ABSTRACT
A previously well 71-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department with acute-onset left-sided chest pain. She was haemodynamically stable with unremarkable systemic examination. Her electrocardiogram and troponin were within normal limits and her chest radiograph showed a raised left hemi-diaphragm. Two hours after admission, this woman became acutely breathless, and suffered a pulseless electrical activity cardiac arrest. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there was a return of spontaneous circulation and regained consciousness. A repeat clinical assessment revealed a new left-sided dullness to percussion with contralateral percussive resonance on respiratory examination. CXR revealed a left pan-hemi-thoracic opacity whilst better definition using CT-pulmonary angiography (CTPA) indicated an acute tension gastrothorax secondary to a large left-sided diaphragmatic hernia. Nasogastric (NG) tube insertion was used to decompress the stomach and the patient underwent uncomplicated emergency laparoscopic hernia reduction. She remained well at 1-year follow-up.
Una señora, previamente sana, de 71 años de edad acudió al departamento de emergencia con dolor agudo en el lado izquierdo del pecho. El examen físico no reveló hallazgos importantes y estaba hemodinámicamente estable. El electrocardiograma y la troponina estaban dentro de los límites normales, la radiografía de tórax mostró un diafragma elevado en el lado izquierdo. Dos horas después de ser admitida, esta señora empezó a respirar con dificultad y sufrió un paro cardíaco con actividad eléctrica sin pulso. Después de la reanimación cardiopulmonar, se evidenció el retorno de la circulación espontánea y la paciente recuperó la conciencia. Una segunda evaluación clínica del sistema respiratorio reveló a la percusión, disminución de la resonancia del lado izquierdo del tórax con hiperresonancia contralateral. La radiografía de tórax reveló una opacidad completa en el lado izquierdo del tórax y se obtuvo una mayor definición utilizando la angiografía pulmonar por tomografía computarizada, revelando un gastrotórax a tensión agudo causado por una hernia diafragmática. Se utilizó una sonda nasogástrica para descomprimir el estómago. La paciente se sometió a cirugía laparoscópica de emergencia para reducir la hernia sin complicaciones. Ella permaneció saludable durante un año de seguimiento.
Subject(s)
Hernia, Diaphragmatic/complications , Laparoscopy/methods , Stomach Diseases/etiology , Acute Disease , Aged , Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation/methods , Chest Pain/etiology , Computed Tomography Angiography , Dyspnea/etiology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hernia, Diaphragmatic/diagnosis , Hernia, Diaphragmatic/surgery , Humans , Intubation, Gastrointestinal , Stomach Diseases/diagnosis , Stomach Diseases/pathologyABSTRACT
A 77-year-old woman presented with subacute onset progressive confusion, aggression, auditory hallucinations and delusions. In the preceding months, the patient had a number of admissions with transient unilateral hemiparesis with facial droop, and had been started on valproate for presumed hemiplegic migraine. Valproate was withdrawn soon after admission and her cognitive abilities have gradually improved over 3 months of follow-up. Valproate levels taken prior to withdrawal were subtherapeutic and the patient was normoammonaemic. EEG undertaken during inpatient stay showed changes consistent with encephalopathy, and low titre N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antibodies were present in this patient. The possible aetiologies of valproate-induced encephalopathy and NMDA receptor-associated encephalitis present a diagnostic dilemma. We present a putative combinatorial hypothesis to explain this patient's symptoms.
