Category: Medicine

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PPI Added to Chemotheraphy Improves Breast Tumor Response Rate

The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) omeprazole may be a useful addition to treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, as it boosted the expected rate of tumor disappearance among women with early-stage disease, according to the results of a phase 2 trial.

The trial results are presented online at the 2020 virtual annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The rationale behind the approach includes the fact that PPIs inhibit fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme overexpressed in 70% of newly diagnosed triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) and associated with poor prognosis.

In the study, omeprazole, a generic drug for gastroesophageal reflux, was added to standard chemotherapy. Both were given to 42 women as neoadjuvant treatment in the weeks before breast surgery at five US centers in the single-arm study.

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Clinical Practice Guidelines on The Treatment of Left-Sided Colonic Diverticulitis (ASCRS, 2020)

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Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of left-sided colonic diverticulitis were released in June 2020 by the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons

Acute Diverticulitis Initial Evaluation

For the initial evaluation of suspected acute diverticulitis, include (1) a problem-specific history, (2) physical examination, and (3) appropriate laboratory evaluations.

The most appropriate initial imaging modality for assessing suspected diverticulitis is an abdominal and pelvic CT scan.

If CT scanning is contraindicated or unavailable, useful alternatives include ultrasonography and MRI.

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Guidelines for Operative & Nonoperative Management of Liver Trauma (WSES, 2020)

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The guidelines on management of liver trauma were published on March 30, 2020, by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES)

Nonoperative Management

In the absence of other internal injuries requiring surgery, nonoperative management should be the treatment of choice for all hemodynamically stable minor (WSES I; American Association for the Study of Trauma [AAST] I-II), moderate (WSES II; AAST III), and severe (WSES III; AAST IV-V) injuries.

In transient responders with moderate and severe injuries, nonoperative management should be considered only in selected settings where there is immediate availability of trained surgeons, operating rooms (ORs), continuous monitoring (ideally in an intensive care unit [ICU] or emergency department [ED]), and access to angiography (AG), angioembolization (AE), blood and blood products; and in locations where a system exists to quickly transfer such patients to higher-level-of-care facilities.

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COVID-19 : Transmission Via Eyes ?

You can catch COVID-19 if an infected person coughs or sneezes and contagious droplets enter your nose or mouth. But can you become ill if the virus lands in your eyes?

Virologist Joseph Fair, PhD, an NBC News contributor, raised that concern when he became critically ill with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. From a hospital bed in his hometown of New Orleans, he told the network that he had flown on a crowded plane where flight attendants weren’t wearing masks. He wore a mask and gloves, but no eye protection.

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