Benign glandular schwannoma

We report a case of a benign glandular schwannoma in a 63-year-old male who presented with a solitary subcutaneous mass on the left knee, with no previous history of neurofibromatosis type 1. This histological subtype is rare, with only 38 cases reported in the literature. Some of the glands found in this patient resembled sweat glands. These lining stromal spindle cells were positive for S-100 but negative for EMA. S100 was faintly staining the glandular elements. All the glands in the tumor were positive for EMA, particularly at the luminal borders. They were also positive for pancytokeratin. The cystic areas variably show intraluminal, foamy, and hemosiderin-laden macrophages. The different glands expressed two patterns. Some of these were reactive for CK7 and low molecular weight keratin. Immunohistochemical workup is mandatory to assess the neoplastic nature of this glandular component

Fatal case of a child harboring Enterobius vermicularis

Enterobius vermicularis is a threadlike parasite also known as “pinworms”. It is the most common helminth infection, affecting the gastrointestinal tracts of children worldwide, although it seldom causes any fatalities. Enterobius vermicularis infections are usually asymptomatic and may only cause anal pruritis, with occasional reported cases of ectopic migration into the appendix or the female genital tract by adult pinworms. Here, we report a case of a 15-year-old girl who presented to the emergency department with high-grade fever, vomiting, and vague abdominal pain for three days. She was diagnosed with acute abdominal pain and underwent emergency ileocecectomy, but died the following day. Pathological examination of ileocecal junction showed intraluminal and intramural Enterobius vermicularis, which were attributed as the cause of her death in the absence of any other pathologies. Death due to Enterobius vermicularis is rare; this case calls for clinicians to be vigilant in exploring Enterobius vermicularis infections in patients with undiagnosed acute abdominal pain, since it could be a potential cause of death

Histopathological Findings in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Specimens from Patients with Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a bariatric surgical procedure performed in patients with morbid obesity that provides the opportunity to review histopathological changes. The aim of this study was to characterize resected gastric specimens obtained from a Saudi patient population at a single center for a prospectively maintained database of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy cases. The histopathological findings from all patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies at King Khalid University Hospital between 2010 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Of the 602 cases reviewed, the majority (83.4% [n=502]) exhibited chronic gastritis, whereas 22.3% (n=134) involved Helicobacter pylori infections with active gastritis, 1% (n=6) had intestinal metaplasia, and one case (0.17%) revealed gastric adenocarcinoma. As the findings revealed conditions that are treatable, I highly recommend histological examinations of all sleeve gastrectomy specimens from a Saudi patient population

Pyoderma Gangrenosum Induced by BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine in a Healthy Adult

(1) Background: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare neutrophilic dermatosis of unknown etiology. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can cause a variety of adverse cutaneous manifestations. PG associated with mRNA vaccines has not previously been described. This case study reports on the first patient to develop PG after receiving BNT162b2. (2) Case Presentation: An otherwise-healthy 27-year-old man developed multiple skin lesions 24 h after receiving the first dose of the messenger RNA-based Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. When in hospital, he developed a new painful ulcerative lesion on his right hand. Skin ulcer edge biopsy showed severe epidermal neutrophilic infiltrate with epidermal and dermal edema, underlying superficial dermal necrosis, and characteristic undermining with extensive mixed inflammatory infiltration of the dermis and abscess formation consistent with an ulcer with mixed dermal inflammation compatible with pyoderma gangrenosum. The lesion showed rapid improvement after the initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. (3) Conclusions: PG may be a rare adverse event related to the BNT162b2 vaccine, which could be more frequently encountered with the wide-scale use of mRNA vaccines. The continuous monitoring and surveillance of skin manifestations post-vaccination is essential

Expression of Glucose Transporters 1 and 3 in the Placenta of Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background: The annual prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus—characterized by an increase in blood glucose in pregnant women—has been increasing worldwide. The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) in the placenta of women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods: Sixty-five placentas from women admitted to the King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were analyzed; 34 and 31 placentas were from healthy pregnant women and women with gestational diabetes, respectively. The expressions of GLUT1 and GLUT3 were assessed using RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical methods. The degree of apoptosis in the placental villi was estimated via a TUNEL assay. Results: The results of the protein expression assays and immunohistochemical staining showed that the levels of GLUT1 and GLUT3 were significantly higher in the placentas of pregnant women with gestational diabetes than those in the placentas of healthy pregnant women. In addition, the findings showed an increase in apoptosis in the placenta of pregnant women with gestational diabetes compared to that in the placenta of healthy pregnant women. However, the results of gene expression assays showed no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Based on these results, we conclude that gestational diabetes mellitus leads to an increased incidence of apoptosis in the placental villi and alters the level of GLUT1 and GLUT3 protein expressions in the placenta of women with gestational diabetes. Understanding the conditions in which the fetus develops in the womb of a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes may help researchers understand the underlying causes of the development of chronic diseases later in life

Knowledge, attitude, and awareness toward autopsy practice among King Saud University medical students

Introduction: The present study was undertaken to understand the level of awareness, education, and motivations of medical students toward the practice of autopsy. Methods: We distributed 213 questionnaires among undergraduate medical students. A total of 199 participants gave informed consent to be enrolled in this study and agreed to the anonymous publication of the findings. After data curation, the data were coded and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SmartPLS software). Results: Saudi medical students who studied the autopsy course find a student's ideology to be a determinant variable governing the perception of autopsy performance. Their acquisition of knowledge about autopsy did not suffice to change their attitude toward performing autopsies. However, the students' self-reported awareness positively affects their attitude toward performing autopsy. Conclusions: The students think that autopsy causes neither disfigurement nor disrespect of the cadaver. Nevertheless, the inclusion of a more hands-on approach could help include the “hidden curriculum,” i.e., the crucial aspects that escape formal teaching and arise from watching teachers, their attitudes, techniques, and interests. The insights obtained from this study aim to improve and advance forensic studies among medical students in Saudi Arabia

ASSESSMENT OF THE ACCURACY OF DEATH CERTIFICATION AT TWO REFERRAL HOSPITALS

Background : Death certification is a vital source of information used in mortality statistics worldwide to assess the health of the general population.This study focuses on the consistency of information between the death reports and the clinical records (files) of deceased patients in two hospitals: the King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) and King Fahad National Guard hospital (KFNGH) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A random sample of the records of 157 deceased patients′ registered in 2002 in the two hospitals was retrospectively reviewed independently to determine the underlying cause of death and compare them with death reports. It was also to check the accuracy of the translation from English in to Arabic. Results: It was found that the underlying cause of death was misdiagnosed in 80.3% of the death reports. When the two hospitals were compared, no significant difference was observed (p>0.05). In addition, 81.8% of the accurate (correct) death reports in both hospitals were of patients who had died of a malignant disease. However, the translation of the underlying cause of death in KFNGH was correct in 86.1% of the death reports, while in KKUH it was only 25%, which is highly statistically significant (p<0.0001). Conclusion: With the limitation of studying only a small number of cases, these results indicate a discrepancy between the file and death reports in relation to the cause of death. Also, the translation of the cause of death was inconsistent in the two hospitals. Hence, there is a real need to adopt suitable measures to improve the quality of death certification