Traumatic acute posterior fossa subdural hematoma: A case report and review of literature

Traumatic subdural hematomas of the posterior fossa are rare but dangerous neurosurgical emergencies that require prompt diagnosis and management to avoid the uniformly poor outcome. We present a case of a teenager with severe TBI and acute subdural hematoma of the posterior fossa that deteriorated rapidly before surgery but eventually made a good recovery. We also the review the literature concerning traumatic posterior fossa subdural hematomas [PFSDH]

Traumatic Acute Posterior Fossa Subdural Hematoma -A case report and review of literature

Abstract Traumatic subdural hematomas of the posterior fossa are rare but dangerous neurosurgical emergencies that require prompt diagnosis and management to avoid the uniformly poor outcome. We present a case of a teenager with severe TBI and acute subdural hematoma of the posterior fossa that deteriorated rapidly before surgery but eventually made a good recovery. We also the review the literature concerning traumatic posterior fossa subdural hematomas [PFSDH]

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative sars-cov-2 infection: An international cohort study

Background The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (740%) had emergency surgery and 280 (248%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (261%) patients. 30-day mortality was 238% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (512%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 380% (219 of 577), accounting for 817% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 175 [95% CI 128-240], p<00001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (230 [165-322], p<00001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3-5 versus grades 1-2 (235 [157-353], p<00001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (155 [101-239], p=0046), emergency versus elective surgery (167 [106-263], p=0026), and major versus minor surgery (152 [101-231], p=0047). Interpretation Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Acute traumatic orbital encephalocele: A case report with review of literature

Orbital roof fractures after a blunt injury are an uncommon complication of trauma. Traumatic encephaloceles in the orbital cavity are even rarer, with only 15 cases published till date. Raised intraorbital pressure leading to irreversible damage to the optic nerve can be prevented by early diagnosis and management. Orbital computed tomography (CT) with thin axial and coronal sections is helpful in trauma patients with a concurrent orbital trauma. Decompression of the orbital roof is the key step in surgical treatment and should be performed in every case. Repairing the orbital roof has to be performed to avoid transmission of variation in the intracranial pressure to the orbit. We present a case of traumatic orbital encephalocele who underwent surgical treatment via a frontobasal approach with evacuation of the contused herniated brain and reconstruction of the orbital roof using temporalis fascia which is readily available in contrast to costly materials like titanium mesh, screws, bone powder, fibrin glue, and so on, which are not easily available in every hospital. Rapid resolution of proptosis and visual symptoms along with excellent cosmetic outcome was seen at follow‑ups after three and nine months. We emphasize the early diagnosis of this rare condition and also emergency treatment to prevent permanent visual loss as well as to achieve good cosmetic results

Monitoring Surface PM2.5: An International Constellation Approach to Enhancing the Role of Satellite Observations

Exposure to particulate pollution is a severe burden to public health worldwide. Information on near-surface concentrations of particulate matter (PM) is needed on a global scale: as input to air quality services for citizens, to support policy makers in evaluating the efficacy of pollution abatement measures, and to help environmental agencies verify compliance with standards on pollution levels and related emissions. Satellite observations do offer valuable information on PM. However, they alone are not sufficient to provide the needed PM products. A combination of ground-based measurements, satellite observations, and information from atmospheric chemistry and transport models is needed for monitoring and forecasting near-surface PM concentrations. At present, satellite observations are not yet optimally exploited for PM estimation. A host of space-borne sensors capture different aspects of PM: multispectral broadband imagers observe the horizontal distribution of the vertically integrated burden, multi-angle and polarimetric broadband imagers also allow constraining particle size and type, hyperspectral spectrometers provide some information on the vertical distribution as well as spectral absorption and speciation fractions of absorbers in smoke and dust, and lidars capture the vertical distribution of the particle load along narrow tracks. These capabilities and their synergistic exploitation offer a great potential to improve PM estimation. The present white paper takes stock of the current and planned sensors with strong potential for constraining PM, and of schemes used for generating particulate pollution products and services. Specific and actionable recommendations are made to strengthen the role of satellites in constraining PM levels and to help in creating satellite-informed particulate pollution products