Thank you very much for your letter on our published case report of a pregnant woman that was diagnosed with a left parietal glioma in the 28th gestational week after a first generalised seizure, and for your opinion and thorough review of the literature.
In our patient we performed a two-stage approach with first a tumour resection under general anaesthesia and preservation of the pregnancy and after caesarean section performed in the 37th gestational week an awake craniotomy for resection of residual tumour under neuropsychological monitoring and mapping.
We decided to do a two-stage approach after a round table where obstetricians, neurosurgeons, anesthetists, neonatologists, and midwives were involved and after several long conversations with the patient and her husband. For the patient clearly the health of her unborn child was the most important aspect of her treatment and therefore she wanted to prolong the pregnancy until term. The tumor of our patient was located with a broad base to the surface and seemed to have a plane to the underlying white matter. There was no, in this location possible eloquent, unaffected cortex overlying the tumor. Moreover, our patient was already in the 28th gestational week of her pregnancy, the uterine fundus was high and the abdomen extended. The use of cortical or subcortical electric stimulation does increase the seizure risk1-4. Because of all these reasons we decided aga...
Thank you very much for your letter on our published case report of a pregnant woman that was diagnosed with a left parietal glioma in the 28th gestational week after a first generalised seizure, and for your opinion and thorough review of the literature.
In our patient we performed a two-stage approach with first a tumour resection under general anaesthesia and preservation of the pregnancy and after caesarean section performed in the 37th gestational week an awake craniotomy for resection of residual tumour under neuropsychological monitoring and mapping.
We decided to do a two-stage approach after a round table where obstetricians, neurosurgeons, anesthetists, neonatologists, and midwives were involved and after several long conversations with the patient and her husband. For the patient clearly the health of her unborn child was the most important aspect of her treatment and therefore she wanted to prolong the pregnancy until term. The tumor of our patient was located with a broad base to the surface and seemed to have a plane to the underlying white matter. There was no, in this location possible eloquent, unaffected cortex overlying the tumor. Moreover, our patient was already in the 28th gestational week of her pregnancy, the uterine fundus was high and the abdomen extended. The use of cortical or subcortical electric stimulation does increase the seizure risk1-4. Because of all these reasons we decided against an awake craniotomy and an operation under general anesthesia was performed. During the first procedure we did not use electrophysiological monitoring or functional mapping at all to keep the seizure risk as low as possible.
We acknowledge that there are reports in the literature emerging that awake craniotomy during pregnancy seem to be a safe and feasible option and the authors of this letter provide a well-managed example from their own experience5. However, their patient was having a glioma with clear high-grade features present, leaving less time for multi staged procedures as these are aggressive tumors with limited prognosis. The tumor of our patient did radiologically not have high grade features, although preoperative imaging was obtained without administration of contrast. Histology of the tumor did show diffuse IDH-mutant astrocytoma classified between WHO grade II and III. The tumor exhibited methylation of the O-6 methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promotor and no complete deletion of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2a/b (CDKN2a/b) that are both positive prognostic and IDH mutation is a positive predictive marker. Morphologically it did show some anaplastic features and that is why it was finally treated like an anaplastic tumor.
5-aminolevulenic acid (5-ALA) in glioma surgery permits the intraoperative visualization of malignant glioma tissue and supports the neurosurgeon to reach a complete resection of the contrast-enhancing tumor. Some studies show a potential risk for the fetus if 5-ALA has been given together with irradiation in the first trimester6. To this date, there is no evidence about a possible teratogenic effect of 5-ALA in the third trimester7-9.
In our clinic we do not use the drug Gliolan® but a pharmaceutic product containing 5-ALA that is completely manufactured by our hospital pharmacy. Before application of this drug in our pregnant patient we had extensive consultation with our clinical pharmacologists and pharmacists. This counseling did not identify a risk to the pregnancy of our patient who was in the third trimester and therefore application was officially allowed. Before application of this medication we had a shared decision making conversation with the patient, where we informed her openly about studies showing possible risks for the fetus in the first trimester6 but that there was no evidence for risk to her pregnancy in the current stage. She then agreed to the use of 5-ALA for her surgery.
In the retrospect, we agree that administration of 5-ALA may not have been necessary since we considered a possible second operation already initially.
The authors of the e-letter took the statement that propofol would not be appropriate from two cases described from Sethuraman et al. where after very long procedures (11 and 10 hours respectively) the use propofol caused maternal mild metabolic acidosis10.
