Spring 2014 – Isolated Orbital Mucormycosis in an Immunocompetent Adolescent

Isolated Orbital Mucormycosis in an Immunocompetent Adolescent.

Author: Jolie Krystle H. Guevara

Author Affiliations: University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Manila, Philippines

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Corresponding Author: Jolie Krystle H. Guevara; Jolieg800[at]gmail.com

Key Words: rhinocerebral; zygomycosis; pediatric; amphotericin B; corticosteroids; exenteration.

Abstract: Introduction and patient profile: Mucormycosis is a life-threatening disease that usually affects patients with diabetes and other immunocompromised states. However, recent literature has shown an emergence of this disease in immunocompetent individuals. Here we are presenting a rare case of a healthy 13-year-old adolescent diagnosed to have isolated orbital mucormycosis, previously treated with oral and intravenous corticosteroids. The patient presented with a chief complaint of left eye swelling of 3 weeks’ duration, which progressed to proptosis and a visual acuity of no light perception. Interventions and outcomes: Diagnosis of mucormycosis was done using histopathological techniques supported by radiologic imaging. Successful treatment of mucorymycosis was achieved via amphotericin B administration and orbital exenteration in this case. Discussion: The use of corticosteroids may weaken the immune system of healthy patients and can cause rapid progression of the disease. Early clinical diagnosis is important because this infection can rapidly be fatal.

Published on Date: May 31, 2014

Senior Editor: Jon Zande

Junior Editor: Romina Kim

DOI: Pending

Citation: Guevara JKH. Isolated Orbital Mucormycosis in an Immunocompetent Adolescent. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Spring):55-9.

References:

1. Venkatachalam VP, Anand N. Paranasal mucormycosis: unusual representation in otherwise healthy child. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2007; 59: 2646.

2. De Mol P, Meis JM. Disseminated Rhizopus microsporus infection in a patient on oral corticosteroid treatment: a case report. Neth J Med 2009; 67(1): 258.

3. Grewal RK, Grewal SS, Zachariah RM. Orbital mucormycosis (phycomycosis). Indian J Ophthalmol 1985; 33(4): 23941.

4. Shinde RV, Karande GS, Mohite ST, Patil SR. Rhino-orbital mucormycosis in diabetes mellitus. J Clin Diagn Res 2013; 7(6): 11457. http://dx.doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2013/5528. 3083.

5. Badiee P, Jafarpour Z, Alborzi A, Haddadi P, Rasuli M, Kalani M. Orbital mucormycosis in an immunocompetent individual. Iran J Microbiol 2012; 4(4): 21014.

6. Bharathi R, Arya AN. Mucormycosis in an immunocompetent patient. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2012;  16(2): 3089. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0973-029X.99100.

7. Shatriah I, Mohn-Amin N, Tuan-Jaafar TN, Khanna RJ, Yunus R, Madhavan M. Rhino-orbital cerebral mucormycosis in an  immunocompetent patient: case report and review of literature. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol 2012; 19(2): 25861. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0974-9233.95269.

8. Mignogna M, Fortuna G, Leuci S, Adamo D, Ruoppo E, Siano M, et al. Mucormycosis in immunocompetent patients: a case-series of patients with maxillary sinus involvement and a critical review of the literature. Int J Infect Dis 2011; 15(8): e53340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2011.02.005.

9. Petrikkos G, Skiada A, Lortholary O, Roilides E, Walsh TJ, Kontoyiannis DP. Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of mucormycosis. Clin Infect Dis 2012; 54(s1): s2334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/cir866.

10. Roden MM, Zaoutis TE, Buchanan WL, Knudsen TA, Sarkisova TA, Schaufele RL, et al. Epidemiology and outcome of zygomycosis: a review of 929 reported cases. Clin Infect Dis 2005; 41: 63453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/432579.

11. Ferguson AD. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis acquired after a short course of prednisone therapy. J Am Osteopath Assoc 2007; 107(11): 4913.

12. Alsuhaibani AH, Thubaiti GA, Al Badr FB. Optic nerve thickening and infarction as the first evidence of orbital involvement with mucormycosis. Middle East Afr J Ophthal 2012; 19(3): 3402. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0974-9233. 97957.

13. Spellberg B, Walsh TJ, Kontoyiannis DP, Edwards J, Ibrahim AS. Recent advances in the management of mucormycosis: from bench to bedside. Clin Infect Dis 2009; 48(12): 174351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/599105.

