Chronic intermittent intestinal obstruction from a seat belt injury.

Most patients with intestinal obstruction have had previous surgery. Rarely, the development of adhesions and resulting small bowel obstruction is attributed to previous intra-abdominal trauma. We present the case of a young man, without a history of surgery, who had been a restrained driver in a motor vehicle crash. Seven years later, the patient had an intermittent partial small bowel obstruction that recurred over the next 5 years. We review the pathophysiology and epidemiology of similar occurrences, as well as diagnostic options.

CT findings after laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia.

OBJECTIVE: We describe CT findings after laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia with emphasis on formation of postoperative fluid collections that can mimic recurrent bowel herniation or infected postoperative fluid collections. CONCLUSION: The porous property of the mesh used in laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia allows reaccumulation of fluid in the existing hernia sac or spaces in the subcutaneous tissues that can be created by laparoscopic manipulation. These fluid collections should be expected and are differentiated from infected fluid collections or hernia recurrence by clinical presentation, laboratory data, and lack of ancillary features associated with true hernia such as presence of hernia sac, herniated mesentery, or bowel obstruction.

An alternative strategy for studying adverse events in medical care.

BACKGROUND: Data about the frequency of adverse events related to inappropriate care in hospitals come from studies of medical records as if they represented a true record of adverse events. In a prospective, observational design we analysed discussion of adverse events during the care of all patients admitted to three units of a large, urban teaching hospital affiliated to a university medical school. Discussion took place during routine clinical meetings. We undertook the study to enhance understanding of the incidence and scope of adverse events as a basis for preventing them. METHODS: Ethnographers trained in qualitative observational research attended day-shift, weekday, regularly scheduled attending rounds, residents' work rounds, nursing shift changes, case conferences, and other scheduled meetings in three study units as well as various departmental and section meetings. They recorded all adverse events during patient care discussed at these meetings and developed a classification scheme to code the data. Data were collected about health-care providers' own assessments about the appropriateness of the care that patients received to assess the nature and impact of adverse events and how health-care providers and patients responded to the adverse events. FINDINGS: Of the 1047 patients in the study, 185 (17.7%) were said to have had at least one serious adverse event; having an initial event was linked to the seriousness of the patient's underlying illness. Patients with long stays in hospital had more adverse events than those with short stays. The likelihood of experiencing an adverse event increased about 6% for each day of hospital stay, 37.8% of adverse events were caused by an individual, 15.6% had interactive causes, and 9.8% were due to administrative decisions. Although 17.7% of patients experienced serious events that led to longer hospital stays and increased costs to the patients, only 1.2% (13) of the 1047 patients made claims for compensation. INTERPRETATION: This study shows that there is a wide range of potential causes of adverse events that should be considered, and that careful attention must be paid to errors with interactive or administrative causes. Healthcare providers' own discussions of adverse events can be a good source of data for proactive error prevention.

Pyogenic hepatic abscess: a case for open drainage.

A retrospective review of 24 patients treated at the University of Chicago for pyogenic liver abscess from 1979 to 1989 was performed to determine if there is a changing etiology in pyogenic liver abscess and if percutaneous drainage is a reliable treatment alternative to open drainage. Biliary tract disease was the most common cause and presented in 29 per cent of patients. Klebsiella and enterococcus were the most common bacterial organisms cultured in 33 and 29 per cent of patients, respectively. The overall mortality rate was 25 per cent, however, if open drainage, in addition to a definitive procedure such as cholecystectomy or bowel resection was performed, there were no deaths. We therefore recommend the use of percutaneous drainage alone only in selected patients.

Massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage in pancreatitis secondary to visceral artery aneurysms.

Thirty-six pancreatic patients with massive gastrointestinal bleeding have now been identified as having pancreaticoduodenal and gastroduodenal artery aneurysms as causative. In the past decade, seven of the patients have been encountered at the authors' institution and seven presented in the literature. Of these 14, there was a predilection for men (85%) with an average age of 48.1 years, who had complications of pancreatitis (75%), that is, abscess or pseudocyst. Eleven of these patients underwent surgery with an 81 per cent survival rate. Previous reports had shown a 47 per cent survival rate in 19 similar patients. Embolization of the aneurysm was attempted in four patients with two successes. The authors believe that early diagnosis by arteriography and early operative intervention were responsible for the improved survival. A high index of suspicion in this patient population is crucial for early diagnosis and improvement in survival.

Intraoperative flexible videocholedochoscopy. An improved technique for evaluating the common duct.

