Diffuse Phlebitis in Patients with Syphilitic Outer Retinopathy.

Purpose: To report two cases of syphilitic outer retinopathy that showed diffuse phlebitis on fluorescein angiography (FA).Methods: Retrospective chart review.Results: The two patients had presentation similar to acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR), including hyperautofluorescence on fundus autofluorescence and ellipsoid zone disruption on optical coherence tomography. The main difference from AZOOR was the finding of diffuse phlebitis on FA. Both patients recovered well after antibiotic and steroid treatment.Conclusion: FA is especially important for differentiating syphilitic outer retinopathy from AZOOR. Timely diagnosis and treatment with penicillin and cautious use of steroid usually lead to favorable prognosis.

Lemierre's syndrome variant of the gut.

Infectious suppurative thrombophlebitis of the portal venous system, referred to as pylephlebitis, is a rare complication of intra-abdominal inflammatory processes. Advances in diagnostics and antibiotics have improved survival, but mortality remains remarkably high even in the most recent literature. The majority of patients have concomitant bacteraemia on presentation most commonly with typical gastrointestinal (GI) organisms. On rare occasion, patients have culture positive Fusobacterium, which has recently been associated with occult GI and genitourinary malignancies. Here, we describe a patient presenting with pylephlebitis and Fusobacterium bacteraemia who responded well to medical therapy, review pertinent literature and discuss the benefits of screening endoscopy in this patient population.

Successful multifaceted intervention aimed to reduce short peripheral venous catheter-related adverse events: a quasiexperimental cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Data concerning the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce short peripheral vein catheter (PVC)-related adverse events are scarce. METHODS: A quasiexperimental study (2004-2011) was conducted to evaluate an intervention to reduce peripheral vein phlebitis (PVP) and PVC-related bloodstream infections (BSIs). Bundle intervention consisted of health care worker education and training, withdrawal of unnecessary catheters, exchange catheter policy, withdrawal of catheters at early stages of PVP, use of scales as a measuring tool, and repeated period-prevalence surveillance of PVC adverse events on wards. A Poisson exponentially weighted moving average control chart was used to assess time series analysis. RESULTS: One thousand six hundred thirty-one patients with 2,325 short catheters inserted were prospectively followed. PVP decreased by 48% (12.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 10.7-13.2] during the intervention period versus 23.3% [95% CI: 16.4-30.1] in preintervention period; P < .05), and no reduction of PVP measured as 1,000 catheter-days was noted (48.6 [95% CI: 46.1-51.2] vs 37.9 [95% CI: 24.5-51.4], P > .05). A significant incidence reduction in PVC-related BSIs and health care-acquired Staphylococcus aureus BSIs was also achieved. CONCLUSION: A comprehensive multifaceted hospital approach was successful in reducing PVC-related adverse effects. Poisson exponentially weighted moving average control chart fits well as time series using Poisson data when very few events are present.

Acute pylephlebitis following gastrointestinal infection: an unrecognized cause of septic shock.

Pylephlebitis is the septic thrombosis of the portal vein. Hypercoagulability and intra-abdominal sepsis are the main predisposing factors. A 25-year-old man presented to a primary health care center complaining of fever, epigastric pain, and jaundice. He was initially diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection and alcoholic hepatitis and, due to his unstable clinical status, was referred to the emergency room. A diagnosis of acute pylephlebitis complicated with septic shock was made. Treatment with a wide-spectrum antibiotic and anticoagulation was initiated. Fifteen days later, recanalization of the portal vein was achieved and clinical status was improved. Pylephlebitis following gastrointestinal infection is a potential cause of septic shock.

Evaluation of add-on devices for the prevention of phlebitis and other complications associated with the use of peripheral catheters in hospitalised adults: a randomised controlled study.

The aim of this study was to assess the role of add-on devices for the prevention of phlebitis and other complications associated with the use of peripheral catheters. Patients admitted to an infectious diseases ward and requiring the insertion of a peripheral catheter for at least 24h were randomly allocated to be managed with or without add-on devices. Incidence of phlebitis and all complications were the primary outcomes. Extravasation, inadvertent withdrawal, obstruction and rupture were considered to be mechanical complications, and analysis was performed using survival methods. Of 683 evaluated catheters, 351 were allocated to the add-on device arm and 332 to the control arm. Despite randomisation, patients in the add-on device group were older (P=0.048), less likely to have human immunodeficiency virus (P=0.02) and more likely to have received antibiotics (P=0.05). After adjustment for these variables, the hazard ratio for phlebitis remained non-significant (hazard ratio: 0.95; 95% confidence interval: 0.7-1.3), but the risk of mechanical complications became lower in the add-on device arm (0.68; 0.5-0.94). This translated into a trend towards a lower risk of any complication (0.83; 0.67-1.01). The beneficial effect on mechanical or all complications was noticeable after six days of catheterisation. Add-on devices do not reduce the incidence of phlebitis but may prevent mechanical complications. However, the impact of add-on devices on the incidence of all complications is at most small and only apparent after the sixth day of catheter use.

Nodular granulomatous phlebitis: a phlebitic tuberculid.

