Hepatitis E infection in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis treated with leflunomide: A case report with emphasis on geoepidemiology Rationale: Hepatitis E is an infectious disease due to inflammation of the liver caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) and represents one of the most common causes of acute hepatitis and jaundice in the world. Although data of hepatitis E infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are accumulating, little is known on the course of HEV infection. We reported, for the 1st time, a case of patient with RA with hepatitis E that developed during leflunomide therapy in combination with low-dose steroids. Patient concerns: We present a 39-year-old woman, affected by RA and treated with leflunomide, reported diffuse itching and persistent fatigue laboratory data revealed elevated liver enzyme levels. Diagnosis: Positivity for anti-HEV IgM and IgG was observed. HEV-RNA of the genotype 3 was detected, indicating acute E hepatitis. Interventions and outcomes: Leflunomide was stopped and restarted 5 months after the initial diagnosis at the same dosage, with a close clinical and laboratory follow-up. The virus was eradicated from the serum without chronic transformation. The patient is alive and well 7 months after the initial diagnosis. Lessons: To our knowledge, this report is the 1st case of acute E hepatitis in a patient with RA developed during leflunomide therapy in combination with low-dose steroids. Moreover, geoepidemiology of infection is important, due to the fact that Abruzzo, a central region of Italy, has the highest HEV seroprevalence in general population, related to the zoonotic transmission of the infection from domestic and wild animals. Our case highlighted that immunosuppressive therapy, and in particular leflunomide, could be safely reintroduced after the resolution of the infection and the clearance of the virus. Further studies are needed to evaluate potential advantages in serologic testing for HEV infection as a part of the routine workup done to patients with rheumatic diseases and selected for immunosuppressive therapy.

A case report of oral contraceptive misuse induced cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and dural arteriovenous fistula Rationale: Consumption of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) is a known risk factor for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) among women. Development of dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) afterwards was very uncommon. We present a rare chronic complication of development of dAVF after CVST. Patient concerns: A 22-year-old woman suffered headache for a week. She was then admitted into our hospital. Diagnosis: Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance venography (MRV) demonstrated the thrombosis of the left transverse-sigmoid sinus the second day. Interventions: The intravenous thrombolysis was carried out. As the symptoms improved, the patient was discharged, while the treatment with oral dabigatran continued. However, 3 months after the onset, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed swelling brainstem, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) confirmed a dAVF. Clipping of the fistula was conducted, and her clinical symptoms improved gradually. Outcomes: The patient was transferred to rehabilitation center later, and received follow-up care. Lessons: When a patient taking OCP and suffering from a sudden headache, a clinical suspicion of possible CVST should always arise to avoid the onset of dAVF as soon as possible.

Case report: painful exanthems caused by enterovirus D68 in an adolescent Rationale: Unlike other enteroviruses which can cause herpangina or hand-foot-and-mouth disease, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has usually been linked to respiratory and neurological problems in young children. Skin manifestations had rarely been described in current literatures. Patient concerns: We report a 17-year-old girl with fever and painful skin rash over legs and soles for 9 days. Pitting edema was also noted below the knees. There was no respiratory tract or neurological symptoms in this patient. Diagnoses: EV-D68 was detected from a throat swab by RT-PCR and confirmed to be subclade B3 by sequencing. Interventions: Supportive management. Outcomes: The patient was afebrile after 9 days and got full recovery on the 23rd day at outpatient follow-up. Lessons: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of EV-D68 infection with skin manifestations, clinical images, and detailed clinical course. Our findings in this particular case extend the understanding of the disease spectrum.

Ossifying fibroma in the mandibular angle mimicking metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: A case report Rationale: Ossifying fibroma is benign fibro-osseous neoplasm. The authors report a case of ossifying fibroma in the mandibular angle suspected as metastasis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Patient concerns: A 74-year-old man presented to the primary hospital complaining of frequent urination. A tumor in the left kidney was detected via an abdominal computed tomography scan. The patient then visited the Department of Urology at our hospital. Diagnoses: According to whole-body imaging examinations, the patient was suspected of having renal cancer with mandibular metastasis. Also, a cystic lesion of the maxilla was revealed. Interventions: Left nephrectomy was performed by urologists, and the patient was diagnosed with clear cell renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney. Approximately 1 month later, resection with a safety margin of the mandibular lesion and removal of the maxillary lesion were performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Outcomes: The patient was diagnosed with ossifying fibroma of the mandible and an odontogenic keratocyst of the maxilla via a histopathological examination. Eighteen months have passed since the operation without clinical and imaging findings associated with recurrence. Lessons: Ossifying fibroma in the mandibular angle of elderly patients is extremely rare. Surgeons should consider the possibility of metastasis when osteolytic lesions of the jaw are found in patients with cancer.

