Cactus Spine Wounds: A Case Report and Short Review of the Literature.

INTRODUCTION: Cactus plants are commonly seen in arid southwestern regions of the United States. Due to their ready availability, they have become a popular houseplant. The spines or glochidia can easily puncture the skin with only minor pressure (ie, bumping or touching the cactus). Removal of the offending spine is difficult, even with tweezers. CASE: An 18-year-old woman initially self-removed the spines, and marked discomfort and intense erythematous reaction developed within 8 to 10 hours. Patient presented to the emergency room at Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center (Janesville, Wisconsin), where spine removal was unsuccessful. RESULTS: Following emergency room discharge, she had difficulty walking from pain and swelling and was advised to use heat packs, take amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and rest with her leg elevated for another 7 days along with using eye drops for eye irritation. The lesions slowly improved over the next several months. CONCLUSION: The case of multiple barrel cactus spine injuries with severe pain and swelling is presented herein as well as a review of the treatment options and complications of cactus spine injuries.

Evaluation and management of 2 ferocactus spines in the orbit.

A 49-year-old woman, who had fallen face first in a cactus 1 week earlier, presented with a small, mobile, noninflamed subcutaneous nodule at the rim of her right lateral orbit with no other functional deficits. A CT scan was obtained, which revealed a 4-cm intraorbital tubular-shaped foreign body resembling a large cactus spine. A second preoperative CT scan, obtained for an intraoperative guidance system, demonstrated a second cactus spine, which was initially not seen on the first CT scan. Both spines were removed surgically without complication. The authors discuss factors that can cause diagnosis delay, review the radiographic features of cactus spines, and discuss the often times benign clinical course of retained cactus spine foreign bodies. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of cactus spines in the orbit. Health-care professionals should have a low threshold for imaging in cases of traumatic injuries involving cactus spines.

Primer reporte del empleo de marcadores ISTR en cactaceae (pilosocereus sp) / First report of the employment of ISTR markers in cactaceae (pilosocereus sp)

Pilosocereus sp es una especie en peligro crítico de extinción, la única población conocida se encuentra en una mina de mármol verde, hoy abandonada, en la que su explotación produjo la disminución del 80% de la población en 3 años; en la actualidad quedan 28 ejemplares, de ellos unos pocos son adultos, de los cuales solo dos producen frutos. Una de las etapas necesaria para su recuperación es la producción de plántulas para realizar el reforzamiento de la población natural. Como las plantas obtenidas serán plantadas en condiciones naturales, donde se enfrentarán a diversas situaciones ambientales, es conveniente realizar un estudio de diversidad genética. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estimar la variabilidad genética de plántulas de Pilosocereus sp empleando la técnica Inverse Sequence Tagged Repeat (ISTR). Se realizó la germinación in vitro de semillas y se determinó la variabilidad genética de las plántulas obtenidas. Con el análisis molecular se detectaron un total de 97 bandas, de ellas el 62,8% fueron polimórficas. El mayor porcentaje de bandas polimórficas (85,7%) se obtuvo con la combinación de oligonucleótidos F6/B6. Con las combinaciones de oligonucleótidos empleados se detectaron de 4 a 6 patrones de banda diferentes. La heterocigosidad media esperada fue de 0,39.

Pilosocereus sp is a species in critical extinction danger, the only known population is in a mine of green marble, abandoned today, but it exploitation produced the decrease of the population's 80% in 3 years, at the present time they are 28 individuals, of them some few ones are mature, of those which alone two produce fruits. One of the necessary stages for their recovery is the seedlings production to carry out the natural population's reinforcement. As the obtained plants they will be planted under natural conditions, where they will face diverse environmental situations, it is convenient to carry out a study of genetic diversity. The objective of this work was to estimate the genetic variability using the technical Inverse Sequence Tagged Repeat (ISTR). In vitro germination of seeds of Pilosocereus sp and the genetic variability of the obtained seedlings was determined. With the molecular analysis a total of 97 bands were detected, of them 62.8% were polymorphic. The biggest percentage of polymorphism (85.7%) was obtained with the primer combination F6/B6. With the primer combinations employed were detected from 4 to 6 different band patterns. The heterocigocity hoped was 0.39.

Penetrating cactus spine injury to the mediastinum of a child.

Injuries from contact with cactus plants are not uncommon in the southwestern United States and other arid landscapes. Most often, accidental encounters with sharp spines and barbs result in little more than mechanical damage to the skin and soft tissues with minor pain and irritation. Although cactus spine penetration into the skin has been reported to be a stimulus for cutaneous granuloma formation, our review of the published literature did not reveal any potentially life-threatening injuries from such insults. We present a unique case of a penetrating cactus spine to the anterior mediastinum in a child which required surgical extraction.

Cactus spine granuloma.

We describe the case of a 45-year-old woman with a 2-week history of painful erythematous papules on the palmar aspect of the fingertips of her right hand, resulting from contact with a cholla cactus 3 weeks prior in Arizona. The patient initially was given clobetasol propionate ointment, resulting in some improvement; however, the lesions resolved only after punch biopsies were performed to confirm the diagnosis of cactus spine granuloma.

Removal of semitranslucent cactus spines embedded in deep cornea with the aid of a fiberoptic illuminator.

PURPOSE: To report a rare case of multiple cactus spines embedded deep in the cornea that were removed with the aid of a fiberoptic illuminator. DESIGN: Interventional case report. METHODS: A 20-year-old man had an accidental ocular injury of the right eye when he hit a household miniature cactus plant. There were 80 to 90 spiculated foreign bodies embedded in the cornea, some of them even penetrating the anterior chamber. RESULTS: Removal of the foreign bodies was performed with the aid of a fiberoptic illuminator, which was chosen because it provides superior visualization of the semitranslucent spines. No residual corneal spines were found postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Household miniature cactus plants can cause corneal injury, with multiple foreign bodies that can be difficult to localize and remove. The use of a fiberoptic illuminator in such a situation is simple and effective.