BMJ case reports
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It has been recognised for some time that many disorders such as vascular malformations, hypertension, collagen vascular diseases, tumours, eclampsia, central nervous system infection, bacterial endocarditis and blood dyscrasias can cause non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage in young adults. Factor XIII deficiency is a rare cause of intracranial bleed. The impressive clinical signs with bleeding starting in the neonatal period (prolonged bleeding from the umbilical cord), followed by severe, life-threatening episodes of intracranial haemorrhage should raise the clinical suspicion of factor XIII deficiency. ⋯ We are reporting here the clinical outcome of a young woman with intracranial bleed due to factor XIII deficiency. The patient was managed successfully with fresh frozen plasma transfusion and supportive treatments. The prophylactic substitution therapy of factor XIII (recombinant factor XIII, cryoprecipitate and fresh frozen plasma) enables patients to live normal lives, free from catastrophic bleeding episodes.
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A 30-year-old Caucasian woman, without significant medical history or immunosuppression, presented with a 7-day history of severe headache and neck pain. The patient was presumed to have tension headache versus migraine, but was admitted because her symptoms did not resolve. A lumbar puncture was performed showing lymphocytic pleocytosis suggestive of aseptic meningitis and the patient was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics and acyclovir. ⋯ Upon further history, patient was found to have previous varicella infection as a child, but no prior episodes of dermatomal zoster. Therefore, this patient was found to have aseptic meningitis and cutaneous manifestation of disseminated varicella-zoster despite immunocompetence. Antibacterial treatment was discontinued and she was continued on acyclovir for 7 days with transition to valacyclovir for 2 additional weeks with good treatment response and symptom resolution.
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Digital swelling is a common presentation in clinical practice. Patients presenting with swollen fingers to the emergency department will often have rings on their finger, which can be removed using a variety of simple non-operative techniques or by cutting the ring off and thus avoiding any long-term consequences. ⋯ We present an unusual case of patient with psychiatric illness who presented late with a ring that had embedded upon the volar aspect of the index finger. The difficulties faced by the emergency care practitioners in such circumstances, the consequences of rings acting as a tourniquet and strategies for removal of rings on swollen fingers are highlighted.
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Case Reports
Rehabilitation following intracerebral haemorrhage secondary to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was first used in adults with severe respiratory failure in the 1970s. Its use has been steadily increasing since the 1990s after a trial demonstrated improved survival. There are currently seven centres in the UK offering ECMO to adults. ⋯ She was transferred to a tertiary centre and suffered bitemporal and right parietal haemorrhages on ECMO in late February. She was repatriated to our unit for rehabilitation in April 2012. Her rehabilitation needs represent the complexity of this patient group with multiple medical, behavioural and physical challenges.