Palisading granuloma of the ovary

Necrobiotic granulomas of the bowel accompanying 3-year postsurgical recurrence of colon cancer: A case report

INTRODUCTION

Postsurgical necrobiotic granulomas present a diagnostic challenge and have been described in organs such as the urinary bladder, prostate, and uterus. However, occurrence of these granulomas is rare in the bowel.

PRESENTATION OF THE CASE

In this report, we present the case of a 28-year-old woman with recurrent multifocal colonic adenocarcinoma 3 years after sigmoidectomy. Intraoperatively, the ileum was suspicious for tumor deposits. Total colectomy with segmental small bowel resection was performed, and the histopathological findings of the small bowel specimen were consistent with necrobiotic granulomas with no evidence of malignancy. Infectious disease workup was negative. The patient was administered adjuvant chemotherapy and had no negative outcomes at 8 months after the surgery.

DISCUSSION

This is a rare and challenging case of postsurgical necrobiotic granulomas of the bowel.

CONCLUSION

Granulomas with "active" necrobiosis can occur as late as 3 years after colon cancer surgery and can be a diagnostic pitfall that significantly affects the management.

The impact of the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme, 2003-13: a multimethod evaluation

BACKGROUND

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme supports research tailored to the needs of NHS decision-makers, patients and clinicians. This study reviewed the impact of the programme, from 2003 to 2013, on health, clinical practice, health policy, the economy and academia. It also considered how HTA could maintain and increase its impact.

METHODS

Interviews (n = 20): senior stakeholders from academia, policy-making organisations and the HTA programme. Bibliometric analysis: citation analysis of publications arising from HTA programme-funded research. Researchfish survey: electronic survey of all HTA grant holders. Payback case studies (n = 12): in-depth case studies of HTA programme-funded research.

RESULTS

We make the following observations about the impact, and routes to impact, of the HTA programme: it has had an impact on patients, primarily through changes in guidelines, but also directly (e.g. changing clinical practice); it has had an impact on UK health policy, through providing high-quality scientific evidence - its close relationships with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the National Screening Committee (NSC) contributed to the observed impact on health policy, although in some instances other organisations may better facilitate impact; HTA research is used outside the UK by other HTA organisations and systematic reviewers - the programme has an impact on HTA practice internationally as a leader in HTA research methods and the funding of HTA research; the work of the programme is of high academic quality - the Health Technology Assessment journal ensures that the vast majority of HTA programme-funded research is published in full, while the HTA programme still encourages publication in other peer-reviewed journals; academics agree that the programme has played an important role in building and retaining HTA research capacity in the UK; the HTA programme has played a role in increasing the focus on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in medicine - it has also contributed to increasingly positive attitudes towards HTA research both within the research community and the NHS; and the HTA focuses resources on research that is of value to patients and the UK NHS, which would not otherwise be funded (e.g. where there is no commercial incentive to undertake research). The programme should consider the following to maintain and increase its impact: providing targeted support for dissemination, focusing resources when important results are unlikely to be implemented by other stakeholders, particularly when findings challenge vested interests; maintaining close relationships with NICE and the NSC, but also considering other potential users of HTA research; maintaining flexibility and good relationships with researchers, giving particular consideration to the Technology Assessment Report (TAR) programme and the potential for learning between TAR centres; maintaining the academic quality of the work and the focus on NHS need; considering funding research on the short-term costs of the implementation of new health technologies; improving the monitoring and evaluation of whether or not patient and public involvement influences research; improve the transparency of the priority-setting process; and continuing to monitor the impact and value of the programme to inform its future scientific and administrative development.

Post-surgical necrotizing palisading granuloma of the nose

The finding of granulomata in nasal polyps is rare. In this report we describe a case with necrotizing granulomata occurring after surgery. The differential diagnosis of such a finding is discussed.

Necrotizing small-vessel vasculitis confined to the uterine cervix

OBJECTIVES

To report our experience with five cases of apparently isolated small-vessel vasculitis of the uterine cervix.

METHODS

Case study of five patients with necrotizing vasculitis discovered incidentally in surgical specimens of the female genital tract, and a review of the pertinent literature on this subject.

RESULTS

All patients lacked clinical and serological features of the well-delineated vasculitic syndromes. Comprehensive workup failed to yield any evidence of an underlying disorder. All patients were managed expectantly and did not develop systemic vasculitis during follow-up ranging from 6 months to 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Isolated vasculitis of the female genital tract can be encountered as an innocuous finding in otherwise healthy individuals. The cause and pathogenesis of this disorder remain obscure. Rheumatologists should be familiar with this rare and vexing form of vasculitis and with its benign prognosis.

Ovarian granulomas: a report of 32 cases

AIMS

To determine the causes of ovarian granulomatous inflammation and to discuss the differential diagnoses.

METHODS

The pathological features of all ovarian granulomas identified by pathology SNOMED coding in Northern Ireland over a 13 year period were reviewed. Case notes of patients were also reviewed.

RESULTS

The most common cause of ovarian granuloma was a foreign body reaction to suture material introduced at a previous operative procedure (15 cases). Other causes were Crohn's disease (four cases), previous diathermy (two cases), tuberculosis (two cases), a necrotising reaction following previous surgery (two cases), endometriosis (one case), and bacterial tubo-ovarian abscess (one case). In five cases, no cause was apparent for the granulomatous inflammation. In these, varying numbers of small, well circumscribed cortical granulomas were present. These cases correspond to so-called "idiopathic" cortical granulomas.

CONCLUSION

The study confirms the wide range of conditions which can give rise to ovarian granulomatous inflammation.