A rare and unsuspected complication of Clostridium difficile infection.

OBJECTIVE: To report the occurrence of abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) due to infection with Clostridium difficile. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Trauma intensive care unit (TICU) of Hamad General Hospital, a teaching hospital in Doha, Qatar. PATIENT: A 36-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident had severe traumatic brain injury and received ceftriaxone. On day 7, he developed severe abdominal distension and diarrhoea followed by paralytic ileus with oliguria, hyperkalaemia, and intra-abdominal hypertension. The patient's stool sample was positive for C. difficile toxin A and B MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: An ACS was diagnosed. The patient was successfully treated in the TICU by stopping the offending antibiotic and starting metronidazole plus neostigmine as a prokinetic agent. The fluid status was guided by pulse-induced continuous cardiac output, and frusemide was added to the treatment. With this aggressive management the abdominal pressure decreased and the renal function improved, with full recovery of renal function by day 21. Unfortunately the patient's Glasgow coma score (GCS) deteriorated, so percutaneous tracheostomy was performed. He was transferred to the neurosurgical ward on day 35. A week later he was shifted to the rehabilitation unit for further management. CONCLUSIONS: C. difficile colitis can cause intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and ACS. Rapid diagnosis, early aggressive supportive care, metronidazole and prokinetics are necessary to lower the morbidity and mortality of C. difficile colitis associated with IAH and ACS.

Necrotizing fasciitis complicated by multiple pneumoceles.

This paper reports a 14-year-old male patient who developed necrotizing fasciitis of the leg after a minor trauma. He was admitted to our intensive care unit with septic shock and acute lung injury. The clinical course was complicated by bilateral multiple pneumoceles resulting in bilateral pneumothoraces. The causative organism was found to be Staphylococcus aureus. This young patient survived and was discharged home in fair general condition.

Acute sporadic brachial plexus neuropathy.

A 43-year-old patient presented with acute sporadic brachial plexus. Diagnosis was based on clinical and neurophysiological findings. This case highlights that early diagnosis of this clinical disorder can prevent unnecessary neuroradiological or neurosurgical interventions.

Remifentanil apnea: Case report and review of the literature.

Remifentanil is an opioid analgesic frequently used in intensive care patients because of its rapid onset of action, potency, and ultra-short duration. If an excessive dose is given, it leads to rapid, short lasting, potentially life-threatening side effects such as apnea, bradycadia, hypotension, and rigidity, following rapid peak serum levels. We report a 36-year-old woman developing apnea with bradycardia and hypotension, following an infusion in the central venous catheter lumen that had been used for remifentanil till tracheal extubation. The patient was immediately ventilated with bag-valve-mask and improved within 8 minutes. She became fully awake, heart rate and blood pressure returned to normal, and oxygen saturation improved to 100%. Acute care physicians, intensivists, anesthesiologists, and critical care nurses should be aware of this clinical problem in order prevent it as much as possible and to initiate immediate resuscitative measures.

Fatal dialysis disequilibrium syndrome: A tale of two patients.

UNLABELLED: Dialysis disequilibrium syndrome (DDS) is a central nervous system disorder, which occurs during hemodialysis (HD) or within 24 h following the first HD. DDS commonly occurs in patients suffering from end-stage renal failure undergoing HD for the first time. In a critically ill patient suffering from severe sepsis or septic shock, the combined effects of post-HD brain edema and changes in the brain due to septic encephalopathy, may become amplified leading to DDS. Here we report 2 cases with acute renal failure (ARF), undergoing HD for more than a week and being ventilated and who developed DDS. DDS might have contributed to the sudden deterioration and death in these septic patients. The first case was a 31-year-old male, involved in a motor vehicle accident and had a severe abdominal injury. Underwent laparotomy and hemostasis was achieved. On day 4, the patient developed hemorrhagic shock associated with ARF, which prompted daily HD. On day 8, he went into septic shock. On day 16, 1 h after his daily HD, he became unresponsive and his pupils became dilated and fixed and he expired 2 days later. The second case was a young male who suffered severe abdominal and chest injury after a fall from a height. He developed ARF on day 3 and required HD. On day 9, he had septic shock. Three days later, during his daily HD, he became unconscious and his pupils were not reacting to light and the patient died on day 12. CONCLUSION: In patients with severe sepsis/septic shock, DDS may occur even after repeated sessions of HD. The acute care physicians, intensivists, and nephrologists should be aware of the risks of DDS.

Tension pneumocephalus as complication of burr-hole drainage of chronic subdural hematoma: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Pneumocephalus is the presence of air in the cranial cavity. When this intracranial air causes increased intracranial pressure and leads to neurological deterioration, it is known as tension pneumocephalus (TP). TP can be a major life-threatening postoperative complication, especially after evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma. We report a case of TP after evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma and review the literature. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 70-year-old man developed right-sided weakness after being admitted with minor head trauma a few weeks earlier. He was found to have a chronic subdural hematoma and underwent burr-hole evacuation. On day 3, he suddenly deteriorated and needed intubation and ventilation. Computerized tomography (CT) of the brain showed typical Mount Fuji's sign due to TP. Immediately, 20-30 mL of air was aspirated from the intracranial fossa, and a catheter drain was inserted. The patient became fully awake after few hours and was extubated successfully. The drain was removed on day 5, and he was transferred to the ward before being discharged home. CONCLUSION: TP after evacuation of a chronic subdural hematoma is a neurosurgical emergency and needs immediate resuscitation and therapy; hence it is of vital importance that all acute-care physicians, intensivists and neurosurgeons be aware of this clinical emergency.