ABSTRACT
Case Report: A 46-year-old lady with medical history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy was admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of sepsis without septic shock secondary to a right foot pressure ulcer. Her presentation was non-specific as she was complaining of fatigue, myalgia, fever, and chills. Routine COVID-19 test was done on admission and it came back positive despite her denying having any respiratory symptoms. She was being treated with fluids and antibiotics until her third night of admission. According to the patient, she got up to use the restroom when she suddenly noticed weakness in her lower extremities. She thought it may be due to a muscle spasm;hence, she did not notify the medical team. Later, her nurse was routinely checking the patient's blood pressure when she noted a blood pressure of 220/105 mmHg. She then received a total of 3 doses of intravenous labetalol over three hours;however, her blood pressure continued to be elevated. Patient did endorse right flank pain but it was responding to intravenous fentanyl. The on-call physician then proceeded to perform a full physical examination and noted paleness, weakness, and absent pulses in bilateral lower extremities. A STAT computed tomography (CT) angiogram of the abdominal aorta and iliofemoral arteries was performed and it revealed low-density defects in the right kidney compatible with infarcts, occlusive thrombus in the infrarenal abdominal aorta and extensive bilateral arterial thrombosis. Vascular surgery was immediately consulted and they kept the patient on heparin drip and took her to the operation room within few hours for thrombectomies. Her blood pressure improved following the removal of the thrombus and there were no other documented occurrence of uncontrolled hypertension during her hospitalization. Discussion(s): Acute renal infarction is an arterial vascular event that leads to sudden disruption of blood flow in the renal artery. It can often be diagnosed late due to its rare incidence. In addition, it has a nonspecific clinical presentation that can mimic many common causes. The most common causes of renal infarction include atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, ischemic heart disease, hypercoagulable disorders, and spontaneous renal artery dissection. A case report published by Bourgault M, et al. on renal infarction suggested that around 97% had abdominal/flank pain and 48% of patients had marked uncontrolled hypertension at initial presentation of renal infarction. Our patient did not have any of the afore mentioned risk factors except for a possible hypercoagulable state from her COVID-19 infection and she did present with the two most common presentations. In conclusion, clinicians should have a low threshold for the suspicion of renal ischemia in patients with severe hypertension and flank pain. Copyright © 2023 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.
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Background: Aortic dissection is a new addition to the long COVID-19 complication catalog. We report this rare and novel complication, which can be missed without a high index of suspicion in the ever-burgeoning population of COVID-survivors presenting for un-related surgery. We emphasize the importance of recording blood pressure in both the upper limbs in COVID-survivors during pre-anesthetic checkup, especially in patients with a dilated aorta on the chest radiograph to identify any interarm blood pressure discrepancy characteristic of aortic dissection. Discontinuation of antihypertensive based on low/normal blood pressure in left upper-limb can precipitate concealed and catastrophic rise in blood pressure in the right upper-limb propagating the dissection of aorta to a fatal conclusion. The cardinal anesthetic consideration is to mitigate the effect of hemodynamic perturbations on the dissected aorta. Case presentation: We report the successful management of the case of a 76-year-old male prostatic cancer patient with COVID-induced aortic-dissection and acute urinary retention, posted for transurethral resection of prostate. CT angiography revealed an intimal flap in the ascending aortic lumen and aortic arch till the origin of left subclavian artery resulting in a double-barreled aorta. An arterial line was secured in right radial artery and non-invasive blood pressure recorded in left arm simultaneously (202/60 mmHg in right upper-limb and 92/70 mmHg in the left upper-limb on wheeling into the operation theatre). He underwent transurethral prostatic resection and bilateral orchidectomy under low-dose subarachnoid block with prophylactic use of labetalol infusion. Conclusions: The importance of recording blood pressure in both the upper limbs in COVID survivors maintaining a high index of suspicion for aortic dissection cannot be overemphasized. Transurethral prostatic resection surgery under low-dose subarachnoid block is possible under the umbrella of judicious selection and optimal use of cardiac medication with an interventional cardiologist as standby in patients with aortic dissection.
