BMJ case reports
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Eruptive xanthoma (EX) is a very rare dermatosis mostly occurring due to high levels of serum triglycerides or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. When EX is encountered, it is important to keep in mind that it could be a sign of severe underlying metabolic derangements. ⋯ After treatment of the underlying metabolic disorders, lesions mostly disappear without leaving scars. We present a case of a 55-year-old woman who presented with solely EX lesions and who was eventually diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and severe hypertriglyceridaemia.
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Flail chest after blunt trauma to the chest has a high morbidity and mortality rate. Traumatic flail chest in children rarely occurs due to flexibility of the ribcage. ⋯ The patient was discharged home 17 days after surgery and, at 4 months follow-up, had fully recovered. This case report shows the possibility of operative rib fixation as treatment for flail chest in children.
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Case Reports
Delayed full-thickness macular hole closure without vitreomacular traction release following ocriplasmin injection.
We report a case of a 77-year-old Caucasian woman, treated with ocriplasmin injection for vitreomacular traction (VMT) and full-thickness macular hole (FTMH), who had a persistence outer retinal defect on her 28-day review, without VMT resolution, then presented 3 months later with complete macular hole closure, with persistence of vitreomacular adhesion. This case raises the question on the validity of the 28-day fixed date to assess final outcome of ocriplasmin injection for FTMH associated with VMT, and sheds new lights on the behaviour of the posterior hyaloid in cases of vitreolysis by a chemical agent such as ocriplasmin.
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Foreign body aspiration (FBA) into the airways is a potentially life-threatening event, and more frequent in children younger than 3 years of age; it can mimic other diseases by its frequently non-specific clinical and radiological presentation. The commonest misdiagnoses in children are asthma and recurrent respiratory tract infections with wheezing. ⋯ We report a case of a 2-year-old boy who arrived at the emergency department at the Hospital of Ferrara, with dyspnoea, fever and wheezing, which had started 12 h after aspiration of a pistachio. The asymptomatic period after the pistachio aspiration, a history of recurrent wheezing during respiratory infections and the non-specificity of clinical and radiological findings, delayed the right diagnosis of FBA.