Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Hypopharyngeal cancer usually presents with cervical mass, hoarseness, radiated otalgia, and dysphagea in the advanced stages. Radical surgery followed by radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. However, there is no general consensus as to which is the best method of reconstruction after surgical resection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the complications of pectoralis major myocutaneous flap (PMMF) and gastric pull-up (GPU) techniques to reconstruct a circumferential defect after laryngopharyngoeso- phagectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 64 patients who underwent radical surgery and reconstruction with either PMMF or GPU technique. Demographic characteristics, tumor location, proximal margin involvement, history of radiotherapy, presence of lymphadenopathy, cervical dissection, and postoperative complications such as fistula, anastomotic site stenosis, swallowing dysfunction, and stoma stenosis were compared between the two groups. Postoperative complications of the reconstruction methods were compared.

Results: A total of 64 patients, 43(67%) in GPU group and 21(33%) in PMMF group, were studied. The groups did not differ in demographic characteristics. The locations of the tumoral lesions were in larynx (n=7), proximal esophagus (n=5), posterior cricoid (n=5), pyriformis sinus (n=7), posterior wall (n=7), and miscellaneous (n=41). Six patients (6.3%) had proximal margin involvement, 19 patients (29.9%) had history of radiotherapy, 26 cases (40.6%) had lymphadenopathy, and 49 cases (76.5%) had cervical dissection. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding stenosis or swallowing dysfunction rates, but fistula was seen lower following GPU compared with PMMF (p<0.001).

Conclusions: The GPU technique results in similar functional stenosis or swallowing dysfunction rates, but lower fistula compared with PMMF reconstruction.

Background: Ekiri syndrome or lethal toxic encephalopathy is a complication of shigellosis with dysentery, hyperpyrexia, seizures, headache and altered level of consiousness, which rapidly progresses to death. These children die at the beginning of the disease (8-48 hours from the beginning of symptoms), from brain edema. However they had no symptoms or signs of sepsis, dehydration, DIC or Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

Methods: This survey is a case series study of children with Ekiri syndrome in Bahrami hospital from October 1998-2008 presented with loss of consciousness, colitis and high fever shortly after admission. Information about the patients was gathered from the documents according to physical signs and symptoms, lab data of those whom Ekiri syndrome had been diagnosed for them. Studied variables in this assessment were age, sex, fever, convulsions and loss of consciousness. Headache, encephalopathy, dehydration, elevated ICP, colitis, underline disease, stool, blood and CSF cultures.

Results: The subjects contain 13 cases (10 male, 3 female), averaged 30/5 months of age. All had seizure, elevated ICP, encephalopathy and coma. All of the patients had fever between 39 and 40, averaged 39.5 degree of centigrade. Seven patients had headache and three ones was dehydrated. The first presentation symptom in three patients was gastroenteritis, in 9 was siezure and in 1 patient was headache. Stool culture in all patients was positive, but blood culture was positive in only one of them. CSF culture was negative in all of the patients. Mortality was 100%.

Conclusion: Symptoms, signs and presentation of Ekiri syndrome, a rare complication of infection with shigella, in the patients in Bahrami hospital was similar with the other studies beforehand in other countries. In this study, all the patients were died and supportive treatments were ineffective.

Background: Acute gastroenteritis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries. Rotaviruses are recognized as the most common etiologic factors of gastroenteritis. In this study, we determined the epidemiologic features, clinical symptoms and molecular structure of rotavirus VP4(P) genotypes in children with acute diarrhea in Bahrami Hospital in Tehran Iran, during 2009 for justifying the routine use of rotavirus vaccines in children.

Methods: One hundred fifty fecal samples from 150 children with acute diarrhea in Bahrami Pediatric Hospital in Tehran, Iran were collected from January to December 2009. The patients’ mean age was 20.90+18.19 years (ranging from 1 month to 14 years). Fecal samples were transported on ice to the laboratory of virology department of Pasture Institute of Iran. The demographic and clinical data for each case were entered in an author-devised questionnaire. Group A rotavirus was detected by dsRNA-PAGE. Subsequently, rotavirus genotyping (VP4) was performed by semi-nested multiple RT-PCR and the phylogenetic tree of the Rotavirus nucleotides was constructed. The data were analyzed by statistical tests including Wilcoxon signed and Mann-Whitney U.

Results: Rotavirus was isolated in 19.3% of the samples, more than 90% of which had long RNA patterns. The predominant genotype (VP4) was P[8] (86%) and other genotypes respectively were P[6] (6.9%) and P[4] (6.9%).

Conclusion: A high prevalence of the P[8] genotype was found to be the cause of acute diarrhea. The analysis of P[8] genotype sequence showed a high level of similarity of the virus in this study with those of other Asian countries.

Background: Detection of retained foreign bodies remains a significant problem in the emergency department. Foreign bodies can go undetected causing infectious complications ultrasonography is too inaccessible and expensive. The purpose of this study is comparison of ultrasonography with radiography for the detection of cervical esophageal foreign bodies
Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 58 patients referred with suspected upper esophageal foreign body in the Emergency Department, Amir Alam. Patients were evaluated with ultrasonography and x-ray. After surgical exploration, different type of foreign bodies were recorded. The SPSS statistical software was used for analysis. For applicable efficacy outcome measures, a Spearman correlation was used. Differences were significant when P<0.05. All values were expressed as the frequency and present.
Results: Fifty eight patients were studied. 25 patients (43.4%) were male and 31 patients (56.9%) were female, in 28 (48.2%) patients foreign bodies were detected in radiography. 30 patients (51.8%) were not recorded in techniqe. It was found in patients 22 (78.6%) organic body, and six cases (21.4%) non-organic body. radiographic outcomes in patients with foreign bodies were positive in 26 patients (92.9%) and in two patients (7.1%) were negative. Ultrasound results were positive in 27 patients (96.4%) and in one patient (3.6%) were negative. Association of ultrasound and radiography results were significant in patients with foreign body (Spearman correlation=0.896, P=0.001 Kappa=0.890).
Conclusion: These reports suggest that result of ultrasound with radiography for the detection foreign bodies in cervical esophagus have good agreement. The use of ultrasonography in the emergency department to detect and eventually remove foreign bodies by emergency physicians is an important issue because there is not always an ultrasound technologist or radiologist available.