La importancia de interrogar el trabajo del paciente: a propósito de un caso de leptospirosis / Report of a case of leptospirosis: the importance of asking the patient about workplace factors

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Stercoral colitis complicated with ischemic colitis: a double-edge sword.

BACKGROUND: Stercoral colitis is a rare inflammatory process involving the colonic wall secondary to fecal impaction with high morbidity and mortality; especially if complicated with ischemic colitis, stercoral ulcer formation and subsequent perforation. There are several case reports published on abdominal perforation resulting from stercoral colitis. However, stercoral colitis complicated by ischemic colitis is rare. The purpose of this case report is to describe the potential challenges in the diagnosis and management of stercoral colitis with ischemic colitis. CASE PRESENTATION: An 87 years old male with history of chronic constipation presents with severe abdominal pain to the emergency department. The patient was hemodynamically stable. On physical examination, the abdomen was mildly distended with moderate tenderness. Lab work was significant for leukocytosis and lactic acidosis. Abdominal CT scan revealed large amount of retained stool in the colon, bowel wall thickening and infiltration of peri-colonic fat, which were suggestive for stercoral colitis. Patient was started on IV fluids and antibiotics. He was given an enema, followed by laxative and manual disimpaction of stool. Colonoscopy was performed and biopsies were obtained. Tissue biopsy was significant for focal active colitis with regenerative glandular changes and neural hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: Elevated lactic acid level secondary to ischemia of the bowel wall with CT scan findings aid in establishing the diagnosis of stercoral colitis complicated with ischemic colitis. Urgent treatment with laxatives and fecal disimpaction is indicated to prevent perforation and peritonitis.

Acute colonic diverticulitis: diagnostic evidence, demographic and clinical features in three practice settings.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diverticulitis is often diagnosed in outpatients, yet little evidence exists on diagnostic evidence and demographic/clinical features in various practice settings. We assessed variation in clinical characteristics and diagnostic evidence in inpatients, outpatients, and emergency department cases and effects of demographic and clinical variables on presentation features. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study of 1749 patients in an integrated health care system, we compared presenting features and computed tomography findings by practice setting and assessed independent effects of demographic and clinical factors on presenting features. RESULTS: Inpatients were older and more often underweight/normal weight and lacked a diverticulitis past history and had more comorbidities than other patients. Outpatients were most often Hispanic/Latino. The classical triad (abdominal pain, fever, leukocytosis) occurred in 78 (38.6%) inpatients, 29 (5.2%) outpatients and 34 (10.7%) emergency department cases. Computed tomography was performed on 196 (94.4%) inpatients, 110 (9.2%) outpatients and 296 (87.6%) emergency department cases and was diagnostic in 153 (78.6%) inpatients, 62 (56.4%) outpatients and 243 (82.1%) emergency department cases. Multiple variables affected presenting features. Notably, female sex had lower odds for the presence of the triad features (odds ratio [95% CI], 0.65 [0.45-0.94], P<0.05) and increased odds of vomiting (1.78 [1.26-2.53], P<0.01). Patients in age group 56 to 65 and 66 or older had decreased odds of fever (0.67 [0.46-0.98], P<0.05) and 0.46 [0.26-0.81], P<0.01), respectively, while > / =1 co-morbidity increased the odds of observing the triad (1.88 [1.26-2.81], P<0.01). CONCLUSION: There was little objective evidence for physician-diagnosed diverticulitis in most outpatients. Demographic and clinical characteristics vary among settings and independently affect presenting features.

Infecciones del tracto urinario: sensibilidad antimicrobiana y seguimiento clínico / Urinary tract infections: antibiotic resistance and clinical follow up

El tratamiento inicial de las infecciones del tracto urinario (ITU) es empírico por lo que es prioritario conocer la resistencia antibiótica de los microorganismos más frecuentes en una población. Además, tras la sospecha de pielonefritis aguda se debe descartar la presencia de cicatriz renal que puede dar lugar a complicaciones posteriores. Presentamos un estudio longitudinal y retrospectivo de todos los menores de 14 años diagnosticados de ITU desde el 1 de enero del 2009 hasta el 31 de diciembre del 2009. Se analizaron los datos de sensibilidad a antimicrobianos de los patógenos urinarios más importantes, el seguimiento posterior y la presencia de cicatrices. Las bacterias aisladas con mayor frecuencia fueron: Escherichia coli (80%) Proteus mirabillis (9,7%) y Klebsiella pneumoniae (4,2%). En el antibiograma, E. coli presentó una alta sensibilidad frente a fosfomicina (99,1%), cefotaxima (98,2%) cefuroxima (97,3%) y gentamicina (95,6%). La sensibilidad obtenida frente a amoxicilina-clavulánico fue del 83,2%, mientras que la obtenida frente a cotrimoxazol fue del 78,9%.Se encontraron cicatrices pospielonefríticas en el 19% de los pacientes con ITU febril, 17% de los no ingresados y 20% de los ingresados(AU)

