Sigmoid Sinus Thrombosis Followed by Splenic Infarction Due to Imatinib Therapy in a Patient with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor; Hematological Side Effects of Imatinib.

Imatinib has an important place as an adjuvant therapy as well as in the treatment of metastatic disease caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), which is one of the common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and is generally well tolerated. However, it can cause some serious adverse effects. The most common of these are edema on the face and legs, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and rash on the skin. The most serious side effects, albeit less common, are gastrointestinal or intraabdominal bleeding. However, thrombotic events such as sigmoid sinus thrombosis and splenic infarction are extremely rare. The current report presents a patient with GIST who is treated with imatinib 400 mg/day. The patient presented with edema on the face and headache in the second month of imatinib therapy, after which she was diagnosed with sigmoid sinus thrombosis. The patient who presented with abdominal pain approximately three months later developed splenic infarction. She was administered acetylsalicylic acid, supplemental oxygen (O2) in the first episode of thrombosis, and imatinib therapy was discontinued. The patient's complaints and thrombus regressed, after which imatinib therapy was resumed. She was administered intravenous hydration, supplemental oxygen, analgesics, and imatinib therapy was discontinued after the patient sustained splenic infarction. After resolution of sigmoid sinus thrombosis and the regression of splenic infarction area, the patient was switched to sunitinib therapy. She is attending routine control visits. Sigmoid sinus thrombosis and splenic infarction should be kept in mind as a rare cause of headache and abdominal pain in patients treated with imatinib, and detailed neurological and gastrointestinal evaluation should be performed.

Splenic Infarction after Warfarin Overdose Treatment: Is It a Coincidence or Complication?

Splenic infarction is a rare clinical condition seen in the emergency department and can mimic acute abdomen. Hematologic, vascular, and thromboembolic events are considered in the etiology. Treatment options vary between symptomatic treatment and splenectomy. Warfarin is a vitamin K antagonist used for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. In overdose situations, there is a possibility of bleeding in every part of the body. Prothrombin complex concentrates, vitamin K, and fresh-frozen plasma are used in the treatment of warfarin overdose. We describe a case of splenic infarction coexistent with warfarin overdose treatment, which has never been published in literature. Prothrombin complex concentrate was administered to the patient because of warfarin overdose. A spleen infarction was detected in computerized tomography of the patient after the occurrence of abdominal pain, and there was no infarction three days before hospitalization. The patient was monitored with symptomatic treatment in the general surgery clinic and discharged without the need for operation. In the pathogenesis, it was thought that prothrombin complex concentrates might be caused by early thrombosis or by warfarin not affecting the existing clot. Emergency physicians should not forget spleen infarction in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain.

Splenic infarction after N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate injection for gastric varices: why does it happen?

Recent guidelines and consensus reports recommend endoscopic injection therapy with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate as the first-line treatment for bleeding-isolated gastric varices and gastroesophageal varices types 1 and 2. Embolization is a rare but serious complication of cyanoacrylate injection, which may be fatal in some cases. Herein, we present a patient who developed splenic infarction after N-butyl-cyanoacrylate injection for gastroesophageal varices type 2 and discuss the potential reasons and tips to prevent the occurence of embolization.

Old drugs: new complications.

This is a case of acute splenic and bilateral renal infarction in a patient with non-small cell lung carcinoma during chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin. Till date, bilateral renal infarction following gemcitabine and cisplatin has been reported only once in the past. The case that is being reported has had acute splenic and bilateral renal infarct and has not been reported previously. Splenic and renal infarction should be considered in the differential diagnosis of excruciating abdominal pain and backache in a patient on gemcitabine-based and cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

[Splenic infarction. Ergotism induced by ritonavir?]. / Infarto esplénico. ¿Ergotismo inducido por ritonavir?

Ergotism is a clinical condition known since old times and whose main characteristics are ischemia and even limb gangrene. Some drugs have the capacity of interacting with small amounts of ergotamine or its derivatives producing ergotism as a side effect. This is the case of ritonavir, a widely used anti-HIV drug. Here we present a case of ergotism that developed in an HIV positive 39 year old male under treatment with ritonavir, after taking 1 mg of ergotamine tartrate. His clinical picture, apart from showing the basic manifestations of the disease, was associated with splenic infarction. For this reason, we consider important to advise patients about the potential pharmacological interaction between ergotamines and others common drugs and, in particular, ritonavir in HIV positive patients.

Infarto esplénico ¿Ergotismo inducido por ritonavir? / Splenic infarction: Ergotism induced by ritonavir?

