This retrospective case series evaluated the effectiveness of minimally invasive spine surgery-transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) using the “trial-in-situ ” technique for reducing high-grade spondylolisthesis. The surgical management of grade ≥III spondylolisthesis has been controversial, with various methods documented in the literature, including in-situ fusion, in-situ trans-sacral delta fixation, distraction techniques, and external reduction techniques. Recently, MIS techniques have gained popularity. This study analyzed 18 cases of high-grade spondylolisthesis treated with MIS-TLIF using the “trial-in-situ ” technique. The clinical outcomes were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the modified Oswestry Disability Index (mODI) scores. The spinopelvic parameters and sagittal balance were also analyzed. Preoperatively, the spinopelvic parameters were deranged, with a mean pelvic tilt of 28.31°, which improved to 13.91° postoperatively. Similarly, the sacral slope improved from 45.65° to 38.01°. VAS and mODI scores improved postoperatively, indicating the effectiveness of the “trial-in-situ ” technique in reducing high-grade spondylolisthesis and achieving a better sagittal profile and spinopelvic parameters. The findings indicate that MIS-TLIF using the “trial-in-situ ” technique is a viable and effective method for treating high-grade spondylolisthesis.

Ischemic and reperfusion injuries of the heart underlie the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and sudden cardiac death. The mortality rate is still high and is 5–7% in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The review is devoted to pharmacological approaches to limitation of ischemic and reperfusion injuries of the heart. The article analyzes experimental evidence and the clinical data on the effects of P2Y 12 receptor antagonists on the heart’s tolerance to ischemia/reperfusion in animals with coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion and also in patients with AMI. Chronic administration of ticagrelor prevented adverse remodeling of the heart. There is evidence that sphingosine-1-phosphate is the molecule that mediates the infarct-reducing effect of P2Y 12 receptor antagonists. It was discussed a role of adenosine in the cardioprotective effect of ticagrelor.

In patients with lagophthalmos due to eyelid trauma, it is imperative to ensure adequate closure of the eye to protect the ocular surface. Sometimes it is difficult to surgically close eyelids by conventional methods of tarsorrhaphy, such as intermarginal suture tarsorrhaphy, Week’s tarsorrhaphy, and tongue-in-groove tarsorrhaphy. We need intact eyelid tissues to perform these procedures and might not be possible in patients with severe lagophthalmos due to lost/damaged eyelid tissues either due to deficient length of tissues or increased tension at the wound site, which can result in surgical failure.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that exposures to heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and selenium) may be associated with differences in blood pressure. However, the findings of these studies have been inconsistent. This study was performed to examine the associations between urinary heavy metal concentrations and blood pressure among residents of four Asian countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and Vietnam). METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined 1899 adults in four Asian countries. Urinary concentrations of heavy metals were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A questionnaire survey was administered regarding individual characteristics. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were performed. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured after a short rest. Multiple linear regression models were applied to investigate associations between urinary heavy metal concentrations and blood pressure after adjustments for age, sex, and body mass index. RESULTS: The geometric means of the urinary concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and selenium were 84.6, 0.885, 2.09, and 16.5 μg/g creatinine, respectively. The urinary arsenic concentrations were slightly higher than those typically reported in non-polluted populations, while urinary cadmium, lead, and selenium concentrations were equivalent or slightly lower. The urinary lead concentrations were positively associated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but urinary selenium concentrations were negatively associated with them. CONCLUSIONS Variations in the urinary concentrations of lead and selenium were associated with blood pressure at low levels of exposure/intake.
Adult ; Arsenic/urine* ; Bangladesh ; Blood Pressure ; Cadmium/urine* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Environmental Exposure ; Female ; Humans ; Indonesia ; Lead/urine* ; Linear Models ; Male ; Metals, Heavy/urine* ; Middle Aged ; Nepal ; Selenium/urine* ; Vietnam

