Acta Clin Belg
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Since 2004, the US Food And Drug Administration and the European Medicine Agency are giving warnings about cocaine adulterated with levamisole. Levamisole is primarily used as an anti-helminthic. One of the side-effects of levamisole is a decreased bone marrow function. Herein we describe the first case of agranulocytosis and neutropenic fever due to cocaine adulterated with levamisole reported in Europe.
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Pain acceptance is considered important for mental well-being with better functional outcomes for chronic pain patients. The present study explored whether pain-related variables (pain severity, pain interference, pain duration, and pain catastrophizing) and non-pain-related variables (personality traits) influence acceptance and additionally examined the interrelationship between the influencing variables and acceptance. ⋯ The findings indicate that acceptance is influenced by catastrophizing and avoidant personality traits. The clinical implication might be that acceptance-oriented treatments may prove less successful in chronic pain patients with more pronounced avoidant personality traits. Extra focus on a reduction of the frequency of pain catastrophizing might be helpful.
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During a study on fever after a stay in the tropics, we aimed at investigating the epidemiology and outcome of invasive bacterial enteritis due to Shigella, Salmonella or Campylobacter spp. in patients diagnosed with febrile traveller's diarrhoea. ⋯ Invasive bacterial enteritis was a frequent aetiology of febrile TD. C. jejuni was the leading pathogen after a travel to southern Asia, and was associated with high rate of resistance to fluoroquinolones and of clinical failure.
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Radial artery pseudoaneurysms occurring as a late complication of percutaneous radial artery cannulation are rare, while those which are infected are exceptional. Known risk factors are age-related with patients being in their seventies and onwards, the duration of the radial artery catheter and staphylococcal catheter-related infections. We report the case of an 82-year-old patient who developed a mycotic radial artery pseudoaneurysm as a late complication of arterial catheterization.