Severe acute respiratory syndrome mimicking acute abdomen.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a novel epidemic disease. The clinical presentation can sometimes be very non-specific. The present study reports a case of SARS, which presented as acute abdomen, warranting laparotomy. The atypical presentation in the present case reminded us of the importance of strict infection control measures in all surgery-related specialist workplaces.

Large choledochal cyst present through 2 pregnancies. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Choledochal cyst is rarely diagnosed during pregnancy, and it is very difficult to make a diagnosis of it clinically or radiologically. CASE: A woman was diagnosed as having an ovarian cyst and gallbladder mucocele on ultrasonography in both her first and second pregnancies. She was asymptomatic, and conservative management was adopted. Three days after delivery of her second child, the patient had a sudden onset of right upper quadrant pain associated with deranged liver function. Emergency laparotomy revealed a type I choledochal cyst with evidence of infection. Excision of the cyst, cholecystectomy and bilateral hepatojejunostomy in the Roux-en-Y fashion were performed. CONCLUSION: A choledochal cyst in pregnancy is difficult to diagnose and poses a threat to mother and fetus.

Traumatic pancreatic fistula with sinistral portal hypertension: Surgical management.

Combined ductal and vascular injuries are awesome complications of pancreatic injury. We report on a 29-year-old male unrestrained driver who sustained a blunt abdominal injury from the steering wheel in a high velocity head-on car collision. He developed a pancreatic fistula, portosplenic venous thrombosis and sinistral portal hypertension as a result of complete duct disruption at the pancreatic neck. We describe a safe surgical strategy of spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy after failed medical and endoscopic management.

Use of a variable-stiffness colonoscope decreases the dose of patient-controlled sedation during colonoscopy: a randomized comparison of 3 colonoscopes.

BACKGROUND: The variable-stiffness colonoscope incorporates different degrees of stiffness of the insertion tube, which can be adjusted during the examination. Whether its use can lead to reduced procedure-related pain and sedative use is unknown. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the use of 3 types of colonoscope with different shaft stiffnesses in relation to procedure-related pain and sedative consumption. DESIGN: Prospective randomized trial. SETTING: Endoscopy unit of a university-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: Consecutive patients undergoing ambulatory colonoscopy. INTERVENTIONS: Random assignment was made of patients into 3 groups to receive colonoscopic examinations by one of the 3 types of colonoscope: conventional standard adult size, 1.3-m; 1.6-m; and the new variable-stiffness adult size, full-length (1.6-m) colonoscope. A mixture of propofol and afentanil, delivered by a patient-controlled syringe pump, was used for sedation in all groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures included dose of patient-controlled sedation consumed, pain score, cecal intubation rate, cecal intubation time, requirement of abdominal pressure and change of patients' positions during colonoscopy, and endoscopists and patients' satisfaction scores according to a visual analog scale. RESULTS: A total of 335 patients were randomized. Patients in group 3 used significantly less propofol (in milligrams per kilograms, mean [SD]) compared with the other 2 groups (group 1: 1.00 [0.75], group 2: 0.93 [0.62], and group 3: 0.75 [0.65]; P = .02; 1-way analysis of variance). The mean (SD) pain score was also lower in group 3. LIMITATIONS: The endoscopists were not blinded. CONCLUSION: The use of the new variable-stiffness adult-size colonoscope significantly reduced procedure-related pain and doses of sedative medications during colonoscopy.