Cervical necrotizing fasciitis and acute mediastinitis of odontogenic origin: a case series

Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is an uncommon infection. Early signs and symptoms include fever, severe pain and swelling, and redness at the wound site. Moreover, fulminant evolution and high mortality rate are typical of this pathology. In the present report we describes three cases of cervical necrotizing fasciitis complicated by acute mediastinitis. All patients were apparently immunocompetent adults. The main aim of the present report is to show the serious consequences that a dental infection might trigger. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in these cases. The constant interaction between different medical specialties is essential for ensuring a proper management of each case

Arthroscopic approach for treating a pigmented villonodular sinovitis of TMJ. A case report

The present report describes the case of a 29-year-old man referred to our service for TMJ pain and progressive reduction of the mouth opening. Differential diagnostics included rheumatologic diseases, monoarthritis and intraarticular lumps. In this line, a face CT scan and a MRI of TMJ were carried out in order to ensure a proper diagnosis. These tests showed a solid lesion into the joint cavity. In view of that, we decided to perform a diagnostic and therapeutic arthroscopy of TMJ. Histopathological studies confirmed the diagnosis of pigmented villonodular synovitis. The main aim of this report is to describe this rare syndrome with the goal of proposing suitable treatments. Moreover, we highlight the benefits of using arthroscopic procedures in the cases which the tumor is still confined to the joint. As far as we are aware, scientific literature documents only a single case of pigmented villonodular synovitis of TMJ treated with arthroscopic approach

Meningitis and subdural empyema as complication of pterygomandibular space abscess upon tooth extraction

Complication of dental infections might be various and heterogeneous. The most common complications are represented by maxilar celulitis, canine space celulitis, infratemporal space celulitis, temporal celulitis and bacteremia. Among rarest complications we found: sepsis, bacterial endocarditis, mediastinitis, intracranial complications, osteomyelitis, etc. Although dental infections are often considered trivial entities, sometimes they can reach an impressive gravity. In this regard, the present study describes a case of dental infection complicated by meningitis, subdural empiema and cerebral vasculitis. Furthermore, we observed other neurological complications, like thalamic ischemic infarction, during the disease evolution. Noteworthy, these entities were not presented when the patient was admitted to hospital. Therefore, the main aim of this report is to highlight the serious consequences that an infection of dental origin could cause

Juxtacortical mandibular chondrosarcoma during pregnancy : a case report

Chondrosarcoma is one of the most common malignant bone tumors in adults. It use to affect upper arm, pelvis and thigh bone. A wide surgical extirpation represent the gold standard to treat this disorder. In fact, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are no useful. Interestingly, chondrosarcoma is rare in head and neck (HNCS) and extremely uncommon during pregnancy. Thus, there is a lack of evidence about the proper treatment in these cases. A wide surgical extirpation is also considered the most effective procedure in HNCS. There are no consistent evidences about the he role of radiation and chemotherapy. In view of that, the present study describes a case of juxtacortical mandibular chondrosarcoma affecting a 28-year-old pregnant woman. After a multidisciplinary analysis of the case, we decided to treat the patient with a wide surgical resection and and immediately reconstruction

Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in young adults : a retrospective study in Granada University Hospital

This study aims to evaluate and analyze the clinical features and outcomes of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients 45 years were randomly selected from the same database. A retrospective analysis was conducted to determine specific features including sites of occurrence, risk factors, sex distribution, socio-economic status, T stage at diagnosis, nodal involvement, degree of tumor differentiation, locoregional failure and overall survival at 5 years was. Further, the results of both groups were compared. The male-female ratio was 1.2:1 in the group of young adults and 2.03:1 in the group of patients with an age of >45 years. No significant differences were found in terms of site, nodal involvement, locoregional failure, and overall survival. However, there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of features such as risk factors, socio-economic status, T stage at diagnosis, and degree of tumor differentiation. The overall 5-year survival rate was 62% for patients >45 years old, whilst for the group of young adults this rate was 48.4% (p= 0.17). The poor association between the common risk factors and oral and oropharyngeal cancers in young adults suggests that other pathogenic mechanisms should be investigated. For young patients, the data show evidence of poorer outcomes in terms of overall survival (p=0.17), and locoregional failure (p=0.23). Nevertheless, the literature shows that the results in this field are particularly inconsistent, and further research is therefore needed to provide more in-depth knowledge of the disease in this age group

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

La neumonía por aspiración en pacientes sometidos a cirugía de cabeza y cuello. Una serie de casos

Patients underwent head and neck surgery might present numerous respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. The need to administrate enteral nutrition for long time periods promotes the emergence of such problems. In this line, is important to underline that these complications could be life threatening for the patients. The main aim of the present report is to examine the importance of performing a radiographic control after a NG tubes placement. We firmly believe that it represent the most reliable method to avoid respiratory complications related with NG tubes in high risk patients.Los pacientes sometidos a cirugía de cabeza y cuello pueden presentar numerosas complicaciones respiratorias y gastrointestinales. La necesidad de administrar la nutrición enteral durante largos períodos de tiempo promueve la aparición de tales problemas. En esta línea, es importante subrayar que estas complicaciones podrían poner en peligro la vida de los pacientes. El objetivo principal del presente informe es examinar la importancia de realizar un control radiográfico después de una colocación de tubos NG. Creemos firmemente que representa el método más fiable para evitar las complicaciones respiratorias relacionadas con los tubos NG en pacientes de alto riesgo