1/32. Abdominal distention and shock in an infant.Acute abdominal distention in the pediatric patient may be attributable to extraperitoneal fluid, masses, organomegaly, air, an ileus, a functional or mechanical bowel obstruction, or injury and blood secondary to trauma. An infant who presents to the emergency department with acute abdominal distention and shock is a true emergency for which the differential diagnosis is extensive. An unusual case of abdominal distention, ascites, hematochezia, and shock in an infant, subsequently found to have spontaneous perforation of the common bile duct is reported. This uncommon cause of abdominal distention and shock in an infant is many times left out of the differential diagnosis of an acute abdomen. The presentation may be as an uncommon acute form or a classis subacute type. This patient had hematochezia, which had not been previously reported in association with this entity. Failure to recognize and treat an acute abdomen can result in high mortality.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/32. A case of serious organophosphate poisoning treated by percutaneus cardiopulmonary support.We report a case of respiratory arrest, refractory circulatory collapse, and severe hypothermia following ingestion of an organophosphate insecticide. In addition to conventional management, including mechanical ventilation, administration of vasopressors, enteral lavage, charcoal hemoperfusion and administration of antidotes, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary support in the form of percutaneous cardiopulmonary support was successfully employed. Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support may be used for severe but potentially reversible pulmonary or cardiovascular toxicity induced by organophosphates as well as complicated severe hypothermia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/32. hemoperitoneum in patients receiving hemodialysis.Acute abdominal pain in chronic hemodialysis patients has well-known causes, including acute pancreatitis, mesenteric arterial insufficiency, or complicated duodenal ulcer. Others, such as hemoperitoneum, are far less common. Although hemoperitoneum occurs in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis, dialysis is seldom if ever the direct cause of the bleeding. hemoperitoneum is often related to menses or ovulation, particularly to ovarian cyst rupture; therefore, it is more common in young women. In most cases, no specific treatment is required. hemoperitoneum is rarely considered as the cause of acute abdominal pain in chronic hemodialysis patients. In this report of hemoperitoneum confirmed by emergency laparotomy in 3 women, bleeding was not related to gynecologic origin. All of the women were younger than age 50 and undergoing long-term hemodialysis. All patients had a history of acute abdominal pain associated with shock. The cause of bleeding was always an organ lesion: hepatic amyloidosis with suspected portal hypertension or sclerosing peritonitis and acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Coagulation abnormalities and the use of anticoagulants during hemodialysis sessions may have been aggravating factors in all three patients. hemoperitoneum is difficult to diagnose, particularly in the minor forms, and consequently its incidence may be underestimated. Therefore, it should be considered whenever a chronic hemodialysis patient presents with persistent acute abdominal pain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/32. Iatrogenic lesions of the colon and rectum.Our ability to document a number of examples of iatrogenic lesions of the colon and rectum in three general hospitals confirms the multiplicity of these lesions as presented in the literature. It appears that the careful surgeon and his associates would well heed the old admonition known as Murphy's law, that "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." In the daily practice of the general surgeon and proctologist, it is apparent that gentleness in approaching any anal-rectal examination for either diagnostic or therapeutic purposes is mandatory. The insertion of any foreign object, be it an examining finger, a thermometer, enema tip, or proctoscope, may subject the patient to an inadvertent injury of significant proportion. The dangers inherent in the evaluation and treatment of patients with recognized disease processes is significantly greater than that associated with routine and screening examinations. morbidity and mortality have been shown to be associated with the barium enema as well as with the barium enema as well as with some of the newer radiologic procedures such as mesenteric angiography. The use of tap water for enemas has produced morbidity both from thermal injuries and from electrolyte depletion. Antibiotics and chemotherapeutic drugs frequently result in colon and rectal disease, and therapeutic procedures directed at organs adjacent to the colon and rectum have resulted in a number of iatrogenic lesions. This reviews confirms reports of others that iatrogenic lesions of the colon and rectum are not solely due to the physician's inexperience, as significant numbers of these lesions were the result of the diagnostic or therapeutic efforts of men of considerable experience and skill. Advanced age of the patient and diseases leading to changes in the character of the bowel wall frequently were factors in the production of these lesions. A poorly prepared bowel has led to increased morbidity and mortality associated with iatrogenic perforations. The early recognition of these lesions and prompt medical and surgical management diminishes both the morbidity and mortality associated with such injuries.