1/66. Neurological deficit following spinal anaesthesia: MRI and CT evidence of spinal cord gas embolism.A 62-year-old diabetic woman developed permanent neurological deficits in the legs following spinal anaesthesia. MRI showed oedema in the spinal cord and a small intramedullary focus of signal void at the T10 level, with negative density at CT. Intramedullary gas bubbles have not been reported previously among the possible neurological complications of spinal anaesthesia; a combined ischaemic/embolic mechanism is hypothesised.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/66. Amelioration of acromegaly after pituitary infarction due to gastrointestinal hemorrhage from gastric ulcer.We report a rare case of acromegaly in which pituitary infarction possibly developed in a GH-producing pituitary adenoma following gastrointestinal bleeding from peptic ulcer. In this case, pituitary infarction resulted in spontaneous remission of acromegaly associated with diabetes mellitus. In addition, detailed histological investigation revealed that clinically silent pituitary apoplexy was mainly an acute ischemic event which occurred recently in a GH-producing adenoma. This event led to massive coagulation necrosis of the tumor and endocrinological improvement.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.8keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/66. Clinical and radiological findings in patients with gas forming renal abscess treated conservatively.PURPOSE: Emphysematous pyelonephritis in diabetics is considered a potentially lethal infection. mortality rates of patients treated conservatively approaches 80% in some series. These patients often present with signs of sepsis or septic shock. In contrast, gas forming renal abscess is rare, with patients presenting entirely differently from those with emphysematous pyelonephritis. To our knowledge this process has been previously described only in isolated case reports. We describe a series of 5 patients with this distinct process. MATERIALS AND methods: We reviewed the clinical and radiological features of 5 patients with gas forming renal abscesses. RESULTS: Each patient presented with diabetes mellitus with initial blood glucose ranging from 313 to 552 mg./dl., fever (average 101F), flank or abdominal pain and pyuria. No patient had evidence of septic shock at hospitalization. escherichia coli was the documented organism in each case. Mild renal insufficiency was noted in most patients based on serum creatinine. Radiological evaluation revealed gas filled pockets within the renal parenchyma, which were most effectively shown by computerized tomography (CT) of the abdomen. There was no radiological evidence of pus. Percutaneous drainage of an abscess in 1 case did not produce any purulent material or alter the clinical course. Each patient responded to correction of the underlying metabolic abnormalities with intravenous antibiotics (average 23 days) followed by prolonged oral antibiotic therapy (average 9 weeks). In contrast to the management of emphysematous pyelonephritis, surgical or percutaneous drainage was not necessary. Serial CT revealed complete resolution of gas in the parenchyma within 6 months in patients with long-term followup. Of note, gas was persistent on CT months after infection had clinically resolved. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a unique entity within the spectrum of pyelonephritis. The clinical appearance of gas forming abscesses within the renal parenchyma without liquefaction in diabetic patients was remarkably benign compared to the radiographic appearance of the disease process. Conservative management with intravenous and oral antibiotics was successful in each patient, avoiding the need for invasive intervention.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/66. simvastatin-induced rhabdomyolysis in a patient with chronic renal failure.simvastatin belongs to a class of lipid-lowering drugs which completely inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl co-enzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase. The commonest adverse effects of therapy with simvastatin HMG CoA reductase inhibitors are gastro-intestinal disturbance, myositis and myopathy. rhabdomyolysis leading to renal failure has been reported, but it appears to be very rare, except in patients also receiving cyclosporin, nicotinic acid or gemfibrozil. Here we report the case of an elderly lady who was known to have chronic renal failure, but who developed rhabdomyolysis following simvastatin therapy. Her symptoms of muscle pain, fatigue, myoglobulinuria, oliguria and pulmonary oedema appeared 48 h after the first dose of simvastatin. simvastatin was immediately stopped, and the patient was dialysed for 1 week. Her renal function improved and came back. We suggest that extreme care should be exercised in prescribing this drug, particularly for the elderly with renal impairment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.2keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/66. Three elderly patients with lower esophageal cancer successfully treated by transhiatal esophagectomy assisted by mediastinoscopy.mediastinoscopy-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy recently has been applied in patients with intrathoracic esophageal cancer. Elderly patients with esophageal cancer experience several types of complications and often cannot undergo standard transthoracic esophagectomy. In this study, three elderly patients with preoperative complications underwent mediastinoscopy-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer located in the lower part of the esophagus. Patient 1 was an 80-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Patient 2 was a 78-year-old man with bronchial asthma. Patient 3 was an 81-year-old-man with diabetes mellitus and an atherosclerotic obstruction of the lower extremities. In these patients, mediastinoscopy-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy concomitant with reconstruction by means of a gastric tube was performed. Lymph node dissections of the middle and lower mediastinum and of the abdomen, including the regions surrounding the left gastric and celiac arteries, were performed. postoperative complications developed only in patient 1; minor leakage of the esophagogastrostomy and high bilirubinemia were observed. Metastasis was detected in the lymph nodes surrounding the celiac artery in patient 1 and surrounding the left gastric artery in patients 2 and 3. Patient 2 died of pneumonia 18 months later, but the other patients have been well, without recurrence of the cancer after surgery. In conclusion, mediastinoscopy-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy has some benefits for elderly esophageal cancer patients who experience preoperative complications.