Osteoid osteoma: Contemporary management

Osteoid osteoma is a benign bone-forming tumor with hallmark of tumor cells directly forming mature bone. Osteoid osteoma accounts for around 5% of all bone tumors and 11% of benign bone tumors with a male predilection. It occurs predominantly in long bones of the appendicular skeleton. According to Musculoskeletal Tumor Society staging system for benign tumors, osteoid osteoma is a stage-2 lesion. It is classified based on location as cortical, cancellous, or subperiosteal. Nocturnal pain is the most common symptom that usually responds to salicyclates and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. CT is the modality of choice not only for diagnosis but also for specifying location of the lesion, i.e. cortical vs sub periosteal or medullary. Non-operative treatment can be considered as an option since the natural history of osteoid osteoma is that of spontaneous healing. Surgical treatment is an option for patients with severe pain and those not responding to NSAIDs. Available surgical procedures include radiofrequency (RF) ablation, CT-guided percutaneous excision and en bloc resection

The effect of case management on childhood pneumonia mortality in developing countries

Background With the aim of populating the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) with parameters of effectiveness of existing interventions, we conducted a systematic review of the literature assessing the effect of pneumonia case management on mortality from childhood pneumonia

Анализ виброустойчивости роботов

Материалы XV Междунар. науч.-техн. конф. студентов, аспирантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 23–24 апр. 2015 г

Assembling a global database of child pneumonia studies to inform WHO pneumonia management algorithm: Methodology and applications

Background The existing World Health Organization (WHO) pneumonia case management guidelines rely on clinical symptoms and signs for identifying, classifying, and treating pneumonia in children up to 5 years old. We aimed to collate an individual patient-level data set from large, high-quality pre-existing studies on pneumonia in children to identify a set of signs and symptoms with greater validity in the diagnosis, prognosis, and possible treatment of childhood pneumonia for the improvement of current pneumonia case management guidelines. Methods Using data from a published systematic review and expert knowledge, we identified studies meeting our eligibility criteria and invited investigators to share individual-level patient data. We collected data on demographic information, general medical history, and current illness episode, including history, clinical presentation, chest radiograph findings when available, treatment, and outcome. Data were gathered separately from hospital-based and community-based cases. We performed a narrative synthesis to describe the final data set. Results Forty-one separate data sets were included in the Pneumonia Research Partnership to Assess WHO Recommendations (PREPARE) database, 26 of which were hospital-based and 15 were community-based. The PREPARE database includes 285 839 children with pneumonia (244 323 in the hospital and 41 516 in the community), with detailed descriptions of clinical presentation, clinical progression, and outcome. Of 9185 pneumonia-related deaths, 6836 (74%) occurred in children <1 year of age and 1317 (14%) in children aged 1-2 years. Of the 285 839 episodes, 280 998 occurred in children 0-59 months old, of which 129 584 (46%) were 2-11 months of age and 152 730 (54%) were males. Conclusions This data set could identify an improved specific, sensitive set of criteria for diagnosing clinical pneumonia and help identify sick children in need of referral to a higher level of care or a change of therapy. Field studies could be designed based on insights from PREPARE analyses to validate a potential revised pneumonia algorithm. The PREPARE methodology can also act as a model for disease database assembly

Lessons from the integrated community case management (iCCM) Rapid Access Expansion Program

In 2012, the Government of Canada awarded a grant to the World Health Organization's Global Malaria Programme (GMP) to support the scale-up of integrated community case management (iCCM) of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria among children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa under the Rapid Access Expansion Programme (RAcE). The two main objectives of the programme were to: (1) Contribute to the reduction of child mortality due to malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea by increasing access to diagnostics, treatment and referral services, and (1) Stimulate policy updates in participating countries and catalyze scale-up of integrated community case management (iCCM) through documentation and dissemination of best practices. Based on the results of the implementation research and programmatic lessons, this collection provides evidence on impact and improving coverage of iCCM in routine health systems, and opportunities and challenges of implementing and sustaining delivery of iCCM at scale

Lessons from the integrated community case management (iCCM) Rapid Access Expansion Program

In 2012, the Government of Canada awarded a grant to the World Health Organization's Global Malaria Programme (GMP) to support the scale-up of integrated community case management (iCCM) of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria among children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa under the Rapid Access Expansion Programme (RAcE). The two main objectives of the programme were to: (1) Contribute to the reduction of child mortality due to malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea by increasing access to diagnostics, treatment and referral services, and (1) Stimulate policy updates in participating countries and catalyze scale-up of integrated community case management (iCCM) through documentation and dissemination of best practices. Based on the results of the implementation research and programmatic lessons, this collection provides evidence on impact and improving coverage of iCCM in routine health systems, and opportunities and challenges of implementing and sustaining delivery of iCCM at scale

Validation of verbal autopsy to determine the cause of 137 neonatal deaths in Karachi, Pakistan

