Journal of medical case reports
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Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, including dabigatran, are currently widely used for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Recently, idarucizumab, a monoclonal antibody fragment for immediate reversal of dabigatran-induced anticoagulation, has been introduced into the market to be used in life-threatening bleeding or urgent surgery, allowing for rapid normalization of clotting parameters. The use of idarucizumab is not yet well established in patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke on dabigatran who are candidates for thrombolytic therapy. ⋯ Our case report adds to the evidence that idarucizumab administration is safe in the setting of patients with atrial fibrillation treated with dabigatran who develop acute ischemic stroke requiring thrombolysis.
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Case Reports
Successful long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: a case report.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is an established life-saving procedure for severe acute respiratory failure due to various causes. In general, the duration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ranges from 1 to 2 weeks, with withdrawal recommended if no improvement is noted. We report a successful case of long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation management for respiratory failure due to invasive pulmonary Aspergillus infection. ⋯ Long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation might be considered if the primary causes of respiratory failure necessitating extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be expected to be resolved, such as in the case of effective antimicrobial therapy for a definite pathogen. Our case indicates that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be used during treatment of respiratory failure due to invasive aspergillosis for the recommended treatment duration of 4 to 8 weeks.
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Open injuries to the face involving the external carotid artery are uncommon. These injuries are normally associated with laceration of the facial nerve because this nerve is more superficial than the external carotid artery. Hence, external carotid artery lesions are usually associated with facial nerve dysfunction. We present an unusual case report in which the patient had an injury to this artery with no facial nerve compromise. ⋯ This clinical case illustrates that, in a preauricular wound, the external carotid artery can be injured without facial nerve damage. However, no similar description was found in the reviewed literature, which suggests that this must be a very rare occurrence. According to the dissection study performed, this is due to the existence of a triangular space between the cervicofacial and temporofacial nerve trunks in which the external carotid artery is not covered by the facial nerve or its branches.
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Oxygen delivery to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may be challenging because of their potential hypoxic ventilatory drive. However, some oxygen delivery systems such as non-rebreathing face masks with an oxygen reservoir bag require high oxygen flow for adequate oxygenation and to avoid carbon dioxide rebreathing. ⋯ Non-rebreathing masks with oxygen reservoir bags must be fed with an oxygen flow exceeding the patient's minute ventilation (>6-10 L/minute.). If not, the amount of oxygen delivered will be too small to effectively increase the arterial oxygen saturation. Moreover, the risk of carbon dioxide rebreathing dramatically increases if the flow of oxygen to a non-rebreathing mask is lower than the minute ventilation, especially in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and low tidal volumes. Non-rebreathing masks (with oxygen reservoir bags) must be used cautiously by experienced medical staff and with an appropriately high oxygen flow of 10-15 L/minute. Nevertheless, arterial blood gases must be analyzed regularly for early detection of a rise in partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a hypoxic ventilatory drive. These patients are more safely managed using a nasal cannula with an oxygen flow of 1-2L/minute or a simple face mask with an oxygen flow of 5L/minute.
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Colloid adenocarcinoma of the lung is a rare subtype of variants of invasive adenocarcinomas. We report the appearance of this unusual entity on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. ⋯ The advantage of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the diagnosis of colloid adenocarcinoma, as with other cancers, is the ability to locate extrapulmonary disease, facilitating clinical staging.