Abdominal compartment syndrome secondary to a large retroperitoneal hematoma caused by ruptured gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysms in a patient with severe acute pancreatitis.

Background: Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is a known complication of severe acute pancreatitis. It is typically secondary to visceral edema and aggressive fluid resuscitation, but rarely caused by a retroperitoneal hematoma due to ruptured visceral pseudoaneurysms. Case Presentation: A 49-year-old man presented in shock with a history of heavy alcohol use and was transferred to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis. Computed tomography scan on hospital day 2 revealed a large retroperitoneal hematoma due to ruptured gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysms. Despite adequate resuscitation, the patient developed ACS, which required decompressive laparotomy on hospital day 10. Open abdominal management was continued until multiorgan failure resolved. He was eventually discharged to a rehabilitation hospital 3 months after presenting. Conclusion: We report a patient with severe acute pancreatitis who underwent decompressive laparotomy for ACS secondary to a large retroperitoneal hematoma due to ruptured gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysms.

Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction and Autonomic Nervous Hyperactivity among Premenopausal Women with Cold-Sensitivity Constitution (Hiesho).

The cold-sensitivity constitution (CSC), termed "Hiesho" in Japanese, is a woman-specific cold sense of peripheral sites. The etiology of and criteria for CSC are not yet well established. We defined CSC as temperature gradient > 6˚C between body surface and core, and investigated the autonomic nervous activity by measuring heart rate variability and the vascular endothelial function by determining reactive hyperemia index (RHI) in 43 healthy premenopausal women, aged 18-47 years. Twenty five women had CSC during both the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles (sustained-CSC group), 8 women did not show CSC during both phases (non-CSC group), and the remaining 10 women showed CSC in either menstrual phase (occasional CSC). To identify the pathophysiological bases of CSC, we compared the sympathetic nervous activity and vascular endothelial function between sustained-CSC and non-CSC. We thus found that sympathetic nervous activity was higher among the sustained-CSC group (p = 0.042) during the follicular phase, compared with the non-CSC group, while the RHI was similar in both groups. Furthermore, the sympathetic nervous activity was similar between the sustained-CSC women aged ≥ 40 years (n = 10) and those aged < 40 years (n = 15) during either menstrual phase, whereas the RHI of the women aged < 40 years was lower during the follicular phase (p = 0.045), compared with the women aged ≥ 40 years. In conclusion, CSC is associated with sympathetic nervous hyperactivity in premenopausal women, and vascular endothelial dysfunction is also involved in CSC among younger women.

Factors and impact of physicians' diagnostic errors in malpractice claims in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic errors are prevalent and associated with increased economic burden; however, little is known about their characteristics at the national level in Japan. This study aimed to investigate clinical outcomes and indemnity payment in cases of diagnostic errors using Japan's largest database of national claims. METHODS: We analyzed characteristics of diagnostic error cases closed between 1961 and 2017, accessed through the national Japanese malpractice claims database. We compared diagnostic error-related claims (DERC) with non-diagnostic error-related claims (non-DERC) in terms of indemnity, clinical outcomes, and factors underlying physicians' diagnostic errors. RESULTS: All 1,802 malpractice claims were included in the analysis. The median patient age was 33 years (interquartile range = 10-54), and 54.2% were men. Deaths were the most common outcome of claims (939/1747; 53.8%). In total, 709 (39.3%, 95% CI: 37.0%-41.6%) DERC cases were observed. The adjusted total billing amount, acceptance rate, adjusted median claims payments, and proportion of deaths were significantly higher in DERC than non-DERC cases. Departments of internal medicine and surgery were 1.42 and 1.55 times more likely, respectively, to have DERC cases than others. Claims involving the emergency room (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 5.88) and outpatient office (adjusted OR = 2.87) were more likely to be DERC than other cases. The initial diagnoses most likely to lead to diagnostic error were upper respiratory tract infection, non-bleeding digestive tract disease, and "no abnormality." CONCLUSIONS: Cases of diagnostic errors produced severe patient outcomes and were associated with high indemnity. These cases were frequently noted in general exam and emergency rooms as well as internal medicine and surgery departments and were initially considered to be common, mild diseases.

Hybrid emergency room system improves timeliness of angioembolization for pelvic fracture.

BACKGROUND: Timely angioembolization (AE) is known to improve outcomes of patients with hemorrhage resulting from pelvic fracture. The hybrid emergency room system (HERS) is a novel trauma resuscitation room equipped with a computed tomography scanner, fluoroscopy equipment, and an operating room setup. We hypothesized that the HERS would improve the timeliness of AE for pelvic fracture. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review of patients who underwent AE for pelvic fracture at our institution from April 2015 to December 2018 was conducted. Patients' demographics, location of AE, Injury Severity Score, Revised Trauma Score, probability of survival by the trauma and injury severity score (TRISS Ps) method, presence of interventional radiologists (IRs) upon patient arrival, time from arrival to AE, and in-hospital mortality were analyzed. These data were compared between patients who underwent AE in the HERS (HERS group) and in the regular angio suite (non-HERS group). RESULTS: Ninety-six patients met the inclusion criteria. The HERS group comprised 24 patients, and the non-HERS group, 72 patients. Interventional radiologists were more frequently present upon patient arrival in the HERS than non-HERS group (IRs, 79% vs. 22%, p < 0.01). The time from arrival to AE was shorter in the HERS than non-HERS group (median [range], 46 [5-75] minutes vs. 103 [2-690] minutes, p < 0.01). There were no differences in the rate of in-hospital mortality (13% vs. 15%, p = 0.52) between the two groups. Survivors in the HERS group had a lower probability of survival by the trauma and injury severity score (median [range], 61% [1%-98%] vs. 93% [1%-99%], p < 0.01) than survivors in the non-HERS group. CONCLUSION: The HERS improved the timeliness of AE for pelvic fracture. More severely injured patients were able to survive in the HERS. The new team building involving the addition of IRs to the traditional trauma resuscitation team will enhance the benefit of the HERS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, level IV.