No abstract

No abstract

Context: Pilomatrixoma is a common head and neck neoplasm in children. Its malignant counterpart, pilomatrix carcinoma, is rare and found more often in men. Method: Case report of a 21-year-old man with pilomatrixoma of the thoracic spine that underwent malignant degeneration to pilomatrix carcinoma. Findings: The appearance of a painless mobile axillary mass was followed by severe back pain 1 year later. Imaging revealed a compression fracture at the T5 level. The patient underwent resection of the axillary mass and spinal reconstruction of the fracture; the pathology was consistent with synchronous benign pilomatrixomas. Three months later he presented with a recurrence of the spinal lesion and underwent further surgical resection; the pathology was consistent with pilomatrix carcinoma. He received adjuvant radiotherapy and at his 1-year follow-up examination had no sign of recurrence. Conclusion/Clinical Relevance: Pilomatrix carcinoma involving the spine is a rare occurrence. It has a high incidence of local recurrence, and wide excision may be necessary to reduce this risk. Radiotherapy may be a helpful adjuvant therapy. Clinicians should be aware of this entity because of its potential for distant metastasis.

Background:Annual pilgrimage (Yatra) to the cave shrine of Shri Amarnath Ji’ is a holy ritual among the Hindu devotees of Lord Shiva. Located in the Himalayan Mountain Range (altitude 13,000 ft) in south Kashmir, the shrine is visited by thousands of devotees and altitude sickness is reportedly common.Materials and Methods:More than 600,000 pilgrims visited the cave shrine in 2011 and 2012 with 239 recorded deaths. Thirty one patients with suspected altitude sickness were referred from medical centers en-route the cave to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary-care center in capital Srinagar (5,000 ft). The clinical features and the response to treatment were recorded.Results:Thirty-one patients (all lowlanders, 19 male; age 18-60 years, median 41) had presented with acute onset breathlessness of 1-4 days (median 1.9 d) starting within 12-24 h of a rapid ascent; accompanied by cough (68%), headache (8%), dizziness and nausea (65%). Sixteen patients had associated encephalopathy. Clinical features on admission included tachypnea (n = 31), tachycardia (n = 23), bilateral chest rales (n = 29), cyanosis (n = 22) and grade 2-4 encephalopathy. Hypoxemia was demonstrable in 24 cases and bilateral infiltrates on radiologic imaging in 29. Ten patients had evidence of high-altitude cerebral edema. All patients were managed with oxygen, steroids, nifedipine, sildenafil and other supportive measures including invasive ventilation (n = 3). Three patients died due to multiorgan dysfunction.Conclusions:Altitude sickness is common among Amaranath Yatris from the plains and appropriate educational strategies should be invoked for prevention and prompt treatment.

No abstract

mechanisms. Although we basically agree, we argue that the underlying mechanism(s) motivating the use of vasopressor(s) must be kept in mind. Increasing BP by a pressor combination increasing the vascular tone via different mechanisms might be correct. This approach will work well if hypotension results mainly from the loss of vascular tone. In this case, the proposed approach fits well with the physiological acute cardiovascular response. Sympathetic stimulation, vasopressin release, and angiotensin level increase interact synergistically to increase the vascular tone. However, the decrease in BP in critically ill patients results from more complex interactive mechanisms (eg, heart failure, hypovolemia, abnormal ventriculo-arterial coupling), for which the pure vascular tone control might be insufficient or dangerous. We do not share the "no sense of a norepinephrine association with epinephrine." Epinephrine is the emergency hormone, which links vascular tone, heart function, and metabolic effects to "escape" the life-threatening situation. Its combination with norepinephrine can be then logical for some patients.The second concept ("catecholamine vasopressor support-sparing strategies") proposes the use of "adjunctive" therapies to reduce pressor support. Although theoretically appealing, such adjunctive therapies are not easy to use in practice.The last concept ("microcirculatory protection") is the oldest but the most recently investigated in critical care. Until now, it seemed obvious that the microcirculation changes might be corrected by therapeutic actions focused on macrocirculation, suggesting that microcirculation is passively impaired. This is very different when microcirculation is impaired by a combination of abnormal systemic circulation associated with pure inflammatory mechanisms at the microcirculation level (activated adhering white cells with microthrombosis). This situation frequently occurs in critically ill patients and could be improved by a combination of cardiovascular hemodynamic supports with modulation of the inflammation-induced interaction between endothelial cells and circulating immune cells.