Drug-induced bradycardia.

A 45-year-old woman presented to the hospital with bloody diarrhoea and significant weight loss over the past 1 month. On admission and evaluation, she was found to have acute ulcerative colitis. She was started on prednisolone and mesalamine therapy. Within 24 hours of initiation of this therapy, the patient complained of giddiness and chest discomfort and was found to have sinus bradycardia on ECG with no acute coronary event. After withdrawing mesalamine, her heart rate normalised within 24 hours and she remained symptom-free. This is a rare case report of severe symptomatic sinus bradycardia due to mesalamine therapy; to our knowledge, only four cases of mesalamine-induced bradycardia have been reported in the literature.

Hypertriglyceridemia-Induced Acute Pancreatitis - Course, Outcome, and Comparison with Non-Hypertriglyceridemia Associated Pancreatitis.

Background: Although hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is a well-established cause of acute pancreatitis (AP), there are no definitive management guidelines. Studies comparing clinical severity and outcome of hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HTGAP) and non- HTGAP are scarce. Hence, the present study was undertaken. Materials and Methods: All consecutive patients admitted with AP from January 2017 to August 2021 at university teaching hospital were included in this study. Data with regards to patient demographics; clinical, laboratory, and radiologic parameters; management strategies; and outcome were collected and compared between HTGAP and non-HTGAP patients. Results: Overall, 550 patients with AP were admitted during the study period, of which 21 (3.8%) were HTG related. Mean age of HTGAP patients was 34.3 years (M: F = 14:7), and the mean serum triglyceride (TG) levels on admission were 3,718.9 mg/dL (range 1,094-11,991). Insulin infusion therapy was used in 18 patients with HTGAP and the target TG levels of ≤500 mg/dL was achieved in 4.2 days (mean). Compared to non-HTGAP patients, HTGAP patients had higher body mass index (29.2 vs. 25.6), higher clinical (BISAP 2.6 vs. 2.06) and radiologic severity scores (CT severity score 7.5 v/s 4.8), and required prolonged hospital stay (12.9 vs. 6.5 days). Conclusion: HTGAP occurred in young patients with high BMI and was associated with more severe disease, that required prolonged hospitalization than patients with non-HTGAP. Insulin infusion therapy was effective in reducing serum TG levels.

Button battery ingestion in children: Experience from a tertiary center on 56 patients.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The ubiquitous use of portable electronic devices has resulted in an increased incidence of button battery (BB) ingestion in children. BB ingestion represents a distinct category of ingested foreign body due to the associated high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to report our experience in the management of BB ingestion in children. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical and endoscopic characteristics of 56 children (≤ 18 years) who presented to our hospital emergency department (ED) with BB ingestion between December 2016 and November 2019. Data with respect to patient demographics, time of presentation to ED to endoscopic retrieval of BB, the endoscopic findings, and complications, if any, were collected. RESULTS: We encountered a total of 56 children with BB ingestions. While 10 BBs passed off spontaneously without any complication, 27 BBs were extracted endoscopically from the stomach. A total of 19 BB impactions occurred: 9 at the cricopharynx/upper esophageal sphincter (UES), 5 in the mid esophagus, 4 in the lower esophagus, and one at the pyloric ring. All impactions occurred with larger BBs (diameter ≥ 10 mm). Complications occurred in 3 children (5.35%) following retrieval; 2 developed upper esophageal strictures on follow-up, which were treated with serial dilations and one experienced esophageal perforation and peritonitis requiring laparotomy. There was no mortality in our study. CONCLUSIONS: A vast majority of ingested BBs pass off spontaneously or require minimal endoscopic intervention. Serious complications arise in a small minority especially in BBs > 10 mm in size with a potential for esophageal impaction.

Lessons of the month 1: Cardiac tamponade: don't forget the pancreas.

Cardiac tamponade is a medical emergency, caused by rapid accumulation of fluid in the pericardium resulting in reduced ventricular filling which may result in pulmonary oedema, shock and death. The common causes of cardiac tamponade include malignancy, uraemia, infectious/idiopathic pericarditis, connective tissue diseases, post-cardiac surgery etc. Early recognition and treatment of the underlying cause of the tamponade along with pericardiocentesis improves the prognosis, otherwise untreated cardiac tamponade universally results in death. We report a rare case of 32-year-old man, who presented with cardiac tamponade due to a pancreatico-pericardial fistula secondary to pancreatitis and was successfully treated by endoscopic therapy.