1/1289. Coronary spasm and cardiac arrest from carcinoid crisis during laser bronchoscopy. Bronchoscopic manipulation of an endobronchial carcinoid can precipitate a carcinoid crisis. Coronary artery spasm is an uncommon manifestation of carcinoid crisis, and has never been reported as a complication of flexible bronchoscopy. We report a case of a 10-year-old girl who developed coronary artery spasm and cardiac arrest during neodymiumyttrium aluminum garnet (Nd-YAG) laser photoresection of an endobronchial carcinoid. Recognition of this unusual presentation of a carcinoid crisis is important as the treatment approach differs from standard resuscitation protocols. ( info) |
2/1289. Mild hypothermia for temporary brain ischemia during cardiopulmonary support systems: report of three cases. Recovery without residual neurological damage after cardiac arrest with temporary cerebral ischemia is rare. Therefore, it is most important that every effort is made to prevent brain damage occurring immediately after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We report herein the cases of three patients who suffered either cardiogenic or hypovolemic shock and were resuscitated by a cardiopulmonary support system followed by mild hypothermia. All three patients recovered completely without any neurologic damage. The outcomes of these three patients demonstrated that mild hypothermia may be important for cerebral preservation after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. ( info) |
3/1289. Ultrasound detection of ventricular fibrillation disguised as asystole. ultrasonography in the emergency department is being used for many purposes, including the evaluation of patients with cardiac arrest. Ultrasound testing has been shown to be useful in such patients in determining the presence of true electromechanical dissociation and pericardial effusions. We report a case of ventricular fibrillation identified by ultrasonography that appeared as asystole on ECG monitoring. Recognition of this ultrasound application can aid in the prompt diagnosis of occult ventricular fibrillation and allow for proper treatment with defibrillation. ( info) |
| BACKGROUND: cheyne-stokes respiration is characterized by periodic breathing that alternates with hypopnea or apnea. OBJECTIVE: To describe the effect of theophylline on near-fatal cheyne-stokes respiration. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENT: A 48-year-old diabetic woman with a history of three cardiorespiratory arrests, a normal coronary arteriogram, normal left ventricular function, and severe cheyne-stokes respiration. MEASUREMENTS: oxygen saturation, intra-arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure, chest wall movement, electrocardiography, electromyography, electroencephalography, electro-oculography, minute ventilation, arterial blood gases, and serum theophylline levels. RESULTS: After intravenous administration of 1.2 mg of theophylline at 0.6 mg/kg per hour (serum level, 5.6 microg/mL), both cheyne-stokes respiration and oxygen desaturation were markedly attenuated. After infusion of 2.4 mg of theophylline (serum level, 11.6 microg/mL), cheyne-stokes respiration resolved completely. No change was seen with placebo. cheyne-stokes respiration did not recur during outpatient treatment with oral theophylline. CONCLUSION: theophylline may be a rapid and effective therapy for life-threatening cheyne-stokes respiration. ( info) |
5/1289. deceleration-dependent shortening of the QT interval: a new electrocardiographic phenomenon? In clinical cardiology, deceleration-dependent QT interval shortening is considered to be an extraordinary electrocardiographic phenomenon. We present an early premature born 4-year-old African-American girl with complications related to her premature birth, developmental delay, and several episodes of cardiac arrest. An episode of severe transient bradyarrhythmia was documented on Holter monitoring. The unique feature of the rhythm strips was paradoxical gradual shortening of the QT interval to 216 ms with accompanying transient T-waves abnormalities. The activation of the Ik, ACh due to an unusually high vagal discharge to the heart is proposed as a possible mechanism responsible for both slowing of the heart rate and shortening of the QT interval. ( info) |
6/1289. Emergency cardiopulmonary bypass for cardiac arrest refractory to pediatric advanced life support. We report the application of emergent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) for three pediatric patients in the cardiac catheterization laboratory with cardiac arrest who did not respond to conventional resuscitation efforts. All three patients had return of baseline prearrest rhythms within minutes of the initiation of artificial cardiopulmonary support and the return of spontaneous circulation upon weaning CPB. Two patients had normal neurologic outcomes despite an interval of over 30 minutes from arrest to CPB. The continued judicious application and study of this technology in a small subpopulation of pediatric cardiac arrest patients is warranted. ( info) |
| Failure to follow patients with hydrocephalus can expose them to potentially fatal consequences. Two cases are used to illustrate this and the merits of follow-up of these patients are discussed. ( info) |
| Changes in EEGs during cardiac arrest have been described in detail by many authors; however, mortality because of an EEG has never been reported. The authors report the case of a patient who developed cardiac arrest causally related to administration of succinylcholine for reduction of excessive amounts of myogenic artifact during an EEG. This case indicates the need for caution when doing an EEG study in an intensive care unit setting. ( info) |
| A 29-year-old woman with mixed connective tissue disease presented with signs of progressive pulmonary hypertension. After admission to the hospital her condition worsened rapidly and she developed a cardiac arrest resistant to cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, emergency extracorporeal assist was performed. No pulmonary embolism was found. Right heart catheterisation showed severe pulmonary hypertension, which was treated with nitric oxide ventilation. She was weaned from the extracorporeal assist with high doses of inotropic agents. Because of suspicion of exacerbation of her underlying disease, which led to pulmonary hypertension, immunosuppressive treatment was started with high doses of corticosteroids and plasma exchange. This resulted in slow recovery over the next four weeks. Control echocardiography showed complete normalisation of cardiac function without signs of pulmonary hypertension. Two months after admission she was discharged from the hospital in good condition. ( info) |
| polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare vasculitic syndrome in childhood. There are few reported cases of ischaemic necrosis of the intestine and even fewer survivors in adults. We report the case of a 10-year-old boy with PAN and an acute abdomen that required operative intervention. Evidence was found of mesenteric arteritis with large ischaemic segments resulting in infarction and perforation. ( info) |