Fetal aortic isthmus Doppler assessment to predict the adverse perinatal outcomes associated with fetal growth restriction: systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) management and delivery planning is based on a multimodal approach. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic accuracies of the aortic isthmus Doppler to predict adverse perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies with FGR.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov and Google scholar were searched from inception to May 2021, for studies on the prognostic accuracy of anterograde aortic isthmus flow compared with retrograde aortic isthmus flow in singleton pregnancy with FGR. The meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO and was assessed according to PRISMA and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. DerSimonian and Laird's random-effect model was used for relative risks, Freeman-Tukey Double Arcsine for pooled estimates and exact method to stabilize variances and CIs. Heterogeneity was quantified using I2 statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 2933 articles were identified through the electronic search, of which 6 studies (involving 240 women) were included. The quality evaluation of studies revealed an overall acceptable score for study group selection and comparability and substantial heterogeneity. The risk of perinatal death was significantly greater in fetuses with retrograde Aortic Isthmus blood flow, with a RR of 5.17 (p value 0.00001). Similarly, the stillbirth rate was found to have a RR of 5.39 (p value 0.00001). Respiratory distress syndrome had a RR of 2.64 (p value = 0.03) in the group of fetuses with retrograde Aortic Isthmus blood flow.

CONCLUSION

Aortic Isthmus Doppler study may add information for FGR management. However, additional clinical trial are required to assess its applicability in clinical practice.

Pediatric emergency care admissions for somatic symptom disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders experienced an exacerbation of their symptoms with more access to the emergency department (ED). However, little is known about the experience of somatic symptom disorders (SSDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in children. Therefore, we aimed to compare the rates of pediatric ED admissions for SSDs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand whether the relative risk of ED admissions for SSDs changed between the two periods. We retrospectively enrolled all children between 4 and 14 years admitted for SSDs in the pediatric ED of Santobono-Pausilipon Hospital, Naples, Italy, from March 11th, 2020, to March 11th, 2021 (pandemic period), and in the same time period of the previous year (pre-pandemic period). We identified 205/95,743 (0,21%) children with SSDs presenting in ED in the pre-pandemic year and 160/40,165 (0,39%) in the pandemic year (p < 0.05). Considering the accesses for age, we observed a relative decrease of the accesses for SSDs over 12 years old (IRR 0,59; CI 0,39-0,88), while we found no differences under 12 years old (IRR 0,87; CI 0,68-1,10).   Conclusion: In this study, we found that despite the massive decrease in pediatric admissions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, somatic symptom disorders' admissions to the pediatric ED increased, suggesting an impact of the pandemic also on pediatric psychiatric disorders. What is Known: • During the COVID -19 pandemic, children and adolescents with a psychiatric disorder experienced exacerbation of their symptoms with more accesses in Emergency Department. What is New: • We found that despite the massive decrease of the pediatric admissions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, somatic symptom disorders admissions in healthy children to the pediatric Emergency Department increased ,suggesting an impact of the pandemic also on the pediatric psychiatric disorders.

High dose brachytherapy with non sealed 188Re (rhenium) resin in patients with non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs): single center preliminary results

Background and aim

High dose brachytherapy using a non sealed ¹⁸⁸Re-resin (Rhenium-SCT®, Oncobeta® GmbH, Munich, Germany) is a treatment option for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The aim of this prospective study was to assess the efficacy and the safety of a single application of Rhenium-SCT® in NMSC.

Materials and method

Fifty consecutive patients (15F, 35 M, range of age 56–97, mean 81) showing 60 histologically proven NMSCs were enrolled and treated with the Rhenium-SCT® between October 2017 and January 2020. Lesions were located on the face, ears, nose or scalp (n = 46), extremities (n = 9), and trunk (n = 5). Mean surface areas were 7.0 cm² (1–36 cm²), mean thickness invasion was 1.1 mm (0.2–2.5 mm), and mean treatment time was 79 min (21–85 min). Superficial, mean, and target absorbed dose were 185 Gy, 63 Gy, and 31 Gy respectively. Patients were followed-up at 14, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days posttreatment, when dermoscopy and biopsy were performed. Mean follow-up was 20 months (range 3–33 months). Early skin toxicity was classified according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Cosmetic results were evaluated after at least 12 months according to Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) scale.

