[Neuromeningeal listeria infection in adults, clinical and therapeutic aspects. Retrospective study of 17 cases].
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Biomedical subjects
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Inferior vena cava thrombosis is a major complication after filter placement. The thrombus can propagate through the filter leading to a high risk of pulmonary embolism. We report such a case in a patient with a Günther filter, successfully treated with urokinase, and we discuss the efficacy and the safety of thrombolytic therapy in such situations.
Close cooperation is necessary between the cardiologist and anesthesiologist preoperatively in order to identify the risks associated with a surgical procedure. This article reviews the various types of anesthesia and their effects on the cardiovascular system, in particular in relation to the category of cardiovascular disease. Accurate definition of the operative risk involves thorough evaluation of three essential parameters: cardiovascular status, the type of surgery and the type of anesthesia. These high-risk patients require management not only pre- and peroperatively, but also postoperatively, which is the period when the majority of complications occur. Mention is also made of drug interactions between anesthetic and cardiovascular agents.
The term of economy class syndrome has been used to describe the deep vein thrombosis which may follow air travel. The mechanisms suggested for this include tendency to clot formation in the legs secondary to the reduced venous return induced by the sitting position with direct compression of popliteal and femoral veins, and secondary to dehydration and haemo-concentration. However, these conditions are also observed with others means of transport. We describe 16 patients with deep vein thrombosis following travel by bus, car, truck and train. These 16 patients represent 3.4 percent of 465 patients with thromboembolism managed over a 52-month period in our department. All but one patients had one or more risk factors for deep vein thrombosis. The mean duration of the trip was 14.2 hours and the first symptom occurred less than a week after the journey in 75 percent of the patients. These first symptoms suggested deep vein thrombosis in 8, pulmonary embolism in 5, and deep vein thrombosis with pulmonary embolism in 3 patients. Regular non alcoholic drinks and regular walks seem to be sufficient to prevent deep vein thrombosis in the great majority of travellers. However, low dose heparin on a temporary basis or elastic stockings could be considered in high risk subjects.
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We prospectively measured the concentrations of immunoreactive tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the serum and ascitic fluid of 14 alcoholic cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) and 16 alcoholic cirrhotic patients with sterile ascitic fluid. TNF-alpha levels in ascitic fluid were significantly higher for the patients with SBP: 399.57 +/- 129.23 pg/mL vs. 35.76 +/- 5.57 pg/mL (P < .001). IL-6 levels in ascitic fluid were also significantly higher for the patients with SBP: 170,713 +/- 57,109 ng/mL vs. 5,414 +/- 973 ng/mL (P < .001). By contrast, serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were just slightly more elevated than normal values. The concentration of IL-1 in the ascitic fluid of all patients was elevated, but there was no difference between patients with SBP or sterile ascites in this respect. In the patients with SBP, levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in ascitic fluid decreased during the first 48 hours of antibiotic treatment. Our results suggest that measurements of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in ascitic fluid may become useful markers both for the diagnosis of SBP and for monitoring the treatment of cirrhotic patients.
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4 patients had typical features of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) after 3 to 8 weeks of ticlopidine therapy. In 2 ticlopidine was the only medication taken before TTP; in another, rechallenge with drugs other than ticlopidine that the patient had been taking did not produce relapse. In all patients the delay between start of ticlopidine and TTP was in the same range as the latent period before ticlopidine-induced neutropenia. No relapse occurred in the 4 to 43 months of follow-up in the 3 surviving patients.
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The use of prostacyclin infusion in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is consistent with the hypothesis that patients may lack a plasma factor stimulating prostacyclin production. However, prostacyclin therapy, alone or in combination with aspirin, dipyridamole, steroid and plasmapheresis, failed in many cases. We here describe the case of a patient who responded dramatically to a combination of prostacyclin and plasma infusions, after conventional therapy had failed (plasmapheresis, fresh frozen plasma infusions). Prostacyclin was infused intravenously initially for 120 h from 4 to 9 ng kg min-1 and then continuously for 48 h at 9 ng kg min-1. Despite the scarcity of case reports in the literature, we conclude that the failure of prostacyclin in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura appears to be related to insufficient doses and/or duration of therapy.
Arterial thromboembolic disorders are the leading cause of death in most of the advanced nations. The study of epidemiologic relationship of these disorders to biological rhythms may lead to a better understanding and perhaps a better treatment. Chronoepidemiologic studies demonstrated a morning peak for arterial thromboembolic disorders (cerebral and myocardial infarctions) and sudden cardiac deaths. These variations might be explained partially by circadian variations in hemostasis. Indeed chronophysiologic studies have shown that hemostatic variables follow circadian rhythms. The level of platelet aggregation and that of blood coagulation have been found to be increased in the morning whereas fibrinolytic activity is lower at this time of the day. The facts suggest a chronotherapeutic approach in thromboembolic disorders.
Clinical indications of vena cava interruption are reviewed. During the last few years pulmonary embolism frequency remained high and many new percutaneous vena caval filters became available. These facts probably explain the increasing use of these filters reaching about 10,000 filters each year in France. Existing data show that: embolic risk with antithrombotic agents is less than 5%, probably not far greater than embolic risk with cava filters (about 2%); complications encountered with the filters are caval thrombosis in 8%, and more or less than 4% other major complications; there is no controlled study comparing antithrombotic treatment associated with caval filters to antithrombotic treatment alone; there is no controlled study comparing new cava filters among them or to the Greenfield filter; economical implications of caval filters are mostly unknown. The only admitted indications of vena cava interruption, in case of proximal venous thrombosis, are contraindications to anticoagulation. In other situations no data allow to recommend a cava filter; indication will be discussed on a case by case basis. Prospective controlled studies are greatly encouraged.
Persistent left superior vena cava is encountered in about 0.3 to 0.4% of human beings. It derives from remnants of the left cardinal vein system. This results in either a duplication of the superior vena cava or in a single left vena cava. The diagnosis is easy in case of associated cardiovascular anomalies. Two cases of single left vena cava and one case of duplication of the superior vena cava are described. All were identified owing to repeatedly aberrant courses of central venous catheters. Diagnosis was easily provided by angiography. Clinical course was uneventful. Despite its usual good tolerance, the persistence of a left vena cava, as an isolated anomaly, must not be neglected as it carries many practical implications which are reviewed.
A previously healthy 42-year-old man developed, after a neglected tonsillitis, a severe Fusobacterium necrophorum septicemia with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Peripheral, painful, cyanotic and gangrenous lesions appeared on toes, external ears and nose tip. The patient survived. Consumption coagulopathy associated with tonsillitis should suggest F. necrophorum infection. Growth of these bacteria in blood cultures is slow and confirmation of the infection may thus be delayed.