Traumatic orbital haemorrhage is an unfortunate complication with potential vision-threatening consequences.[1-3] The collection of blood can occur anywhere along the potential free orbital spaces,[4] but the subperiosteal collection of the blood is an important clinical variant where careful and timely intervention can give commendable rewards to the surgeon as well as to the patient.[1,2] Subperiosteal hematoma could be traumatic or non-traumatic, in turns, the non-traumatic cases may be due to bleeding tendency as in cases of leukaemia, blood dyscrasia and haemophilia or could be due to vascular malformation, venous congestion, infection, inflammation and neoplastic and non- neoplastic causes.[4] Here in this report, we elaborate the advantage of continuous ultrasound-guided needle drainage of the post-traumatic subperiosteal hematoma to enhance the clinical accuracy and to avoid the untoward complications.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of ocular ultrasound B scan in the emergency at the first point of care for detecting posterior segment and orbital pathologies in cases of paediatric ocular emergencies. METHODS: A prospective observational study involving 122 paediatric patients presenting to eye emergency over a period of ninety days were assessed with ultrasonography for the posterior segment as well as orbital pathology whenever indicated. The ocular ultrasound was performed gently over closed eyelids. RESULTS: Posttraumatic globe injuries were the most common indication for posterior segment evaluation, which constituted 80 (65.57％) eyes. Among these 52 patients had an anechoic posterior segment and 28 patients had variable findings such as vitreous haemorrhage (8.19％), retinal detachment (6.55％), choroidal detachment (4.91％), posteriorly dislocated clear lens (0.81％) and retained intraocular foreign body (5.73％). Non-traumatic cases constituted around 42 (34.42％) eyes, which included corneal ulcer (7.37％), retinoblastoma (6.55％), endophthalmitis (4.91％), extraocular muscle cysticercosis (4.91％), orbital cellulitis (4.09％), periocular haemorrhage (2.45％), proptosis(1.63％), paediatric cataract (1.63％) and cryptophthalmos (0.81％). No adverse events of performing the ultrasound was noted. CONCLUSION: First point ultrasonography in paediatric ocular emergencies is a cheap, portable and an effective tool in the assertion of significant posterior segment and orbital diseases.

·AIM:To study the pattern of mechanical ocular injuries in patients visiting a rural referral center.·METHODS:The study was conducted in the department of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College ( RPGMC ) , Kangra ( Himachal Pradesh ) for a period of 12mo from 1st Jan 2013-31st Dec 2013 which included data collection, data organization, presentation, data analysis and data interpretation followed by a period of follow up extending to a period of 1mo. A total of 200 patients were studied which included all patients of mechanical ocular injuries that visited our department either directly or were referred from other public or private institutions during the study period. It was a prospective study in which all the patients were interviewed with the aid of a questionnaire and underwent a detailed ocular examination. The injuries were classified according to the international ocular trauma classification into open globe and closed globe injuries. The injuries of the lid and adnexa and the cranial nerve palsies were considered as separate entities and data analysis was done with MS Excel 2007 worksheet using the Epi info7 software.·RESULTS: A total of 21,710 patients attended the out-patient department( OPD) during the study period out of which 200 patients were of mechanical ocular trauma which formed 0. 921% of the total OPD attendance. The patients ranged in age from 1-80y with a mean age and standard deviation of 33. 12 ± 20. 48y. In those patients 151 patients ( 75. 5%) were males and 49 ( 24. 5%) were females. The male to female ratio was 3:1. Out of the 200 patients studied, 100 were injured at home, 19 in the playground, 29 had occupational injuries, 38 were injured in road side accidents, 10 were injured due to assault, 3 at school and 1 patient was injured during a stampede that occurred in a religious camp. The visual acuity at presentation was upto 6/12 in 47%, <6/12 to 6/36 in 13. 5%, <6/36-1/60 in 6%, <1/60 to PL ( perceive light ) positive in 22% and PL negative in 4 % patients. In 7. 5 %patients the visual acuity could not be assessed on the Snellen's chart. Most of the patients had closed globe injuries (54. 5%) followed by involvement of the lid and adnexa (23%). And 19. 5% had open globe injuries and 3% had involvement of the cranial nerves.· CONCLUSION: Ocular injuries are common and preventable causes of monocular blindness.

PURPOSE: Diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) poses serious challenges. A careful selection of appropriate gene targets is essential for designing a multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared several gene targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including IS6110, devR, and genes encoding MPB-64 (mpb64), 38kDa (pstS1), 65kDa (hsp65), 30kDa (fbpB), ESAT-6 (esat6), and CFP-10 (cfp10) proteins, using PCR assays on 105 EPTB specimens. From these data, we chose the two best gene targets to design an M-PCR. RESULTS: Among all gene targets tested, mpb64 showed the highest sensitivity (84% in confirmed cases and 77.5% in clinically suspected cases), followed by IS6110, hsp65, 38kDa, 30kDa, esat6, cfp10, and devR. We used mpb64+IS6110 for designing an M-PCR assay. Our M-PCR assay demonstrated a high sensitivity of 96% in confirmed EPTB cases and 88.75% in clinically suspected EPTB cases with a high specificity of 100%, taking clinical diagnosis as the gold standard. CONCLUSION: These M-PCR results along with the clinical findings may facilitate an early diagnosis of EPTB patients and clinical management of disease.
Bacteriological Techniques/methods ; DNA Transposable Elements/genetics ; DNA, Bacterial/analysis/genetics ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gene Amplification ; Humans ; Male ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods/standards ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tuberculosis/*diagnosis