Successful treatment of multiple microbleeds in a large area of the small bowel by transcatheter arterial embolization using imipenem/cilastatin as embolization material.

A 44-year-old man with chronic idiopathic pseudo-intestinal obstruction and lumbar disc herniation presented with orthostatic dizziness, black vomiting, and stools. He was suspected to have an ulcer caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and treated conservatively but continued to have transfusion-dependent anemia. Trans-arterial contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed multiple microbleeds in the small intestine. We diffusely embolized 7 small intestine branches of the superior mesenteric artery using imipenem/cilastatin on 2 separate occasions. This stopped the bleeding, and the patient progressed well without ischemic complications and was discharged on the 25th postoperative day. Transcatheter arterial embolization with imipenem/cilastatin may be a viable treatment option for patients with multiple small bowel bleeds in a large area of the small intestine that are unresponsive to conservative treatment or endoscopic methods.

Transcatheter arterial embolization for acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding using imipenem/cilastatin: a single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is a standard treatment for acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) in situations where endoscopic approaches are impossible or ineffective. Various embolic materials, such as metallic coils and N-butyl cyanoacrylate, are used. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of an imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS) mixture as an embolic agent in TAE for acute LGIB. RESULTS: Twelve patients (mean age, 67 years) with LGIB treated with TAE using IPM/CS were retrospectively evaluated between February 2014 and September 2022. All patients showed evidence of extravasation on computed tomography and 50% (6/12) also showed evidence on angiography. The technical success rate for TAE in this study was 100%, including in patients who showed active extravasation on angiography. The clinical success rate was 83.3% (10/12), with two patients experiencing rebleeding within 24 h after the procedure. No ischemic complications were observed, and no bleeding episodes or other complications were reported during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that using IPM/CS as an embolic agent in TAE for acute LGIB may be safe and effective, even in cases of active bleeding.

Treatment for unstable pulmonary sequestration injury in patient with severe blunt trauma: A case report.

CASE: Pulmonary sequestration is a congenital malformation characterized by nonfunctioning tissue not communicating with the tracheobronchial tree. As the blood pressure in the artery feeding the sequestrated lung tissue is higher than that in the normal pulmonary artery, the risk of massive hemorrhage in pulmonary sequestration is high. We herein present the first case of a severe blunt trauma patient with unstable pulmonary sequestration injury. OUTCOME AND CONCLUSION: The mechanism of pulmonary sequestration injury is vastly different than that of injury to normal lung. We suggest that proximal feeding artery embolization should be performed before surgical intervention in patients with massive hemorrhage of pulmonary sequestration due to severe chest trauma.