Colonic ischemia possibly due to resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) used to manage amniotic fluid embolism: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) can control massive postpartum hemorrhage. CASE PRESENTATION: A 41-year-old woman transferred to hospital following cesarean section presented in refractory hemorrhagic shock. REBOA was blindly performed in the emergency department. She immediately underwent hysterectomy and damage control surgery in the operating room. The aortic balloon, whose position was confirmed at zone II by postoperative X-ray, provided intermittent occlusion for 40 min during surgery. Hemodynamics were stabilized with these interventions, with massive transfusion required for severe coagulopathy perioperatively. She gradually recovered with intensive care but suffered ascending colon ischemia with perforation on day 16. She received a colostomy and was discharged without sequelae after 130 days. Amniotic fluid embolism was diagnosed according to clinical criteria and supplemental serum markers. CONCLUSIONS: This patient suffered colonic ischemia possibly due to REBOA used to manage amniotic fluid embolism. REBOA requires careful consideration to avoid complications.

A review of the history of the origin of triage from a disaster medicine perspective.

We usually associate triage with the Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment method, but much of its origin is still unknown. Therefore, French studies and the origin of triage shown in domestic and foreign published works have been investigated and its significance reaffirmed. The etymology of the word "triage" means "to break into three pieces." It was suggested by a literature review that the rise of Napoleon led to military tactical changes, and that the prototype of triage arose from the experience gained in the difficult campaign in Egypt and Syria. Subsequently, triage was refined by Napoleon's military surgeon, D. J. Larrey, who created the ambulance transport system. Although there is a clash between the ruthless and philanthropic aspects of triage, triage is in accordance with the primary purpose of evacuation or treatment. We should choose the triage method that is consistent with the purpose of each disaster situation.

Reduction of thoracic aorta motion artifact with high-pitch 128-slice dual-source computed tomographic angiography: a historical control study.

OBJECTIVES: Electrocardiogram-gated imaging combined with multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) has reduced cardiac motion artifacts, but it was not practical in the emergency setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of a high-pitch, 128-slice dual-source CT (DSCT) scanner to reduce motion artifacts in patients admitted to the emergency room. METHODS: This study comprised 100 patients suspected of having thoracic aorta lesions. We examined 47 patients with the 128-slice DSCT scanner (DSCT group), and 53 patients were examined with a 64-slice MDCT scanner (MDCT group). Six anatomic areas in the thoracic aorta were evaluated. RESULTS: Computed tomography images in the DSCT group were distinct, and significant differences were observed in images of all areas between the 2 groups except for the descending aorta. CONCLUSIONS: The high-pitch DSCT scanner can reduce motion artifacts of the thoracic aorta and enable radiological diagnosis even in patients with tachycardia and without breath hold.

[The potential of dual-energy virtual monochromatic imaging in reducing renal cyst pseudoenhancement: a phantom study].

Renal cyst pseudoenhancement, an artifactual increase of computed tomography (CT) attenuation for cysts with increased iodine concentrations in the renal parenchyma, complicates the classification of cysts and may thus lead to the mischaracterization of a benign non-enhancing lesion as an enhancing mass. The purpose of this study was to use a phantom model to assess the ability of dual-energy virtual monochromatic imaging to reduce renal pseudoenhancement. A water-filled cylindrical cyst model suspended in varying concentrations of iodine solution, to simulate varying levels of parenchymal enhancement, was scanned with a dual-energy CT scanner using the following three scanning protocols with different combinations of tube voltage: 80 and 140 kV; 80 and 140 kV with tin filter; and 100 and 140 kV with tin filter. Virtual monochromatic images were then synthesized for each dual-energy scan. Single-energy scan with a tube voltage of 120 kV was also performed to obtain polychromatic images as controls. Mean attenuation values (in Hounsfield units) of cyst proxies were measured on both polychromatic and virtual monochromatic images. Pseudoenhancement was considered to be present when the cyst attenuation level increased by more than 10 HU as the background iodine concentration increased from 0.0% to 0.4%, 1.5%, or 2.5%. Our results revealed that pseudoenhancement was not observed on any of the monochromatic images, but appeared on polychromatic images at a background iodine concentration of 2.5%. We thus conclude that dual-energy virtual monochromatic images have a potential to reduce renal pseudoenhancement.

Report from J-PULSE multicenter registry of patients with shock-resistant out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated with nifekalant hydrochloride.

