Broken Epidural Catheter After Vaginal Delivery.

The breakage of the epidural catheter is an alarming, rare, yet well-known complication. Despite the advances in modern imaging technologies, visualization of the broken catheter remains challenging, and surgical intervention might be necessary to remove the broken catheter. We report a case of a broken epidural catheter post-vaginal delivery, which was managed by surgical intervention.

Effects of fasting during Ramadan on seizure control and quality of life in patients with epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: During Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, adult Muslims are obliged to fast, which involves refraining from taking any food, beverages, or oral medications from dawn to sunset. Fasting's effect on seizure control is not fully understood, and a few observational studies have provided inconclusive results. This study aimed to investigate the effect of fasting during Ramadan on seizure control and quality of life in adult patients with epilepsy. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study over a 3-month period (one month before fasting, the fasting month, and one month after fasting). We recruited adult patients with active epilepsy who were able to fast during the month of Ramadan. The primary outcome measures were as follows: 1) seizure control and 2) quality of life score using the Arabic version of the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI). Changes in anticonvulsant medications were not allowed during the study period. We used a seizure log provided to participants to record the number of seizures during the 3-month period. Quality of life was scored at the end of each month of the study period. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients were studied (59% males). The mean age was 30 years (range, 14-51 years), and mean age at epilepsy onset was 13 years (range, 0.5-35 years). On average, patients were on three antiepileptic medications at baseline (range: 2-5). A total of 1576 seizures were reported during the 3-month follow-up, where seizures prior to fasting represented 35.5% of all seizures. Multilinear regression analysis revealed a significant decline of seizures by 21% during the fasting month compared with baseline (adjusted coefficient = 0.79, p < 0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI); 0.61-0.98, R2 = 0.81) and by 29% during post fasting compared with baseline (adjusted coefficient = 0.71, p < 0.01, 95% CI; 0.53-0.90, R2 = 0.79). No significant change was found in the QLI scores calculated during the three months of the study period. CONCLUSION: Fasting during Ramadan might have a positive impact on seizure control in patients with epilepsy, which continued during the month following fasting, whereas the quality of life scores were not affected by fasting.

A Case Report of Hypoglycemia Due to Late Dumping Syndrome After Jejunostomy Tube Insertion.

Dumping syndrome occurs when food moves to the small bowel faster than usual. Patients can report a variety of symptoms such as abdominal cramps, weakness, flushing, shakiness, and decreased consciousness. Dumping syndrome can be divided into early and late based on the onset of the symptoms after the ingestion of a meal. In the literature, cases of dumping syndrome have been reported, but rarely after jejunostomy tube insertion. We report a case of an 86-year-old female suffering from late dumping syndrome after jejunostomy tube placement. An 86-year-old Saudi female presented with decreased oral intake and gastrostomy tube placement was decided. Later, the multi-disciplinary team agreed to switch her to jejunostomy tube after she developed a couple of complications in the site of insertion. However, she developed hypoglycemia due to late dumping syndrome, which was managed with the addition of starch and switching her back to a gastrostomy tube feeding.

Case Report of Transient Neonatal Hyperparathyroidism: Medically Free Mother.

Transit neonatal hyperparathyroidism (TNHP) is a very rare recessive mutation in the calcium channel transporter. TNHP is defined as an impairment of calcium transportation from the mother to the fetus prenatally and mainly in the third trimester. TNHP classically presents with skeletal deformities and subsequently affects multiple systems. TNHP has been linked to a mutation in the transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 6 ​(​TRPV6). We report a case of a full-term male infant diagnosed with TNHP prenatally from a medically free mother. The patient was discharged home at the age of 28 days after an excellent response to the trial of calcium infusion.

Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome Presenting with Seizures.

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a critical and rare autosomal dominant disorder that was first described by Robert Mellins in 1970. CCHS is defined to be an autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction that usually presents in the neonatal period with hypoventilation and dysregulated autonomic homeostasis on a multi-system level. Classically, CCHS presents with normal ventilation while awake, and hypoventilation with normal respiratory rate during sleep. CCHS has been causally linked to the paired-like homeobox 2B (PHOX2B) gene. We report the case of a full-term male infant diagnosed with CCHS at two months of age with repeated extubation failure secondary to CCHS. The patient was discharged at five months of age with a home ventilator.