Acta Clin Belg
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Review Case Reports
Ingestion of white spirit resulting in perineal skin burns: a case report and review of the literature.
In the literature, possible systemic effects on health of inhalation or ingestion of white spirit are well described. Only a few case reports discuss the toxic skin effects that can occur following massive ingestion. ⋯ We describe a patient who developed partial thickness perineal skin burns after ingestion of white spirit and review the literature. The present data indicate that conservative therapy of the skin burns is recommended.
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Palliative care is considered an integral part of oncology and communicating this with patients is an unavoidable task for oncologists. This contribution investigated to what extent communication skills for communicating palliative care with patients are trained in the formal academic training program in medical oncology in Flanders, Belgium. The programme is based on the recommendations for a Global Core Curriculum in Medical Oncology, developed by The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) together with the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). ⋯ This study revealed promising developments for the training of Flemish medical oncologists to discuss palliative care. However, there is still a need for more theoretical training on palliative care complemented with communication skills trainings. Communication training in general needs to be fully integrated as a core skill within the medical curriculum at large and should be promoted as lifelong learning and competency development.
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'Chronic Lyme disease' is a controversial condition. As any hard evidence is lacking that unresolved systemic symptoms, following an appropriately diagnosed and treated Lyme disease, are related to a chronic infection with the tick-borne spirochaetes of the Borrelia genus, the term 'chronic Lyme disease' should be avoided and replaced by the term 'post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.' The improper prescription of prolonged antibiotic treatments for these patients can have an impact on the community antimicrobial resistance and on the consumption of health care resources. Moreover, these treatments can be accompanied by severe complications. In this case report, we describe a life-threatening ceftriaxone-induced immune hemolytic anemia with an acute kidney injury (RIFLE-stadium F) due to a pigment-induced nephropathy in a 76-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with a so-called 'chronic Lyme disease.'
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Kounis syndrome (KS) is a complex of cardiovascular symptoms and signs following either allergy or hypersensitivity and anaphylactic or anaphylactoid insults. We report the case of 57-year-old man, with hypertension and history of allergy, referred for facial rash and palpitations appeared after consumption of canned tuna fish. Suddenly, the patient collapsed: electrocardiogram showed ST-elevation in inferior leads. ⋯ Fish with high levels of free histidine, the enzyme substrate converted to histamine by bacterial histidine decarboxylase, are those most often implicated in scombroid poisoning. Inflammatory mediators such as histamine constitute the pathophysiologic basis of Kounis hypersensitivity-associated acute coronary syndrome. Patients with coronary risk factors, allergic reaction after food ingestion, and suspected scombroid poisoning should be therefore carefully monitored for a prompt diagnosis of possible coronary complications.