As our procedure did not last that long, the use of propofol during pregnancy in this case was reasonable as also confirmed by Wang et al. 11
Furthermore, during surgery we regularly performed ABGs in order to monitor the pH and avoid acidosis.
It will remain challenging to define standards of care for glioma patients in pregnancy. However, we agree with the authors of this letter that the single-stage strategy with awake craniotomy is a considerable alternative to our proposed strategy and that multidisciplinary discussion and careful perioperative planning are of upmost importance for these patients.
1. Jasper H. Electrocorticography. In. Boston: Little Brown1954:p. 692 - 738.
2. Blume WT, Jones DC, Pathak P. Properties of after-discharges from cortical electrical stimulation in focal epilepsies. Clin Neurophysiol. 2004;115(4):982-989.
3. Karakis I, Leeman-Markowski BA, Leveroni CL, et al. Intra-stimulation discharges: an overlooked cortical electrographic entity triggered by direct electrical stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2015;126(5):882-888.
4. PINSKY C, BURNS BD. Production of epileptiform afterdischarges in cat's cerebral cortex. J Neurophysiol. 1962;25:359-379.
5. Kamata K, Fukushima R, Nomura M, Ozaki M. A case of left frontal high-grade glioma diagnosed during pregnancy. JA Clin Rep. 2017;3(1):18.
6. Stummer W, Pichlmeier U, Meinel T, et al. Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid for resection of malignant glioma: a randomised controlled multicentre phase III trial. Lancet Oncol. 2006;7(5):392-401.
7. Hadjipanayis CG, Widhalm G, Stummer W. What is the Surgical Benefit of Utilizing 5-Aminolevulinic Acid for Fluorescence-Guided Surgery of Malignant Gliomas? Neurosurgery. 2015;77(5):663-673.
8. Yang JZ, Van Vugt DA, Melchior MF, Hahn PM, Reid RL. Photodynamic ablation of early pregnancy in the rat with 5-aminolevulinic acid: a potential new therapy for tubal ectopic pregnancy in the human. Fertil Steril. 1994;62(5):1060-1065.
9. Olzowy B, Hundt CS, Stocker S, Bise K, Reulen HJ, Stummer W. Photoirradiation therapy of experimental malignant glioma with 5-aminolevulinic acid. J Neurosurg. 2002;97(4):970-976.
10. Sethuraman M, Neema PK, Rathod RC. Prolonged propofol infusion in pregnant neurosurgical patients. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2007;19:67-8.
11. Wang, Lars Peter MD (Cph), FANZCA*; Paech, Michael James MBBS, DRCOG, FRCA, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA, FRANZCOG (Hon), DM† Neuroanesthesia for the Pregnant Woman, Anesthesia & Analgesia: July 2008 - Volume 107 - Issue 1 - p 193-200
The association between heart failure and energy drink consumption is based on the entire clinical course rather than the presentation alone. The patient remains in renal failure with renal biochemistry similar to presentation and has not received renal replacement therapy for some time. Despite this, the patient is no longer in heart failure with a significant improvement in cardiac function occurring prior to the introduction of heart failure medications - carvedilol, hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrite. The clinical course of spontaneous recovery was similar to the cited case report from Belzile and colleagues and hence our reason for bringing this to attention and contributing to greater awareness. We welcome the comments and debate as there is no test to confirm the relationship to energy drink intake and therefore extensive clinical characterisation is required to exclude alternative causes of severe heart failure. Severe heart failure which improves spontaneously to this magnitude - LVEF 9% to 51% is particularly rare.
Please see below for clarification to your queries:
1) What was Central Venous Pressure:
The CVP pressure was not measured as the patient was relatively well. Are you perhaps referring to JVP which was unremarkable.
2) If patient was, presumably Conscious, Oriented, able to take Food and Fluids by Mouth, could the Intravenous Administration of Fluids be avoided?
It is possible that IV fluids could have been avoided but in view of his AKI it was felt prudent to rehydrate with IV fluids. We appreciate that management in this scenario will differ.
3) How did the Elevated Blood Pressure evolved during Hospitalization, either with or without Medications.
He had only one dose of amlodipine as inpatient and didn’t require any further doses for BP control. On discharge his Blood pressure was within normal limits and his GP was advised to continue monitoring his blood pressure as he had previously been doing.
4) What was Patient's Diet and Fluid Intake Both Quantitative and Qualitative during the Hospitalization?
AKI resolved within 24 hours of admission so exact fluid intake, urinary output and diet were not documented.
5) Whether the Patient took any Formal or Alternative Medicines or Home Remedies for Coryza he had Two Weeks before Episode of Shortness of Breath, that could have caused Autoimmune Hemolysis?