14. Kontoyiannis DP, Lewis RE. Invasive zygomycosis: update on pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and management. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2006; 20(3): 581607.

15. Schleimer RP, Kato A, Peters A, Conley D, Kim J, Liu MC, et al. Epithelium inflammation and immunity in the upper airways of humans: studies in chronic rhinosinusitis. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2009; 6(3): 28894. http://dx.doi.org/10.1513

 

 

Spring 2014 – Leiomyosarcoma of Small Bowel Discovered by Double Balloon Enteroscopy: a Case Report

Leiomyosarcoma of Small Bowel Discovered by Double Balloon Enteroscopy: a Case Report

Authors: Malika Gill*, Shabana F. Pasha, Matthew A, Zarka

Author Affiliations:
Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, AZ, USA

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, AZ, USA

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Corresponding Author: Malika Gill; malikagill[at]rcsi.ie

Key Words: leiomyosarcoma; double balloon eneroscopy; small bowel tumors; balloon-assisted enteroscopy; deep enteroscopy; capsule endoscopy.

Abstract: Introduction and Patient Profile: Introduction of deep enteroscopy (capsule endoscopy (CE), balloon-assisted enteroscopy, and spiral enteroscopy) has led to a significant improvement in diagnosis and management of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). Small bowel (SB) lesions are traditionally discovered by CE or double balloon enteroscopy (DBE). Leiomyosarcomas are rare SB tumors and must be diagnosed early to prevent the risk of metastasis and to improve prognosis. A 46-year-old previously healthy woman presented with 3 weeks of abdominal pain and OGIB. Interventions and Outcomes: Patient underwent usual endoscopic modalities in identifying the source of her gastrointestinal bleeding. Computerized tomography scan identified intussusception of the SB; however, conventional endoscopy and CE were negative for etiology of source of bleeding. Ultimately, DBE successfully located the site of gastrointestinal bleeding, confirmed by pathology as a leiomyosarcoma of the SB. Discussion: Conventional endoscopy and CE may miss some lesions, while DBE can navigate altered SB anatomy, take biopsies, and even provide therapy to the lesion. Although double balloon enteroscopies are expensive and require longer sedation than average endoscopic modalities, they may provide another tool for the diagnosis of SB lesions when other modalities are unsuccessful.

Published on date: May 31, 2014

Senior Editor: Sahil Bobby Gambhir

Junior Editor: Tina Chaalan

DOI: Pending

Citation: Gill M, Pasha SF, Zarka MA. Leiomyosarcoma of Small Bowel Discovered by Double Balloon Enteroscopy: a Case Report. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Spring):51-4.

References:

1. Bilimoria KY, Bentrem DJ, Wayne JD, Ko CY, Bennett CL, Talamonti MS. Small bowel cancer in the United States: changes in epidemiology, treatment, and survival over the last 20 years. Ann Surg 2009; 249(1): 6371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0b013e31818e4641.

2. Arts R, Bosscha K, Ranschaert E, Vogelaar J. Small bowel leiomyosarcoma: a case report and literature review. Turk J Gastroenterol 2012; 23(4): 3814.

3. Weaver MJ, Abraham JA. An introduction to leiomyosarcoma of the bone and soft tissue. 2007. Available from: http://sarcomahelp.org/leiomyosarcoma.html#tpm1_1 [cited 29 December 2013].

4. Weiss SW. Smooth muscle tumors of soft tissue. Adv Anat Pathol 2002; 9(6): 3519.

5. Euchiasmus. Capsule endoscope. 2006. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CapsuleEndoscope.jpg [cited 25 March 2014]. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

6. Pasha SF, Leighton JA. Endoscopic techniques for small bowel imaging. Radiol Clin North Am 2013; 51(1): 17787. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rcl.2012.09.010.

7. Akyuz F, Mungan Z. Diagnostic capability of capsule endoscopy in small bowel diseases. Gastroenterology Res 2009; 2(2): 815. http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/gr2009.03.1281.

8. Gill M. Double balloon enteroscope and overtube. March 28, 2014. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY NC SA.

9. Moschler O, May A, Muller MK, EII C, German DBE Study Group. Complications in and performance of double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE): results from a large prospective DBE database in Germany. Endoscopy 2011; 43(6): 4849. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1256249.

