In the treatment of mitral stenosis, balloon valvuloplasty and open surgical commissurotomy have comparable initial results and low rates of restenosis, and both produce good functional capacity for at least three years. The potential complications associated with balloon valvuloplasty should be noted. The better hemodynamic results at three years, lower cost, and elimination of the need for thoracotomy suggest that balloon valvuloplasty should be considered for all patients with favorable mitral-valve anatomy.

BACKGROUND We performed a prospective, randomized trial comparing percutaneous balloon commissurotomy with surgical closed commissurotomy in 40 patients with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Data were analyzed by investigators who were masked to treatment assignment or phase of study. Patients randomized to balloon (n = 20) or surgical (n = 20) commissurotomy had severe mitral stenosis without significant baseline differences (left atrial pressure, 26.1 +/- 4.2 versus 27.6 +/- 6.2 mm Hg; mitral valve gradient, 18.0 +/- 4.2 versus 19.7 +/- 6.3 mm Hg; mitral valve area, 1.0 +/- 0.2 versus 1.0 +/- 0.4 cm2, respectively). At 1-week follow-up after balloon commissurotomy, pulmonary wedge pressure was 14.3 +/- 7.2 mm Hg; mitral valve gradient was 9.6 +/- 5.1 mm Hg; and mitral valve area was 1.6 +/- 0.6 cm2 (all p less than 0.0001). At 1-week follow-up after surgical closed commissurotomy, wedge pressure was 13.7 +/- 5.4 mm Hg; mitral valve gradient was 9.4 +/- 4.2 mm Hg (both p less than 0.0001); and mitral valve area was 1.6 +/- 0.7 cm2 (p less than 0.003). At 8-month follow-up, improvement occurred in both groups: Mitral valve area was 1.6 +/- 0.6 cm2 in the balloon commissurotomy group (p less than 0.002) and was 1.8 +/- 0.6 cm2 in the surgical closed commissurotomy group (p less than 0.0001). There was no difference between the groups at 1-week or 8-month follow-up (all p greater than 0.4). One case of severe mitral regurgitation occurred in each group; complications were otherwise related to transseptal catheterization. There was no death, stroke, or myocardial infarction. Cost analysis revealed that balloon commissurotomy may substantially exceed the cost of surgical commissurotomy in developing countries, whereas it may represent a significant savings in industrialized nations. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that percutaneous balloon commissurotomy and surgical closed commissurotomy result in comparable hemodynamic improvement that is sustained through 8 months of follow-up.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio as a predictive marker of gestational diabetes. Total leukocyte counts and differential leukocyte counts were measured manually. The results after analysis revealed that there was an increased neutrophil lymphocyte ratio among the women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Unilateral diaphragmatic agenesis is a rare finding in adult patients. We report a case of unilateral agenesis of diaphragm in a 22-year-old male patient to highlight the fact that a rare entity of agenesis of diaphragm can have a misleading presentation in adulthood due to both pulmonary and abdominal symptoms.

BACKGROUNDAn injured spleen is a well-known entity to those involved in trauma care. The majority of individual with a splenic injury now receive nonoperative intervention and therapy. This shift from operative to nonoperative treatment over the past several decades is a tremendous success story in which clinical judgment and reason triumphed over standard surgical dogma. In emergency room, restoration of airway, breathing and circulation should be focussed on. A careful history is the most important one. Nevertheless, the severity of the splenic injury plays a dominant part in determining whether nonoperative management is appropriate or-if-not-whether splenorrhaphy or splenectomy will be the more appropriate surgical option. As a general rule, younger, healthier patients with lower grade splenic injuries and fewer associated injuries and comorbidities are usually managed nonoperatively or with splenic repair, whether unstable, actively bleeding patients with more severe splenic trauma and/or multiple associated injuries require splenectomy.