Journal of International Medical Research

OBJECTIVE: We built a prediction model of mortality risk in patients the with Acinetobacter baumannii (AB)-caused hospital-acquired (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 164 patients with AB lower respiratory tract infection were admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) from January 2019 to August 2021 (29 with HAP, 135 with VAP) and grouped randomly into a training cohort (n = 115) and a validation cohort (n = 49)...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify Helicobacter pylori virulence factors and examine their associations with clinical outcomes in Thai patients. Moreover, the association between these genotypes and gastric mucosa morphological patterns was investigated. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy at Suranaree University of Technology Hospital. The presence of the cagA and vacA genes was investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction...

OBJECTIVE: The original user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS) is an English-language questionnaire that was designed to allow non-expert app users to assess the quality of health apps. We aimed to translate into the Greek language and validate the uMARS. METHODS: This was a qualitative prospective study. The World Health Organization translation process was followed and a readily available and free-of-charge app was used for the validation process...

Here, two cases involving the oldest reported patients with sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) after non-complicated cataract surgery, are reported. The first case was an 85-year-old female with bilateral decreased vision and headache. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.8 in the right eye and 1.0 in the left eye at the initial visit. Pseudophakia and choroidal detachments were observed in both eyes, and retinal pigment epithelium undulation was observed by optical coherence tomography. The second case was a 90-year-old male with bilateral optic disc oedema...

Endoscopic transaxillary thyroidectomy is a common method for remote-access thyroidectomy. The approach typically uses a gasless method, and a long incision to insert a special retractor. In addition, it is considered only suitable for unilateral lobectomy because of problems accessing contralateral parts of the thyroid gland. We describe here, a case of a young woman who had a total thyroidectomy performed using an endoscopic approach. We reduced the non-inflated 4-6 cm incision that is usually required, into three holes, and performed unilateral transaxillary thyroidectomy; this was verified by radioactive iodine uptake and thyroglobulin levels during follow-up...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of vericiguat in patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature review of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to 14 December 2022 for studies comparing vericiguat with placebo in patients with HF. Clinical data were extracted and cardiovascular deaths, adverse effects, and HF-related hospitalization were analyzed using Review Manager software (version 5...

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant vascular disease. ENG and ACVRL1 gene variants account for up to 96% of all cases, while the remaining cases are caused by SMAD4 or GDF2 variants, or by currently undiscovered mutations in coding or non-coding regions. Here, we report a 47-year-old man who presented with duodenal bulb bleeding and chronic anemia. Physical examination also revealed bleeding from the skin and gingiva. His parents were cousins and one brother and one sister died in infancy from anemia and bleeding...

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours of female reproductive system. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer and brachytherapy is an irreplaceable part of cervical cancer radiotherapy. However, bilateral cervical cancer in a complete septate is extremely rare. There is no standard consensus on the therapeutic management or follow-up owing to the rarity of this condition. This current case report presents an unusual case of a 25-year-old female patient with a double vagina and double uterus combined with a stage IIIC1r moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in both cervices...

This report presents the case of false-negative cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assay (LFA) in a HIV-positive 25-year-old male. The patient presented with headache, nausea and vomiting for 5 days and syncope for 1 day. An initial CSF CrAg LFA test was negative, but a 1:4 dilution of the CSF was weakly positive and a 1:8 dilution was positive. A serum cryptococcal antigen test was weakly positive. Cultures of blood and CSF were all positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. The explanation for the false-negative CSF CrAg LFA test is that the antigen concentration was too high causing the postzone phenomenon...

To date, only 34 cases of primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma (PPRMS) in the middle-aged and elderly population have been published. However, analyses of the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of PPRMS in this population have not been performed. A 75-year-old man visited our hospital because of abdominal pain and discomfort. His serum lactate dehydrogenase, neuron specific enolase, and progastrin-releasing peptide levels were elevated. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography revealed a lobulated mass of 7...

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to examine the disease course in geriatric patients with soft tissue sarcoma and determine the risk factors for mortality. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients who were treated at Istanbul University Oncology Institute from January 2000 to August 2021. RESULTS: Eighty patients were included in the study. The patients' median age was 69 years (range, 65-88 years). The median overall survival of patients diagnosed between the ages of 65 and 74 years was 70 months, and that of patients diagnosed at the age of ≤75 years was significantly lower at 46 months...

Superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMAS) involves duodenal obstruction caused by compression of the horizontal section of the duodenum between the superior mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta. Here, the experience of nursing a lactating patient with SMAS is summarized. Nursing care was performed according to a multiple therapy approach of treating the SMAS in addition to particular psychological factors that may be present during lactation. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy under general anaesthesia, duodenal lysis, and abdominal aorta-superior mesenteric artery bypass with great saphenous vein grafting...

Thoracic trauma is commonly encountered in daily clinical practice; however, blunt thoracic trauma in patients with congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) is rare. CCAM rupture denotes a broad spectrum of manifestations on imaging and may be misdiagnosed as many other conditions. Consequently, this leads to inaccurate treatment and poor patient outcomes. We report the case of a girl with the initial diagnosis of a cavitary lung lesion that was likely a traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst or CCAM. The patient received medical therapy for 20 days; however, her condition did not improve...

Uterine lymphoma is rare and usually occurs in middle-aged women. The clinical symptoms lack any specific characteristics. Imaging characteristics usually include uterine enlargement with density and uniform signal soft tissue masses. Magnetic resonance T2 weighted imaging, enhanced scanning, diffusion weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient values have certain characteristics. The gold standard for diagnosis remains a pathological examination of a biopsy specimen. The special feature of this current case was that the uterine lymphoma occurred in an 83-year-old female patient that presented with a pelvic mass for more than 1 month...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways could be effective in paediatric patients undergoing appendectomy. METHODS: This retrospective study analysed the data from patients aged ≤18 years that underwent appendectomies. The data collected included age, sex, application of enhanced recovery concepts (ERCs) and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 93 paediatric patients were retrospectively categorized into two groups: patients in group 1 did not experience the use of ERCs during their appendectomies; and patients in group 2 had ERCs applied during their appendectomies...

Oral vancomycin is mainly used to treat and prevent active Clostridium difficile infection. Because it is widely believed that there is a very low absorption rate via the gastrointestinal tract, reports of adverse reactions following oral vancomycin administration are rare. This case report describes for the first time a case of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in a 2-month-old infant treated with oral vancomycin. After oral vancomycin treatment, the number of eosinophils increased significantly and the levels gradually recovered after drug withdrawal...

Sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary (SSTO) is a rare benign neoplasm of the ovary, accounting for about 6% of all sex cord stromal ovarian tumors. Only 17 cases of SSTO occurring during pregnancy have been reported to date. We report a case of SSTO occurring during pregnancy and review the existing literature. A 32-year-old pregnant woman was found to have a 10-cm solid mass in the right adnexa, and a large volume of ascites fluid was detected by ultrasound examination in the second trimester. The patient underwent abdominal puncture to relieve her symptoms in the second trimester, and a partial right oophorectomy and cesarean section were performed at 39 weeks of gestation...

Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) is a rare disease that can be easily misdiagnosed. Before puberty, this condition is easily misdiagnosed as an inguinal hernia. This case report describes a 31-year-old phenotypically female patient with CAIS who was misdiagnosed twice previously with an inguinal hernia. Her karyotype analysis showed that she was 46, XY. She underwent a bilateral gonadectomy and long-term hormone replacement therapy. A Leydig cell tumour of the right testis was diagnosed postoperatively...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of applying internal fixation with a T-shaped locking plate that was used on the distal radius in fractures of the anterior process of the calcaneus (APC) with calcaneocuboid (CC) joint injury. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled adult patients diagnosed with APC with CC joint injury that had received internal fixation with a T-shaped locking plate of the distal radius. Group NA underwent open reduction with 'not-across' CC joint plate fixation; and group A underwent open reduction with 'across' CC joint locking plate fixation...

Radical prostatectomy has undergone a development from open to laparoscopic surgery to a surgical robotic approach. With improved surgical equipment and the continuous development of surgical techniques, various surgical strategies for controlling the dorsal vascular complex (DVC) during RP have been investigated, which affect intraoperative blood loss, postoperative tumour control and postoperative urinary and sexual function. The present narrative review summarizes the latest anatomical information about the prostatic apex and DVC and then describes the three types of DVC control...