In present study, tumor size and tumor grade are independent factors that predict FDG-PET results. Smaller tumors (< or =10 mm) and low-grade tumors are strong predictor of FN FDG-PET results.

BackgroundForeign Body Aspiration (FBA) is a serious problem in children and delays in diagnosis and management can be devastating. The history is often vague, with subtle physical and chest radiograph abnormalities. This study aims to determine the indications for bronchoscopy in children with suspected FBA and evaluate the key clinical and statistically significant predictors of FBA, based on the patients’ historical, physical and radiological findings at presentation.MethodsThis is a retrospective observational study, including patients who were admitted between January 2001 to January 2011 with suspected FBA. Their presenting history, physical exam, radiological and bronchoscopic findings were analyzed.ResultsThree hundred children with a mean age of 2.1 ± 1.7 years were included. In children with both abnormal physical and radiological findings, 47.2% had proven FBA. If either was abnormal, the likelihood reduced to 32–33.3%; if both were normal, only 7.4% had a FB. Witnessed choking (adjusted OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.03–4.3; P = 0.041), noisy breathing/stridor/dysphonia (adjusted OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2–6.2; P = 0.015), new onset/recurrent /persistent wheeze (adjusted OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.8–11.8; P = 0.002), abnormal radiological findings (adjusted OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.9–8.5; P < 0.001), and unilateral reduced air entry (adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5–5.5; P = 0.001) were significant predictors of FBA (P < 0.05). When three or more risk factors were present, the cumulative proportion of children with proven FBA increased significantly. The discriminative ability of the model was found to be good; the area under the ROC curve value was 0.76 (95% CI 0.70, 0.82). The predicted cutoff score derived using ROC analysis was found to co-relate well with known clinically significant predictors of FBA. This supports our algorithm and scoring system.ConclusionsA high index of suspicion is required in diagnosing airway FB. Our proposed clinical algorithm and scoring system hopes to empower physicians to accurately predict patients with a high likelihood of FBA.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the development of diabetes related complications such as cardiovascular disease and stroke. Mitochondria produce several small polypeptides that may influence mitochondrial function and may impact on insulin sensitivity, such as humanin (HN) and the mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c (MOTS-c) that are mitochondrial derived proteins (MDP). The aim of this study was to determine MDP in normal, prediabetes and diabetes subjects. Subjects and Measurements: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the serum concentrations of MDP and adiponectin (ADP) in 225 subjects: normal ( n = 68), pre-diabetes ( n = 33), T2D less than (good control; n = 31), and greater than HbA1c 7% (poor control; n = 93) subjects. The relationship of serum MDP and ADP concentrations with biochemical and anthropometric measurements were performed and assessed by multilinear regression. Results: Serum HN concentrations were lower in T2D ( p < 0.0001) and negatively correlated with age ( p < 0.0001), HbA1c ( p < 0.0001), glucose ( p < 0.0001), triglycerides ( p < 0.003), ALT ( p < 0.004), and TG/HDL ratio ( p < 0.001). Circulating HN levels were positively correlated to cholesterol ( p < 0.017), LDL ( p < 0.001), and HDL ( p < 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that HbA1c and ALT were two independent predictors of circulating HN. Similarly, serum MOTS-c was significantly lower in T2D subjects compared to controls ( p < 0.007). Circulating MOTS-c positively correlated with BMI ( p < 0.035), total cholesterol ( p < 0.0001), and LDL ( p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with age ( p < 0.002), HbA1c ( p < 0.001), and glucose ( p < 0.002). Serum ADP concentrations were lower in T2D ( p < 0.002) and negatively correlated with HbA1c ( p < 0.001), weight ( p < 0.032) TG ( p < 0.0001), and ALT ( p < 0.0001); and positively correlated with HDL ( p < 0.0001) and HN ( p < 0.003). Linear regression analysis showed that HbA1c and weight were two independent predictors of circulating ADP. Multilinear regression showed that HN and MOT-c correlated with each other, and only HN correlated with HbA1c. Conclusion: The MDPs HN and MOT-c, similar to ADP, are decreased in T2D and correlate with HbA1c. The data provide a...

Findings from this study indicate that callosal areas are reduced in BD and suggest that a failure to integrate information across the hemispheres may contribute to the pathophysiology of the disorder. Further research is necessary to clarify the underlying cellular changes leading to these morphometric differences.

PurposeBloodstream infections in pediatric hematology and oncology represent a major problem worldwide, but this has not been studied in Qatar. In this study, we investigated the burden of infection and the resistance pattern in the bacterial etiology, in the only tertiary pediatric hematology and oncology center in Qatar.MethodsAll pediatric cancer patients (n=185) were evaluated retrospectively during the period 2004–2011; a total of 70 (38%) patients were diagnosed with bloodstream infections. Bacterial etiology was determined, along with their susceptibility patterns. Neutropenia, duration of neutropenia, fever, duration of fever, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated throughout the study.ResultsA total of 70 patients (38%) were diagnosed with acute leukemias, lymphomas, solid tumors, or brain tumors; those patients experienced 111 episodes of bacteremia. The most common Gram-positive (n=64 [55%]) isolates were Staphylococcus epidermidis (n=26), Staphylococcus hominis (n=9), and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (n=7), and the common Gram-negative (n=52 [45%]) isolates were Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=14), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=10), and Escherichia coli (n=7). There was a significant association observed between fever with positive blood culture and different types of cancer (P=0.035). The majority of bacteremia (n=68 [61.3%]) occurred in nonneutropenic episodes. Elevated values of CRP (≥5 mg/L) were detected in 82 (95.3%) episodes and were negatively correlated with absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (r=−0.18; P=0.248) among all cases. However, the infection-related fatality rate was 2.2% (n=4), with three caused by Gram-negative pathogens. Multidrug resistant organisms were implicated in 33 (28.4%) cases and caused three of the mortality cases.ConclusionMultidrug resistant organisms cause mortality in pediatric cancer patients. Investigation of antimicrobial susceptibility of these organisms may guide successful antimicrobial therapy and improve the surveillance and quality of pediatric malignancy care.

The Middle East epidemiology of candidemia has a unique species distribution pattern distinct from other parts of the globe. High mortality rates were observed among pediatric (<1 year of age) and elderly patients (>60 years of age). All strains were susceptible to isavuconazole. All isolates of C.glabrata were resistant to caspofungin based on M27 S4. MALDI-TOF MS is a highly useful method for the routine identification of yeast isolates in clinical setting to achieve successful therapeutic treatment.

TART appears to be a safe, effective, and promising therapeutic option in patients with inoperable HCC.

This first collaborative study has established a process for prospective data collection and future multinational collaborative research in the Middle East. Despite the limitations of an incomplete population-based study, it provides the first comprehensive baseline data on clinical characteristics, laboratory evaluation, induction outcome, and toxicity. Further work is planned to uncover possible biologic differences of ALL in the region and to improve diagnosis and management.