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BACKGROUND Tracheal chondrosarcoma is a rare malignancy, and formal treatment guidelines have not been established due to the lack of high quality studies. Best evidence at this time is limited to case reports. AIM Explore the role of surgical intervention, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, and the long-term outcomes for these interventions for tracheal chondrosarcoma. METHODS AND RESULTS A literature search was performed using PubMed (1959-2020) and ResearchGate (1959-2020) using medical subject heading terms "tracheal chondrosarcoma" OR "trachea chondrosarcoma." Additional reports were identified within reviewed articles and included for review. Articles pertaining to chondrosarcomas of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or other head and neck subsites were excluded. Cases of chondromas were excluded. Thirty-five patients with tracheal chondrosarcoma were identified in the literature since 1959. Advanced age was significantly associated with recurrent or persistent disease (p = .003). The majority (77%) of cases were treated with open surgical resection, with an open approach and negative surgical margins being significantly associated with being disease-free after treatment (p = .001 and p

Background:Use of alternative medications and herbal remedies is widespread in the United States and across the globe. These traditional medications can be contaminated with toxic metals. Despite several case reports of poisoning from such contamination, the epidemiological data are still limited.Objectives:To report on a cluster of lead and mercury toxicity cases in 2011 among a community of adherents of traditional medical practice of Ayurveda.Methods:Adherents of Ayurveda were offered heavy metals screening following the identification of the index case.Results:Forty-six of 115 participants (40%) had elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) of 10 μg/dl or above, with 9.6% of BLLs at or above 50 μg/dl.Conclusions:This is the largest cluster of lead and mercury toxicity following use of Ayurvedic supplements described in the literature in the US. Contamination of herbal products is a public health issue of global significance. There are few regulations addressing contamination of “natural” products or supplements.

Objectives: To assess concordance between the fixed 70% ratio cutoff point with the fixed percent predicted values (Fixed-ratio) and the lower limit of normal (LLN) algorithms in interpreting spirometry results in an older population. Methods: Spirometries were interpreted using Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reference equations for 2319 workers. Results: The Fixed-ratio algorithm characterized 34.5% (n = 801) results as abnormal, compared with 29.7% (n = 689) by the LLN. There were almost twice as many obstructive and mixed airways spirometries identified under the Fixed-ratio compared to LLN. Rates of restrictive pattern physiology were virtually the same under each algorithm. Overall agreement between the algorithms decreased with age from “almost perfect” for those younger than 60 years to “substantial” for those older than 80 years. Conclusions: This study found age-related discordance between two algorithms possibly related to the lack of reference equations and standards for individuals older than 80 years.