The initial treatment of the urinary tract infections (UTI) is empirical and it is a priority to determine the antibiotic resistance of most common germs in a population. Furthermore, due to the suspicion of acute pyelonephritis the presence of renal scarring should be ruled out as this may lead to further complications. A retrospective longitudinal study was performed on all children under 14 years diagnosed with UTI from January 1 2009 to December 31 2009. The in vitro susceptibility to the most important urinary pathogens was analysed, along with the presence of scars, and a subsequent follow-up. The most frequently isolated bacteria were E. coli (80%), P. mirabilis (9.7%) and K. pneumoniae (4.2%). In the antibiogram, E coli showed a high sensitivity to fosfomycin (99.1%), cefotaxime (98.2%) cefuroxime (97.3%) and gentamicin (95.6%). The sensitivity obtained against amoxicillin-clavulanate was 83.2%, while that obtained against cotrimoxazole was 78.9%.Post-pyelonephritis scars were found in 19% of patients with febrile UTI, 17% out-patients and 20% of those admitted(AU)

Sudden death due to cerebral leukemic hemorrhage occurring after acupuncture treatment for gingival bleeding.

A 45-year-old woman who experienced stomalgia and gingival bleeding for several days died unexpectedly after acupuncture treatment. At autopsy, trivial injuries on the liver and the stomach and mild hemoperitoneum due to improper acupuncture were found. Also,acute lymphoblastic leukemia and hyperleukocytosis were diagnosed by postmortem examinations. Intracranial hemorrhage due to undiagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia was identified as the cause of death.Moreover, the relationship between therapeutic misadventure and death was also determined. We suggest that undiagnosed leukemia should be considered as a differential diagnosis when sudden death occurs owing to intracranial hemorrhage. If therapeutic misadventure was involved,it is also of great importance to assess the relationship between that and death in forensic expertise.

Fiebre y pústulas en paciente con pancreatitis aguda grave / No disponible

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Unusual cause of dementia in an immunocompetent host: toxoplasmic encephalitis.

A 69-year-old male was presented with a 2-month history of cognitive decline. The most profound deficit was observed in short-term verbal and visual memory and recognition. He was otherwise healthy, apart from atrial fibrillation diagnosed 5 months before. Brain MRI revealed T2 hyperintensities in the left thalamus, right pulvinar thalami, both putamina and right head of caudate nucleus without diffusion restriction on DWI sequences. CSF examination revealed elevated proteins. He was HIV negative. The course of the disease was complicated with gram negative sepsis and the patient died 14 days later. Autopsy revealed the brain lesions to have been caused by toxoplasmic encephalitis. Toxoplasmic encephalitis is an extremely rare cause of rapidly progressive dementia in immunocompetent patients. In patients with multiple lesions, hyperintense on T2 and hypointense on T1 weighted sequences, without diffusion restriction and some expansive effect, infectious causes should be considered, even in the absence of classical signs of infectious diseases and CSF pleocythosis.

Impétigo bulloso causado por Staphylococcus aureus" resistente a meticilina / Bullous impetigo caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

El impétigo es una infección cutánea superficial que ocurre sobre todo en la edad pediátrica, más frecuentemente por debajo de los 5 años de edad. SE clasifica en primario, que es el que tiene lugar sobre piel previamente sana, y secundario, que aparece en piel lesionada, principalmente tras un eccema. Existen dos tipos de impétigo: no bulloso, más frecuentemente, y bulloso. el agente causal predominante en todos los tipos de impétigo es Staphylococcus aureus. En los últimos años se ha descrito la emergencia de cepas de S. aureus resistentes a meticilina (SARM) como causantes de infecciones adquiridas en la comunidad, tanto leves como graves. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 8 años que presenta lesiones ampollosas dolorosas de una semana de evolución en la región lumbar. Se recoge cultivo de las lesiones y se identifica el crecimiento de colonias de S. aureus con resistencia a meticilina(AU)