A national center for persistent severe pain after groin hernia repair: Five-year prospective data Severe persistent pain after groin hernia repair impairs quality-of-life. Prospective, consecutive cohort study including patients with pain-related impairment of physical and social life. Relevant surgical records were obtained, and examinations were by standardized clinical and neurophysiological tests. Patients demonstrating pain sensitivity to pressure algometry in the operated groin underwent re-surgery, while patients with neuropathic pain received pharmacotherapy. Questionnaires at baseline (Q0) and at the 5-year time point (Q5Y) were used in outcome analyses of pain intensity (numeric rating scale [NRS] 0–10) and pain-related effect on the activity-of-daily-living (Activities Assessment Scale [AAS]). Data are mean (95% CI). Analyses were made in 172/204 (84%) eligible patients. In 54/172 (31%) patients re-surgery (meshectomy/selective neurectomy) was performed, while the remaining 118/172 (69%) patients received pharmacotherapy. In the re-surgery group, activity-related, and average NRS-scores at Q0 were 6.6 (5.6–7.9) and 5.9 (5.6–5.9), respectively. Correspondingly, NRS-scores at Q5Y was 4.1 (3.3–5.1) and 3.1 (2.3–4.0; Q0 vs. Q5Y: P < .0005), respectively. Although both groups experienced a significant improvement in AAS-scores comparing Q0 vs. Q5Y (re-surgery group: 28% (4–43%; P < .0001); pharmacotherapy group: 5% (0–11%; P = .005)) the improvement was significantly larger in the re-surgery group (P = .02). This 5-year cohort study in patients with severe persistent pain after groin hernia repair signals that selection to re-surgery or pharmacotherapy, based on examination of pain sensitivity, is associated with significant improvement in outcome. Analyzing composite endpoints, combining pain and physical function, are novel in exploring interventional effects. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03713047

Computed tomography pulmonary angiograms using a novel dual-layer spectral detector: Adjusted window settings are essential for diagnostic image quality Objective: The aim of this study was to determine optimal window settings for conventional polyenergetic and virtual monoenergetic images derived from computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) examinations of a novel dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography system (DLCT). Methods: Monoenergetic (40 keV) and polyenergetic images of 50 CTPA examinations were calculated and the best individual window width and level (W/L) values were manually assessed. Optimized values were obtained afterwards based on regression analysis. Diameters of standardized pulmonary artery segments and subjective image quality parameters were evaluated and compared. Results: Attenuation and contrast-to-noise values were higher in monoenergetic than in polyenergetic images (P≤.001). Averaged best individual W/L for polyenergetic and monoenergetic were 1020/170 and 2070/480 HU, respectively. All adjusted W/L-settings varied significantly compared to standard settings (700/100 HU) and obtained higher subjective image quality scores. A systematic overestimation of artery diameters for standard window settings in monoenergetic images was observed. Conclusions: Appropriate W/L-settings are required to assess polyenergetic and monoenergetic CTPA images of a novel DLCT. W/L-settings of 1020/170 HU and 2070/480 HU were found to be the best averaged values for polyenergetic and monoenergetic CTPA images, respectively.

Efficacy of Jianpi Liqi therapy for functional dyspepsia: A meta-analysis of randomized, positive medicine-controlled trials Background: We performed this meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of Jianpi Liqi therapy (JLT), a traditional Chinese medicine therapy, in treating functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: We systematically searched 13 databases from their inception to 15th, May 2019. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared JLT medicine with conventional pharmacotherapy (CP) in treating patients with FD. Cochrane Collaboration tool, Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 11.0, GRADE profiler 3.6 were used for evaluating risk of bias, analyzing, and assessing quality of evidence respectively. Results: After exclusions, 15 RCTs including a total of 1451 participants were included for analysis. We found evidence that JLT had better efficacy than CP (domperidone, omeprazole, esomeprazole, mosapride, lansoprazole, compound digestive enzymes, lactasin tablets) for FD (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.26, 0.45; P < .00001). Moreover, JLT had more improvement on symptoms including abdominal pain, abdominal distention, early satiety, belching, poor appetite, and fatigue compared with CP. In addition, serious adverse events were not observed in treatment courses. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that JLT appears to have better efficacy in treating FD compared with CP. It may be an effective and safe therapy option for patients with FD. Though, more large-sample and strictly designed RCTs are needed to confirm our findings. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019133241.

