Citations

Object Despite the negative effects of peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) on long-term population health, their true prevalence among pediatric trauma patients is under debate. The authors investigated the prevalence of PNIs among children involved in trauma and investigated associations between PNIs and several patient characteristics. Methods The authors performed a retrospective cohort study of pediatric trauma patients who were registered in the National Trauma Data Bank from 2009 through 2011 and who fulfilled the study inclusion criteria. They used regression techniques to investigate the association of demographic and socioeconomic factors with the rate of PNIs among these patients. Results Of the 245,470 study patients, 50,211 were involved in motor vehicle crashes, 3380 in motorcycle crashes, 20,491 in bicycle crashes, 18,262 in pedestrian accidents, 26,294 in other crashes (mainly involving all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles), and 126,832 in falls. The respective prevalence of PNIs was 0.66% for motor vehicle crashes, 1% for motorcycle crashes, 0.38% for bicycle crashes, 0.42% for pedestrian accidents, 0.79% for other crashes, and 0.52% for falls. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the following were associated with an increased incidence of PNIs: increased patient age (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.20), higher Injury Severity Score (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.20), elevated systolic blood pressure at arrival at the emergency room (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.20), and increased number of trauma surgeons at the institution (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.20). The following were associated with lower incidence of PNIs: female sex (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–1.02), rural hospitals (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–1.02), and urban nonteaching hospitals (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–1.02). Conclusions PNIs are more common than previously identified for the pediatric trauma population. These injuries are associated with older age and increased severity of the overall injury.

Gene-based vaccination strategies, specifically viral vectors encoding vaccine immunogens are effective at priming strong immune responses. Mucosal routes offer practical advantages for vaccination by ease of needle-free administration, and immunogen delivery at readily accessible oral/nasal sites to efficiently induce immunity at distant gut and genital tissues. However, since mucosal tissues are inherently tolerant for induction of immune responses, incorporation of adjuvants for optimal mucosal vaccination strategies is important. We report here the effectiveness of alpha-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), a synthetic glycolipid agonist of natural killer T (NKT) cells, as an adjuvant for enhancing immunogenicity of vaccine antigens delivered using viral vectors by mucosal routes in murine and nonhuman primate models. Significant improvement in adaptive immune responses in systemic and mucosal tissues was observed by including α-GalCer adjuvant for intranasal immunization of mice with vesicular stomatitis virus vector encoding the model antigen ovalbumin and adenoviral vectors expressing HIV env and Gag antigens. Activation of NKT cells in systemic and mucosal tissues along with significant increases in adaptive immune responses were observed in rhesus macaques immunized by intranasal and sublingual routes with protein or adenovirus vectored antigens when combined with α-GalCer adjuvant. These results support the utility of α-GalCer adjuvant for enhancing immunogenicity of mucosal vaccines delivered using viral vectors.

SummaryVenous thromboembolism (VTE) has an increased incidence in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), especially during chemotherapy. Mechanisms including upregulation of procoagulant factors, such as factor VIII, have been postulated. The National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group MY.10 phase III clinical trial compared thalidomide‐prednisone to observation for 332 patients with MM post‐autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), with a primary endpoint of overall survival and various secondary endpoints including the incidence of VTE. One hundred and fifty‐three patients had biomarker data, including D‐dimer, factor VIII and thrombin anti‐thrombin (TAT) levels collected post‐ASCT at baseline and 2 months after intervention investigating in‐vivo thrombin generation. Differences between the time‐points included a significant reduction over time in D‐dimer, factor VIII and TAT levels in the observation group and sustained elevation of D‐dimer, significant increase in factor VIII and reduction in TAT levels in the thalidomide‐prednisone group. Eight VTE events were reported in this subset of study patients, all in the thalidomide‐prednisone arm, with a trend to increase in D‐dimer levels over time in those patients with VTE. This study provides physiological and clinical evidence for an increased risk of VTE associated with thalidomide‐prednisone maintenance therapy post‐ASCT for MM.

SummaryWe constructed a multiple myeloma (MM)‐specific gene panel for targeted sequencing and investigated 72 untreated high‐risk (del17p) MM patients. Mutations were identified in 78% of the patients. While the majority of studied genes were mutated at similar frequency to published literature, the prevalence of TP53 mutation was increased (28%) and no mutations were found in FAM46C. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the mutational landscape of del17p high‐risk MM. Additionally, our work demonstrates the practical use of a customized sequencing panel, as an easy, cheap and fast approach to characterize the mutational profile of MM.

Background and Purpose— Clinical equipoise of carotid revascularization therapies remains controversial. We sought to determine whether adverse outcomes after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) were similar using propensity score–matched analysis of retrospective data from a large hospital discharge database. Methods— All CEA and CAS cases were identified from the 2006 to 2011 Premier Perspective Database and subjected to 1:1 propensity score matching using 33 clinical covariates associated with carotid revascularization. A primary composite end point of peri- or postoperative mortality, stroke, or acute myocardial infarction and a modified composite end point excluding acute myocardial infarction were used to compare our findings with recent prospective controlled trials. Multivariate regression and Cox-proportional hazard ratio survival analysis were performed to compare revascularization therapy outcomes. Results— After 1:1 propensity score matching, 24 004 (12 002 CEA and CAS) asymptomatic and 3506 (1753 CEA and CAS) symptomatic procedures were included. The risk of the primary composite end point was significantly higher after CAS than CEA in both asymptomatic (odds ratio, 1.40 [1.19–1.65]; P <0.0001) and symptomatic (odds ratio=2.31 [1.78–3.00]; P <0.0001) presentations, irrespective of age ( P =0.28) or sex ( P =0.35). Similar findings were observed using the modified composite end point for both asymptomatic (odds ratio, 1.49 [1.25–1.78]; P <0.0001) and symptomatic (odds ratio, 3.02 [2.25–4.07]; P <0.0001) presentations. Acute myocardial infarction risk was not significantly different between revascularization therapies, regardless of clinical presentation ( P =0.71 and 0.24). Conclusions— Among individuals undergoing carotid artery revascularization from a large sample of US hospitals, CAS was associated with higher risk of perioperative mortality, stroke, and unfavorable discharges compared with CEA for all ages and clinical presentations.

Venous thrombosis is a common medical problem. Imaging differentiation of neoplasms and venous clots may prove challenging. We report three cases of “mistaken identities” of venous thrombi and neoplasms on the basis of clinical findings and different imaging modalities: ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging studies are not always reliable and consideration of clinical features, including pretest probability, is necessary for correct diagnosis. A combination of imaging modalities and biopsies is needed for correct diagnosis in some cases.