Impetigo is a superficial skin disease that occurs in children, mainly before the age of five years. It is classified as primary if it occurs on previously healthy skin and secondary when it develops on damaged skin, usually following eczema. There are two types of impetigo: non-bullous, which is more frequent, and bullous. The predominant causative agent in both types is Staphylococcus aureus. In recent years, emergent methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) that provoke mild to severe community-acquired lesions have been described. We report the case of an eight-year-old boy with painful, bullous skin lesions on his back that had developed one week earlier. A skin culture revealed the presence of colonies of methicillin-resistant S. aureaus(AU)

Infección demorada tras el uso de Bio-alcamid® / Delayed infection after Bio-alcamid® implantation

El Bio-alcamid® (laboratorios Polimekon, Brindisi, Italia) es una endoprótesis gelatinosa constituida por alquilimida y agua, que se emplea para la corrección de alteraciones estéticas. Presenta muy buena tolerancia clínica con pocos efectos secundarios. Presentamos un caso de infección localizada en uno de los lugares de inyección tres meses después del implante de este material en labios y surcos nasolabiales. Sería el primer caso descrito en la bibliografía de infección demorada tras el implante de este material, si bien son escasas las referencias en este campo

Bio-alcamid® (Polymekon) is a gelatinous endoprothesis constituted of poly-alkyl-imide and water that is used for correction of aesthetic alterations. It presents very good tolerance with few adverse effects. We present a case of localized infection in one of the sites of injection, three months after the implant was placed in the nasolabial furrows and lips. It would be the first case of a delayed infection following injection of this material, although there are few references in this field

Hematoma subdural intracraneal bilateral en un paciente con leptospirosis / Bilateral intracranial subdural hematoma in a patient with leptospirosis

Presentamos el caso de un varón de 39 años de edad, que en el curso de una leptospirosis grave, con fracaso renal agudo, edema agudo de pulmón e ictericia importante, comienza con manifestaciones clínicas de afección neurológica (cefalea, disartria y paresia de la extremidad superior derecha). Se evidencian en tomografía computarizada (TC) y resonancia magnética (RM) hematomas subdurales múltiples y bilaterales. Leptospira puede producir una vasculitis difusa con lesión capilar, dando lugar a distintas manifestaciones hemorrágicas, concretamente en el sistema nervioso es una causa conocida de hemorragia subaracnoidea; el hematoma subdural intracraneal representa un hallazgo no descrito en la bibliografía revisada (AU)

Valor de los parámetros clínicos en el diagnóstico de una infección amniótica en gestantes con amenaza de parto prematuro / Value of clinical signs in the diagnosis of amniotic infection in patients with preterm labor

Objetivo: Estudiar el valor de la leucocitosis, fiebre materna y la taquicardia fetal en el diagnóstico de una infección amniótica.Sujetos y métodos: Un total de 113 gestantes con amenaza de parto prematuro a las que se les practicaron una amniocentesis y un cultivo de líquido amniótico. Al ingreso se tomó la temperatura axilar, se realizó un hemograma y se realizó un registro cardiotocográfico. Se relacionó la presencia de un cultivo de líquido amniótico positivo con la fiebre ( 37,8 °C), la taquicardia fetal ( 160 lat/min) y la leucocitosis materna (> 15.000 leucocitos/ml).Resultados: Trece de las gestantes (11,5 por ciento) presentaron una infección amniótica; 26 mujeres (23 por ciento) tuvieron una leucocitosis, cinco de ellas tenían un cultivo de líquido amniótico positivo (p = 0,1); 5 gestantes tuvieron fiebre, dos de ellas con un cultivo de líquido amniótico positivo (p = 0,1); 26 gestantes presentaron una taquicardia fetal (23 por ciento), ocho de las cuales tuvieron un cultivo de líquido amniótico positivo (p = 0,001). La sensibilidad de la taquicardia fetal para detectar una infección amniótica fue del 61,5 por ciento y la especificidad del 82 por ciento.Conclusión: La taquicardia fetal fue el único parámetro clínico que se asoció significativamente a la infección amniótica, aunque su valor predictivo positivo fue bajo. (AU)