El ergotismo es una enfermedad conocida desde la antigüedad, que se caracteriza por isquemia y, en algunos casos, gangrena de las extremidades. Muchas drogas de uso corriente tienen la capacidad de interactuar con los ergotamínicos desarrollando ergotismo como efecto adverso. Un ejemplo de ello es el ritonavir, un inhibidor de la proteasa utilizado en pacientes con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana (HIV). Presentamos un caso de ergotismo en un varón de 39 años con infección por HIV en tratamiento con ritonavir que, después de ingerir 1 mg de tartrato de ergotamina, además de presentar manifestaciones clásicas de la enfermedad, desarrolló un infarto esplénico. Por lo tanto, consideramos importante advertir a los pacientes sobre la posible interacción farmacológica entre los ergotamínicos y otras drogas de uso frecuente y, en particular, el ritonavir en pacientes portadores de HIV.

Ergotism is a clinical condition known since old times and whose main characteristics are ischemia and even limb gangrene. Some drugs have the capacity of interacting with small amounts of ergotamine or its derivatives producing ergotism as a side effect. This is the case of ritonavir, a widely used anti-HIV drug. Here we present a case of ergotism that developed in an HIV positive 39 year old male under treatment with ritonavir, after taking 1 mg of ergotamine tartrate. His clinical picture, apart from showing the basic manifestations of the disease, was associated with splenic infarction. For this reason, we consider important to advise patients about the potential pharmacological interaction between ergotamines and others common drugs and, in particular, ritonavir in HIV positive patients.

Imaging findings of extensive splenic infarction after cyanoacrylate injection for gastric varices--a case report.

Endoscopic injection of N-Butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is a widely accepted treatment for esophagogastric varices. This procedure is commonly associated with minor complications which include transient pyrexia and abdominal discomfort. Serious vascular complications secondary to systemic embolization of cyanoacrylate have rarely been reported. We describe the CT findings of extensive splenic infarction in a patient following cyanoacrylate injection for gastric varices.

Splenic infarction associated with sorafenib use in a hepatocellular carcinoma patient.

Sorafenib, a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been shown to improve survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As the clinical use of sorafenib increases, many adverse effects have been reported, such as hand-foot skin reaction, diarrhea, anorexia, asthenia, alopecia, weight loss, hypertension and arterial thromboembolism. However, there are no prior reports of splenic infarction as an adverse effect of sorafenib. Here, a case of splenic infarction in a patient with HCC who was treated with sorafenib is reported. The patient had no other predisposing factors to explain the splenic infarction except for the administration of sorafenib. The splenic infarction improved after sorafenib was discontinued; however, the HCC progressed.

[Splenic infarction after warfarin discontinuation during atrial fibrillation]. / Infarto splenico: rara complicanza tromboembolica di fi brillazione atriale.

We describe a case of patient with splenic infarction, admitted to our department for sudden abdominal pain and fever after discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy for atrial fibrillation, complicating a dilated myocardiopathy and mechanical prosthetic valve. Diagnosis of splenic infarction was made by enhanced-contrast computed tomography, while ultrasounds and radiography were negative. Anticoagulant therapy, gold-standard treatment, was followed by fast clinical improvement. Moreover, splenic infarction should be considered in all cases of acute or chronic pain in left hypochondrium and especially in patients with emboligenous cardiopathies or atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia source of peripheral embolism in clinical practice.

Spontaneous splenic infarction associated with sumatriptan use.

Triptans are specific agonists of the serotonergic 5-HT(1B/1D) receptors that have increasingly been used in the treatment of migraine and cluster headaches. Though they are generally considered safe, there have been a few reports of myocardial infarction and stroke associated with triptan use. We report a patient who developed spontaneous splenic infarction after the use of sumatriptan for the treatment of migraine headache.

Cocaine-associated abscesses with lethal sepsis after splenic infarction in an 17-year-old woman.

Well known complications related to cocaine use are myocardial insufficiency, myocardial infarction, myocarditis, aortic dissection, neurologic damages, ischemic colitis, thrombotic phenomenons, renal infarction and acute liver failure. Cases of splenic infarctions related to cocaine use are extremely rare. A 17-year-old drug addict was found by her boy-friend liveless in her bed. She was well known using cocaine since years. Autopsy revealed multiple splenic infarctions with secondary mixed bacterial infection and abscesses. Petechial bleedings were found and microabscesses in the myocardium, the meninges and the kidneys. The absolutely rare bacterial infection of the cocaine-associated splenic infarction leads to sepsis with lethal course.

Extensive splenic infarction, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli complicating induction therapy with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Bleeding is a common complication during initial induction treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Administration of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), which is in routine use for APL in the past decade improves the bleeding tendency dramatically. Nevertheless, thrombotic events have still been reported in a small proportion of APL patients treated with ATRA. Here we describe a case of splenic infarction and life threatening thrombosis in a young patient with APL treated with ATRA. We review the relevant literature and discuss the pathophysiology, risk factors and treatment of this complication occurring during therapy, for APL.