10. Patel MK, Horlsey-Silva JL, Gomez V, Stauffer JA, Stark ME, Lukens FJ. Double balloon enteroscopy procedure in patients with surgically altered bowel anatomy: analysis of a large prospectively collected database. J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 2013; 23(5): 40913. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/lap. 2012.0502.

11. Kulkarni C, Moorthy S, Sreekumar K, Rajeshkannan R, Nazar P, Sandya C, et al. In the work-up of patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleed, does 64-slice MDCT have a role? Indian J Radiol Imaging 2012; 22(1): 4753. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0971-3026.95404.

12. Bhattarai M, Bansal P, Khan Y. Longest duration of retention of video capsule: a case report and literature review. World J Gastrointest Endosc 2013; 5(7): 3525. http://dx.doi.org/10.4253/wjge.v5.i7.352.

13. Lewis BS, Eisen GM, Friedman S. A pooled analysis to evaluate results of capsule endoscopy trials. Endoscopy 2005; 35(10): 9605. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2005-870353.

14. Urbain D, Van Laer W, Mana F. Capsule endoscopy for detection of small bowel malignancies. Surg Technol Int 2008; 17: 12630.

15. Pasha SF. Obscure GI bleeding in the east or west: are capsule and double balloon enteroscopy the best? Gastrointest Endosc 2010; 72(2): 3013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gie.2010.04.034.

 

Spring 2014 – Future Medical Practice and Genetics

Future Medical Practice and Genetics.

Author: Alec J. Beaney

Author Affiliations: Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom

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Corresponding Author: Alec J. Beaney; A.Beaney[at]uea.ac.uk

Key Words: medical student; breast cancer; single nucleotide polymorphisms; genome-wide association studies.

Abstract: Significant progress has been made in the rapidly evolving sub specialty of medical genetics. In this article, breast cancer has been used as an example to highlight recent developments in this field of medicine, with a discussion on the implications this has on medical practice and policy. The potential of medical genetics is staggering but not without its limitations, and we must consider all aspects of use before advancing further. Consequently, students and physicians alike need to have a thorough understanding of all components of clinical genetics in order to be ready for this new era of healthcare.

Published on date: May 31, 2014

Senior Editor: Michelle Dwyer

Junior Editor: Tina Chaalan

DOI: Pending

Citation: Beaney AJ. Future Medical Practice and Genetics. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Spring):47-50.

References:

1. Turnpenny P, Ellard S. Chapter 1: history and impact of genetics in medicine. In: Emery’s elements of medical genetics. 14th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2012, p. 3.

2. McCrimmon, O. NHGRI celebrates 10th anniversary of the Human Genome Project. 2013. Available from: http://www.genome.gov/27553526 [cited 20 April 2013].

3. Chui RW, Akolekar R, Zheng YW, Leung TY, Sun H, Chan KC, et al. Non-invasive prenatal assessment of trisomy 21 by multiplexed maternal plasma DNA sequencing: large scale validity study. BMJ 2011; 342: c7401.

4. DNA DTC. 2013. Available from: http://dnadtc.com/ [cited 20 April 2013].

5. Ripperger T, Gadzicki D, Meindl A, Schlegelberger B. Breast cancer susceptibility: current knowledge and implications for genetic counselling. Eur J Hum Genet 2009; 17(6): 72231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2008.212.

6. Bradbury AR, Olopade OI. Genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2007; 8(3): 25567. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11154-007-9038-0.

7. Laronga C, Harness JK, Dixon M, Borgen PI. The role of the breast cancer surgeon in personalized cancer care: clinical utility of the 21-gene assay. Am J Surg 2012; 203(6): 7518. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2011.07.024.

8. Lo SS, Mumby PB, Norton J, Rychlik K, Smerage J, Kash J, et al. Prospective multicenter study of the impact of the 21-gene recurrence score assay on medical oncologist and patient adjuvant breast cancer treatment selection. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28: 16716. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2008.20.2119.

9. Antoniou AC, Easton DF. Models of genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. Oncogene 2006; 25: 5898905. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209879.