Results

At 6 months follow-up, histology and dermoscopy were available for 54/60 lesions, of which 53/54 (98%) completely responded. One patient showed a 1-cm² residual lesion that was subsequently surgically excised. Twelve months after treatment, 41/41 evaluable lesions were free from relapse. Twenty four months after treatment, 23/24 evaluable lesions were free of relapse. In 56/60 lesions early side effects, resolving within 32 days were classified as grades 1–2 (CTCAE). In the remaining 4/60 lesions, these findings were classified as grade 3 (CTCAE) and lasted up to 8–12 weeks but all resolved within 90 days. After at least 12 months (12–33 months), cosmetic results were excellent (30 lesions) or good (11 lesions).

Conclusion

High dose brachytherapy with Rhenium-SCT® is a noninvasive, reasonably safe, easy to perform, effective and well-tolerated approach to treat NMSCs, and it seems to be a useful alternative option when surgery or radiation therapy are difficult to perform or not recommended. In our population 98% of the treated lesions resolved completely after a single application and only one relapsed after 2 years. Larger patients’ population and longer follow-up are needed to confirm these preliminary data and to find the optimal dose to administer in order to achieve complete response without significant side effects.

A case of ovarian torsion in a patient carrier of a FSH receptor gene mutation previously affected by spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

We here report a case of ovarian torsion in a patient with an history of two previous episodes of spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome during her two pregnancies. A mutation of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHr) gene was identified in this patient and in other members of the family. Two years after her successful second pregnancy, the patient showed signs of severe thyroiditis during administration of oral contraceptive, with suppressed TSH and increased thyreoglobulin, in the absence of any abnormalities of the auto-antibodies. In few days, she developed severe pelvic pain and ultrasonographic evidence of increased ovarian volume. She underwent laparoscopy with unilateral adnexectomy for ovarian ischemic necrosis due to adnexal torsion. Our experience suggests that patients' carrier of a mutation of FSHr gene are at risk of ovarian pathologies also when non-pregnant and in the presence of low TSH levels. Further investigations are needed for an appropriate knowledge of typical and atypical manifestations of spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Melanoma detection in Italian pigmented lesion clinics

AIM

Accuracy in melanoma detection is important to recognize early curable melanomas and to minimize the unnecessary excision of benign lesions. The aim of this paper was to evaluate melanoma screening accuracy of Italian pigmented lesion clinics in terms of number needed to excise (NNE), melanoma thickness, and number of melanomas diagnosed during patient follow-up.

METHODS

Information on all skin tumors excised in 2011 were extracted from the databases of the participating centers. Information whether the lesion was excised at the baseline examination or during patient follow-up was recorded, as well as the overall number of patients examined in each center in 2011.

RESULTS

After e-mail solicitation, 22 of 40 centers agreed to participate. A total of 8229 excised lesions were collected. The overall number of examined patients was 86.564, thus 9.5% of screened patients had a lesion removed. Of the excised lesions, 866 were diagnosed as melanoma (1% of examined patients) and 5311 (88.9%) were melanocytic nevi. Three NNE were calculated giving values of 7.9 excised lesions to find 1 melanoma, 7.1 melanocytic lesions to find 1 melanoma, and 3.7 lesions to find 1 skin malignancy. The median melanoma thickness was 0.6 mm, with only 15.1% of melanomas ≥ 1 mm of thickness. Melanomas detected over time were 96 (11.1%; mean thickness, 0.3 mm), with 15.6% of lesions excised after short-term follow-up and 84.4% after long-term follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The NNE values comparable to those achieved in specialized clinical settings and the high number of early melanomas diagnosed at the baseline examination or during patient follow-up indicate a high level of accuracy in melanoma screening achieved by Italian pigmented lesion clinics.

