Imagen en trauma toracoabdominal.Un diagnóstico diferencial difícil / Image in thoracoabdominal trauma. A difficult differential diagnosis

Resumen Hombre de 70 años de edad, quien ingresó en el área de urgencias con antecedente de atropellamiento. Refería dolor torácico bilateral y disnea. Al examen físico lo encontramos con vía aérea permeable, ausencia de murmullo vesicular en porción inferior de hemitórax derecho asociada con pérdida de la matidez hepática, hemodinámicamente estable, consciente, con puntaje de 15 en la escala de coma de Glasgow. Se obtuvo radiografía de tórax, la cual reveló una imagen radiolúcida por encima del hígado, por lo cual se solicitó tomografía de abdomen con contraste, la que permitió corroborar la integridad del diafragma. Este tipo de imagen radiológica puede sugerir una ruptura diafragmática traumática; sin embargo, sólo se trata de un hallazgo radiográfico.

Abstract A 70-year-old male entered the emergency department after being hit by a car. He had bilateral thoracic pain and dyspnea. On the physical examination we found him with patent airway, absence of vesicular murmur in the lower portion of the right hemithorax in association with loss of hepatic dullness, hemodinamic stability, conscious with 15 points on the Glasgow coma scale. We obtained a plain thoracic x-ray, which revealed a radiolucent image over the liver; for that reason, we obtained a contrasted CT-scan which showed diaphragmatic integrity. This image finding may suggest a traumatic diaphragmatic rupture; however, it may be only a radiological finding.

A Case with Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis with Intra-abdominal Free Air following Steroid Therapy for End-stage Brain Tumor

<p>Introduction: We experienced a case of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis with intra-abdominal free air following steroid therapy for an end-stage brain tumor. Case: The patient was a 67-year-old man. He had received surgery and chemotherapy for the brain tumor, but the disease progressed and his consciousness deteriorated. Eventually, he developed aspiration pneumonia and was hospitalized. His consciousness level remained poor even after the pneumonia improved. His survival prognosis was considered to be approximately 1 month, and he was transferred to a palliative care ward. After the transfer, administration of betamethasone 8 mg/day was started for the purpose of improving his level of consciousness. Temporary improvement was observed, and administration of this drug was continued with dose adjustments, as appropriate. Six weeks after the start of betamethasone administration, when his consciousness level again deteriorated, aspiration began to recur. Chest X-rays, obtained to assess pneumonia, showed intra-abdominal free air. Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis was confirmed by computed tomography. He had few abdominal symptoms, and was managed conservatively. He died of respiratory failure. Conclusion: Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is mostly secondary, and steroid therapy is considered to be one of the causes. But follow-up observation is often conservative, and judgment of discontinuation of steroid needs to be made in consideration of its effect and prognosis is there.</p>

The clinical value of spiral CT in diagnosis of acute early gastrointestinal perforation / 中国基层医药

Objective To explore the clinical value of spiral CT in diagnosis of acute early gastrointestinal perforation.Methods The clinical data of 38 patients who were definitely diagnosed by pathology as acute early gastrointestinal perforation were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients received spiral CT and abdominal X-ray before surgery.The diagnosis and imaging finding of two methods were analyzed.Results The accuracy of spiral CT (89.5％) was significantly higher than that of X-ray(63.2％) (x2 =7.28,P ＜0.01).X-ray did poorly at displaying free gas at small amount and structures which was not subdiaphragmatic air but retroperitoneum or less omental,but spiral CT did good at that obviously so as to make accurate location and etiological diagnosis.Conclusion Spiral CT can display a small amount of abdominal free air earlier and more accurately,with a high accuracy of diagnosis at early gastrointestinal perforation,and can provide valuable information for location and etiological diagnosis.

Gastric Ulcer Perforation in Heart-Lung Transplant Patient: A Successful Case of Early Surgical Intervention and Management

Gastrointestinal complications may follow organ transplantation. A patient who underwent heart lung transplantation due to patent ductus arteriosus and Eisenmenger's syndrome had an episode of acute cardiac rejection and was treated with a bolus injection of methylprednisolone followed by a high oral dose of prednisone. On the 22nd postoperative day, the patient complained of acute abdominal pain with muscular rigidity and a plain chest x-ray showed free air in the right subdiaphragmatic area. Under the suspicion of bowel perforation, an emergency laparotomy was performed and the perforated stomach had a wedge-shaped resection that included the perforation. Following the laparotomy, the postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on post-laparotomy day 10.