Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in aluminum phosphide poisoning in Nepal: a case report

Aluminum phosphide is a very common suicide agent in developing countries like Nepal. Due to the unavailability of a specific antidote, mortality is very high because the phosphine molecule that is formed lead...

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Uncommon presentation of desmoplastic fibroblastoma on the tongue of a female patient

Desmoplastic fibroblastoma (DF) is a rare benign soft tissue with spindle-to-stellate-shaped fibroblasts and myofibroblasts embedded in a prominent collagenous background. DF, mainly affecting subcutaneous and muscle tissue, very rarely occurs in the oral cavity. Hitherto, only one case of DF on the tongue has been reported. Here, we report another case. A 66-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a mass formation in the tongue. On examination, a well-circumscribed, elastic, soft tumour with normal surface mucosa, measuring 13x12 mm, was observed on the left dorsal surface of her tongue. MRI and ultrasonography confirmed the mass, and a benign tongue tumour was suspected. The tumour was surgically resected under general anaesthesia 1 month later, leading to the histopathological diagnosis of DF. She experienced an uneventful clinical recovery after surgery, with no recurrence noted for more than 1 year postoperatively.

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Aggressive treatment in paediatric or young patients with drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS)/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is associated with future development of type III polyglandular autoimmune syndrome

We experienced a 6-year-old case of drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS)/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) with subsequent development autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), type 1 diabetes with antithyroglobulin, thyroid peroxidase, insulinoma-associated antigen and anti-insulin antibodies at 4 months, alopecia at 7 months, vitiligo, uveitis due to Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease at 8 months after clinical resolution of the DiHS/DRESS. He was diagnosed as type III polyglandular autoimmune syndrome (PASIII) after DiHS/DRESS. Prompted by this case, we sought to determine which triggering factors were responsible for later development of PASIII in previously published cases with autoimmune sequelae. In the literature review, five patients with DIHS/DRESS were found to develop autoimmune sequelae consistent with PASIII. All cases with PASIII were much younger than those without them. Four out of the five patients were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin or pulsed prednisolone in the acute stage, although effective in short-term outcomes.

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Lemierres syndrome: a life-threatening sore throat

Description 

A 25-year-old previously healthy Japanese man presented to our emergency department with a 1-day history of dyspnoea, following a sore throat in the previous week. Physical examination revealed acute exudative tonsillitis and right-sided diminished breath sounds. The laboratory analysis revealed a significantly elevated C reactive protein level of 30.67 mg/dL. A CT scan with contrast revealed a thrombophlebitis of the left internal jugular vein, a right-sided empyema and bilateral septic pulmonary emboli (figure 1).

Figure 1

Axial CT scan with contrast of the neck (left) and the chest (right). A thrombus in the left internal jugular vein (arrow, left), empyema (asterisks) and septic pulmonary emboli (arrow, right) are depicted.

In addition to thoracocentesis, curettage and irrigation of the right-sided thoracic cavity were performed with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Gram staining of the purulent pleural fluid showed Gram-negative rods with abundant polymorphonuclear leukocytes....

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When things are not quite what they seem!

Description 

A 61-year-old man presented with recurrent presyncope, 12-lead ECG and echocardiographic features of a right ventricular (RV) cardiomyopathy, and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia on Holter monitoring. During defibrillator implant for presumed arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy, ventricular pacing parameters were satisfactory and the following images were obtained (figure 1). The implantable cardioverter defibrillator lead appeared well sited in the RV apex on posterior-anterior fluoroscopy (figure 1A). However, screening in the left anterior oblique (LAO) projection raised doubts about the true lead position (figure 1B). On-table echocardiography and 12-lead ECG confirmed lead placement within the left ventricle (LV). Pullback of the lead, while screening, suggested passage to the systemic circulation via an atrial septal defect (ASD; figure 2A–D and video 1). Attempts to reposition the lead by advancing it from the superior vena cava (SVC) revealed an anomalous connection to a right pulmonary...

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Concurrent testicular torsion and acute incarcerated inguinal hernia in an adolescent boy

Testicular torsion and acute incarcerated inguinal hernia are both common surgical emergencies in the paediatric population. We present the unusual case of a 16-year-old adolescent boy who presented with both of these conditions concurrently. He had a history of a right inguinal hernia, but ultrasound confirmed a testicular torsion and we employed manual detorsion in the emergency department prior to taking him to the operating room. We successfully salvaged the testicle in addition to performing inguinal hernia reduction and repair. The goal of this report is to emphasise the importance of maintaining a broad differential and early utilisation of ultrasound in the patient with acute groin pain.

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Pleural tuberculosis: a key differential diagnosis for pleural thickening, even without obvious risk factors for tuberculosis in a low incidence setting

We report the case of a 64-year-old woman, presenting with pleuritic chest pain and weight loss. She had a previous history of breast malignancy and no clear risk factors for tuberculosis (TB). Initial investigations showed a right-sided pleural effusion and pleural thickening suggestive of malignancy, which would have been in keeping with the clinical presentation. Initial pleural biopsy showed features suggestive of possible TB infection, though no growth on cultures. A repeat biopsy was negative on initial microscopy, but was culture positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also identifying isoniazid resistance. This case highlights that TB remains an important differential even in the absence of classical risk factors, and illustrates the diagnostic challenges it poses. It also highlights the value of culture positivity in identification of drug resistance and facilitation of appropriate treatment.

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Recurrent biliary dissemination of colon cancer liver metastasis: a case report

Most colorectal cancer liver metastases form nodules within the hepatic parenchyma, and hepatectomy is the only radical treatment for synchronous metastases. There is concern about intrabiliary tumor growth wh...

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