Endoscopic Anterior Transposition of Ulnar Nerve (EATUN) for Treatment of Tardy Ulnar Nerve Palsy

BackgroundTardy ulnar nerve palsy is the development of late onset ulnar nerve dysfunction and is usually treated by open anterior transposition of ulnar nerve. Open technique is done using a longitudinal incision about 6–8 inch. in length with chances of development of medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve neuromas.PurposeIn this study, we describe the technique of Endoscopic Anterior Transposition of Ulnar Nerve (EATUN procedure) to treat tardy ulnar nerve palsy and analyze the results.MethodsSeven patients diagnosed to have tardy ulnar nerve palsy was treated by EATUN. The humerus-elbow-wrist angle (HEW), pre- and post-operative intrinsic muscle power and sensory assessment, Dellon scores, and the Q-DASH was analyzed.ResultsThe minimum follow-up was 12 months (Mean 27.4 months, Range 12–36 months). Improvement in Dellon and Q-DASH scores following EATUN procedure was statistically significant. There was objective improvement of intrinsic muscle power and sensation on follow-up, though not statistically significant. No instance of neuroma of the medial cutaneous nerve of forearm was noted.ConclusionsThe endoscopic anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve is a good option in surgical management of tardy ulnar nerve palsy.Level of evidenceTherapeutic Level IV.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-021-00366-w.     

Transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect with amplatzer membranous occluder

BACKGROUND: Use of trancatheter device closure for membranous ventricular septal defect is still in evolving phase. We report the early and mid-term results of our experience with the new asymmetric Amplatzer membranous ventricular septal defect occluder. METHODS AND RESULTS: We attempted, transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect using asymmetric Amplatzer occluder in 26 patients. The patients were selected on the basis of transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiographic assessment of the ventricular septal defect. The procedure was successful in 21 (81%) patients. The age ranged from 3 to 23 years, weight from 10 to 59 kg and defect size ranged from 3 to 9 mm (mean: 5 +/- 1.8 mm). One patient had situs inversus with dextrocardia: 11 had aneurysmal tissue partly occluding the defect and the device was deployed either across (n=6) or within the aneurysmal sac (n=5). Three patients developed high degree atrioventricular block on attempts to cross the defect with the sheath and the procedure was discontinued. In two patients it was not possible to place the sheath in left ventricle despite repeated attempts. There was a residual flow in 4 (19%) patients at 24 hours. Two patients developed bundle branch block and none had complete heart block. At follow-up (1-9 months, n=20), residual flow was seen in two patients. None developed late conduction defect, aortic regurgitation, infective endocarditis or hemolysis. CONCLUSIONS: Transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect can be performed safely and effectively with the new asymmetric Amplatzer occluder device in selected patients with good short- and midterm results. These devices can be deployed safely in and across and the aneurysmal sacs. In selected cases, this procedure is a satisfactory alternative to surgery.     

The safety, tolerability and effectiveness of generic antiretroviral drug regimens for HIV-infected patients in south India

We investigated the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of locally produced generic highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens with a chart review conducted at YRG CARE, a tertiary HIV referral centre in India. A total of 333 patients had been on Indian-manufactured generic HAART for at least 3 months. In this cohort, generic HAART was safe, well tolerated and effective at increasing CD4 T-lymphocyte counts in patients with advanced HIV, comparable to the experience with proprietary HAART.     

Prognostic importance of DNA repair gene polymorphisms of <Emphasis Type="Italic">XRCC1</Emphasis> Arg399Gln and <Emphasis Type="Italic">XPD</Emphasis> Lys751Gln in lung cancer patients from India

Purpose Inter individual variation in lung cancer susceptibility may be modulated in part through genetic polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes, especially the genes involved in the Base Excision Repair (BER) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Two of the genetic polymorphisms, XRCC1Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln have been extensively studied in the association with lung cancer risk, although published studies have been inconclusive. Methods In order to verify the role of the common variant alleles in the XPD gene, we have genotyped 211 lung cancer patients and 211 healthy controls using PCR-RFLP assays in a hospital based, case-control study in an Indian population. Logistic regression models were fit to examine the relationship between the log odds of lung cancer and each covariate. Overall Survival in relation to various genotypes and clinicopathological factors were analyzed using Kaplan Meier estimates and hazard ratios were calculated using Cox Regression analysis. Results The carriers of XRCC1 399 AA genotypes were at higher risk of lung cancer (OR = 2.1, 95% CI:1.224–3.669, P = 0.007) than carriers of GG genotype. Subjects carrying 751 AC genotype were at an increased risk of carcinoma of the lung (OR = 1.8; 95% CI:1.233–2.807, P = 0.003) than subjects with AA genotypes. Compared to the XRCC1 399 GG/ XPD 751 AA reference genotype, the combined variants, XRCC1 399 GG/ XPD 751 AC+CC (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.037–3.481), P = 0.03), XRCC1 399 GA+AA/ XPD 751 AA (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.020–2.833, P = 0.04), XRCC1 399 GA+AA/XPD 751 AC+CC (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.582–4.864, P = 0.01), had significantly higher odds ratios. Increasing numbers of either XPD or XRCC1 variant alleles were associated with shorter overall survival, the risk being significant for the XRCC1 gene polymorphism (P = 0.01 by log-rank test). The hazard of dying was significant for the XRCC1 399 AA genotype (HR = 3.04, 95%CI: 1.393–6.670, P = 0.005). Higher tumour stage also came out as significant predictors of patient death. Conclusions These findings suggest that genetic polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes may modulate overall lung cancer susceptibility and that pathological stage and XRCC1 Arg399Gln independently predicted overall survival among Indian lung cancer patients.     

Incidence of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic disease: is prior health education more important than shielding advice during the pandemic?

Clinical Rheumatology - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major changes in clinical practice on a global scale in order to protect patients. This includes the identification of vulnerable patients...