PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P Dargan

Publications and source records attributed to P Dargan.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Primary liposarcoma of the omentum: a case report and review of the literature.

A case of round cell liposarcoma of omentum in a 45-year-old man is reported. The patient presented with abdominal pain, swelling and fever of 4-month duration. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomogram confirmed the presence of an abdominal mass, but the omental origin of the tumour was revealed only on laparotomy. In addition to the main tumour mass, multiple nodules were present in the omentum. The tumour was excised with omentum. Histopathology of the tumour revealed a round cell liposarcoma. The patient expired 9 months after operation. Eight other cases of liposarcoma of omentum reported in English literature are reviewed.

Humans↗
PubMed2001

How feasible is it to conform to the European guidelines on administration of activated charcoal within one hour of an overdose?

OBJECTIVES: The European and American position statement on the use of activated charcoal recommends its administration within an hour of ingestion of a charcoal binding poison. But in reality, this time limit is difficult to follow for the majority of poisoned patients. This study aimed to examine the treatment of acutely poisoned patients with activated charcoal in an accident and emergency (A&E) department. METHODS: 63 patients who had taken potentially serious overdoses and required hospital admission from a London teaching hospital A&E department were identified over a six month period. The patients' case notes were analysed for age, sex, substances taken, and the timing of their management within the A&E department. RESULTS: Median time of arrival after overdose was 136 minutes, and only 15 patients presented within an hour. Ten of these 15 patients were given activated charcoal, and only four of the 10 received it within the one hour limit. Sixteen patients received charcoal outside the time limit. Subanalysis of the individual cases given charcoal shows that triaging is fast (median five minutes), but a significant time delay occurs after this before charcoal is administered (median 21 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: These results are likely to be exaggerated in rural hospitals and demonstrate the difficulty of adhering to the recommended guidelines, unless activated charcoal can be safely administered to appropriate patients in the prehospital environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Agenesis of gallbladder in symptomatic patients.

Three women and one man among 771 patients, who underwent laparotomy with diagnosis of symptomatic gallbladder disease over a period of 5 years, were found to have agenesis of the gallbladder. Preoperative ultrasonography suggested cholelithiasis in all the four patients; three patients with jaundice had choledocholithiasis in addition. The absence of gallbladder was established by meticulous operative exploration and carefully repeated ultrasonography in postoperative period. The patients having choledocholithiasis underwent choledocholithotomy, while the fourth patient had no definitive procedure. One patient expired on 17th postoperative day following biliary leak, septicemia and liver failure. Another two patients were well and symptom free, while the fourth patient remained symptomatic. Awareness of the possibility of agenesis of gallbladder may allow the surgeon to attempt confirmation of diagnosis by non-operative methods and avoid surgical exploration in specific instances.

Abdominal Pain↗