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.8keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/66. pneumoperitoneum following the spontaneous rupture of a gas-containing pyogenic liver abscess: report of a case.We report herein the case of a ruptured liver abscess that resulted in pneumoperitoneum. A patient with diabetes mellitus presented with symptoms of acute abdomen. The plain abdominal radiograph and computed tomography findings revealed abdominal free air and a gas-containing liver abscess, whereby a diagnosis of a ruptured liver abscess was made. An emergency operation was performed, and the abscess was drained followed by peritoneal lavage and the administration of appropriate antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, very few cases of spontaneous pneumoperitoneum occurring secondary to the rupture of a gas-containing liver abscess have been encountered in japan.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.2keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/66. diabetes mellitus associated with superior mesenteric artery syndrome: report of two cases.We observed two patients with diabetes who were suffering from nausea, vomiting and epigastralgia after meals. These symptoms subsided when lying on their left side. Since the 2 patients had autonomic neuropathy, at first, the symptoms seemed to be attributable to diabetic gastroparesis. However, they were diagnosed as having superior mesenteric artery syndrome by hypotonic duodenography. These finding suggest that in diabetic patients who have a history of excessive weight loss superior mesenteric artery syndrome should be ruled out even though they have autonomic neuropathy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.4keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/66. Invasive mucormycosis in benign gastric ulcer.Fungal elements are frequently noted overlying the base of chronic peptic ulcers of the stomach and it has been suggested that the fungi enhance the degree of necrosis and that these cases have protracted disease and deeper ulcers with more perforations. It has also been postulated that the number of fungal elements might be increased in the stomach of patients who are receiving potent medications such as H2-receptor antagonists to reduce gastric acidity, but there have not been adequate control studies, and the deleterious effects from the presence of the fungi in these cases have not been substantiated. We present a very rare case of invasive mucormycosis (phycomycosis) occurring in the base of a chronic gastric ulcer in a 55 years old diabetic male. This case was clinically and radiologically been mistaken for a gastric carcinoma. In addition, the ulcer was complicated by perforation and fungal septicemia with subsequent fatal outcome. The clinical, radiological and histopathological features are described together with a literature review of other reported fungal gastric ulcers.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.6keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/66. Improvement of weight loss and metabolic effects of vertical banded gastroplasty by an added duodenal switch procedure.BACKGROUND: Some patients who underwent vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) need revisional operations because of poor weight loss and remaining comorbidities. The duodenal switch (DS) procedure with partial gastrectomy is known as an effective method for treatment of severe obesity and related dyslipoproteinemias and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). Other investigations have shown that DS without gastric resection similarly corrects hypercholesterolemia and DM2 in the "less than" morbidly obese patients. methods: Based on this knowledge, we performed a DS simultaneously with hernioplasty and panniculectomy in a 63-year-old woman with a fair EWL (36.4%), with remaining hypercholesterolemia and DM2 4 years after VBG. The pouch stoma diameter was 13 mm, and there was no pouch dilation nor staple-line disruption. The previously partitioned stomach was left in place. H2-blockers and polyvitamins were prescribed after operation. RESULTS: 1 year after DS there were no postoperative complications and undesirable effects except slight anemia. DS allowed improvement in weight loss, improved carbohydrate handling without need for insulin or other hypoglycemic agents, and corrected severe hypercholesterolemia. CONCLUSION: DS per se in the case presented had a decisive effect on DM2 and hypercholesterolemia. DS should be kept in mind as a second-step malabsorptive procedure after a failed purely restrictive operation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.4keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/66. klebsiella pneumoniae psoas abscess: predominance in diabetic patients and grave prognosis in gas-forming cases.Seven cases of psoas abscess caused by klebsiella pneumoniae were observed at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital within a period of 4.5 years. These cases constituted 25% of a total 28 episodes of non-tuberculous psoas abscess, ranking second to those caused by staphylococcus aureus (8 cases). Eight cases of psoas abscess caused by K. pneumoniae were identified from medline, and 5 of which were reported from taiwan. Of these 8 cases, 1 neonatal case was excluded, and the remaining 7 adult cases were combined with the 7 cases in this series for analysis. The mean age was 53.8 years, and diabetes mellitus was the most common underlying disease. fever and pain on the flank and back area were the common findings. The interval between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis ranged from 1 to 60 days. The most common sites of concurrent infection were the urinary tract (6 cases; 43%) and bone (3 cases; 21%). All patients received percutaneous or surgical drainage in addition to antibiotic treatment. Gas formation was present in 5 of the 12 patients recorded, and 4 of them died during hospitalization. Only 1 patient had a metastatic infection with osteomyelitis of the left radius and right humerus; he had experienced 5 episodes of recurrent K. pneumoniae infections in different sites. We concluded that K. pneumoniae should be considered as an important endemic pathogen of psoas abscess in diabetics in taiwan. The high mortality rate in the gas-forming cases should also be highlighted. Early recognition, empiric antimicrobial coverage for K. pneumoniae, and aggressive drainage or debridement are indicated in these patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = gas (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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