Please see below for clarification to your queries:
1) What was Central Venous Pressure:
The CVP pressure was not measured as the patient was relatively well. Are you perhaps referring to JVP which was unremarkable.
2) If patient was, presumably Conscious, Oriented, able to take Food and Fluids by Mouth, could the Intravenous Administration of Fluids be avoided?
It is possible that IV fluids could have been avoided but in view of his AKI it was felt prudent to rehydrate with IV fluids. We appreciate that management in this scenario will differ.
3) How did the Elevated Blood Pressure evolved during Hospitalization, either with or without Medications.
He had only one dose of amlodipine as inpatient and didn’t require any further doses for BP control. On discharge his Blood pressure was within normal limits and his GP was advised to continue monitoring his blood pressure as he had previously been doing.
4) What was Patient's Diet and Fluid Intake Both Quantitative and Qualitative during the Hospitalization?
AKI resolved within 24 hours of admission so exact fluid intake, urinary output and diet were not documented.
5) Whether the Patient took any Formal or Alternative Medicines or Home Remedies for Coryza he had Two Weeks before Episode of Shortness of Breath, that could have caused Autoimmune Hemolysis?
The patient had not taken any over the counter medication/herbal medications for his symptoms. This was confirmed on patient’s records.
6) If the Patient's Blood Pressure before Present Illnesses was known and if he took any medications for it and any other conditions eg Bleeding per Rectum?
He had previously been started on antihypertensive medications. These were Bisoprolol and Ramipril. He stopped Bisoprolol himself, after discussion with the GP, because he felt tired and Ramipril was discontinued because of cough. His BP was monitored on further GP visits and was within normal limits without any medications.
He was reviewed by Gastroenterology team as inpatient and upper GI bleed was excluded.
For bleeding PR an outpatient colonoscopy was requested which subsequently showed first degree haemorrhoids and a few diverticulae in the sigmoid colon.
7) What were the instructions including those regarding medications diet and follow-up given to the Patient at the time of Discharge?
No specific advice was given regarding to diet. Repeat blood tests were advised which were kindly performed and followed up by the GP. These had returned to normal. It is an excellent point to comment on the role of diet in patients with high blood pressure. It is not current practice to discuss about diet as an inpatient unless there are compelling reasons to do so however discussions on healthy life style should be built into our regular practice.
Bisoprolol was restarted after discussion with patient because of an episode of SVT in the hospital.
We hope that these answer your queries and many thanks for bringing these to our attention.
Dear Dr. Biswas,
In their recent article ‘Anaplastic astrocytoma during pregnancy: the importance of an effective multidisciplinary approach’, Filippi and colleagues described the therapeutic strategy for a pregnant patient whose left parietal glioma was discovered after a new-onset generalized seizure [1]. Following the multidisciplinary conference, they planned to attain a full-term pregnancy with staged tumor resection. First, the mass reduction was performed with neuronavigation and fluorescence-guided surgery using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) under general anesthesia. Then awake craniotomy was planned for the residual tumor removal after delivery. Although the authors have provided excellent perioperative care for this complicated case, we have some reservations about the therapeutic strategy for malignant glioma in a pregnant patient.
The guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, released by the European Association for Neuro-Oncology, present the following management options for newly diagnosed malignant glioma: resection or biopsy, followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy (or combined modality treatment) [2]. In pregnant patients, the neurosurgical intervention for a malignant tumor is recommended regardless of gestational age, although the 32 week gestation point is generally used as the cutoff [3]. The extent of glioma resection is a decisive prognosis factor irrespective of tumor subtype [4]. In view of the absence of information on th...
Dear Dr. Biswas,
In their recent article ‘Anaplastic astrocytoma during pregnancy: the importance of an effective multidisciplinary approach’, Filippi and colleagues described the therapeutic strategy for a pregnant patient whose left parietal glioma was discovered after a new-onset generalized seizure [1]. Following the multidisciplinary conference, they planned to attain a full-term pregnancy with staged tumor resection. First, the mass reduction was performed with neuronavigation and fluorescence-guided surgery using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) under general anesthesia. Then awake craniotomy was planned for the residual tumor removal after delivery. Although the authors have provided excellent perioperative care for this complicated case, we have some reservations about the therapeutic strategy for malignant glioma in a pregnant patient.
The guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, released by the European Association for Neuro-Oncology, present the following management options for newly diagnosed malignant glioma: resection or biopsy, followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy (or combined modality treatment) [2]. In pregnant patients, the neurosurgical intervention for a malignant tumor is recommended regardless of gestational age, although the 32 week gestation point is generally used as the cutoff [3]. The extent of glioma resection is a decisive prognosis factor irrespective of tumor subtype [4]. In view of the absence of information on the long-term effects on newborns of mothers that received anticonvulsants, chemotherapeutics, or radiation during pregnancy [5], the fact that the patient could be safely monitored without the need for adjuvant therapies is commendable [4].
The surgical strategy for eloquent malignant glioma in a pregnant patient offers two options. One is the two-staged strategy, as Filippi and colleagues presented, and the other is a single-stage operation with awake craniotomy in order to achieve maximum tumor resection with minimum postoperative neurological deficits. While awake craniotomy in pregnant patients is still challenging, several reports show that extensive resection with neurological monitoring is the best way to preserve the patient's motor and speech function [6-7]. Compared with the tumor removal under general anesthesia, awake craniotomy has some advantages on fetal-maternal wellbeing. The higher reliability of functional reservation is considered the most significant benefit of awake craniotomy. Especially among pregnant patients, electrophysiological monitoring and functional mapping should be minimized to reduce the risk of seizure occurrence and subsequent fetal hypoxia. As our previous case shows, the patient's subjective movement is a substitute for motor-evoked potential monitoring [7]. Maternal use of 5-ALA can be avoided in cases of awake craniotomy. In the last two decades, 5-ALA-induced fluorescence was introduced as a valuable technique for intraoperative visualization and improved resection of malignant gliomas [8]. However, its use during pregnancy is still prohibited in the European Public Assessment Report released by European Medicines Agency [9]. Fluorescence-guided surgery using 5-ALA is helpful for the identification of residual malignant glioma intraoperatively, but in the case presented by the authors, cortical or subcortical stimulation is truly informative to determine the resectable edge from the eloquent area. Considering the possible adverse reaction of 5-ALA to both the patient and fetus, fluorescence-guided surgery cannot be considered the best approach. The last concern is the detrimental effects of general anesthetics. Propofol, the most common sedative in neuroanesthesia, caused maternal mild metabolic acidosis after prolonged infusion [10]. On the other hand, volatile anesthetics have a significant tocolytic effect. Thus, awake craniotomy can reduce these unfavorable effects of general anesthesia on the patient and the fetus.
Due to the limited evidence on the use of adjuvant therapy during pregnancy, tumors causing neurological symptoms and seizures must be treated to stabilize the maternal condition and enable a safe birth. As far as the extent of tumor resection in malignant glioma is a decisive prognosis factor, the single-stage strategy with awake craniotomy should be considered an alternative. The multidisciplinary discussion should take place within the decision-making process, and careful perioperative preparation is mandatory.
References
1. Filippi V, Leu SM, Marengo L, et al. Anaplastic astrocytoma during pregnancy: the importance of an effective multidisciplinary approach. BMJ Case Rep 2021;14:e242135.
2. Weller M, van den Bent M, Hopkins K, et al. EANO guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of anaplastic gliomas and glioblastoma. Lancet Oncol 2014;15:e395-403.
3. Lynch JC, Gouvêa F, Emmerich JC, et al. Management strategy for brain tumour diagnosed during pregnancy. Br J Neurosurg 2011;25:225-30.
4. Nitta M, Muragaki Y, Maruyama T, et al. Proposed therapeutic strategy for adult low-grade glioma based on aggressive tumor resection. Neurosurg Focus 2015;38:E7.
5. Zwinkels H, Dörr J, Kloet F, et al. Pregnancy in women with gliomas: a case-series and review of the literature. J Neurooncol 2013;115:293-301.
6. Al-Mashani AM, Ali A, Chatterjee N, et al. Awake craniotomy during pregnancy. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol 2018;30:372-3..
7. Kamata K, Fukushima R, Nomura M, et al. A case of left frontal high-grade glioma diagnosed during pregnancy. JA Clin Rep 2017;3:18.
8. Stummer W, Pichlmeier U, Meinel T, et al. Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid for resection of malignant glioma: a randomized controlled multicentre phase Ⅲ trial. Lancet Oncol 2006;7:392-401.
9. European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) GLIOLAN. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/overview/gliolan-epar-summary-pub.... Accessed 20 April 2021.
10. Sethuraman M, Neema PK, Rathod RC. Prolonged propofol infusion in pregnant neurosurgical patients. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol 2007;19:67-8.