10. Bartkova J, Tommiska J, Oplustilova L, Aaltonen K, Tamminen A, Heikkinen T, et al. Aberrations of the MRE11RAD50NBS1 DNA damage sensor complex in human breast cancer: MRE11 as a candidate familial cancer-predisposing gene. Mol Oncol 2008; 2(4): 296316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molonc.2008.09.007

11. Petherick A. Environment and genetics: making sense of the noise. Nature 2012; 485: S645. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/485S64a.

12. Chan IS, Ginsburg GS. Personalized medicine: progress and promise. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 2011; 12: 217 44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genom-082410-101446.

13. McClellan KA, Avard D, Simard J, Knoppers B. Personalised medicine and access to health care: potential for inequitable access? Eur J Hum Genet 2013; 21(2): 1437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2012.149.

14. Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Chapter 1: moral norms. In: Principles of biomedical ethics. 5th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2001, pp. 125.

15. Amir E, Freedman OC, Seruga B, Evans DG. Assessing women at high risk of breast cancer: a review of risk assessment models. J Natl Cancer Inst 2010; 102(10): 68091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djq088.

16. Hudson KL. Prohibiting genetic discrimination. N Engl J Med 2007; 356(20): 20213.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp078033.

17. Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER). 2013. Available from: https://www.genome.gov/27546194 [cited 20
April 2013].

 

Spring 2014 – The Anatomy of a Patient

The Anatomy of a Patient.

Author: Scott C. Mauch

Author Affiliations: College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

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Corresponding author: Scott C. Mauch; scott.mauch[at]gmail.com

Key Words: N/A

Abstract: My grandfather passed away the day after Christmas in 2012. He was a brilliant man who practiced medicine for several decades. During that time, he delivered thousands of babies, and even performed the amniocentesis on my mother when I was a fetus. Yet, in his last months, his failing health did not convey this brilliance. Parkinson’s disease and other neurological issues prevented my grandfather from speaking quickly or coherently. This was tough to witness, but it taught me an important lesson: there is much more to a patient than just the information contained in his/her medical file. This concept was the inspiration for my artwork.

Published on date: May 31, 2014

Senior Editor: N/A

Junior Editor: N/A

DOI: pending

Citation: Mauch SC. Anatomy of a Patient. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Spring):45-6.

References: Original artwork inspired by “Study of an Older Man” by John Norman Stewart, 2010 and Musculature of the face with the orbit of the eye” by Nicolas Henri Jacob, 1831.

 

Spring 2014 – Letter from the Editors

Letter From the Editors.

Author: Kevin C Patterson.

Author Affiliations: College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

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Corresponding Author: Kevin C. Patterson; patte297[at]gmail.com

Key Words: N/A

Abstract: With the wrap-up of the 2013-2014 academic year, we are proud of the strides that Medical Student Research Journal (MSRJ) has made. The journal has grown in the number of issues as well as in the number of articles published per issue. In addition, the breadth of article types and topics has greatly increased. This spring issue includes works from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of the East Ramon, University of East Anglia Norwich Medical School, and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

Published on date: May 31, 2014

Senior Editor: N/A

Junior Editor: N/A

DOI: Pending

Citation: Patterson KC. Letter From the Editors. Medical Student Research Journal. 2014;3(Spring):44.

References: N/A

Editorial Staff 2014-2015

Introducing the 2014 – 2015 editorial staff for the MSRJ. This is an exciting time for our staff as another year passes and they gain more experience in the medical journal field. We’re enthusiastic about the new directions the journal is taking, the fantastic submissions we get each month, and the opportunity to help out other medical students across the world!

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Pediatric Research Day

MSRJ editors and staff recently attended the Pediatrics Research Day in East Lansing, Michigan on March 19, 2014. This event was sponsored by Michigan State University Department of Pediatrics and Human Development and the Wayne State University Department of Pediatrics, DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Peds Research Day 2

There were 60 poster presentations and 6 oral presentations by undergraduates, medical students, and pediatric residents during the event. Included in these poster presentations was one by our very own senior editors, Kailyne Van Stavern and Michelle Dwyer along with several of their colleagues. Their faculty advisor, Jonathon Gold, M.D., is also a faculty reviewer for the Medical Student Research Journal. They presented their research regarding screen time in pediatric patients and how it relates to their development, an important topic in this day’s technological world. This poster won one of five “Poster of Distinction” awards out of all the present undergraduates, medical students, and residents. We at the MSRJ are very proud of our staff members for this honor and their continual dedication to research.

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