At the conclusion of common duct exploration, a T-tube cholangiogram is usually performed. Recently, flexible choledochoscopy has become available to evaluate the interior of the common duct. We compared four cases, using the videocholedochoscope with completion T-tube cholangiography, both in our four patients and historically. We used the Olympus CHF-P20 flexible choledochoscope, which is 4.8 mm in diameter, hooked to an Olympus S-4 videoadapter. We found that flexible choledochoscopy enabled us to evaluate the biliary tree directly from the ampulla to the third branch radicle within the liver. In all cases, the common ducts were normal after stone removal. Both the preexploration and completion T-tube cholangiograms yielded less information. We conclude that flexible choledochoscopy is an improved technique that allows a more thorough evaluation of the common duct, obviates more extensive procedures, i.e., sphincteroplasty, by removing stones through the scope, and negates the need for a completion T-tube cholangiogram. We encourage all biliary tract surgeons to consider this technique for their own use.

Bullet emboli to the systemic and venous circulation.

The rarity of bullet emboli leads to frequent delays in diagnosis and inadequate early management. Our recent experience with this entity is described, and 153 cases reported in the English-language literature are reviewed and summarized. The majority of cases occurs as a consequence of civilian violence among men in their 20s and 30s. Most bullet emboli follow the direction of blood flow, although 15% of venous bullets cause embolization in a retrograde manner. One in 10 arterial emboli follow a right-heart or venous injury. Arterial bullets are symptomatic in 80% of cases, venous bullets in only one third. The choice of surgical management must be individualized according to the symptoms caused by the bullet and its location in the vascular system. In general, arterial bullet emboli are removed because of symptoms or findings of acute peripheral ischemia. Arterial and venous emboli not causing symptoms should be removed according to the risk of possible displacement and further embolization. Selective intraoperative angiograms and phlebograms can precisely localize the migrating bullet and permit appropriate placement of incisions before removal.

Free omental flap reconstruction of complicated head and neck wounds.

Complicated wounds of the head and neck involve a severe deficiency of tissue in a contaminated or irradiated area that is predisposed to infection and necrosis. Reconstruction of these wound areas frequently requires multiple operations and prolonged hospitalization. We have successfully reconstructed complicated head and neck wounds in thirteen patients by means of a single-stage microvascular tissue transfer of the greater omentum with or without an attached segment of the stomach wall. There were 11 complete successes, two partial failures, and no complete failures. We describe four cases to illustrate the basic fundamentals of this reconstructive technique.

Delta and Mu receptor agonists correlate with greater depression of cardiac function than morphine sulfate in perfused rat hearts.

In previous studies done in our laboratory, we demonstrated that morphine sulfate could depress heart rate and cardiac output when added to the perfusate of a working rat heart model using a modified Langendorff preparation. In this study we investigated three different delta agonists and a mu agonist by adding each to the perfusate in a fashion similar to the experiments done with morphine sulfate. We found that all three delta agonists, leu-enkephalin, D-ala-D-leu-enkephalin (DADL), and D-Pen enkephalin, would significantly decrease cardiac output. In the case of D-Pen enkephalin, heart rate and stroke volume were also significantly decreased. Additionally the mu agonist Tyr-D-ala-gly-N-met-phe-gly-ol (DAGO) also caused a significant decrease in heart rate, cardiac output, and stroke volume. The data suggest that all three delta agonists and DAGO are capable of depressing heart rate, cardiac output, and stroke volume at concentrations between 10(3) and 10(4) lower than those used in studies with morphine sulfate.

All terrain vehicles (ATVs). A recreational gamble.

Over the period September 1985 to July 1986, the authors reviewed 28 admissions to the Level I trauma center as a result of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents. The patients ranged in age from 6 to 71 years, with nearly 33 per cent (9), under age 16. There were 22 (78.6%) male and 6 (21.4%) female patients. All suffered multiple abrasions, lacerations, and contusions. In addition, 21 (75%) patients had a fracture of some type. Eight (28.6%), had head injuries and 3 (10.7%) sustained spinal cord injuries with a permanent neurologic deficit. Intrathoracic injury occurred in 2 patients (7.1%) and intraabdominal injuries occurred in 1 (3.6%). Moreover, death occurred in 3 (10.7%). Simultaneously reviewed were admissions resulting from motor vehicle accidents (MVA) and motorcycle accidents (MCA) during the same period. By comparison, the death rates (DR), fracture rates (FR), and spinal cord lesions with deficit (SLR) were significantly higher in accidents with ATVs than with MVAs or MCAs. The death rates for ATVs, MVAs, and MCAs were 10.7 per cent, 4.6 per cent, and 1.2 per cent, respectively, with significance between the MCA and ATV groups, P = .0395. The FR were 75 per cent, 53 per cent, and 65 per cent, respectively, with P = .265. SLR was found in 10.7 per cent, 2.3 per cent, and 4.4 per cent of these same groups, with P = .0001. These data suggest that ATV riders are at a higher risk for sustaining fractures, significant spinal cord injuries, or death. ATVs clearly present a health hazard to riders of all ages.

