• Reid Jamison posted an update 1 week, 3 days ago

    The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has drawn the scientific community’s attention to pre-existing metabolic conditions that could aggravate the infection, causing extended viral shedding, prolonged hospitalization, and high death rates. Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) emerges as a surrogate for COVID-19 severity due to the constellation of metabolic alterations it entails. This review outlines the impact MAFLD exerts on COVID-19 severity in obese subjects, besides the possible mechanistic links to the poor outcomes. The data collected showed that MAFLD patients had poorer COVID-19 outcomes than non-MAFLD obese subjects. MAFLD is generally accompanied by impaired glycemic control and systemic arterial hypertension, both of which can decompensate during the COVID-19 clinical course. Also, MAFLD subjects had higher plasma inflammatory marker concentrations than non-MAFLD subjects, which might be related to an intensified cytokine storm syndrome frequently associated with the need for mechanical ventilation and death. In conclusion, MAFLD represents a higher risk than obesity for COVID-19 severity, resulting in poor outcomes and even progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Hepatologists should include MAFLD subjects in the high-risk group, intensify preventive measurements, and prioritize their vaccination.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by 2030, using direct-acting antiviral treatments, has been promoted by the World Health Organization. This achievement is not attainable, however, particularly after the 2020 pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019. Consequently, the more realistic objective of eliminating HCV from population segments for which targeted strategies of prevention and treatment are easily attained has been promoted in Europe, as a valid alternative. The underlying idea is that micro-elimination will ultimately lead to macro-elimination. The micro-elimination strategy may target different specific populations and at-risk groups. Different settings, including prisons and hospitals, have also been identified as micro-elimination scenarios. In addition, dedicated micro-elimination strategies have been designed that are tailored at the geographical level according to HCV epidemiology and individual country’s income. The main elements of a valid and successful micro-elimination project are reliable epidemiological data and active involvement of all the stakeholders. Community involvement represents another essential component for a successful program.The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a threat worldwide for individuals of all ages, including children. Gastrointestinal manifestations could be the initial presenting manifestation in many patients, especially in children. These symptoms are more common in patients with severe disease than in patients with non-severe disease. Approximately 48.1% of patients had a stool sample that was positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA. mTOR inhibitor Children typically form 1%-8% of all laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2. Gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19 in children are not rare, with a prevalence between 0 and 88%, and a wide variety of presentations, including diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, can develop before, with or after the development of respiratory symptoms. Atypical manifestations such as appendicitis or liver injury could also appear, especially in the presence of multisystem inflammatory disease. In this review, we discussed the epidemiology of COVID-19 gastrointestinal diseases in children as well as their implications on the diagnosis, misdiagnosis, prognosis, and faecal-oral transmission route of COVID-19 and the impact of gastrointestinal diseases on the gut microbiome, child nutrition, and disease management.Viral infections affecting the liver have had an important impact on humanity, as they have led to significant morbidity and mortality in patients with acute and chronic infections. Once an unknown etiology, the discovery of the viral agents triggered interest of the scientific community to establish the pathogenesis and diagnostic modalities to identify the affected population. With the rapid scientific and technological advances in the last centuries, controlling and even curing the infections became a possibility, with a large focus on preventive medicine through vaccination. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of hepatitis A, B, C, D and E is required by primary care physicians and gastroenterologists to provide care to these patients. The review article describes the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic tools and current medication regimens, with a focus on upcoming treatment options and the role of liver transplantation.Originally proposed by John McCarthy in 1955, artificial intelligence (AI) has achieved a breakthrough and revolutionized the processing methods of clinical medicine with the increasing workloads of medical records and digital images. Doctors are paying attention to AI technologies for various diseases in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology. This review will illustrate AI technology procedures for medical image analysis, including data processing, model establishment, and model validation. Furthermore, we will summarize AI applications in endoscopy, radiology, and pathology, such as detecting and evaluating lesions, facilitating treatment, and predicting treatment response and prognosis with excellent model performance. The current challenges for AI in clinical application include potential inherent bias in retrospective studies that requires larger samples for validation, ethics and legal concerns, and the incomprehensibility of the output results. Therefore, doctors and researchers should cooperate to address the current challenges and carry out further investigations to develop more accurate AI tools for improved clinical applications.