BACKGROUND: Nifekalant hydrochloride (NIF) is an intravenous class-III antiarrhythmic agent that purely blocks the K(+)-channel without inhibiting ß-adrenergic receptors. The present study was designed to investigate the feasibility of NIF as a life-saving therapy for out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF). METHODS AND RESULTS: The Japanese Population-based Utstein-style study with basic and advanced Life Support Education study was a multi-center registry study with 4 participating institutes located at the northern urban area of Osaka, Japan. Eligible patients were those treated with NIF because of out-of-hospital VF refractory to 3 or more precordial shocks and intravenous epinephrine. Between February 2006 and February 2007, 17 patients were enrolled for the study. The time from a call for emergency medical service to the first shock was 12(6-26)min. The time from the first shock to the NIF administration was 25.5(9-264)min and the usage dose of NIF was 25(15-210)mg. When excluding 3 patients in whom percutaneous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was applied before NIF administration, the rate of return of spontaneous circulation was 86% and the rate of admission alive to the hospital was 79%. One patient developed torsade de pointes. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous administration of NIF seems to be feasible as a potential therapy for advanced cardiac life-support in patients with out-of-hospital VF, and therefore further study is warranted.

Spontaneous splenic rupture due to extensive venous malformation with consumptive coagulopathy: treatment with splenic artery embolization.

Extensive venous malformation (VM) is often associated with chronic consumptive coagulopathy, which may result in bleeding complications. We report herein the case of a 25-year-old man with extensive VM involving the left lower extremity who presented with hypovolemic shock and abdominal distension without abdominal trauma. Abdomen computed tomography revealed splenic rupture with massive hemoperitoneum. He was managed successfully by repeated splenic artery embolization.

Spontaneous occlusion of splenic and renal pseudoaneurysm after blunt abdominal trauma: a case report and literature review.

Pseudoaneurysms caused by blunt abdominal trauma are rarely observed in solid organs. The preferred therapy for pseudoaneurysm after blunt abdominal trauma is often angiography and embolization. Here, we report a case of a spontaneous occlusion of splenic pseudoaneurysm and renal pseudoaneurysm after blunt abdominal trauma. Angiography and embolization were not required, and contrast-enhanced multi-detector computed tomography was used to monitor the patient. This case shows that spontaneous occlusion can be one of the possible outcomes of intraparenchymal splenic pseudoaneurysm and renal pseudoaneurysm after blunt abdominal trauma.

Nonoperative catheter management for cervical necrotizing fasciitis with and without descending necrotizing mediastinitis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical utility of catheter drainage for cervical necrotizing fasciitis (CNF) with and without descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM). DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Department of Traumatology and Acute Critical Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. PATIENTS: Thirty-two patients with clinically and radiographically diagnosed CNF with and without DNM were included. INTERVENTIONS: Catheters were introduced into the infected space through the patients' necks under sonographic and x-ray fluoroscopic guidance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Treatments, clinical course, complications, and mortality were evaluated. RESULTS: Catheter drainage was successfully performed in all patients. The CNF was due to pharyngeal infection in 14 patients (44%) and dental infection in 14 other patients (44%). Mediastinal extension occurred in 14 patients (44%). Overall mortality was 3.1%; only 1 patient with DNM died due to Clostridium sepsis. Both pharyngeal origin and diabetes mellitus were significantly associated with the development of DNM. More intensive treatment is necessary for patients with CNF with DNM than for patients with CNF without DNM. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous catheter drainage may be used as an effective treatment for CNF with and without DNM.

Classification of acute pancreatitis based on retroperitoneal extension: application of the concept of interfascial planes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide a classification system for acute pancreatitis by applying the principle that the disease spreads along the retroperitoneal interfascial planes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records and computed tomography (CT) images of 58 patients with acute pancreatitis treated between 2000 and 2005 were reviewed. The retroperitoneum was subdivided into 10 components according to the concept of interfascial planes. Severity of acute pancreatitis was graded according to retroperitoneal extension into these components. Clinical courses and outcomes were compared with the grades. The prognostic value of our classification system was compared with that of Balthazar's CT severity index (CTSI). RESULTS: Retroperitoneal extension of acute fluid collection was classified into five grades: Grade I, fluid confined to the anterior pararenal space or retromesenteric plane (8 patients); Grade II, fluid spreading into the lateroconal or retrorenal plane (16 patients); Grade III, fluid spreading into the combined interfascial plane (8 patients); Grade IV, fluid spreading into the subfascial plane beyond the interfascial planes (15 patients); and Grade V, fluid intruding into the posterior pararenal space (11 patients). Morbidity and mortality were 92.3% and 38.5% in the 26 patients with Grade IV or V disease, and 21.9% and 0% in the 32 patients with Grade I, II, or III disease. Morbidity and mortality were 86.7% and 33.3% in patients with disease classified "severe" according to the CTSI, and 37.5% and 9.4% in patients with disease classified "mild" or "moderate". CONCLUSION: Classification of acute pancreatitis based on CT-determined retroperitoneal extension is a useful indicator of the disease severity and prognosis without the need for contrast-medium enhanced CT.

