T A Mehta | PubMed Health

PubMed2000

Acute cauda equina syndrome caused by a gas-containing prolapsed intervertebral disk.

Gas production as a part of disk degeneration can occur, but it rarely causes clinical nerve compression syndromes. A rare case of gaseous degeneration in a prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disk causing acute cauda equina syndrome is described. Radiologic features and intraoperative findings are reported. A 78-year-old woman with severe lumbar canal stenosis had acute cauda equina syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large disk protrusion, and she underwent an urgent operation for this. Surgery confirmed the severe lumbar canal stenosis, but the disk prolapse contained gas that had caused the nerve compression.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Hyperventilation: cause or effect?

A young person presenting with shortness of breath is common to the accident and emergency department. Usually this hyperventilation is anxiety related or a panic attack, but sometimes it can be caused by a serious underlying condition like pulmonary embolus. Acute shortness of breath in any patient should never be dismissed lightly. It is important to realise that pulmonary embolus can present without chest pain and with shortness of breath as the major symptom. Such patients can be distinguished by close attention to history and examination, risk factors for thromboembolic disease and the use of basic investigations (electrocardiogram, chest radiography and arterial blood gas analysis). A serious cause for shortness of breath must be excluded before labelling it as "hysteria" or "panic".

Acute Disease↗