Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis) in asylum seekers from Eritrea, the Netherlands, July 2015

Two patients from Eritrea, recently arrived in the Netherlands, presented with fever and were investigated for malaria. Bloodfilms showed spirochetes but no blood parasites. Louse-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia recurrentis was diagnosed. Treatment was complicated by severe Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions in both patients. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of B. recurrentis infection in migrant populations who travel under crowded conditions, especially after passing through endemic areas such as Ethiopia and neighbouring countries.

Objective elaluation of bypass surgery in patients with acute coronary artery disease

80 patients with acute coronary artery disease, including 70 patients with PIA, 8 patients with acute myocardial infarction, and 2 patients with cardiogenic shock, underwent bypass surgery. The surgical mortality rate was 1.4% in patients with PIA and during an average follow-up period of 15 months none of the patients died of cardiac disease. Ventricular function, as indicated by systolic ejection fraction and segmental wall motion, was noted to improve in many patients. Postoperative studies showed the internal mammary artery to be superior to the saphenous vein graft for left coronary bypass procedures. This was demonstrated by 100% patency of internal mammary artery grafts to the left anterior descending coronary artery. We believe that when a patient presents with one of the syndromes of acute coronary artery disease such as unstable angina, severe chest pain suggestive of infarction without infarction, status anginosis, recurrent ventricular tachycardia or acute myocardial infarction complicated by evidence of potential extension, cardiogenic shock, heart block or rupture, these patients deserve at least coronary and left ventricular cineangiographic studies with hemodynamic evaluation. Our experience to date suggests that myocardial revascularization and catheterization carry a lesser risk than that of medical treatment.

A systematic review of health-related quality of life in cutaneous melanoma

Melanoma can be considered an emerging chronic disease that may considerably affect patients’ lives. The authors systematically reviewed the available literature on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and melanoma. Of reviews and the selected studies, reference lists were hand-searched. The quality of the eligible studies was appraised based on 14 previously published criteria. Of the 158 abstracts, 44 articles were appraised, resulting in 13 selected studies written in English (published between 2001 and 2008). Most studies assessed patients from specialised centres with varying, but relatively advanced, disease stages. The most commonly used instruments were the SF-36 and EORTC QLQ-C30. Recently, a melanoma-specific HRQOL questionnaire [FACT-Melanoma (FACT-M)] was introduced for clinical trial purposes. It showed that approximately one-third of melanoma patients experienced considerable levels of distress, mostly at the time of diagnosis and following treatment. Systemic therapies affected HRQOL negatively in the short term, but to a lesser extent in the long term. Health status and patients’ psychological characteristics are associated with higher levels of HRQOL impairment. The authors found that the impact of melanoma on patients’ HRQOL is comparable to that of other cancers. Accurately assessing HRQOL impairment in melanoma patients is pivotal, as it may affect disease management, including therapy and additional counselling, future preventive behaviour and perhaps even prognosis.

Melanoma: latest diagnosis methods, surgical treatments and follow-up procedures

Melanoma is a disease that is estimated will affect approximately 1 in 80 Americans. It is a potentially lethal cutaneous malignancy that requires initial diagnosis by full thickness incisional or excisional biopsy followed by appropriate surgical care. Prospective randomized studies for adjuvant therapy with intermediate (0.76-4 mm. Breslow depth), and deeper (4 mm. or greater Breslow depth) lesions will be discussed. This paper outlines an algorithm for lifelong postoperative clinical follow-up.

Public health nursing clientele shared with social assistance: proportions, characteristics and policy implications

This study was designed to determine (1) the extent to which public health nursing visits and social services income programs serve the same population (shared clientele), (2) whether shared and unshared clientele differ in their characteristics, and (3) whether those who use both these services are high users of other health and social services. A computerized record linkage showed that 17% of individual public health nursing clients were shared with social services. Shared clientele had more social, perinatal, emotional and mental health problems. It is these characteristics, rather than the simultaneous use of both services, that were associated with more public health nursing visits, days in care, and use of all other health providers. The trend away from in-home nursing visits may create a situation of unmet need. While health and social resources are expended on persons with children with greater risk circumstances, the question remains about the efficacy and efficiency of this mix of service for parents and children receiving social assistance.

Bacterial peritonitis following esophageal injection sclerotherapy for variceal hemorrhage

Patients presenting with ascites and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were studied prospectively. Five patients presenting with acute variceal hemorrhage were found not to have pre-existing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis on initial paracentesis. However, three of these five developed findings compatible with bacterial peritonitis after sclerotherapy. Although the number of cases is small, our results support the monitoring of ascitic fluid after sclerotherapy.

Esophageal granular cell tumor removed by endoscopic polypectomy

Granular cell tumors are rare neoplasms that are generally benign. They are usually found in the tongue, subcutaneous tissues, and breast. Since Abrikossof first described the histology of this tumor in 1926, there have been 86 cases involving the esophagus discussed in the literature. There is a low likelihood of these tumors becoming malignant and recurrence after resection is rare. However, these tumors can be confused with more malignant lesions. We report an additional case involving the esophagus and offer new management guidelines in the era of fiberoptic endoscopy.

Metastatic islet cell tumor in von Hippel-Lindau disease

A 56-year-old woman with many unusual manifestations of von Hippel-Lindau syndrome is described. In addition to retinal hemangioblastomas, pheochromocytoma, renal cell carcinoma, and multiple organ cysts, she had a cerebellar astrocytoma, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxicosis, and a metastatic calcitonin-secreting islet cell carcinoma. This case report documents the first example of a metastatic islet cell tumor in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease. The possible relationship between this disorder, the other neurocutaneous syndromes, and the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes is discussed.