A PHACES syndrome unmasked by propranolol interruption in a tetralogy of Fallot patient: case report and extensive review on new indications of beta blockers

Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors of infancy and usually they don't require specific therapy. In 10-20% of cases IHs are able to generate complication and medical/surgical intervention is needed. For many decades standard treatment consisted in oral or intralesional corticosteroids until Leaute-Labreze and colleagues published the first report on the efficacy of propranolol for cutaneous infantile hemangiomas in 2008. IHs can be sometimes part of complex syndrome. Here we report the case of a patient with tetralogy of Fallot operated at 5 month of age who stopped propranolol treatment for hypoxic spells and unusually developed facial and subglottic IHs configuring the diagnosis of PHACES syndrome (posterior fossa brain malformations, hemangioma, arterial anomalies, cardiac defects and/or aortic coarctation, ocular anomalies and sternal defects). To our knowledge this is the first report in the international literature of a delayed appearance of an infantile hemangioma involving the skin and the airways (PHACES syndrome). The pathophysiological explanation relies on the mechanism of action of propranolol which seems to act initially with vasoconstriction, down-regulating proangiogenetic factors and inducing endothelial cell apoptosis. Many decades since their introduction β-blockers are useful in a growing group of diseases. The pleiotropic effect of β-adrenoceptors antagonists is not yet deeply understood, residing in neurohormonal regulation systems and angiogenesis and proving to be an effective treatment from cardiovascular to oncological illnesses.

Calciphylaxis in dialysis patients, a severe disease poorly responding to therapies: report of 4 cases

Calciphylaxis or calciphic uremic arteriolopathy (CUA) is a rare syndrome characterized by the deposition of calcium within the walls of small and medium size vessels in the dermis and in the subcutaneous tissue. The disease mainly affects patients with end-stage renal disease. We report here our experience with 4 cases of calciphylaxis in dialysis patients. The main predisposing factor observed in our 4 patients was warfarin use (2 patients, 50%), while local traumas and diabetes were respectively present in only one patient. None of our patients was obese. Lower legs were the most frequently involved site of CUA (3/4 patients, 75%). In our experience biopsy was crucial to achieve a correct diagnosis and did not cause aggravation of the ulcers. Therapeutic approach was multimodal: mainly hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cinacalcet and sodium thiosulphate. Although many recent case reports have shown exceptional results and healing with the use of sodium thiosulphate, we did not experience any change in the poor prognosis of our patients with the use of this drug, at a dosage of 5 g thrice weekly endovenously.

The effect of summer holidays and sun exposure on atopic dermatitis

AIM

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sunlight during summer holidays and to assess the seasonability of atopic dermatitis in 43 consecutive patients with mild-moderate atopic dermatitis referring to the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic of the University of Bologna.

METHODS

Patients had to answer an open questionnaire.

RESULTS

The collected data showed that 74.4% of the patients affected by mild-moderate atopic dermatitis had complete resolution during summer holidays, 16.3% had improvement and only 9.3% had no modification of atopic dermatitis severity, confirming the seasonability of the disease, with improvement during summertime and worsening in the other seasons. Seaside holidays produced a significantly greater improvement than mountains holidays, with complete resolution of the disease in 91.2% versus 11.1% of patients, P<0.01. Conclusion. These data support the hypothesis on the positive effect of UV radiation on atopic dermatitis in patients without eczema after local therapy with corticosteroids or immunomodulators, but are in contrast with those reported by other authors from Northern Europe. This discrepancy is probably due to the latitude and different climate. In the Mediterranean area and in southern locations greater improvements are observable.

Childhood allergic contact dermatitis from henna tattoo

Henna is a shrub cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, and North Africa; it is used, mixed with other substances, as a hair and body dye. Several cases are reported in the literature of sensitization to para-phenylenediamine (PPD) contained in the henna tincture, but few of these are pediatric cases. We report two instances of allergic contact dermatitis due to temporary tattoos in children. In one case a patch test was positive for PPD. We suggest that the fashion of temporary henna tattoos in children is to be discouraged due to the serious consequences that a sensitization to PPD could have in their future.