A breath of not so fresh air .

Despite being widely used as a recreational drug, "poppers" lack a legal framework for their delivery. Their composition may vary largely. This report describes a case of severe bronchiolitis following amyl nitrite mixture inhalation. https://bit.ly/3p3S7LM.

Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome in a postoperative patient: a case report.

BACKGROUND: We report a case of platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome observed in a complex clinical situation associating a bilateral pleural effusion, lobar pulmonary embolism, and a partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old Caucasian woman developed acute dyspnea in the postoperative course of an elective gynecological surgery for advanced stage ovarian cancer. Preoperative evaluation had failed to reveal any respiratory or cardiac problem. After evidence of a low arterial oxygen saturation, blood gas analysis from the central venous line correctly inserted in the right internal jugular vein revealed a higher oxygen saturation than in the arterial compartment. A thoracic computed tomography showed bilateral pleural effusion, lobar pulmonary embolism, and a drainage of a left pulmonary vein into the left innominate vein. This unique combination resulted in an uncommon cause of platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. CONCLUSION: Often associated with right-to-left shunting, platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome may be observed in complex clinical conditions with several factors influencing the ventilation/perfusion ratio. The paradoxical finding of a higher oxygen saturation in a central venous line than in an arterial line should prompt the clinician to look at the possibility of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. No specific treatment is required in asymptomatic adults, except for an echocardiographic follow-up to detect the onset of pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy in a patient with a metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

A 78-year-old woman was admitted for acute dyspnoea. One year before, she had been treated with cisplatin and gemcitabine for a high grade urothelial carcinoma. Immunotherapy was discussed 9 months later due the progression of bone metastases but could not be administered before this episode of respiratory distress. There was a major discrepancy between the findings of a limited pulmonary embolism at thoracic tomodensitometry and the severity of a recently developed pulmonary hypertension at echocardiography. The patient presented cardiac arrest on day 6 and post-mortem findings were consistent with diffuse pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy, a rare complication of urothelial carcinoma.

Management of COVID-19 Coagulopathy in a Patient with Severe Haemophilia A.

A 54-year-old man with a long history of severe haemophilia A treated prophylactically with efmoroctocog alpha (3,000 IU twice weekly) was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. He had multiple risk factors for COVID-19 severity including obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. He required prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay due to the severity of respiratory failure until his death on day 24. During his ICU stay, he received a continuous infusion of efmoroctocog alpha in order to maintain factor VIII activity between 80 and 100%, together with therapeutic doses of low-molecular-weight heparin targeting anti-Xa activity above 0.5 IU/mol. He tolerated numerous invasive procedures without bleeding. At post-mortem examination, there was no evidence for thrombosis or haemorrhage in the different organs.