The American journal of emergency medicine
-
Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a rare vasculitic disorder characterized by chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma, and persistent eosinophilia. Although not a usual prominent initial presentation, cardiac involvement is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with CSS. We report a case of a 72-year-old white man who presented with chest pain and was subsequently diagnosed with CSS with biopsy-proven eosinophilic myopericarditis. We have also included a review of the literatures on cardiac involvement in CSS.
-
Discoloration of urine can be alarming and may indicate a serious underlying pathology. However, majority is benign and occur as a result of ingestions of substances such as medications or food dye or trauma postinstrumentations. ⋯ Unfortunately, most clinicians including the frontline clinicians are not aware of this syndrome, and despite the striking features, purple urine bag discoloration may be overlooked and not be given appropriate treatment. We present a case of this rare phenomenon with urosepsis that was not diagnosed on 2 occasions when the patient presented to the accident and emergency department.
-
Reactive arthritis is an inflammatory condition with multiorgan system disease potential. Because the standard constellation of symptoms in Reiter syndrome (arthritis, conjunctivitis, and urethritis) is not typically present in all patients, the disease can be easily overlooked if clinical suspicion is not high upon presentation. To highlight the importance of recognizing the potential of this disease in patients with a history of either gastrointestinal or genitourinary illnesses, we present the case of a young healthy male presented on multiple occasions later diagnosed with Reiter syndrome in the setting of a recent diagnosis of prostatitis. ⋯ He was treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during a brief hospital stay and did well. Although reactive arthritis is an easily managed disease, it is easily missed particularly in young otherwise healthy patients who may not present with classic symptoms. Vigilance with regard to patients with vague seemingly unrelated complaints particularly with a history of gastrointestinal- or genitourinary-related illnesses deserves consideration for this disease process.
-
Case Reports
Susceptibility-weighted imaging in patient with consciousness disturbance after traffic accident.
Both diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and fat embolism syndrome could be the cause of altered consciousness in patients who suffered from traffic accident. In some situations, distinguishing DAI from fat embolism syndrome may be difficult because routine brain imaging could not detect the lesions. ⋯ However, cerebral and cerebellar white matter and splenium of corpus callosum are the areas most vulnerable to cerebral fat embolism. In additional to history, clinical manifestation, and prognosis, evaluating the distribution of hypointense lesions in susceptibility-weighted imaging could be useful to differentiate these 2 conditions.
-
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction treated primarily with epinephrine. Methylene blue, a competitive inhibitor of guanylate cyclase, interferes with the vasodilatory actions of nitric oxide. It has recently been proposed by the Joint Taskforce on Practice Parameters as an alternative treatment for anaphylaxis with hypotension that is not responsive to classical therapy. ⋯ After infusion of methylene blue, symptom resolution occurred almost immediately, and intubation was spared. Side effects were minimal. We propose methylene blue as a safe treatment option for refractory anaphylaxis, whether with or without hypotension.