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Safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination is paramount of importance. There are limited reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with the COVID-19 vaccination. The present study reported a case of GBS following the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. A 32-year-old man presented a history of progressive descending weakness and autonomic features within a month after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The neurological examination was consistent with acute polyneuropathy. The para-clinical investigations were in favor of acute demyelinating polyneuropathy. The patient was diagnosed with GBS, and IVIG was initiated as an acute treatment, which led to significant clinical recovery. We reported a case of GBS after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. However, our findings dose not conclude a causal association between GBS and COVID-19 vaccination.
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The prevalence of Pheochromocytoma in pat ient with hypertension is 0.1 -0.6%. These types of tumours are known for unpredictable perioperative course and hemodynamic instability. Various different drugs and anaesthesia techniques can be used to tackle these situations. Dexmedetomidine is emerged as newer agent with better hemodynamic stability, reducing requirement of other anaesthesia drugs, blunting of sympathoadrenal response in resection of Pheochromocytoma. We report four cases operated between January 2021 to June 2021.Preoperative preparation was done with α and β blockade. Dexmedetomidine was used during induction as 1 mcg/kg over 10 mins followed by 0.7mcg/kg/hr intraoperatively. Combination of Dexmedetomidine, Fentanyl, NTG, Isoflurane and Epidural analgesia was used. IF needed boluses of Esmolol and Labetalol were used during tumor manipulation. All the patients had an uneventful perioperative course. Dexmedetomidine with pre-operative α and β blockade reduce the need of other drugs intraoperatively and can be used as anaesthetic adjunct to maintain steady hemodynamic.
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Case Report Introduction Plasma cell leukemia is very rare and an aggressive form of leukemia with a poor prognosis. Interim analysis of a phase II trial (EMN12/HOVON 129) using carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (KRd) in patients with PCL ≤65 years showed a very good partial response or greater response in 80% with 33% achieving at least a complete response. Carfilzomib (Kyprolis TM) is a proteosome inhibitor and is associated with ARDS and acute respiratory failure in 2% of the cases per FDA package insert. We present a case report of acute respiratory distress syndrome presumed to be potentiated 2/2 to carfilzomib infusion. Case A 58-year-old male with a history of hypertension, recent COVID-19 infection and new diagnosis of untreated Plasma Cell Leukemia presented to our hospital with worsening chest pain, fatigue and dyspnea. Vitals on admission were notable for BP 158/88, HR 101, Tmax 99F and sating 100% on room air. Peripheral blood exam showed WBC: 27.7 x109/L, Hb: 8 gm/dl, platelet: 121000, corrected calcium: 13.3 mg/dl, creatinine: 1.16 mg/dl, total protein:11 g/ dl, uric acid: 8.2 mg/dl, B-2 micro globulin: 5.8 mg/L, Mspike: 5.6 g/dl;IgA lambda type. CT Chest abdomen pelvis revealed diffuse lytic bone lesions. Due to inability to obtain bone marrow biopsy from limited resources after Hurricane Ida and aggressive nature of the cancer, treatment was initiated based off a previous flow cytometry from the peripheral blood which showed 55% plasma cells. Patient started on chemotherapy with Cyclophosphamide, Carfilzomib, and dexamethasone with plans to change to Revlimid from cycle 2. He was also started on fluid hydration and Zometa for hypercalcemia. Patient also received aggressive blood pressure control with metoprolol, amlodipine and IV labetalol as needed. After 2nd dose of Kyprolis, he developed acute hypoxic respiratory distress and was initiated on Bipap. Chest Xray was concerning for fluid overload and/or evolving pneumonia. He was supported with diuretics and broad-spectrum antibiotics;however, he eventually was intubated. He was also started on high dose steroids. Repeat CT chest was negative for thrombosis, but showed extensive bilateral pleural -parenchymal opacities. He had a bronchoalveolar lavage with no obvious infection. Over the next 2 days, patient showed improvement and eventually self-extubated. After his recovery, we continued chemotherapy with Kyprolis and he has tolerated it without issues. Discussion The etiology of ARDS is likely multifactorial, however Kyprolis may have played a major role in his decompensation mainly due to the timing and known side effects of the medication. Based on a study from 2018, only 5 case reports of Kyprolis-associated non-infectious progressive lung injury were found at that time. Clinicians should be mindful of Kyprolis induced lung injury and emphasize the need for tight blood pressure control and careful administration of intravenous fluids to decrease the possibility of lung injury.