Successful intravenous thrombolysis of a wake-up stroke with underlying valvular atrial fibrillation.

A 42-year-old female admitted with new-onset atrial fibrillation had a wake-up stroke on the high-dependency unit and the time last seen well (TLSW) was 6.5 h. She suffered left-sided body weakness and her National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 17. An emergency CT perfusion showed right M1 segment occlusion with more than 50% penumbra. She was given recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) at 9 h from TLSW. An immediate diagnostic angiogram with intention to treat, owing to the presence of large vessel occlusion, showed complete reperfusion after intravenous r-tPA. She was discharged with NIHSS of 2, and at 3-month follow up her Modified Rankin Scale was 0. We demonstrated a successful reperfusion and excellent clinical recovery with intravenous thrombolysis in a patient who presented with a wake-up stroke with underlying valvular atrial fibrillation despite evidence of large vessel occlusion.

Arterial embolization of a bleeding gastric Dieulafoy lesion: a case report.

Dieulafoy's lesion is one of an unusual cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (U GIB). Endoscopic intervention has always been a preferred non-surgical method in treating UGIB including bleeding from Dieulafoy's lesion. Owing to recent advances in angiography, arterial embolization has become a popular alternative in non- variceal UGIB especially in cases with failed endoscopic treatment. However, managing bleeding Dieulafoy's with selective arterial embolization as the first line of treatment has not been exclusively practiced. We hereby, report a case of bleeding Dieulafoy lesion which had been primarily treated with arterial embolization.

MMP-9: biomarker for abdominal aneurysm.

INTRODUCTION: Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) has been shown to express significantly on organ tissue culture in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) patients. Prior studies have shown the correlation between MMP-9 concentration levels with AAA raising the probability of its usage as a biomarker in AAA disease. However, results of previous studies have been conflicting. The purpose of this study is to identify the correlation between MMP-9 concentration levels with AAA disease and further define the utility as a biomarker for our center population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is prospective controlled trial. Peripheral venous blood sample is obtained from 20 patients with AAA and 36 normal control subjects. MMP-9 concentration levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared with subjects abdominal ultrasonography or computed tomography of abdomen. RESULTS: Mean (± SE) MMP-9 was 23.94 ± 0.60 ng/mL in normal control subjects and 21.39 ± 1.03 ng/mL in patients with AAAs (p ← 0.05 versus normal control subjects). MMP-9 correlate significantly with AAA (p=0.004). There was no correlation of MMP-9 levels with age, gender, or other risk factors. The cutoff point is 12.54 for aorta size <3.0 cm. The sensitivity and specificity of MMP-9 were 60% and 64% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MMP-9 levels correlate significantly with AAA with a cutoff point of 12.54. However, the utility of MMP-9 as a diagnostic test is limited due to low sensitivity and specificity. An elevated MMP-9 has limited use to predict the presence of AAA (positive predictive value: 60%) and a normal MMP-9 level was insufficient to determine the absence of AAA (negative predictive value: 36.1%).

Pulmonary embolism following histoacryl glue embolization for a large thigh arteriovenous malformation.

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are commonly congenital in origin. We hereby describe the case of a 24-year-old male who was diagnosed of left thigh intramuscular AVM at the time of 14 years old. The computerized tomography (CT) scan confirmed a large deep seated intramuscular AVM with the size of 20 x 15 cm, with dilated and distended feeding vessel from profunda femoris artery (PFA) and superficial femoral artery (SFA). He also had another AVM near the left supracondylar region adherent to the sciatic nerve. The main AVM lesion was earlier treated with surgical resection and it remained for asymptomatic for next seven years. Following this, the patient presented again to the clinic with recurring swelling, pain and occasional paraesthesia on the same site. He was then managed with a series of embolization (total of 6 attempts) with histoacryl glue. These attempts of embolization were successful. The interesting case of pulmonary embolism due histoacryl glue following embolization of an AVM is described.

Lymphangioma: Is intralesional bleomycin sclerotherapy effective?

PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of intralesional bleomycin sclerotherapy in the treatment of lymphangioma in children and to determine the incidence of complications in the treatment. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 24 children diagnosed with lymphangioma and treated with intralesional injection of bleomycin aqueous solution from January 1999 to December 2004. RESULTS: Complete resolution was seen in 63% (15/24) of lesions, 21% (5/24) had good response and 16% (4/24) had poor response. The tumour recurred in 2 patients. Two other patients had abscess formation at the site of injection. No other serious complications or side effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Intralesional bleomycin therapy was very effective in the treatment of lymphangioma. Our results were comparable to other published studies. Bleomycin administered as intralesional injection was found to be safe as there was no serious complication or side effect observed in this study.

Rheumatoid pachymeningitis.

Symptomatic rheumatoid pachymeningitis is a rare extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical symptoms are non-specific and diagnosis is frequently made by exclusion. We present a 61-year-old woman with a 9-year history of rheumatoid arthritis presenting with deafness and progressive disability over a two month duration. She was diagnosed as having rheumatoid pachymeningitis based on the cerebral magnetic resonance imaging findings.