Penetrating ureteral trauma

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this series is to report our experience in managing ureteral trauma, focusing on the importance of early diagnosis, correct treatment, and the impact of associated injuries on the management and morbid-mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1994 to December 2002, 1487 laparotomies for abdominal trauma were performed and 20 patients with ureteral lesions were identified, all of them secondary to penetrating injury. Medical charts were analyzed as well as information about trauma mechanisms, diagnostic routine, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: All patients were men. Mean age was 27 years. The mechanisms of injury were gunshot wounds in 18 cases (90 percent) and stab wounds in two (10 percent). All penetrating abdominal injuries had primary indication of laparotomy, and neither excretory urography nor computed tomography were used in any case before surgery. The diagnosis of ureteric injury was made intra-operatively in 17 cases (85 percent). Two ureteral injuries (10 percent) were initially missed. All patients had associated injuries. The treatment was dictated by the location, extension and time necessary to identify the injury. The overall incidence of complications was 55 percent. The presence of shock on admission, delayed diagnosis, Abdominal Trauma Index > 25, Injury Severity Score > 25 and colon injuries were associated to a high complication rate, however, there was no statistically significant difference. There were no mortalities in this group. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis of ureteral injuries. A thorough exploration of all retroperitoneal hematoma after penetrating trauma should be an accurate method of diagnosis; even though it failed in 10 percent of our cases.

Clinical presentation of juvenile Huntington disease

OBJETIVO: Descrever o quadro clínico de um grupo de pacientes com forma juvenil da doença de Huntington.MÉTODO: Os pacientes foram entrevistados seguindo um questionário clínico estruturado; genotipados para a repetição do trinucleotídeo citosina-adenina-guanina (CAG) no gene da doença de Huntington; e realizaram exame de RM de alta resolução. RESULTADOS: Identificamos 4 pacientes com doença de Huntington de início juvenil dentre 50 pacientes com doença de Huntington seguidos prospectivamente em nosso ambulatório de neurogenética. A idade de início variou entre 3 e 13 anos (2 meninos e 2 meninas). Três pacientes tiveram herança paterna da doença. O tamanho do alelo expandido da doença de Huntington variou entre 41 a 69 repetições de trinucleotídeos. As principais manifestações clínicas no início da doença foram rigidez, bradicinesia, distonia, disartria, crises epilépticas e ataxia. A RM mostrou acentuada atrofia dos núcleos caudado e putamem (p=0.001) e redução do volume cerebral e cerebelar (p=0.01). CONCLUSÃO: 8% dos pacientes com doença de Huntington acompanhados em nosso ambulatório apresentaram início juvenil da doença. Estes pacientes não apresentaram a manifestação típica de coréia observada em adultos. Houve predomínio de rigidez, bradicinesia, crises epilépticas e ataxia, o que tem relação com a atrofia cortical e cerebelar precoce na RM.