We reported this case as a possible early association during the first wave when it was impossible to discern whether there was a true connection between COVID and SSNHL, let alone determine the incidence. The paper was clear that direct causation wasn’t proven, but it served to highlight the importance of prompt treatment of SSNHL which is often associated with viral aetiologies.
The case report was written to create early awareness of a possible link. Since then, a BRC funded team in Manchester have published a systematic review linking the two and are also undertaking a year-long study into the association. An NIHR/BRC team in Nottingham are doing similarly.
We reported this case as a possible early association during the first wave when it was impossible to discern whether there was a true connection between COVID and SSNHL, let alone determine the incidence. The paper was clear that direct causation wasn’t proven, but it served to highlight the importance of prompt treatment of SSNHL which is often associated with viral aetiologies.
The case report was written to create early awareness of a possible link. Since then, a BRC funded team in Manchester have published a systematic review linking the two and are also undertaking a year-long study into the association. An NIHR/BRC team in Nottingham are doing similarly.
Hopefully these studies will provide further clarification and answer the questions posed in your letter which our case report was never designed to do.”
The authors implicate caffeine as the causative agent of the cardiomyopathy in this case, caffeine being the main active ingredient within energy drinks. They ask that we enquire about energy drinks within our social histories; consumption of caffeinated products indeed not part of a standard cardiovascular history (1).
It is therefore conspicuous that within the article there are no calls to enquire about other, more widely used caffeine containing products, specifically tea and coffee. Dare I say, we would be unlikely to baulk at the idea of a patient drinking three or four coffees in a day. In fact, on the wards we offer patients tea or coffee eight times a day, yet think little of the caffeine burden we are imposing upon them. This almost tacit caffeine consumption is unlikely to make it into the medical notes, yet these patients would potentially be consuming levels of caffeine far in excess of the quantity consumed in this case report.
We seem to apply different value judgements to different drinks, assuming those drinking excess caffeine from expensive coffee machines are doing so knowingly, and as part of a healthy lifestyle. Yet we don’t afford those choosing to consume energy drinks with the same level of ability to make an informed choice. We medicalise the consumption of such drinks, assuming those using them must be doing so for sinister reasons.
We should treat all caffeinated products equally, given there is no pharmacological differen...
The authors implicate caffeine as the causative agent of the cardiomyopathy in this case, caffeine being the main active ingredient within energy drinks. They ask that we enquire about energy drinks within our social histories; consumption of caffeinated products indeed not part of a standard cardiovascular history (1).
It is therefore conspicuous that within the article there are no calls to enquire about other, more widely used caffeine containing products, specifically tea and coffee. Dare I say, we would be unlikely to baulk at the idea of a patient drinking three or four coffees in a day. In fact, on the wards we offer patients tea or coffee eight times a day, yet think little of the caffeine burden we are imposing upon them. This almost tacit caffeine consumption is unlikely to make it into the medical notes, yet these patients would potentially be consuming levels of caffeine far in excess of the quantity consumed in this case report.
We seem to apply different value judgements to different drinks, assuming those drinking excess caffeine from expensive coffee machines are doing so knowingly, and as part of a healthy lifestyle. Yet we don’t afford those choosing to consume energy drinks with the same level of ability to make an informed choice. We medicalise the consumption of such drinks, assuming those using them must be doing so for sinister reasons.
We should treat all caffeinated products equally, given there is no pharmacological difference between them. Indeed, the caffeine found in energy drinks is extracted from coffee; a by-product of decaffeinated coffee production.
Further, I feel it unfair to suggest manufactures should provide warnings on cans, given that they already do – displaying both caffeine content, and warnings about its excessive consumption in certain groups. Indeed, these warnings and caffeine contents are absent from the sides of tea and coffee packaging, therein further preventing us from quantifying caffeine consumption.
That said, it is undeniable that the caffeine content of these drinks has increased over time, and it is not an unreasonable assumption that caffeine is to blame for the symptoms described in this case. Twenty years ago, the humble initial offerings of these drinks were a 250ml can with 75mg of caffeine. Today the bar has shifted to 200mg of caffeine in one can, and the market trend of increasing caffeine shows no signs of abating. This could be problematic, and lead to unwitting excess consumption as in this case report.
Direct regulation of these markets is often a wise solution. Rather than posting unheeded warnings of sugar content on the side of cans, the tax on sugar forced the hand of the market to adapt and reduce the sugar content within energy drinks, often to nil, and therein obviating the detrimental effects of sugar outright (2).
The same could be done for caffeine content; a cap of 20mg/100ml, or an overall cap of 100mg in any one drink would seem appropriate, though admittedly little can be done to stop people drinking multiple cans as in this case.
