Volume 96, Issue 1

In newborns, elective male circumcision and calcaneal puncture for obtaining blood samples both cause pain. With elective male circumcision, dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) is recommended for pain control, but no pain control is routinely recommended or used during calcaneal puncture. A prospective investigation was conducted to compare pain during elective circumcision (with and without DPNB) and calcaneal puncture to determine whether pain control should be used with the latter procedure. The study was conducted at a community hospital during a 4-month period. Two nurses observed newborn behavior during elective circumcision and routine calcaneal puncture and rated pain reactions by using a modified Gronigen Distress Scale. Ninety-one male newborns were circumcised without DPNB, and eight male newborns were circumcised with DPNB. Calcaneal puncture for blood samples was performed in 97 newborns (males and females). Pain scores during circumcision with and without DPNB were comparable with those during calcaneal puncture (2.1, 2.4, and 2.2, respectively). Pain control during circumcision may thus be considered, but caution should be taken that measures to prevent pain do not create new patient risk or additional pain.

The complaint of chronic fatigue is ubiquitous in the primary care setting. Because of the nonspecific nature of chronic fatigue, practitioners do not focus on this complaint. Furthermore, most physicians use a problem-based approach. Such a prematurely narrowed focus could overlook the chronic fatigue complaint. Omissions in the data collection process would prove this oversight. Therefore, we postulated that a retrospective review of evaluations for chronic fatigue would demonstrate significant categorical deficiencies. These deficiencies would indicate a problem focus different than the chronic fatigue complaint itself. The authors reviewed the current literature to establish historical, physical, and laboratory findings pertinent to the evaluation of chronic fatigue. Six major categories and the associated data elements were identified for use in analyzing patient records. The patient records from the preceding 6 months were reviewed to find those containing a complaint of chronic fatigue. These records were analyzed to determine if a complete data set had been sought and if an associated diagnosis was made. A total of 425 consecutive charts from an academic family practice clinic were retrospectively reviewed; 9.9% (42) mentioned chronic fatigue. Physicians were lax in performing the mental status and physical examinations; taking the patient's psychiatric and sleep history, as well as the history of chief complaint; and ordering laboratory evaluations. The physician diagnoses included: depression (40.4%), nonspecific fatigue (35.7%), general medical disorders (16.6%), chronic fatigue syndrome (2.4%), fibromyalgia (2.4%), and sleep apnea (2.4%). From these data, the investigators conclude that the workup for chronic fatigue is often incomplete or lacks documentation. This oversight is likely due to a problem focus not directed at the chronic fatigue complaint. Also complicating the evaluation process are the multiple associated disorders, the prevalence of the complaint, and costibenefit issues facing the primary care physician.

Tumors of the abdominal wall excised with inadequately wide margins have a high local recurrence rate. The surgeon's fear of iatrogenic defects of the abdominal wall should not outweigh the need for wide resection margins to prevent tumor recurrence when excising primary and secondary malignancies. Appropriate monobloc excision of abdominal wall malignancies can be satisfactorily accomplished through a wide array of modalities. The authors describe successful abdominal wall reconstruction with the use of polypropylene mesh after excision of a recurrent soft tissue sarcoma. They review various methods of abdominal wall reconstruction to assist the surgeon in choosing the appropriate reconstruction technique.

The risk of facial palsy for pregnant women is higher than for nonpregnant women. Most cases occur in the third trimester and the immediate postpartum period. Unilateral facial palsy is a commonly seen mononeuropathy. Bilateral facial palsy, however, is rare and is most often a sign of a systemic disease. The authors present the case of a pregnant woman who was first seen with left sided facial paralysis. The paralysis then spread to the right side, resolved quickly after delivery, but appeared again on the right side 6 months later. The authors warn that bilateral facial palsy seen in pregnancy may be a sign of serious underlying disease. Differential diagnosis, possible etiologies, treatment, and prognosis are discussed.

A patient with abdominal discomfort, weight loss, and general weakness was discovered by way of ultrasound and computed tomography to have a tumor in the lower pole of the left kidney. At a second computed tomography examination, the mass had shrunken and air-fluid levels and contrast medium from previous examinations were evident, confirming a renocolic fistula. The patient underwent en bloc left radical nephrectomy with resection of the descending colon. Renal cell carcinoma was confirmed histologically. The patient has been free of disease for 4 years. Such fistulas are usually related to renal calculi or tuberculosis but, of late, more have been the result of iatrogenic trauma sustained during percutaneous renal procedures and lithotripsy. Use of computed tomography and other imaging methods should enable early detection of most renocolic fistulas, which usually are a late manifestation of advanced renal disease.