1/1369. Unaccountable severe hypercalcemia in a patient treated for hypoparathyroidism with dihydrotachysterol.This report describes a forty-seven-year-old female patient with a complex medical history. She was suffering from an unspecified interstitial lung disease, papillary thyroid carcinoma which had been treated, hypoparathyroidism after thyroidectomy for which she was receiving dihydrotachysterol and calcium, and atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure as a result of mitral stenosis. Shortly after mitral valve replacement she developed a severe hypercalcemia (serum calcium 5.95 mmol/l) during a febrile illness. At that time anti-tuberculous agents were also being administered for presumed tuberculosis. The possible mechanisms for this severe elevation of the calcium level are discussed. immobilization, while Paget's bone disease was present, and perhaps enhanced activation of dihydrotachysterol by rifampicin, could have led to increased calcium-release into the circulation. Continuous supplecation of calcium and vitamin d, provoked dehydration and the mechanism of the milk-alkali syndrome also contributed to this extremely high calcium level. It is concluded that hypoparathyroid patients being treated with vitamin d and calcium should be carefully monitored in the case of an intercurrent illness or a change in medication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/1369. Fatal cardiac ischaemia associated with prolonged desflurane anaesthesia and administration of exogenous catecholamines.PURPOSE: Four cardiac ischaemic events are reported during and after prolonged anaesthesia with desflurane. CLINICAL FEATURES: We have evaluated desflurane in 21 consecutive patients undergoing advanced head and neck reconstructive surgery. Four deaths occurred which were associated with cardiac ischaemic syndromes either during or immediately after operation. All patients in the study received a similar anaesthetic. This comprised induction with propofol and maintenance with alfentanil and desflurane in oxygen-enriched air. Inotropic support (either dopamine or dobutamine in low dose, 5 micrograms.kg.min-1) was provided as part of the anaesthetic technique in all patients. Critical cardiovascular incidents were observed in each of the four patients during surgery. These were either sudden bradycardia or tachycardia associated with ST-segment electrocardiographic changes. The four patients who died had a documented past history of coronary heart disease and were classified American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) II or III. One patient (#2) did not survive anaesthesia and surgery and the three others died on the first, second and twelfth postoperative days. Enzyme increases (CK/CK-MB) were available in three patients and confirmed myocardial ischaemia. CONCLUSION: These cases represent an unexpected increase in the immediate postoperative mortality for these types of patients and this anaesthetic sequence.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.120493933788keywords = coronary (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/1369. Emergency resection of distal tracheal stenosis. A case report.A case of tracheal stenosis secondary to tracheostomy and respirator treatment is presented. The stenosis caused acute respiratory failure, which made immediate surgical intervention mandatory. It is stressed that usually the tracheal lumen is severely reduced when the stenosis causes alarming symptoms. Rational treatment, which must be instituted immediately, consists of resection of the stenotic area and end-to-end anastomosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/1369. saphenous vein interposition graft for recurrent carotid stenosis after prior endarterectomy and stent placement. Case report.Although the use of carotid artery stents is increasing, the management of recurrent stenosis after their placement is undefined. The authors report on a patient who underwent two left carotid endarterectomies followed by left carotid angioplasty and stent placement for recurrent stenosis. A third symptomatic recurrence was subsequently managed by placement of a saphenous vein interposition graft from the common carotid artery to the distal cervical internal carotid artery. The patient remained without hemispheric or retinal ischemia at his 5-month follow-up visit. Interposition grafting should be considered as a treatment option for carotid restenosis after initial endarterectomy and stent placement.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/1369. Subacute ischaemic proctitis: a rare condition requiring extensive rectal surgery.Subacute ischaemic proctitis is a rare condition. We describe the case of a 60-year-old male patient who developed, after aortic aneurysm repair, a transient ischaemic colitis that totally healed without sequelae. He eventually developed symptoms of severe proctitis. Investigations identified a stenosis of the mid rectum, while the upper rectum was inflammatory. On angiogram, there was a poor blood flow through the Riolan's arcade and a stenosis of the proximal aorto-graft anastomosis. diagnosis of subacute ischaemic proctitis due to poor blood supply through the internal iliac arteries was made. Anti-inflammatory drugs and dilations were inefficient. A subtotal proctectomy with low colorectal anastomosis was required. On pathological specimen, the lesions were strongly suggestive of an ischaemic process. The patient had an excellent recovery and was asymptomatic 8 months after the operation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/1369. Extended laryngofissure in the management of subglottic stenosis in the young child: a preliminary report.The child with subglottic stenosis and a tracheotomy is a management problem. To date, a consistent method for successful and expeditious correction of the primary lesion to permit decannulation has eluded clinicians. The child is tracheotomized and thus frequently hospitalized for a lengthy period. Personal development and family relationships are adversely affected and the mortality rate during this period of cannulation is significant. During the past eighteen months in an attempt to achieve earlier decannulation, three children with subglottic stenosis have undergone a surgical procedure in which division of the anterior and posterior aspects of the cricoid ring are the key surgical maneuvers.