A 22-year-old woman presented with recurrent non-ulcerating skin nodules overlying the great saphenous vein on the anteromedial lower legs. Histology showed a granulomatous phlebitis, and polymerase chain reaction performed on lesional skin detected DNA specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The lesions resolved with anti-tuberculous therapy. This case may be a further example of nodular granulomatous phlebitis, a phlebitic tuberculid.

Hand abscess, phlebitis, and bacteremia due to Salmonella enterica serotype Augustenborg.

Soft tissue and superficial venous infections are uncommon extraintestinal manifestations of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections. In contrast to affected adults, who usually show immunological impairment, the majority of children with extraintestinal NTS infections have no predisposing risk factors. Here, we report a previously healthy infant who developed hand abscess, phlebitis, bacteremia, and impending disseminated intravascular coagulation. Blood and abscess cultures showed Salmonella enterica serotype Augustenborg. This organism is an uncommon isolate in humans that can be highly pathogenic and induce rare manifestations of infection as in the present case.

[Combined mycosis as a complication of renal allotransplantation and immunosuppressive therapy].

A histological study of arteries and veins in the presence of suppuration in shunt sepsis in a patient on programmed hemodyalisis and unsuccessful triple renal allotransplantation revealed bacterial endocarditis, as well as Candida-induced endophlebitis of cubital veins and disseminated chromoboblastomycosis with the involvement of lymph nodes, adrenals, and hypophysis.

Prospective surveillance of phlebitis associated with peripheral intravenous catheters.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines have been published for prevention of phlebitis associated with peripheral intravenous catheters (IVC), but this complication continues to occur. We sought to determine the rate of phlebitis associated with peripheral IVCs to identify predictors for phlebitis and to isolate pathogenic bacteria from phlebitic catheter tips. METHODS: Nine-point prevalence studies were conducted during the years 1996-2003 of all hospitalized patients with a peripheral IVC. During the last 3 surveys, conducted in 2003, phlebitic lines were removed, and, for each line, 1 to 2 nonphlebitic lines, in place for 48 to 72 hours, were removed and cultured as controls. In between these surveys, findings and guidelines for improvement were distributed to the staff. RESULTS: During these surveys, 40% +/- 8% of hospitalized patients had a peripheral IVC. The rate of peripheral IVC-associated phlebitis decreased from 12.7% (20/157) in 1998 to 2.6% (5/189) in 2003 (P < .01). Factors significantly associated with phlebitis included pain (P < .001), presence of the catheter for longer than 3 days (P < .05), and cleanliness of the dressing (P < .01). CONCLUSION: The rate of phlebitis associated with peripheral intravenous catheters decreased significantly throughout the study period. The identification of predictors for phlebitis and the dissemination of this information in an educational drive may have contributed to this improvement.

[Phlebitis in peripheral catheters (I). Incidence and risk factors]. / Flebitis en catéteres periféricos (I). Incidencia y factores de riesgo.

The type of pathology and the current therapeutic tendencies justify that endovenous therapy is the most frequently selected one. Although it has multiple advantages, it bears with it a series of infectious type complications (bacterial infections, phlebitis and thrombophlebitis). Even though bacterial infections in peripheral intravascular vessels have a low occurrence rate, which some authors list as between 1 and 2%, in central intravascular vessels, their occurrence is usually higher. Phlebitis is one of the complications most frequently associated with the use of peripheral intravascular catheters.

[Severe retinal phlebitis in ocular bartonellosis]. / Flebitis retiniana severa en bartonelosis ocular.

PURPOSE/METHODS: To report the clinical case of a 34-year-old male with atypical ophthalmic manifestations of cat-scratch disease (ocular bartonellosis), including an extensive retinal phlebitis, as well as the evolution of the clinical picture with treatment. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The clinical diagnosis of ocular bartonellosis was serologically confirmed. Oral treatment with ciprofloxacine healed the phlebitis and the neuroretinitis, with a residual optic disk pallor. This case exemplifies the diversitiy of ocular manifestations of this disease. The authors recommend considering this condition in the differential diagnosis of posterior uveitis in young patients.

Pichia ohmeri fungemia associated with phlebitis: successful treatment with amphotericin B.

We report a case of fungemia caused by the yeast-form fungus Pichia ohmeriin a 59-year-old hospitalized patient. P. ohmeri was found in all of the patient's blood cultures collected on days 52, 57, 59, and 64 of his hospital stay. Intermittent fever developed on the 52nd hospital day and persisted for about 10 days. The patient had previously received intensive antimicrobial therapy for a ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection and subsequent nosocomial pneumonia. Although a central venous catheter was not used in the patient, he suffered from tender swelling of the right leg due to peripheral phlebitis at the site of insertion of a peripheral venous catheter (which had already been removed at the onset of fever), the same site from which P. ohmeri was isolated. The fungemia and phlebitis cleared following 14-day amphotericin B therapy. This case shows that P. ohmeri can be a nosocomial bloodstream pathogen associated with phlebitis.

Pylephlebitis after appendicitis in a child.

Septic phlebitis of the portal vein, or pylephlebitis, is a rare but potentially severe complication of abdominal sepsis. The authors present a case of pylephlebitis after perforated retrocecal appendicitis in a child and discuss the etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of this disorder in the modern era.