Like them or loathe them, these products do at least appeal to an ideal of activity, which should be celebrated in our overly sedentary society.
(1) Innes, J.A. et al., 2018. Macleod's Clinical Examination, Elsevier, pp.39-74
(2) Pell, D., Mytton, O., Penney, T.L., Briggs, A., Cummins, S., Penn-Jones, C., Rayner, M., Rutter, H., Scarborough, P., Sharp, S.J., Smith, R.D., White, M., Adams, J., 2021. Changes in soft drinks purchased by British households associated with the UK soft drinks industry levy: Controlled interrupted time series analysis. The BMJ 372. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n254
Thanks for the comments on our manuscript entitled "Plexiform neurofibromatosis of penis: a rare presentation of type 1 neurofibromatosis."
We think that this is a very good suggestion for treating such cases. Selumetinib has been found to be effective to treat neurofibromatosis type 1 in children 2 years of age and older. It is an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase and has been recommended as a first-line therapy approved for paediatric neurofibromatosis patients who have inoperable and bulky lesions.
Selumetinib therapy was a good option for this particular child but there were several reasons to choose surgery for this patient. Firstly the deformity was unsightly and grotesque considering the almost double length of the penis was leading to social discrimination, peer pressure and solitary life for this child. The patient has been rehabilitated with just one surgical operation in which after debulking the penile size is within socially acceptable limits. S...
Thanks for the comments on our manuscript entitled "Plexiform neurofibromatosis of penis: a rare presentation of type 1 neurofibromatosis."
We think that this is a very good suggestion for treating such cases. Selumetinib has been found to be effective to treat neurofibromatosis type 1 in children 2 years of age and older. It is an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase and has been recommended as a first-line therapy approved for paediatric neurofibromatosis patients who have inoperable and bulky lesions.
Selumetinib therapy was a good option for this particular child but there were several reasons to choose surgery for this patient. Firstly the deformity was unsightly and grotesque considering the almost double length of the penis was leading to social discrimination, peer pressure and solitary life for this child. The patient has been rehabilitated with just one surgical operation in which after debulking the penile size is within socially acceptable limits. Secondly, there were financial issues in procuring the drug as the treatment is expensive considering the high monthly costs that are involved in therapy with this particular drug. Thirdly medical treatment with this drug if available would have taken some time for the lesion to regress and the patient's parents were looking for a treatment that could immediately restore normalcy to the deformity.
We will definitely consider drug therapy with Selumetinib for this patient in the follow-up period as it has been shown to be quite effective in treating extensive neurofibromatosis as was seen in this paediatric patient.
A close comparison of baseline and exercise ECGs show mild ST elevation in V1 and mild inferolateral ST depression. Though the ST depression is mostly slow upsloping type, in lead I and V6 it is almost horizontal. The magnified view of the ECG makes ST elevation in V1 quite clear.
The author proposes two possible mechanisms for Aza induced hyperglycemia 1. Impaired beta cell function in pancreas via epigenetic mechanism 2. Increased secretion of cortisol. I suggest another possibility. A recent paper by Strand et al reports that Aza, a DNMT1 inhibitor, is a potent inducer of PTEN (this work done in vascular smooth muscle cells). It is well known that PTEN is an inhibitor of downstream elements of the insulin pathway, specifically PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway and this results in insulin resistance. I suggest that the hyperglycemic activity of Aza is by PTEN induction of insulin resistance.
Strand KA, Lu S, Mutryn MF, et al. High Throughput Screen Identifies the DNMT1 (DNA Methyltransferase-1) Inhibitor, 5-Azacytidine, as a Potent Inducer of PTEN. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2020;40:1854–1869.
Giant aortic aneurysm is a rare clinical entity. They may present with typical features of chest pain or abdominal pain, or most feared complications with dissection and rupture. However, an asymptomatic and unruptured giant thoracic aneurysm is extremely rare with only two case reports in the literature.
I had a similar case which an 80-year-old lady admitted to a local district general hospital with a 5 day history of productive cough with shivers, which she was tested positive for COVID-19 on admission.
Diagnostic workup demonstrated an incidental finding of a giant TAAA. Her case was referred to a tertiary hospital for vascular Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) discussion and planning.
It was decided that for her to have pre-operative assessment and MDT discussion after her recovery from infection to have a definitive management of the TAAA. The patient is currently being managed supportively in hospital.