Textural features on 18F-FDG PET/CT and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging for predicting treatment response and survival of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma The utility of multimodality molecular imaging for predicting treatment response and survival of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma remains unclear. Here, we sought to investigate whether the combination of different molecular imaging parameters may improve outcome prediction in this patient group. Patients with pathologically proven hypopharyngeal carcinoma scheduled to undergo chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were deemed eligible. Besides clinical data, parameters obtained from pretreatment 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT), dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and diffusion-weighted MRI were analyzed in relation to treatment response, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). A total of 61 patients with advanced-stage disease were examined. After CRT, 36% of the patients did not achieve a complete response. Total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and texture feature entropy were found to predict treatment response. The transfer constant (Ktrans), TLG, and entropy were associated with RFS, whereas Ktrans, blood plasma volume (Vp), standardized uptake value (SUV), and entropy were predictors of OS. Different scoring systems based on the sum of PET- or MRI-derived prognosticators enabled patient stratification into distinct prognostic groups (P <.0001). The complete response rate of patients with a score of 2 was significantly lower than those of patients with a score 1 or 0 (14.7% vs 58.9% vs 75.7%, respectively, P = .007, respectively). The combination of PET- and DCE-MRI-derived independent risk factors allowed a better survival stratification than the TNM staging system (P <.0001 vs .691, respectively). Texture features on 18F-FDG PET/CT and DCE-MRI are clinically useful to predict treatment response and survival in patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Their combined use in prognostic scoring systems may help these patients benefit from tailored treatment and obtain better oncological results.

Circulating JNK pathway-associated phosphatase level correlates with decreased risk, activity, inflammation level and reduced clinical response to tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor in Crohn disease patients Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation of serum Jun-amino-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway-associated phosphatase (JKAP) level with disease risk, severity, inflammation, and treatment response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor in Crohn disease (CD) patients. Method: Ninety-six active CD patients and 90 healthy controls (HCs) were consecutively enrolled. Serum JKAP level of participants was determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In CD patients, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Crohn disease activity index (CDAI), and inflammatory cytokine levels (determined by ELISA) were recorded. All CD patients underwent infliximab (IFX) treatment for 12 weeks, then treatment response (defined as decrement of CDAI ≥70) was assessed at week 12 (W12). Results: Serum JKAP level in CD patients was lower compared to HCs, and it disclosed a good predictive value for decreased CD risk; meanwhile, it was negatively correlated with CRP level, CDAI score, TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-17 levels in CD patients. Sixty-eight (70.8%) patients achieved treatment response to IFX at W12, and JKAP level was increased at W12 compared to baseline. Interestingly, baseline JKAP level in response patients was decreased compared to nonresponse patients, and it exhibited a good predictive value for decreased treatment response to IFX, multivariate logistic regression revealed that JKAP was an independent factor for predicting reduced IFX response. Conclusion: Circulating JKAP expression correlates with decreased disease risk, activity, and inflammation level, and it could be served as a novel biomarker for predicting reduced clinical response to TNF-α inhibitor in CD patients.

Chuankezhi injection for asthma: Protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which often worsen at night or in the early morning and vary from person to person in severity and frequency. Chuankezhi injection (CKZ), as a new Chinese medicine, was recently found to have a good clinical effect on asthma. Whereas neither systematic nor meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) explain the efficacy of CKZ in treating asthma. Therefore, we provide a protocol to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CKZ for asthma. Methods: From inception until April 2019, a systematic and comprehensive literature search will be conducted in both 4 Chinese databases and 3 English databases. RCTs will be included related to CKZ for asthma. We will assess the quality of the included trials in accordance with the risk of bias tools in Cochrane manual 5.1.0. We will use the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method to assess the certainty of the estimated evidence. Data analysis will be performed using the STATA 15.0. Results: This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of CKZ for the treatment of asthma, in order to provide evidence for the clinical practice of Chinese medicine. This protocol will be conducted and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal once it is completed. Conclusion: The consequence of this study will furnish proof to evaluate if CKZ is effective in the treatment of asthma. PROSPERO registration number: ROSPERO CRD42019134458.