Archive of clinical cases最新文献

Total occlusion of the abdominal aorta is an uncommon but potentially devastating event. Clinical symptoms are usually sudden and may vary depending on the level of the aortic occlusion. Associated morbidity and mortality remain substantial with high rates of limb loss, acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, and death. We report a case of a bedridden 91-year-old woman with history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, anemia and dementia, carried to the emergency department because of bilateral lower limb pallor. She had been at the same department the week before because of the same problems and high blood pressure (BP), but had been discharged after administration of hypotensive drugs and a short period of observation. No attention was paid to those perfusion alterations, or the global picture at all. The physical examination revealed cooling of the lower limbs and significant BP differential between upper and lower limbs (ankle-brachial index of 0.173), leading to the suspicion of bilateral acute limb ischemia. Abdominal, pelvic and lower limb CT was conducted, revealing calcification and important atheromatosis of the thoracic-abdominal aorta and a mural thrombus beginning above the origin of the celiac trunk, with complete occlusion below the origin of the renal arteries. After discussion with Vascular Surgery Department, given the advanced age, known co-morbidities and the timing of diagnosis, the patient was considered not eligible for revascularization surgery and comfort measures were honored. This case highlights the importance of stablishing a timely and correct diagnosis, even in the very elderly, emphasizing that they too benefit from secondary and tertiary prophylaxis, in order to prevent devastating outcomes as this.

Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with variable cutaneous manifestations. Several autoantibodies each with distinct clinical phenotypes are associated with the disease. Here we present the case of a 36-year-old Laotian woman with hypothyroidism who presented with severe proximal and distal muscle weakness, dysphagia, diffuse rash, and anasarca that was diagnosed with NXP-2 (nuclear matrix protein 2) antibody positive dermatomyositis. The patient's hospitalization was complicated by disease resistant to conventional therapy.

Introduction: Concave lower lateral cartilages not only cause an esthetic defect but can also lead to external nasal valve insufficiency. The objective of this article is to analyze the combination of two well-known surgical techniques: turning over the alar cartilages as well as the addition of grafts in order to obtain satisfying esthetic and functional long term results.

Materials and methods: From August 2016 to July 2018, 62 rhinoplasties, a combination of both primary and revision cases, were performed at the Rouen University Hospital in France. Six of these involved the correction of concave alar cartilages. The turnover technique alone or in combination with Batten grafts was performed.

Results: Immediate and 3-months post-operative esthetic results using the turnover flap technique were satisfactory. Alar batten grafts were occasionally employed in order to maintain the newly positioned alar cartilages and avoid long-term contour depressions.

Conclusion: The combination of these two techniques seems to be an interesting solution to maintain long-term esthetic results.

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cell (UCOGC) is a ductal carcinoma variant with a recently reported more protracted survival and pathognomonic histology comprising two cell populations: the mononuclear tumoral cells and nontumoral multinucleated giant cells. It usually presents as a large heterogenic tumor with mixed solid-cystic components. The tumor develops from the ductal epithelium but the sequence of epithelial changes is often not identified due to the rapid tumoral growth and associated necrotic changes. We report a case of a 76-year-old patient diagnosed with cephalic UCOGC originating in the epithelium of the main pancreatic duct with endoluminal growth and foci of other ductal neoplasms (high-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and conventional ductal carcinoma). The particularity of our case consists in the identification of the columnar epithelium conversion, through high-grade PanIN, into UCOGC specific malignant features, in a large size tumor - aspect usually reported in small tumors. Alongside our case we also present a brief literature review of cephalic UCOGC case reports and case series.

Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare cerebrovascular disease that accounts for approximately 1% of strokes, with an incidence of 3-4 cases / million inhabitants per year, with a significant mortality rate of 10-13%. Pregnancy and puerperal period are physiological states that predispose to thrombosis through hypercoagulability due to hormonal change. These alterations occur in blood flow, vascular wall and clotting factors and while superimposed on a genetically predisposing field, create the optimal conditions for the occurrence of embolic phenomena. Here we present the case of a young, secondipara woman with recurrent thrombotic events, even under optimal anticoagulation therapy, where the extensive laboratory investigations identified the predisposing terrain: the heterozygous mutation of the MTHFR A1289C gene.

Porocarcinoma is a rare tumor of the eccrine sweat glands that usually disseminates to the regional lymph nodes, but it can also develop distant metastasis. Case presentation: We report the case of a 67 year-old female patient who underwent wide surgical resection of a left cervical cutaneous tumor in a primary care center, for which the histology exam of the specimen was mixed basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. She was referred to our hospital's oncology clinic and histologic re-evaluation changed the diagnosis to eccrine porocarcinoma (EPC). Computer-tomography (CT) revealed cervical lymphadenopathies for which the patient underwent 4 cycles of chemotherapy, without regression. She subsequently underwent a left upper anterior jugular lymphadenectomy (group IIa) with all nodes being negative and, three months later, she developed a unique adenopathy under the parotid gland that was excised and confirmed to be metastatic. Postoperative external radiotherapy was administered with a good outcome on CT scan. Nine months after her last surgery, the patient did not show any sign of recurrence or distant metastasis. Conclusion: EPC is a challenge, both diagnostically and therapeutically. In the absence of consensus regarding the indications and extent of lymphadenectomy and adjuvant therapy, patients with EPC should be referred to an experienced multidisciplinary team in a tertiary center.

Re-expansion pulmonary edema after chest tube drainage of spontaneous pneumothorax is a very rare complication, even more when it is bilateral. We report the case of a middle age patient presenting to our emergency department for syncope without shortness of breath. A chest X-ray showed a complete pneumothorax, but the treatment worsened the patient condition. The drainage leaded to a re-expansion pulmonary edema. We discuss the mechanism and predictors of this entity and suggest treatment including preventive measures.

Circumflex coronary artery anomalies are the most common type so far observed. However, a dual origin of the circumflex is an extremely rare anomaly. We describe two different patients admitted to our clinic with acute coronary syndrome at the same day. Angiography revealed twin circumflex arteries: one from the left main artery and the other from the proximal right coronary artery.

Primary thyroid angiosarcoma is a very rare and extremely aggressive mesenchymal malignant neoplasm showing morphological and immunophenotypic evidence of endothelial cell differentiation. Early diagnosis of this tumor along with radical thyroidectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy are essential for adequate management of the patient. Currently available data on diagnosis and treatment options of this neoplasm are limited because it is a rare disease in endocrine organs. Raising awareness regarding its diagnosis can help to optimize the treatment and to improve the survival of the patient. We present the case of a 72-year-old female patient with multiple comorbidities who addressed to the hospital with obstructive respiratory symptoms: dyspnea, wheezing and hoarseness. The investigations, both clinical and paraclinical, identified a local invasive cervical mass located mainly in the left thyroid lobe, whose immunohistochemical examination confirmed primary thyroid angiosarcoma. Although this type of neoplasm is described mainly in the Alpine regions, it can appear in lower altitude regions and this tumor needs to be differentiated from a high-grade neoplasm (anaplastic thyroid carcinoma).

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of treated heart arrhythmia. Generally, the treatment goals for atrial fibrillation are to reset the rhythm or control the rate and prevent the development and subsequent embolization of atrial thrombi. These thromboembolic events can occur with any kind of atrial fibrillation that is paroxysmal, persistent or permanent. In patients who are candidate for anticoagulation therapy, major practice guideline provides vitamin K antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulant and non-VKA oral anticoagulants as treatment options. The risk of AF increases with age and despite treatment on standard of care anticoagulation therapy, recrudescent cardioembolic events may still arise especially in the elderly as we will see in this case.