According to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), asymptomatic and 5.5 cm or larger aneurysm should be considered for repair. The case should be discussed in terms of the overall balance of benefits and risks with repair and conservative management, based on the current status of health and the expected future health. In this case, it was deemed that the risk of proceeding with repair at present outweighed the benefits.
Incidental finding of a giant AAA/TAAA is rare. It emphasises the importance...
Giant aortic aneurysm is a rare clinical entity. They may present with typical features of chest pain or abdominal pain, or most feared complications with dissection and rupture. However, an asymptomatic and unruptured giant thoracic aneurysm is extremely rare with only two case reports in the literature.
I had a similar case which an 80-year-old lady admitted to a local district general hospital with a 5 day history of productive cough with shivers, which she was tested positive for COVID-19 on admission.
Diagnostic workup demonstrated an incidental finding of a giant TAAA. Her case was referred to a tertiary hospital for vascular Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) discussion and planning.
It was decided that for her to have pre-operative assessment and MDT discussion after her recovery from infection to have a definitive management of the TAAA. The patient is currently being managed supportively in hospital.
According to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), asymptomatic and 5.5 cm or larger aneurysm should be considered for repair. The case should be discussed in terms of the overall balance of benefits and risks with repair and conservative management, based on the current status of health and the expected future health. In this case, it was deemed that the risk of proceeding with repair at present outweighed the benefits.
Incidental finding of a giant AAA/TAAA is rare. It emphasises the importance of MDT approach to direct and achieve appropriate management for a complex case. Care treatment prioritisation, surgical planning and full complement expertise are required in complex cases such as this.
Thank you very much for your letter on our published case report of a pregnant woman that was diagnosed with a left parietal glioma in the 28th gestational week after a first generalised seizure, and for your opinion and thorough review of the literature.
In our patient we performed a two-stage approach with first a tumour resection under general anaesthesia and preservation of the pregnancy and after caesarean section performed in the 37th gestational week an awake craniotomy for resection of residual tumour under neuropsychological monitoring and mapping.
We decided to do a two-stage approach after a round table where obstetricians, neurosurgeons, anesthetists, neonatologists, and midwives were involved and after several long conversations with the patient and her husband. For the patient clearly the health of her unborn child was the most important aspect of her treatment and therefore she wanted to prolong the pregnancy until term. The tumor of our patient was located with a broad base to the surface and seemed to have a plane to the underlying white matter. There was no, in this location possible eloquent, unaffected cortex overlying the tumor. Moreover, our patient was already in the 28th gestational week of her pregnancy, the uterine fundus was high and the abdomen extended. The use of cortical or subcortical electric stimulation does increase the seizure risk1-4. Because of all these reasons we decided aga...
Show MoreThe association between heart failure and energy drink consumption is based on the entire clinical course rather than the presentation alone. The patient remains in renal failure with renal biochemistry similar to presentation and has not received renal replacement therapy for some time. Despite this, the patient is no longer in heart failure with a significant improvement in cardiac function occurring prior to the introduction of heart failure medications - carvedilol, hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrite. The clinical course of spontaneous recovery was similar to the cited case report from Belzile and colleagues and hence our reason for bringing this to attention and contributing to greater awareness. We welcome the comments and debate as there is no test to confirm the relationship to energy drink intake and therefore extensive clinical characterisation is required to exclude alternative causes of severe heart failure. Severe heart failure which improves spontaneously to this magnitude - LVEF 9% to 51% is particularly rare.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your comments
Please see below for clarification to your queries:
1) What was Central Venous Pressure:
The CVP pressure was not measured as the patient was relatively well. Are you perhaps referring to JVP which was unremarkable.
2) If patient was, presumably Conscious, Oriented, able to take Food and Fluids by Mouth, could the Intravenous Administration of Fluids be avoided?
It is possible that IV fluids could have been avoided but in view of his AKI it was felt prudent to rehydrate with IV fluids. We appreciate that management in this scenario will differ.
3) How did the Elevated Blood Pressure evolved during Hospitalization, either with or without Medications.
He had only one dose of amlodipine as inpatient and didn’t require any further doses for BP control. On discharge his Blood pressure was within normal limits and his GP was advised to continue monitoring his blood pressure as he had previously been doing.
4) What was Patient's Diet and Fluid Intake Both Quantitative and Qualitative during the Hospitalization?
AKI resolved within 24 hours of admission so exact fluid intake, urinary output and diet were not documented.
5) Whether the Patient took any Formal or Alternative Medicines or Home Remedies for Coryza he had Two Weeks before Episode of Shortness of Breath, that could have caused Autoimmune Hemolysis?