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/1369. Directional coronary atherectomy in acute myocardial infarction.To date, application of directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has had limited reports. In eleven patients with AMI, DCA was applied. In three of these patients, DCA was used as a stand-alone procedure without use of thrombolytic agents. In each case a guidewire was placed across the stenosis, and in eight patients balloon angioplasty was utilized as a predilating modality prior to DCA. The thrombolytic agent urokinase was utilized in five of these eight patients, either before, during, or after angioplasty and/or DCA. DCA success (defined as ability to cross the lesion, reduction of less than or equal to 20% in stenosis and thrombolysis--when a thrombus is present) was achieved in 10 of 11 patients. One patient had persistent abrupt reclosure of an LAD lesion, accompanied by hemodynamic compromise, necessitating intra-aortic balloon pump insertion and subsequent emergent coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Final angiograms revealed residual stenoses less than or equal to 20%, and adequate thrombolysis. Significant cardiac events were limited to one emergent CABG, Q wave MI in four patients, and non-Q wave MI in two patients. Clinically all eleven patients improved, survived the AMI/CABG, and were discharged. This clinical experience demonstrates the feasibility and safety of DCA application in selected patients who experience acute myocardial infarction.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 20.722963602728keywords = coronary, stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/1369. A new, safer lasing technique for laser-facilitated coronary angioplasty.in vitro studies during cold pulsed-wave laser angioplasty have demonstrated production of gas bubbles within the target tissue, creation of shock wave and formation of multi-layer dissections accompanied by an increase in the plaque and vessel wall temperature. These processes account for certain complications of coronary lasing, including acute vessel closure, dissections, spasm, and even perforation. The traditional lasing technique in which a large number of pulses is continually emitted across the lesion, may in fact contribute to the development and acceleration of the above mentioned processes. To overcome the shortcomings we have developed a new, safe lasing technique that consists of multiple trains of a small number of pulses each. Between laser sessions the laser catheter is retracted into the guiding catheter and nitroglycerin is injected intracoronary, thus providing time for dispersion of produced gas bubbles, cooling of the target artery, and adequate coronary vasodilatation. This new technique results in a significant reduction of laser associated complications.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 21.843457536516keywords = coronary (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/1369. Transient mutism resolving into cerebellar speech after brain stem infarction following a traumatic injury of the vertebral artery in a child.A 3.7-year-old girl presented with an anterior neck injury followed by progressive subcutaneous emphysema and loss of consciousness. After resuscitation, a laceration on the first tracheal cartilage was closed surgically. As she was extubated one week later, she was found to have right hemiplegia and muteness. MRI showed a T2-bright lesion on the tegmentum of the left midbrain down to the upper pons. Right vertebral angiography disclosed an intimal flap with stenosis at the C3 vertebral level presumably caused by a fracture of the right C3 transverse process later confirmed in a cervical 3D-CT scan. Her muteness lasted for 10 days, after which she began to utter some comprehensible words in a dysarthric fashion. Her neurological deficits showed improvement within 3 months of her admission. Transient mutism after brain stem infarction has not been reported previously. We discuss the anatomical bases for this unusual reversible disorder in the light of previous observations and conclude that bilateral damage to the dentatothalamocortical fibers at the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle may have been responsible for her transient mutism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stenosis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/1369. Acute hyperkalemia associated with intravenous epsilon-aminocaproic acid therapy.Epsilon-aminocaproic acid (Amicar) is used to treat severe hemorrhage refractory to usual medical management. This antifibrinolytic drug has been associated with a number of renal complications. However, there are no descriptions of this medication causing hyperkalemia. This report describes the development of hyperkalemia in a patient with underlying chronic renal insufficiency treated with intravenous epsilon-aminocaproic acid. The patient, who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, had no other obvious cause for the acute increase in serum potassium concentration. Based on data in animals and humans, the cationic amino acids lysine and arginine have been shown to enter muscle cells in exchange for potassium and lead to hyperkalemia through a shift of potassium from the intracellular to the extracellular space. Epsilon-aminocaproic acid, a synthetic amino acid structurally similar to lysine and arginine, also has been noted to cause an acute increase in serum potassium in anephric dogs infused with this medication. It is probable that the mechanism underlying the increase in serum potassium with epsilon-aminocaproic acid is also based on the shift of potassium from the intracellular to the extracellular space. Hence, it appears that intravenous epsilon-aminocaproic acid can also cause hyperkalemia in humans.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.120493933788keywords = coronary (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |