ABSTRACT
Armand Trousseau (1801-1867) was born in Tours, France on October 14, 1801. He graduated as a physician in the same city under the direction of Pierre Bretonneau and received his doctorate in 1825 in Paris. He was the first physician to practice tracheotomy in diphtheria and perform thoracenteses to remove air or fluid from the pleural space. He recommended tracheal intubation in different scenarios. He described the first cases of laryngeal tuberculosis and the presence of carpopedal spasm in hypocalcemia, a sign that has his name. He also described the association between migratory thrombophlebitis and neoplasia, which is known as Trousseau’s syndrome. Ironically, on January 1, 1867 he diagnosed in himself a deep vein thrombosis of the left upper limb and told one of his disciples “I am lost; I have no doubt about the nature of my disease”. He died of gastric cancer at the age of 66 years on June 23, 1867. He carried out an educational and medical work. He instructed his students about the rather instantaneous thought process in clinical medicine. He always conducted his clinical work with the certainty of a sound scientific background. Contemporary physicians should take advantage of the example and lessons of Armand Trousseau.
Subject(s)
History, 19th Century , Clinical Medicine/history , Hypocalcemia/history , FranceABSTRACT
El hipo es una contracción espasmódica involuntaria del diafragma que desencadena una inspiración súbita y cierre abrupto de la glotis originando un sonido característico. Según su duración se clasifica en ataque de hipo, hipo persistente o hipo intratable o rebelde. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 75 años de edad con hipo rebelde que le impedía conciliar el sueño, diurno y nocturno, asociado a eructos, de tres años de evolución, refractario al tratamiento con clorpromazina. Luego de una extensa evaluación se llegó al diagnóstico de tumor en seno etmoidal derecho. Se efectuó la resección del tumor y posterior radioterapia local con desaparición del hipo. Consideramos ésta una causa rara de hipo rebelde que generó un desafío diagnóstico y terapéutico.
Hiccup is a spasmodic involuntary contraction of the diaphragm which triggers a sudden inspiration and an abrupt closure of the glottis with a characteristic sound. Regarding its duration, it is classified as hiccup attack, persistent hiccup or rebellious or intractable hiccup. We present the case of a 75 old male with rebellious hiccup which prevented him to fall asleep by day or by night, associated with belches lasting for three years, refractory to chlorpromazine. An extensive evaluation led to the diagnosis of right ethmoid sinus tumor. The tumor resection was performed and after subsequent local radiotherapy the hiccup disappeared. We consider this a rare cause of rebellious hiccup that generated a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Male , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/complications , Ethmoid Sinus , Hiccup/etiology , Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms/complicationsABSTRACT
La cistitis intersticial se define como un síndrome clínico caracterizado por un incremento de la frecuencia urinaria, urgencia miccional y/o dolor abdominal o perineal en ausencia de infección urinaria o enfermedad conocida del aparato urinario. Se divide de acuerdo a los hallazgos citoscópicos en ulcerativa o no. La base del diagnóstico es clínica apoyada en scores de probabilidad y pruebas invasivas. Con la comprensión de la fisiopatología se ha desarrollado un abanico de posibilidades terapéuticas. Comunicamos el caso de una paciente sintomática por cuatro años con diagnóstico de cistitis intersticial con úlcera de Hunner por cistoscopia y excelente respuesta a la amitriptilina. Es una enfermedad que produce considerable alteración de la calidad de vida, por lo que es importante que los médicos estén familiarizados con este cuadro.
Interstitial cystitis is characterized by over 6 months of chronic pain, pressure and discomfort felt in the lower pelvis or bladder. It is often relieved with voiding, along with daytime frequency and nocturia in the absence of an urinary tract infection. The disorder can be divided clinically into two groups -ulcerative and non-ulcerative- based on cystoscopic findings and response to treatment. Management follows an approach of applying the least invasive therapy that affords sufficient relief of symptoms. We report a case of a patient with interstitial cystitis. The diagnosis was performed by symptoms and lesion in the cystoscopy and excellent response to amitriptyline.