    The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) placed unprecedented pressure on the healthcare system. Many institutions implemented a government-mandated restructured set of safety and administrative protocols to treat urgent orthopaedic trauma patients. The objective of this study was to compare two cohorts of patients, a COVID group and non-COVID control group, and to evaluate the effectiveness of safety measures outlined in the Rutgers Orthopaedic Trauma Patient Safety Protocol (ROTPSP). Secondary outcomes were to elucidate risk factors for complications associated with fractures and COVID-19.

    Patients treated for orthopaedic traumatic injuries were retrospectively identified between March and May 2020, and compared to a series of patients from the same time period in 2018. Main outcome measures included surgical site infections (SSI), length of stay (LOS), post-operative LOS (poLOS), presentation to OR time (PORT), and length of surgery.

    After review, 349 patients (201 non-COVID, 148 COVID) undergoing 426strict safety protocols.

    The restructuring of care protocols caused by COVID-19 did not negatively impact perioperative complication rates, PORT or LOS. Cepheid COVID test type administered upon admission plays an integral role in a patient’s hospital course by reducing both length of stay and hospital costs. This information demonstrates we can continue to treat orthopaedic trauma patients safely during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing strict safety protocols.Intestinal-type adenocarcinoma is an aggressive malignancy with the rare possibility of metastatic spread to the mandible. We represent a case of a 30-year-old female patient who reported with a chief complaint of a right mandibular mass for 4 months. Orthopantomogram X-ray observed an ill-defined lytic lesion with severe periosteal reaction. Incisional biopsy revealed “colonic variant of intestinal-type adenocarcinoma.” Expression of cytokeratin 20 and caudal type homeobox transcription factor 2 (CDX-2) markers was seen on immunohistochemistry. Biochemical markers such as serum cancer antigen 125, serum alkaline phosphatase, and serum carcinoembryonic antigen were raised. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the thorax and abdomen suggested cavitary lesions in the bilateral lungs, right adrenal gland, and mediastinum. Positron emission tomography revealed multiple lesions in the body, hence confirming the diagnosis. link2 The patient was kept on palliative chemotherapy. It is concluded that prompt diagnosis and initiation of treatment increases the chances of survival in such cases.Pulp regenerative procedure is one of the treatment options for endodontically involved immature permanent teeth. The regenerative endodontic procedure was performed in a child of 9 years. After thorough canal disinfection using triple antibiotic paste for 21 days, bleeding was induced from the apex to provide for the stem cells. After that hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel was introduced into the canal space to act as injectable scaffold for pulp regeneration. This was followed by mineral trioxide aggregate placement to provide tight seal from the coronal aspect. Later, the tooth was restored with composite restoration. This approach offers the clinicians great opportunity to physiologically strengthen the immature root walls. The present report presents a regenerative endodontic procedure with HA hydrogel for a traumatized central incisor with arrested root development. The continued root development in the present case suggests that this treatment option may be able to resume the root maturation process in immature teeth with open apices.Pediatric dental procedures are carried out largely to prevent the adverse effects of primary teeth infection on succedaneous teeth (ST). The existing literature on how and when periapical infection (PI) from primary teeth affect ST is conflicted. A series of seven case reports on PI (abscesses and radicular cysts) from primary molars, until the eruption of the premolars, have been illustrated. The resistance of ST to PI based on their developmental stages is also discussed.Iatrogenic errors happen especially during endodontic treatment even with the experienced clinicians. It is impossible to predict the occurrence of an event. Although many of them can be corrected and managed successfully, few conditions might have the worst prognosis leading to uneventful extraction. The present case report highlights a 1-year follow-up of managed strip perforation in mesial canals of mandibular first molar, nonsurgically using MTA obturation. The present challenging case gives an insight on the importance of regenerative capacity and osteogenic potentiality of bioactive materials, when appropriate tissue engineering concepts are applied.Peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) associated with natal/neonatal teeth is extremely rare. In general, POF occurs as a soft-tissue gingival nodule occurring in young adults. We report an unusual and a rare case in a 5-month-old male child who had two, localized, soft-tissue growth over the mandibular anterior alveolar ridge. History revealed the presence of natal teeth in the same mandibular anterior region, which exfoliated at the age of 2 months. Intraoral periapical radiograph showed soft tissue density with evidence of calcifications that also corroborated with the histopathological finding of masses of mineralized areas. link3 Excision of the lesions followed by histopathological examination proved the final diagnosis of POF. Inspite of being a benign reactive lesion, a high recurrence rate has been reported. Such lesions require long-term follow-up subsequent to excision with histopathological examination due to a high recurrence rate.