Intermesenteric appendicular abscess, a diagnostic challenge; case report and review.

The appendicular origin of an intermesenteric abscess is rarely suspected prior to surgery, due to atypical clinical presentation and poor sensitivity of exploratory methods. A 43-year-old male was admitted for recent pain and mild tenderness in the epigastrium, slight emesis, leucocytosis (C-reactive protein was not determined), with no pathological findings on simple abdominal radiological examination (Rx). Abdominal ultrasound(US) and endoscopy were irrelevant. The abdomen became moderately tender, distended; diffuse enteric gas,slightly impaired bowel movement could be demonstrated by anew Rx. CT (oral contrast) was performed in the 3rd day:edematous infiltration of the mesentery and of a left-flank digestive loop (jejunal, sigmoidian?), small-size fluid collection(with extraluminal air-level) and paretic loops in the proximity, but normal wall-appearance of the caecum and its surrounding fat; the CT result was inconclusive (perforated diverticulosis or malignancy?). Barium enema: normal,including the caecum. Installation of vesperal fever, progressive mid-abdominal pain, tenderness and formation of a mass were the rationale for open mid-line laparotomy, discovering a large intermesenteric abscess, secondary to perforated gangrenous intermesenteric appendicitis. Surgical outcome of appendectomy was normal. A high index of suspicion may be suggested by: atypical clinical presentation (fever; ileus;presence or formation of a tender, periumbilical, mass) and CT findings (abscess; extraluminal air; ileus).

[A very extensive necrotizing fasciitis]. / Une fasciite nécrosante très extensive.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a severe skin infection. Fluidized bed may be indicated to improve healing. We report a 36-year-old woman case, who developed an important skin emphysema on a fluidized bed that may have worsen the situation.

Necrotizing fasciitis: improved survival with early recognition by tissue biopsy and aggressive surgical treatment.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing fasciitis is a soft tissue gangrenous infection that is optimally treated by early diagnosis, radical surgical debridement of all involved necrotic tissue, broad spectrum antibiotics, and aggressive nutritional support. The early clinical diagnosis of an area of necrotizing fasciitis is difficult and frequently unreliable. We are reporting a series of cases in which an early, accurate diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis was established by a frozen section tissue biopsy obtained at the bedside. METHODS: Over a 15-year period, a consecutive series of 43 patients had a bedside biopsy under local anesthesia with immediate frozen section evaluation. All patients were seen in the hospital or emergency room for treatment of an inflammatory process. RESULTS: These 43 patients had bedside biopsy and frozen section evaluation of an inflammatory process. Twelve patients were found to have necrotizing fasciitis. These patients were treated with immediate surgical debridement of all gross necrotic tissue, broad spectrum antibiotics, and adequate nutritional support. All of them survived. No cases of infectious gangrene occurred in the group of patients whose biopsy did not reveal necrotizing fasciitis. CONCLUSION: Frozen section tissue biopsy is a useful adjunct in establishing an early, accurate diagnosis of infectious gangrene.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen and surgery on experimental multimicrobial gas gangrene.

An experimental multimicrobial gas gangrene rat model was developed and the therapeutic effect of surgery was compared to the combined effect of surgery and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). The infection was caused by an intramuscular injection of a mixture of bacteria including Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis. The mortality, morbidity and wound healing were assessed during a follow-up of 2 weeks. The mortality of the control rats was 60%, with rats treated with surgery alone 35% and the combined treatment group 20% (NS). In the combined treatment group, 84.4% of the survivors healed completely; the corresponding figure in the surgery group was 15.4% (p < 0.001). In experimental multimicrobial gas gangrene the addition of HBO to surgery reduces morbidity and improves wound healing but does not reduce mortality statistically significantly.

Ciprofloxacin for treatment of malakoplakia.

The tumour-like lesions of the rare disease malakoplakia, which consist of macrophages containing undigested coliform bacteria, are often misdiagnosed as a carcinoma. Although an infectious aetiology is likely, no antimicrobial therapy has been successful in the long-term. Since ciprofloxacin penetrates well into macrophages, this drug was given to two patients with advanced malakoplakia (500 mg twice daily). After long-term treatment all granulomatous lesions disappeared. Thus, malakoplakia can be cured by antibiotic treatment.

Subphrenic abscess: comparison between operative and antibiotic management.

Subphrenic abscess is still a significant hazard which complicates surgical procedures as well as certain abdominal catastrophes. This is a report of 88 patients with subphrenic abscess at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center of New York from 1954 through 1971. There were 46 males and 42 females, ranging from 2 to 88 years. Operations on the stomach, duodenum and biliary tract were the major causes. The causative organisms in order of frequency were: E coli (41.6%), Staphylococcus (41.6%), Aerobacter aerogenes (23.3%), Proteus (20%), Streptococci (18.3%) and Pseudomonas (8.3%). Penicillin and tetracycline, the antibiotics most commonly chosen on an empiric basis, proved effective in only 38% of cases. On the other hand, kanamycin, chloramphenicol and cephalothin were effective in 90%, 85% and 70% of cases respectively. The overall mortality rate was 15%. Nine of the 21 patients (42.8%) treated with antibiotics alone died while 11 of 67 patients (10.6%) treated with antibiotics and surgical drainage died. Some of the latter deaths occurred in patients treated with prolonged antibiotic therapy and operated on only as a last resort. In this series subphrenic abscess was best treated by early surgical drainage combined with the use of appropriate antibiotics.