<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Bacteremia from Diffuse Muscular Infection Following Acupuncture Visualized by F-FDG PET/CT and MRI

We describe the clinical course of a 60-year old male admitted with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and back-pain. The patient was suspected of having spondylitis and treated as such with antibiotics; however, both fluorine-18 fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with iv contrast showed significant inflammation of muscles and subcutaneous soft tissue in relation to the patients back and left shoulder, but no signs of the working diagnosis of spondylitis. The unusual location of the infection was not explained until a few days prior to being discharged when the patient reported visits to a local physiotherapist where he would have acupuncture performed for non-specific back pain. His last acupunctural procedure had been performed 6 days prior to admission. This case is, to our knowledge, the first to show muscular inflammation on both 18-F-FDG PET/CT and MRI following acupuncture due to S. aureus. This case highlights the need for clinicians to search for alternative explanations when imaging does not support the diagnosis

Omalizumab for Chronic Urticaria: A Case Series and Overview of the Literature

Omalizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the high-affinity Fc receptor of IgE. Omalizumab has been approved for the treatment of moderate to severe asthma; however, there is currently more and more data showing promising results in the management also of chronic urticaria. We present a case series of 19 patients with chronic urticaria treated in a university department with omalizumab and give an overview of the existing literature comprising an additional 59 cases as well as a total of 139 patients enrolled in two randomized controlled trials comparing omalizumab with placebo. The collective evidence points to omalizumab as a safe and effective treatment option for patients with chronic urticaria who do not sufficiently respond to standard therapy as recommended by existing guidelines

Nonlinear matching of Solitons - Continued redshift between silica and soft-glass fibers

We present an analysis of nonlinear coupling between fibers. We introduce the nonlinear coupling coefficient and investigate solitons coupling from one fiber into another. We will also present simulated supercontinuum from concatenated fiber systems