Principles for use of intraoperative enteroscopy for hemorrhage from the small bowel.

Most patients with bleeding from the small bowel are frequently difficult to diagnose and treat because the rate of bleeding is slow and because this is the "blind area" of gastrointestinal endoscopy. We used a colonoscope passed by mouth intraoperatively in order to determine the site of bleeding in four patients. All patients required resection with one requiring laser therapy as well. We found that the following principles were important in maximizing the value of this technique: (1) Good communication between the endoscopist and operating surgeon during the procedure, (2) clamping the distal small bowel to prevent air accumulation in the colon (3) examining the bowel on the way in and avoiding the use of suction to minimize scope trauma artifact, (4) turning off the room lights in order to examine the transilluminated bowel externally, (5) examining the entire small bowel if possible, and (6) marking each site externally with a suture as it is identified.

Correlation of plasma beta-endorphin levels with mean arterial pressure and cardiac output in hypovolemic shock.

Recent studies have been conducted to evaluate the relationship between plasma beta-endorphin (END) levels and the hemodynamic changes that occur in severely stressed animals. Using our canine hypovolemic shock model, END levels were analyzed during the baseline period, at the beginning of treatment (after a period of fixed-pressure hypovolemic shock), and at the end of treatment. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cardiac output were also measured at these intervals. Animals were given iv 5 ml of 0.9% NaCl, 4 mg/kg of naloxone (NAL), 30 mg/kg of methylprednisolone (MP), or 4 mg/kg of NAL and 30 mg/kg of MP. A fifth group was composed of nonsteroid-treated animals. Scatterplots were generated and linear regression lines were drawn comparing END with cardiac output and MAP. In the nonsteroid-treated animals, a significant correlation was found between decreases in both MAP and cardiac output and increasing levels of END. The addition of MP did not seem to alter the relationship, suggesting that MP did not affect END release.

Myocardial opiate receptor activity is stereospecific, independent of muscarinic receptor antagonism, and may play a role in depressing cardiac function.

Earlier work has shown that morphine sulfate can produce a dose-related decrease in heart rate (HR) and cardiac output (CO) in isolated working rat hearts. This response is preventable with the use of the opiate receptor antagonist, naloxone hydrochloride. In this study, the stereospecificity of the opiate response was tested with the use of levorphanol tartrate and its d-isomer, dextrorphan, in our Langendorff rat heart model. The interaction of muscarinic receptor activity with the opiate response was tested by first adding bethanechol chloride to the perfusate in the presence and absence of atropine (5 X 10(-9) mmol/L). Our earlier studies with morphine sulfate were then repeated in the presence of the same concentration of atropine. At a concentration of 5 X 10(-6) mmol/L, levorphanol tartrate produced a significant decrease in CO (p less than 0.05), while a similar concentration of dextrorphan produced little change in either HR or CO. Bethanechol chloride, in a concentration of 3 X 10(-6) mmol/L, produced a significant decrease in HR and CO (p less than 0.05), which was prevented by atropine. When morphine sulfate was added to the standard perfusate (3 X 10(-4) mmol/L), HR and CO were significantly decreased (p less than 0.05). This change was not prevented by the addition of atropine. The opiate effect on myocardial function is mediated by a stereospecific opiate receptor, which acts independently of muscarinic receptor antagonism.

Hemodynamic evaluation of ibuprofen in canine hypovolemic shock.

This study was done to evaluate the role of ibuprofen, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, in a standard model of hypovolemic shock. Fifteen dogs were subjected to fixed mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) shock (40-45 mmHg) for 45 min and then treated with physiologic saline (NS), low-dose ibuprofen (6.25 mg/kg), and high-dose ibuprofen (12.5 mg/kg) by IV bolus and continuous IV infusion. After 60 min of treatment, the shed blood was returned. Survival was monitored for 72 h. Both dose levels resulted in a significant increase in MABP and total peripheral resistance over NS during the infusion period but heart rate, cardiac output, and left ventricular contractility were similar for all groups. Survival at 72 h was also similar for the three groups. Ibuprofen treatment, while increasing MABP and total peripheral vascular resistance did not seem to alter cardiac function or improve survival when compared to NS in this model of hypovolemic shock.