Unusual complication of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: massive liver necrosis.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a malignant and aggressive disease, whose diagnose is achieved in many cases at advanced stage. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head and body, which invaded hepatic artery and presented with portal vein thrombosis. She consulted for melena and upper endoscopy showed varicose lesions in the second part of duodenum. The patient developed acute worsening of anemia with hemodynamic inestability. Urgent contrast enhanced computed tomography revealed a massive hepatic necrosis without identification of the hepatic artery. Massive hepatic necrosis is an infrequent clinical condition described in bibliography after invasive procedures. The complete obstruction of the liver vascular system due to pancreatic cancer is an extremely unusual cause of massive liver necrosis.

Preliminary experience of the use of self-expanding nititol stent in refractory variceal bleeding: a real-world study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The fully-covered self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) has a role in the management of refractory acute variceal haemorrhage. The aim of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness and complications in real-world practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An observational, descriptive, multicenter study was carried out. Eight patients with clinically significant portal hypertension who underwent a SEMS were included. RESULTS: SEMS placement controlled acute bleeding in 7 patients with technical success. Stents were removed after a median of 8 days. Rescue transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt was performed around 48 hours after SEMS placement. Four patients survived after successful SEMS removal. The most common adverse event was stent loop in 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, SEMS was highly effective in controlling acute refractory variceal bleeding. Bleeding-related mortality rate was probably due to impossibility of TIPS implantation. Stent loop was a common limiting factor.

Compliance, adverse effects and effectiveness of first line bismuth-containing quadruple treatment (Pylera®) to eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection in 200 patients.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: quadruple therapy with bismuth is recommended as a first line treatment for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the compliance, adverse effects and effectiveness of this treatment with the new galenic three-in-one capsule formulation containing bismuth subcitrate, metronidazole and tetracycline (Pylera®). METHODS: a prospective, non-controlled, single center observational study was performed in a cohort of 200 consecutive patients with an untreated H. pylori infection; 58% were female. The subjects were treated for ten days with Pylera® of three capsules four times daily with meals and a proton pump inhibitor taken before breakfast and dinner. The Pylera® capsule contains 140 mg of bismuth subcitrate, 125 mg of metronidazole and 125 mg of tetracycline. The compliance and adverse effects of the treatment were evaluated via telephone contact and via an interview during the clinical revision. Eradication of infection was controlled for at least four weeks after treatment termination via the urea breath test, the stool antigen test with monoclonal antibodies or by histology. RESULTS: treatment compliance was observed in 96% (192/200) of the patients. Only 28.5% (57/200) of the patients experienced adverse effects, which led to abandoning the treatment in only seven subjects. Severe adverse effects developed in only one case due to Clostridium difficile infection. The effectiveness based on intention to treat was 91.5% (183/200, 95% CI: 87.1-96.8) and per protocol was 95.2% (182/191, 95% CI: 90.9-98.9). CONCLUSIONS: in our experience, Pylera® is an effective and safe treatment that should be considered as a first line therapeutic option for the eradication of H. pylori infection.

Propranolol-induced angioedema in a patient with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

PURPOSE: A case of angioedema secondary to propranolol therapy in a patient with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is reported. SUMMARY: A 54-year-old Caucasian woman with chronic HCV infection started treatment with ribavirin and peginterferon alfa-2a. Four months later, oral propranolol hydrochloride 20 mg three times daily was initiated due to an episode of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). One month later, the patient developed a diffuse pruritic rash. Hydroxyzine and loratadine were prescribed for several days to treat the rash. Three weeks later, she arrived at the emergency department with generalized edema and a severe pruritic erythematous swelling that affected the face, forearms, hands, and lower extremities. The patient was diagnosed with angioedema. Blood tests revealed an increased eosinophil count (910 cells/microL), elevated aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase concentrations (109 and 104 IU/L, respectively), and a high HCV RNA load (1,450,000 IU). Peginterferon alfa-2a, ribavirin, and propranolol were discontinued. A few days later, the edema and cutaneous lesions disappeared. Six months after the resolution of the angioedema, the patient was seen again in the emergency department because of another episode of PSVT. Oral propranolol 20 mg twice daily was reintroduced to control the tachycardia. Two days later, a similar episode of diffuse edematous swelling developed. At that time, the only drug she was taking was propranolol. Propranolol was discontinued, and the patient's symptoms spontaneously resolved. CONCLUSION: A 54-year-old Caucasian woman with chronic HCV infection developed propranolol-induced angioedema.