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/32. A case of 'smouldering' mastocytosis with high mast cell burden, monoclonal myeloid cells, and C-KIT mutation Asp-816-Val.mastocytosis is a term used for a group of disorders characterized by abnormal growth and accumulation of tissue mast cells (MC) in one or more organ systems. In patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) the clinical course may be indolent or aggressive or even complicated by leukemic progression or an associated clonal hematologic non mast cell lineage disease (AHNMD). However, at first presentation (diagnosis) it may be difficult to define the category of disease and the prognosis. We report on a 48-year-old female patient with SM with urticaria pigmentosa-like skin lesions and mediator-related symptoms. She was found to have splenomegaly, a high infiltration grade (MC) in bone marrow biopsies (>30%), mild anemia, and a high serum tryptase level (>500 ng/ml). In addition, she exhibited discrete histologic signs of myeloproliferation in the 'non-affected' marrow and monoclonal blood cells established by C-KIT 2468A-->T mutation (Asp-816-Val) -analysis and HUMARA assay. Despite these findings, however, the clinical course was stable over years and no AHNMD or organ impairment developed. Because of the 'intermediate' clinical signs and absence of progression to aggressive disease, we proposed the term 'smouldering mastocytosis'.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/32. Pancreatic pseudocysts complicated by splenic parenchymal involvement: results of operative and percutaneous management.Pancreatic pseudocysts are a common finding in acute and chronic pancreatitis, but most are small and uncomplicated, and do not require treatment. Pseudocysts with splenic parenchymal involvement are uncommon but have the potential for massive hemorrhage. Data on the clinical presentation and optimal treatment of this unusual complication of pseudocysts are lacking. The purpose of this review was to identify the clinical features of pancreatic pseudocysts complicated by splenic parenchymal involvement and to determine the outcome with nonoperative and operative therapy. methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of all patients with pancreatic pseudocysts from December 1984 to January 1999 revealed 238 patients, of whom 14 (6%) had splenic parenchymal involvement. These medical records were reviewed in detail and all pertinent radiographs were reviewed by the authors to confirm splenic parenchymal involvement by a pancreatic pseudocyst. RESULTS: Initial treatment included observation (n = 2), percutaneous drainage (n = 8), and surgery (n = 4). Of the eight patients treated by percutaneous drainage, one died, three required repeated percutaneous drainage, and three required surgical intervention. None of the patients treated primarily by surgery required additional therapy for the pseudocyst. overall, 11 patients had complications of the primary therapy, and 25% of patients treated by surgery had significant hemorrhage. Complications included infection (n = 5), pseudocyst persistence (n = 4), bleeding (n = 2), multisystem organ failure (n = 2), gastric outlet obstruction (n = 1), and splenic rupture (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatic pseudocysts complicated by splenic parenchymal involvement may have life-threatening clinical presentations and respond poorly to percutaneous drainage. Distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy are effective, but the complication rate is high.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/32. Fatal acute diclofenac-induced immune hemolytic anemia.We report the case of a 72-year-old woman who developed fatal immune hemolytic anemia with multisystem organ failure and shock caused by diclofenac-dependent red blood cell autoantibodies. The patient described dramatically illustrates the potential severity of this adverse reaction and emphasizes the need for increased awareness of this complication of drug therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/32. Cardiac pacing as emergency care for serious bradyarrhythmia with circulatory shock.Three cases of bradyarrhythmia with serious illness of extracardiac organs are reported. Case 1 had sick sinus syndrome. He was admitted to our hospital complaining of syncope and developed apnea. Case 2 had complete atrioventricular block and serious hepatic failure in the hospital. Case 3 had paroxysmal atrioventricular block. He complained of syncope which followed convulsions. Their symptoms might be due to circulatory shock caused by a lazy lower pacemaker from the ventricle. Emergent temporary pacing successfully improved the extracardiac organ dysfunction. Although their bradyarrhythmias were transient, permanent pacemakers were implanted to inhibit the recurrence. A quick temporary pacing should be indicated in patients with critical bradyarrhythmia like our cases for survival.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/32. Posterior ischemic optic neuropathy related to profound shock after penetrating thoracoabdominal trauma.Ischemic optic neuropathy is a rare cause of blindness reported most commonly in association with collagen-vascular diseases, infectious processes, and systemic hypotension related to massive exsanguinating hemorrhage. We report what we believe to be the first case of posterior ischemic optic neuropathy due to perioperative hypotension in a patient who had a penetrating thoracoabdominal injury with massive hemorrhage, severe hypotension, massive microcapillary circulatory leak, multiple system organ failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although the incidence of postoperative visual loss is low (-0.002%), awareness of this entity must be raised within the trauma surgical community.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/32. Risks of ancient practices in modern times.Swaddling, ie, wrapping the child to restrict movement, is an ancient practice. In the netherlands, it is becoming increasingly popular as an intervention for excessive crying in infants. However, one must be well aware of the potential risks. We present the case reports of a twin boy and girl who had been swaddled and kept in a heated room for several days. On admission to the hospital, both infants suffered from severe hypovolemic shock, hyperthermia, and secondary respiratory insufficiency. The girl developed multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and died, whereas the boy had an uneventful recovery. When swaddling is being considered as an intervention for excessive crying in infants, parents have to be well-informed about the possible side effects and about additional measures that they may have to take to make it a safe intervention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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