Mchughkejser7729

Background Lower respiratory tract infections (LTRIs) are the most common cause of pediatric emergency department visits and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels in pediatric patients with LRTIs and to investigate the correlation of suPAR with disease severity. Methods This is a prospective case-control study of children with LTRIs. Demographic data, diagnoses, vital signs, disease severity scores, length of hospital stay, laboratory findings, and viral polymerase chain reaction results for nasopharyngeal aspirates were recorded. Blood samples for suPAR were collected and assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. VP-16 research buy Results There were 94 patients with LTRIs and 32 children in the control group. Patients were further subdivided into 2 groups based on diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis (n 31, 33%) or pneumonia (n 63, 67%). The median levels of suPAR were significantly higher in patients with LTRIs than in healthy controls (4.3 and 3.5 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.003). There was an association between suPAR levels and disease severity in pneumonia patients. suPAR values were higher in patients with severe pneumonia than mild pneumonia (5.5 and 3.6 ng/mL, respectively; P  less then  0.001). Conclusion We have shown that suPAR levels increased in patients with LTRIs and suPAR values were higher in patients with severe pneumonia than mild pneumonia. Further studies with large case series are needed to clarify the role of suPAR levels in children with LTRIs. link2 Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a spectrum of lung diseases that may contain different levels of fibrosis and inflammation. Sometimes, the clinical picture and imaging studies are insufficient to determine the diagnosis and lung biopsy becomes crucial, which may be performed in a thoracoscopic or open manner. The aim of this study was to present a new minimally invasive biopsy method that seems to be technically easy, safe, and inexpensive. Herein, we present a minimally invasive method for thoracoscopic lung biopsy using a Vicryl loop. Methods The charts of patients with suspected ILD who underwent thoracoscopic lung biopsy using a Vicryl loop between 2007 and 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. Results Nine patients were identified, four were boys and five were girls. The median age was 76 months. The mean weight of the patients was 10.9 kg. The mean chest tube removal time was 3.8 days. The mean surgical time was 37 minutes. There was an air leakage for 13 days in one child postoperatively. Conclusions Thoracoscopic lung biopsy with a knot and scissors is an easily applicable and minimally invasive method that may be performed in children with suspected ILD. Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.Background Asthma is one of the most common chronic health problems experienced by school-age children. As a result, school professionals need to be well informed about this chronic illness so that they can adequately support the needs of students with asthma. Methods This study examines data collected from a sample of teachers (n = 593) in 2 large southeastern states regarding their familiarity with asthma self-carry and self-administration laws and policies and training received related to general chronic health conditions including asthma. Results Teachers, on average, reported little training received at either undergraduate or graduate levels. Although teachers noted knowledge about asthma, acquired through in-service training or to a lesser degree formal education, a high percentage of teachers reported receiving no asthma-related training through such approaches. Conclusions Data in this study are consistent with data collected in a similar study in 2001 suggesting that while asthma prevalence has increased, education about the condition has not. Implications for school teachers, school administrators, school nurses, teacher educators, and asthma education personnel are provided. Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.Background To investigate the predictive factors associated with positive adenosine monophosphate challenge using the auscultation method (AMP-PCW) test results. Methods This is a prospective study of young children with suspected asthma who underwent AMP-PCW test. Patients with a positive AMP-PCW test were compared with those with a negative AMP-PCW. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify the independent determinants of positive AMP-PCW. Results A total of 159 patients completed the AMP-PCW test. The median age was 53 months. In total, 54.0% of patients had a positive AMP-PCW. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis and family history of asthma and allergy were significantly higher among the positive AMP-PCW group (P = 0.04, P = 0.02, and P = 0.007, respectively), as were the prevalences of elevated immunoglobulin E (IgE), peripheral blood eosinophils percentage (P = 0.003, P  less then  0.001, respectively), and number of emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalizations before AMP-PCW test (P = 0.006). A significant inverse correlation exists between peripheral blood eosinophils percentage and serum IgE levels with the AMP end-point concentrations (r = -0.302, P = 0.001, and r = -0.312, P = 0.001, respectively). In multivariate logistic regression model, peripheral blood eosinophils percentage, IgE levels, and the number of ED visits/hospitalizations before the AMP-PCW test were found as independent predictors for positive AMP-PCW test result. Conclusions Our results suggest that bronchial responsiveness to AMP-PCW is related to proxy markers of airway inflammation (elevated eosinophils and IgE levels) and clinical exacerbation of asthma before the test. This may support the role of AMP-PCW in detecting inflammatory changes and monitoring their trend among young children with suspected asthma. Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.Background Impaired lung function has been detected in up to 65% of all childhood cancer survivors. It is often caused by exposure to radiation therapy and various chemotherapeutics. The first cytotoxic drug ever identified as a causative agent of lung injury was busulfan, reported in the early 1960s. Signs and symptoms of busulfan lung are nonspecific and it is therefore difficult to differentiate the condition from pulmonary impairment caused by other pulmotoxic agents, infections, pulmonary metastases, graft-versus-host disease, or other noninfectious post-transplant complications involving the lungs. Methods A case example is provided to illustrate the difficulties in management of busulfan-induced lung injury in children. A retrospective review of cases of busulfan-induced lung injury indexed in PubMed until March 2019 was performed. Inclusion criteria for articles was available in full text in English. Results Impaired lung function caused by busulfan may become an increasing problem for young survivors. link3 Conclusion Newly developed dyspnea or subclinical damage detected on pulmonary function tests, indicating primarily restrictive disease, should always arouse suspicion of busulfan-induced lung injury in a child conditioned with busulfan, especially after excluding other leading culprits of pulmonary damage affecting oncology patients. Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.[This corrects the article on p. 579 in vol. 22, PMID 31897331.]. © 2020 Korean Breast Cancer Society.Minimal invasive surgical technique has been increasingly applied to breast surgery. Since the first robot-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy was introduced, we have been performing nipple-sparing mastectomy using multi-port robotic surgical system. Last year, the new robotic surgical system with single port was introduced. We report the development of a robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction through a single incision using the updated single-port surgical robot system for a patient with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Breast reconstruction was performed using implants. Postoperative pathological examination revealed DCIS in both breasts. There were no major immediate complications, except for a minor skin burn on the right breast. Overall, the initial operation using the updated platform was safely performed. © 2020 Korean Breast Cancer Society.Palbociclib, in conjunction with endocrine therapy, has been approved for the treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer. The common hematological toxicities associated with palbociclib are leukopenia and neutropenia. However, hematological malignancies have not been reported for palbociclib treatment. Here, for the first time, we present a case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia that was diagnosed in a patient undergoing treatment with letrozole and palbociclib for metastatic breast cancer. This case emphasizes the need for long term follow up of patients treated with palbociclib. © 2020 Korean Breast Cancer Society.Breast adenomyoepitheliomas are composed of a biphasic proliferation of myoepithelial cells around small epithelial-lined spaces. Due to the rarity of adenomyoepitheliomas, the molecular data describing them are limited. Adenomyoepitheliomas are considered to be benign or have low malignant potential, and be prone to local recurrence. Malignant transformation has been associated with homozygous deletion of CDKN2A or somatic mutations in TERT, but remains unexplained in many cases. Here, we describe a case of carcinomatous transformation of both epithelial and myoepithelial cells in an estrogen receptor-negative adenomyoepithelioma caused by amplification of MYC. Break-apart fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed an increase in the MYC gene copy number (3-4 copies/cell in 37%, > 4 copies/cell in 40%). Deregulation of MYC is responsible for uncontrolled proliferation and cellular immortalization in basal-like breast cancers. Our case demonstrates that genomic instability events associated with gene amplification may be involved in the carcinogenesis of malignant adenomyoepitheliomas. © 2020 Korean Breast Cancer Society.Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of skeletal muscle depletion measured on computed tomography (CT) in patients with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer. Methods This retrospective study included 577 consecutive women (mean age ± standard deviation 48.9 ± 10.2 years with breast cancer who underwent a preoperative positron-emission tomography (PET)/CT scan and curative surgery between January 2012 and August 2014. The total abdominal muscle area (TAMA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA), and visceral fat area (VFA) were measured on CT images at the L3 vertebral level. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazard regression analyses were performed to evaluate whether there was an association between sarcopenia and overall survival (OS) outcome. Results Of the 577 women, 49 (8.5%) died after a mean of 46 months. The best TAMA threshold for predicting OS was 83.7 cm2. The multivariate Cox proportional-hazard analysis revealed that sarcopenia (TAMA ≤ 83.70 cm2) was a strong prognostic biomarker (hazard ratio [HR], 1.