Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Jun 2005
Case Reports[Active management of children after ingestion of a button battery].
Four children, three girls in the age range up to 14 months and a boy aged 10 years, were admitted because of button battery ingestion. In two patients, the course was uncomplicated, with spontaneous passage of the batteries. Two other patients, a girl aged 11 months and a girl aged 6 weeks, developed severe complications: stenosis of the oesophagus in one patient and a dramatic clinical course with a tracheo-oesophageal fistula and oesophageal damage in the other. ⋯ Electrochemical tissue damage and impaction may lead to serious complications within hours. If the battery is located in the oesophagus, endoscopic removal should be attempted as soon as possible. A conservative approach can be followed when the battery is located in the stomach or beyond, and complaints are absent.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Jun 2005
Case Reports[Cannabinoid hyperemesis with the unusual symptom of compulsive bathing].
Examination of a 36-year-old man revealed no physical or psychological disorders that could explain his chronic, intermittent severe vomiting that did not respond to a wide range of antiemetics. After a recent publication on cannabinoid hyperemesis, the patient was questioned further, and it was found that he was a chronic cannabis smoker since the age of 14 years. This is the first Dutch patient with cannabinoid hyperemesis. ⋯ Due to the severity of the vomiting, patients are frequently hospitalised for the treatment of dehydration. A typical sign ofcannabinoid hyperemesis is compulsive bathing in warm water, which is the only way to suppress the symptoms. The mechanism underlying the syndrome has not been clarified, but it is clear that chronic cannabis use is a key factor: discontinuation causes the symptoms to disappear immediately, whereas recommencing the use of cannabis can lead to the recurrence of cyclic vomiting and nausea within a few weeks or months.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Jun 2005
[Favourable result for temozolomide in recurrent high-grade glioma].
To describe the results of the treatment of recurrent glioma with temozolomide. ⋯ 15 patients received temozolomide for a recurrent anaplastic oligodendroglioma or mixed oligo-astrocytoma. The response in this group was 80% and after 12 months in 47% of the patients there was no disease progression. 35 patients underwent second-line chemotherapy with temozolomide after earlier chemotherapy with procarbazine, lomustine and vincristine for recurrent anaplastic oligodendroglioma or mixed oligo-astrocytoma. Response was 26% and after 12 months in 15% of patients there was still no disease progression. 14 patients were treated with temozolomide for a recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma with a response of 35% and after 12 months in 8% of these patients there was no disease progression. Of the 13 patients with a recurrent glioblastoma who were treated with temozolomide 16% responded and after 6 and 12 months 21% were still free from progression. Temozolomide was well-tolerated: 2 patients had to stop because of probable side effects. CONCLUSION. Temozolomide has an acceptable safety profile and may be regarded as the preferred treatment for recurrent anaplastic gliomas after radiotherapy. There is only a limited role for temozolomide in the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma.