Left atrial myxoma: Case report and literature review

Myxomas are the most common cardiac neoplasm accounting for 50% of all tumours. Usually symptomatic at diagnosis, the advent of routine echocardiogram in clinical practice has enabled earlier diagnosis before onset of symptoms. There however have been few reports in black Africans, and so we are reporting a male patient who presented with heart failure secondary to a large left atrial myxoma mimicking mitral stenosis from diastolic flow obstruction across the valve. He underwent successful resection and to the best of our knowledge is the first reported resected surgical case in Nigeria

Diaphragmatic patch: A useful adjunct in surgical treatment of recurrent catamenial hemothorax

Although catamenial hemothorax compared to pneumothorax is a rarer clinical pre-sentation of thoracic endometriosis syndrome (TES), it is more commonly associated with diaphragmatic fenestrations. These openings may serve as entry portals for peritoneal fluid to access into the pleural space thereby perpetuating recurrent pleural effusion even after prior surgical pleurodesis. We report our experience with two patients with recurrent right catamenial hemothorax after previous interventions that were subsequently treated by talc pleurodesis and goretex diaphragmatic patch, and who have had no further recurrence at a mean follow up of 15 months. We therefore recommend that diaphragmatic patch should be considered as an adjunct to talc pleurodesis in patients with recurrent catamenial hemothorax when either multiple diaphrag-matic fenestrations are seen at surgery or if there is concomitant bloody peritoneal fluid which could potentially lead to recurrence. The patch by sealing any occult pores and possible future fenestrations appear to decrease recurrent pleural effusion at an intermediate term follow up. Resumo: Embora o hemotórax catamenial comparado com o pneumotórax seja uma apresentação clínica mais rara de síndrome de endometriose torácica (TES), está mais asso-ciado a fenestrações diafragmáticas. Estas aberturas podem atuar como portais de entrada para o acesso ao fluido peritoneal na cavidade pleural, perpetuando assim o derrame pleural recorrente mesmo após uma pleurodese cirúrgica prévia. Registamos a nossa experiência em dois pacientes com hemotórax catamenial recorrente do lado direito após outras intervenções, que foram posteriormente tratados com pleurodese com talco e penso diafragmático em gore-tex, e que não apresentaram nenhuma outra recorrência durante um acompanhamento de 15 meses. Recomendamos, então, que o penso diafragmático seja considerado um auxiliar à pleurodese com talco em pacientes com hemotórax catamenial recorrente, tanto quando são vistas várias fenestrações diafragmáticas na cirurgia, como quando há fluido peritoneal hemorrágico concomitante, que poderá conduzir a uma recorrência. O penso, ao selar qualquer poro oculto e possíveis fenestrações futuras, parece diminuir o derrame pleural recorrente num seguimento a médio prazo. Keywords: Catamenial hemothorax, Diaphragmatic pores, Palavras chave: Hemotórax catamenial, Poros diafragmático

Nutritional and potential medicinal value of chromolaena odorata leaves

The chemical analyses of both aqueous and methanolic extracts of the leaves of Chromolaena adorata (Siam weed) was carried out to assess the possible utilization of the plant leaf as food and medicine. The results obtained showed that the leaves contained carbohydrate (1.10±1.14%), Protein (24.08±0.08%), Lipid (14.00±0.01%), fiber (50.26±0.01%), Ash (10.98± 2.00%) and moisture content of 5.65±0.02%. An energy content of 220.20 kcal was recorded. The leaves also constituted a rich source of mineral elements such as Ca, Na, K, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, P, and Mg. The leaves also yielded alkaloids (18.38±0.02%), Flavonoids (12.90±0.03%), saponins (14.90±0.05%), cyanogenic glycosides (3.27±0.02%), Tannins (0.14±0.01%) and Phytic acid (0.05±0.03%). The anti-bacterial effects of the methanolic extracts were positive for Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and negative for Pseudomonas pyrogenes and Escherichia coli. Anti-fungal activities were observed against Candida albicans, Aspergillus Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rhizopus sp. Both the aqueous and methanolic extracts showed anti-fungal effects on Penicillium sp. Based on these results, the leaves of C. odorata may be useful sources antimicrobial drugs as well as food supplement.Keynotes: Chromolaena adorata, Siam weed, anti-microbial, medicine, mineral elements, food