Verbal autopsy (VA) aims to estimate a community\u27s mortality experience in the absence of contact with formal registration or health care systems. Application of VA to neonatal deaths is problematic as the agonal phase of a neonatal death tends to be indistinct. This is the first attempt to validate the technique exclusively on newborns who died. Seriously ill neonates (n = 137) were enrolled from the Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, between 31 October 1993 and 31 July 1994. All died as newborns, and caregivers were interviewed at home 3-230 days later. Surveillance physicians completed case questionnaires in the hospital, and investigator physicians assigned the main and associated causes of death using clinical criteria. Field questionnaires including a verbatim open-ended history, and syndrome modules were completed by a field worker, and investigator physicians again assigned the main and associated causes of death based on three diagnostic methods: verbatim alone, modules alone and verbatim and modules combined. We assessed the validity of VA by comparing field against hospital diagnoses by diagnostic (verbatim vs. modules vs. both) and analytic method (main vs. any diagnosis). VA identified at least one diagnosis accurately in 71% of the newborns. VA underdiagnosed low birthweight and prematurity in the field. Verbatim and modules diagnostic method comparing any field against main hospital diagnoses revealed high sensitivities for too early/too small syndrome (90%) and neonatal tetanus (84%). VA correctly identified some important causes of neonatal death in the field. Assigning multiple diagnoses using both open- and closed-ended questions increases the likelihood of correct ascertainment

Effect of community mobilization on appropriate care seeking for pneumonia in Haripur, Pakistan

Background: Appropriate and timely care seeking reduces mortality for childhood illnesses including pneumonia. Despite over 90 000 Lady Health Workers (LHWs) deployed in Pakistan, whose tasks included management of pneumonia, only 16% of care takers sought care from them for respiratory infections. As part of a community case management trial for childhood pneumonia, community mobilization interventions were implemented to improve care seeking from LHWs in Haripur district, Pakistan. The objective of the study was to increase the number of children receiving treatment for pneumonia and severe pneumonia by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) through community mobilization approaches for prompt recognition and care seeking in 2 to 59 month–old children. Methods: To assess pneumonia care seeking practices, pre and post– intervention household surveys were conducted in 28 target Union Councils. Formative research to improve existing LHW training materials, job aids and other materials was carried out. Advocacy events were organized, LHWs and male health promoters were trained in community mobilization, non–functional women and male health committees were revitalized and LHWs and male health promoters conducted community awareness sessions. Results: The community mobilization interventions were implemented from April 2008 – December 2009. Project and LHW program staff organized 113 sensitization meetings for opinion leaders, which were attended by 2262 males and 3288 females. The 511 trained LHWs organized 6132 community awareness sessions attended by 50 056 women and 511 male promoters conducted 523 sessions attended by 7845 males. In one year period, the number of LHWs treating pneumonia increased from 11 in April 2008 to 505 in March 2009. The care seeking from LHWs for suspected pneumonia increased from 0.7% in pre–intervention survey to 49.2% in post–intervention survey. Conclusion: The increase in care seeking from LHWs benefited the community through bringing inexpensive appropriate care closer to home and reducing burden on overstretched health facilities. The community mobilization interventions led to improvements in ap - propriate care seeking that would not have been achievable just by strengthening pneumonia case management skills of LHWs. In addi - tion to strengthening skills, community mobilization and behavior change activities should also be included in community case manage - ment programmes

Methods for conducting a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial of three days versus five days of amoxicillin dispersible tablets for chest indrawing childhood pneumonia among children two to 59 months of age in Lilongwe, Malawi: a study protocol

Abstract Background Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children under 5 years of age around the globe. In addition to preventing pneumonia, there is a critical need to provide greater access to appropriate and effective treatment. Studies in Asia have evaluated the effectiveness of 3 days of oral amoxicillin for the treatment of fast-breathing pneumonia; however, further evidence is needed to determine if 3 days of oral amoxicillin is also effective for the treatment of chest indrawing pneumonia. Methods This is a double-blind, randomized, non-inferiority trial with the objective to assess the effectiveness of shorter duration amoxicillin dispersible tablet (DT) treatment of chest indrawing childhood pneumonia in a malaria-endemic region of Malawi. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether 3 days of treatment with oral amoxicillin DT in HIV-uninfected Malawian children two to 59 months of age with chest indrawing pneumonia is as effective as 5 days of treatment. The study will enroll 2000 children presenting to Kamuzu Central or Bwaila District Hospitals in Lilongwe, Malawi. Each child will be randomized to either 3 days of amoxicillin DT followed by 2 days of placebo DT or 5 days of amoxicillin DT. Children in the study will be hospitalized for 48 h after enrollment and will have scheduled study visits at Days 2, 4, 6 and 14. Treatment failure by Day 6 is the primary outcome. We hypothesize that the rates of treatment failure will be similar in both arms and that 3 days of treatment will be non-inferior to 5 days of amoxicillin DT for chest indrawing pneumonia using a relative non-inferiority margin of 1.5. This trial was approved by the Western Institutional Review Board and Malawi College of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee. Discussion Given the paucity of data from Africa, African-based research is necessary to establish appropriate duration of treatment with amoxicillin DT for chest indrawing childhood pneumonia in malaria-endemic settings in the region. An expanded evidence base will contribute to future iterations of World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines. Trial registration NCT02678195: Pre-results. Date registered February 9, 2016