The patient had not...
Show MoreDear Dr. Biswas,
Show MoreIn their recent article ‘Anaplastic astrocytoma during pregnancy: the importance of an effective multidisciplinary approach’, Filippi and colleagues described the therapeutic strategy for a pregnant patient whose left parietal glioma was discovered after a new-onset generalized seizure [1]. Following the multidisciplinary conference, they planned to attain a full-term pregnancy with staged tumor resection. First, the mass reduction was performed with neuronavigation and fluorescence-guided surgery using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) under general anesthesia. Then awake craniotomy was planned for the residual tumor removal after delivery. Although the authors have provided excellent perioperative care for this complicated case, we have some reservations about the therapeutic strategy for malignant glioma in a pregnant patient.
The guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas, released by the European Association for Neuro-Oncology, present the following management options for newly diagnosed malignant glioma: resection or biopsy, followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy (or combined modality treatment) [2]. In pregnant patients, the neurosurgical intervention for a malignant tumor is recommended regardless of gestational age, although the 32 week gestation point is generally used as the cutoff [3]. The extent of glioma resection is a decisive prognosis factor irrespective of tumor subtype [4]. In view of the absence of information on th...
The authors implicate caffeine as the causative agent of the cardiomyopathy in this case, caffeine being the main active ingredient within energy drinks. They ask that we enquire about energy drinks within our social histories; consumption of caffeinated products indeed not part of a standard cardiovascular history (1).
It is therefore conspicuous that within the article there are no calls to enquire about other, more widely used caffeine containing products, specifically tea and coffee. Dare I say, we would be unlikely to baulk at the idea of a patient drinking three or four coffees in a day. In fact, on the wards we offer patients tea or coffee eight times a day, yet think little of the caffeine burden we are imposing upon them. This almost tacit caffeine consumption is unlikely to make it into the medical notes, yet these patients would potentially be consuming levels of caffeine far in excess of the quantity consumed in this case report.
We seem to apply different value judgements to different drinks, assuming those drinking excess caffeine from expensive coffee machines are doing so knowingly, and as part of a healthy lifestyle. Yet we don’t afford those choosing to consume energy drinks with the same level of ability to make an informed choice. We medicalise the consumption of such drinks, assuming those using them must be doing so for sinister reasons.
We should treat all caffeinated products equally, given there is no pharmacological differen...
Show MoreA close comparison of baseline and exercise ECGs show mild ST elevation in V1 and mild inferolateral ST depression. Though the ST depression is mostly slow upsloping type, in lead I and V6 it is almost horizontal. The magnified view of the ECG makes ST elevation in V1 quite clear.
The author proposes two possible mechanisms for Aza induced hyperglycemia 1. Impaired beta cell function in pancreas via epigenetic mechanism 2. Increased secretion of cortisol. I suggest another possibility. A recent paper by Strand et al reports that Aza, a DNMT1 inhibitor, is a potent inducer of PTEN (this work done in vascular smooth muscle cells). It is well known that PTEN is an inhibitor of downstream elements of the insulin pathway, specifically PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway and this results in insulin resistance. I suggest that the hyperglycemic activity of Aza is by PTEN induction of insulin resistance.
Strand KA, Lu S, Mutryn MF, et al. High Throughput Screen Identifies the DNMT1 (DNA Methyltransferase-1) Inhibitor, 5-Azacytidine, as a Potent Inducer of PTEN. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2020;40:1854–1869.
Dear Editor,
Giant aortic aneurysm is a rare clinical entity. They may present with typical features of chest pain or abdominal pain, or most feared complications with dissection and rupture. However, an asymptomatic and unruptured giant thoracic aneurysm is extremely rare with only two case reports in the literature.
I had a similar case which an 80-year-old lady admitted to a local district general hospital with a 5 day history of productive cough with shivers, which she was tested positive for COVID-19 on admission.
Diagnostic workup demonstrated an incidental finding of a giant TAAA. Her case was referred to a tertiary hospital for vascular Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) discussion and planning.
It was decided that for her to have pre-operative assessment and MDT discussion after her recovery from infection to have a definitive management of the TAAA. The patient is currently being managed supportively in hospital.
According to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), asymptomatic and 5.5 cm or larger aneurysm should be considered for repair. The case should be discussed in terms of the overall balance of benefits and risks with repair and conservative management, based on the current status of health and the expected future health. In this case, it was deemed that the risk of proceeding with repair at present outweighed the benefits.
Incidental finding of a giant AAA/TAAA is rare. It emphasises the importance...
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