A neutrophil elastase inhibitor, sivelestat, improves leukocyte deformability in patients with acute lung injury.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the neutrophil elastase (NE) inhibitor, sivelestat, improves leukocyte deformability and pulmonary function in patients with acute lung injury (ALI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) were divided into two groups: those with ALI (ALI group, n = 14), and those without ALI (non-ALI group, n = 10). Within 72 hours after the diagnosis, we measured the total leukocyte count (TLC), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, NE concentration, APACHE II score, Goris multiple organ failure (MOF) index, respiratory index (RI), lung injury score (LIS), and oxygenation index (P/F ratio). Leukocyte deformability was examined with a microchannel array etched on a single-crystal silicon tip that simulates the microvasculature. The number of obstructed microchannels (NOM) because of stiffened neutrophils and transit time (TT), defined as the time needed for 100 microL of whole blood to pass through the microchannels, were determined. We then administered sivelestat (4.8 mg/kg/d) to nine ALI patients (sivelestat group) for 5 days and compared with seven ALI patients treated previously without sivelestat (conventional group). The factors described above were measured before and 5 days after treatment. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, TLC, CRP, APACHE II score, and MOF index between ALI and non-ALI group. RI and LIS were higher and the P/F ratio was significantly lower in the ALI group than in the non-ALI group. NE concentration, NOM, and TT were significantly higher in the ALI group than in the non-ALI group (p < 0.05). After 5 days of treatment with sivelestat, the APACHE II score, MOF index, RI, LIS, NE concentration, TT, and NOM were lower and the P/F ratio was significantly higher than baseline values and those in the conventional group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: NE concentration and neutrophil rigidity are significantly increased in SIRS patients with ALI. Sivelestat appears to reduce NE concentration and neutrophil stiffness and improve pulmonary oxygenation in patients with ALI.

Protective effects of a selective neutrophil elastase inhibitor (sivelestat) on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute dysfunction of the pulmonary microcirculation.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a neutrophil elastase inhibitor, sivelestat, on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury through analysis of hemodynamic changes in the pulmonary microcirculation. DESIGN: Randomized animal study. SETTING: Medical school laboratory. SUBJECTS: Twenty-seven Wistar rats (15 rats for microspectroscopic observations, 12 rats for measurements of neutrophil elastase activity and wet-to-dry ratio). INTERVENTIONS: Thoracosternotomy was performed on male Wistar rats under continuous anesthesia and mechanical ventilation. Rats were divided into three groups (n = 5 each groups) on the basis of the reagent used: lipopolysaccharide group (100 microg/kg lipopolysaccharide intravenously), sivelestat group (10 mg/kg sivelestat; 100 microg/kg lipopolysaccharide intravenously), and control group (saline only, intravenously). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We measured morphologic changes and hemodynamic variables, including tissue blood flow, erythrocyte velocity, erythrocyte count, thickness of interalveolar septa, and leukocyte adhesion in the pulmonary microcirculation, with a video-rate (33 msec/frame) dual-spot microspectroscopy system (DSMSS) and a laser-Doppler flowmeter. Blood-free wet-to-dry ratio and neutrophil elastase activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, serum, and supernatant of lung homogenate were measured in another set of experiments (n = 4 for each group). Sixty minutes after lipopolysaccharide administration, severe thickening of the interalveolar septa was observed in the lipopolysaccharide but not the sivelestat group. In the lipopolysaccharide group, DSMSS measurements of erythrocyte velocity and hemoglobin oxygenation in single capillaries were decreased significantly (vs. control p < .05, vs. sivelestat p < .01), whereas tissue blood flow and erythrocyte velocity measurements from laser-Doppler flowmeter were increased significantly (vs. control p < .05, vs. sivelestat p < .01). The number of adherent leukocytes was increased significantly in the lipopolysaccharide group at 30, 45, and 60 mins after lipopolysaccharide administration (vs. control p < .01, vs. sivelestat p < .05). The number of adherent leukocytes did not increase in the sivelestat group. The wet-to-dry ratio was significantly higher in the lipopolysaccharide group than in control (p < .05) and sivelestat (p < .05) groups. Neutrophil elastase activities in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, serum, and lung tissue were all significantly lower in the sivelestat group than in the lipopolysaccharide group (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Lipopolysaccharide induces leukocyte adhesion in the pulmonary microcirculation, resulting in decreased tissue hemoglobin oxygen and alveolar and interstitial edema. The selective neutrophil elastase inhibitor sivelestat reduces neutrophil elastase activity and attenuates acute changes in the pulmonary microcirculation.