one lung cancer in DM, one breast cancer in OM, one buccal cancer in IMNM cases. Conclusions: With recent availability of myositis antibody panel and MHC staining in Myanmar, we have applied current updated classification to describe the first Myanmar data on IIM cases.

INTRODUCTIONSchwannomas that arise within the muscle plane are called intramuscular schwannomas. The low incidence of these tumours and the lack of specific clinical features make preoperative diagnosis difficult. Herein, we report our experience with intramuscular schwannomas. We present details of the clinical presentation, radiological diagnosis and management of these tumours.

METHODSBetween January 2011 and December 2013, 29 patients were diagnosed and treated for histologically proven schwannoma at the National University Hospital, Singapore. Among these 29 patients, eight (five male, three female) had intramuscular schwannomas.

RESULTSThe mean age of the eight patients was 40 (range 27-57) years. The most common presenting feature was a palpable mass. The mean interval between surgical treatment and the onset of clinical symptoms was 17.1 (range 4-72) months. Six of the eight tumours (75.0%) were located in the lower limb, while 2 (25.0%) were located in the upper limb. None of the patients had any preoperative neurological deficits. Tinel's sign was present in one patient. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed that the findings of split-fat sign, low signal margin and fascicular sign were present in all patients. The entry and exit sign was observed in 4 (50.0%) patients, a hyperintense rim was observed in 7 (87.5%) patients and the target sign was observed in 5 (62.5%) patients. All patients underwent microsurgical excision of the tumour and none developed any postoperative neurological deficits.

CONCLUSIONIntramuscular schwannomas demonstrate the findings of split-fat sign, low signal margin and fascicular sign on MR imaging. These findings are useful for the radiological diagnosis of intramuscular schwannoma.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Neurilemmoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore

A 28-year-old female patient was admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, with sudden headache and vomiting for 1 day. CT scan conducted at emergency revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage, whereas digital subtraction angiography demonstrated a wide-neck aneurysm located at A1 segment of the left anterior cerebral artery. The aneurysm was totally coiled using stent assistance, which, however, was recanalized at 3 month follow-up. This patient was then subjected to aneurysm and parent artery occlusion after bypass of the bilateral A3 segments, who recovered well and discharged without ischemic complications.
Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Aneurysm, Ruptured ; surgery ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Anterior Cerebral Artery ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; surgery ; Recurrence ; Stents ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Breast* ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing* ; Transplants*