[A rare cause of negative explora tory laparotomy in severe blunt trauma]. / Le cas clinique du mois. Une cause rare de lapararotomie exploratrice négative chez le polytraumatisé.

We report the case of a young man involved in a high velocity road traffic accident. He presented with multiple injuries and a shock. This shock was suspected to be caused by an intra-abdominal bleeding and an exploratory laparotomy was performed. The procedure did not identify any intra-abdominal bleeding and the source of bleeding was found lately: an intramuscular active bleeding in the dorsal and lumbar muscular compartments. This case was discussed in our local mortality and morbidity meeting.

Nous présentons le cas d'un jeune patient victime d'un accident de la circulation responsable de multiples lésions et d'un état de choc. Sur base de certains éléments cliniques et paracliniques à l'admission, une hémorragie intra-abdominale fut suspectée avec réalisation d'une laparotomie exploratrice. Celle-ci s'est révélée négative et la source du saignement, responsable du choc hémorragique, a été identifiée tardivement : un saignement actif au sein des loges musculaires dorsolombaires. Le cas a été discuté lors d'une de nos réunions locales de retour d'expérience afin d'en tirer des enseignements pour les futures prises en charge.

[How I treat a poisoning with tricyclic antidepressants : potential role of a treatment with lipid emulsion]. / Comment je traite l'intoxication aux antidépresseurs tricycliques : efficacité potentielle d'un traitement par émulsion lipidique.

Poisoning with tricyclic antidepressants is common and can be life-threatening. The classic management is well known (chelating gastrointestinal, sodium bicarbonate, benzodiazepine, norepinephrine). A few years ago, a treatment with lipid emulsion, previously used in local anesthetics poisoning, has been successfully tested in tricyclic poisoning with cardiac arrest. We are currently unable to explain the exact mechanism of this treatment but it could have a place in the treatment of severe tricyclic poisoning with hemodynamic instability in addition to the conventional treatment.

L'intoxication aux antidépresseurs tricycliques n'est pas rare et peut engager le pronostic vital du patient. La prise en charge classique est bien connue (chélateurs gastrointestinaux, bicarbonate de sodium, benzodiazépines, amines vasoactives). Il y a quelques années, un traitement par émulsion lipidique, jusque-là utilisé dans les intoxications aux anesthésiques locaux, a été testé avec succès dans les intoxications aux tricycliques en arrêt cardio-respiratoire. Nous sommes, actuellement, incapables d'expliquer le fonctionnement exact de ce traitement, mais il pourrait avoir une place dans la prise en charge des intoxications aux tricycliques avec instabilité hémodynamique échappant au traitement conventionnel.

[Surgical fixation in flail chest : a local first encouraging experience]. / Fixation chirurgicale d'un volet thoracique : à propos d'une première procédure encourageante (cas clinique).

We report the case of a young woman who suffered from a severe traffic accident with major thoracic trauma consisting of hemopneumothorax and flail chest. At day 5 of mechanical ventilation, a surgical reduction and fixation of the fractured ribs were performed; the patient was liberated from mechanical ventilation the next day and discharged from the intensive care unit two days later. The success of this local first case incites us to further a similar approach in such challenging trauma cases.

Nous rapportons le cas d'une jeune patiente victime d'un accident grave de la circulation avec un traumatisme thoracique sévère ayant entraîné un hémopneumothorax et un volet thoracique. Au 5ème jour de ventilation invasive, une réduction et une fixation chirurgicales du volet thoracique furent réalisées. La patiente fut sevrée de la ventilation invasive le lendemain et transférée en salle de soins banalisés deux jours plus tard. Le succès de cette première thérapeutique nous incite à la proposer à l'avenir dans des situations similaires.

[Diagnosis of cannabinoid hyperemesis : update on the cannabis-shower syndrome]. / Diagnostic de l'hyperémèse cannabinoïde : le point sur le syndrome "cannabis-douche".

Sometimes, the emergency department is confronted with cases of repetitive vomiting and abdominal pain without organic causes. These patients come back again and again for this problem. All diagnostic tests are systematically negative. A well conducted history taking reveals a chronic cannabis addiction and the disappearance of symptomatology by taking hot showers. This presentation is pathognomonic of the cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

La pratique aux urgences nous confronte, de temps à autre, à des cas de vomissements incoercibles et de douleurs abdominales sans substrat organique retrouvé. Ces patients se présentent généralement de manière répétée pour ces symptômes. Les examens complémentaires réalisés aux urgences n'apportent classiquement aucune information. Une anamnèse quelque peu poussée met finalement en évidence une consommation chronique de cannabis et le soulagement de la symptomatologie par la prise de douches chaudes. Cette présentation est pathognomonique du syndrome d'hyperémèse cannabinoïde.

Direct and indirect injuries of the pharynx and larynx.

Direct and indirect injuries of the pharynx and larynx. The neck is characterized by a relatively complex anatomy and a very compact content. It therefore forms an extremely vulnerable part of the human body. Although uncommon, aero-digestive tract injuries caused by trauma present a challenging situation for both the emergency doctor and the head and neck surgeon. Clinical presentations may vary from severe acute distress with immediate life-threatening airway obstruction to apparently more reassuring situations. However, the latter turn out to be frequently misleading, since patients may deteriorate suddenly as the result of unrecognized injuries. In such cases, delayed diagnosis is often associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Due to its role in phonation, breathing and alimentation, injuries to the aero-digestive tract also expose the patient to severe later impairment and a poorer quality of life. Comprehensive airway control remains the highest and often most challenging priority for the emergency physician. Careful clinical examination combined with endoscopy and computed tomography imaging form the key elements in diagnosis and early recognition of patients who may require surgical management.

Massive Transfusion Protocol: a local two years' experience.

Evidence supporting the implementation of a Massive Transfusion Protocol (MTP) and its effect on patients' outcome is still limited. However, we implemented in June 2013 a local MTP for trauma and nontrauma massively bleeding patients. Twenty months later, we propose here a short presentation of our MTP population and a critical analysis of the actual data supporting MTP implementation.

[Implementation of a massive transfusion protocol in an emergency department]. / Mise en place d'un protocole de transfusion massive dans un service d'urgences.

We present here the massive transfusion protocol implemented in our institution in 2013. It will improve our management of critical massive bleeding, a situation which is rare in in our hospital, but carries a high mortality risk.

[Clinical case of the month. Liver transplantation for hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma]. / Transplantation hépatique pour un hémangio-endothéliome épithélioïde du foie.

The epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare malignant vascular lesion that may occur within the liver. In the hepatic multifocal and bilobar forms, liver transplantation is indicated as the curative management. In this case report, the authors describe the diagnosis and the management of a 52-year-old woman who was diagnosed with hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and who underwent successful liver transplantation.