Central Atlantoaxial Dislocation: Presenting Symptoms, Diagnostic Parameters, and Surgical Treatment from Reports on 15 Surgically Treated Patients.

AIM: This chapter reviews the clinical entity of central or axial atlantoaxial instability (CAAD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 2018 to November 2020, 15 patients were identified as having CAAD, wherein there was no atlantoaxial instability when analyzed by conventional radiological parameters and wherein there was no evidence of neural or dural compression due to the odontoid process. The patients were identified as having atlantoaxial instability on the basis of the alignment of facets on lateral profile imaging and a range of telltale clinical and radiological indicators. The clinical statuses of the patients were recorded both before and after surgical treatment by using the specially designed Goel symptom severity index and visual analog scale (VAS) scores. All patients were treated via atlantoaxial fixation. RESULTS: There were six men and nine women ranging in age from 18 to 45 years (average: 37 years). The presenting clinical symptoms were relatively subtle and long-standing. Apart from symptoms that are generally related to neural compromise at the craniovertebral junction, a range of nonspecific cranial and spinal symptoms were prominent. The follow-up time after surgery ranged from 6 to 34 months. All patients showed early postoperative and sustained clinical recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The correct diagnosis and appropriate surgical treatment of CAAD can provide an opportunity for quick and lasting clinical recovery.

Performance validation of different trauma scoring systems among polytrauma patients having predominantly blunt abdominal trauma.

INTRODUCTION: Blunt abdominal trauma substantially contributes to mortality and morbidity in patients with polytrauma. Appropriate clinical assessment is important in setups lacking facilities of advanced diagnostics (abdominal computed tomography scans and ultrasonography) to decide if the patients' needs exceed the facilities available. This study aimed to assess the utility of the commonly used trauma scores in predicting the outcome (favorable or unfavorable) in patients with predominantly blunt abdominal trauma. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this prospective observational study of 12-month duration, we calculated three scores (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS], Revised Trauma Score [RTS], and Injury Severity Score [ISS]) in patients brought to emergency department and fulfilling the inclusion criteria. These patients were categorized into two categories (favorable and unfavorable) depending on their treatment outcome. The difference in the mean scores for both outcomes in each score was calculated and further inferences were obtained by using the unpaired t test. A receiver-operating characteristic curve for each score was drawn to understand the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity at each cutoff value and for determining area under curve (AUC) for all three scores. RESULT: A total of 103 patients were recruited in the study (88 men and 15 women) with the mean age of 31.03 (±13.40) years and 34.47 (±18.04) years, respectively. The difference in the scores was maximum for ISS and minimal for RTS. The visual impression, as well as AUC values, shows that ISS performed well to discriminate between the favorable and unfavorable outcomes in each cutoff values (AUC -0.806, lower bound 0.678 to upper bound 0.934) compared to GCS and RTS scores. The Youden's J statistic for ISS value of 42 was maximum (0.298) and corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 0.651 and 0.647. CONCLUSION: ISS is superior as compared to GCS and RTS in predicting outcome in polytrauma patients with a blunt abdominal injury. ISS value of <42 predicts a favorable outcome.

A rare case of large jejunal diverticulum presenting as intestinal obstruction due to small bowel volvulus.

Jejunal diverticula are quite rare. Furthermore, small bowel diverticular disease resulting in volvulus can lead to complications necessitating surgical intervention. In this manuscript, we report a case of large sacculated jejunal diverticulum causing small bowel volvulus in a 40-year male. The jejunal mesentery at the base of the diverticulum was adhered to the terminal ileal mesentery forming a narrow base and complete small bowel going into volvulus by rotating around the narrow base. This case highlights a large jejunal diverticulum causing small bowel volvulus as an uncommon mechanism of complete small bowel volvulus. Although a rare entity, familiarity with jejunal diverticular disease, its complications and its management should be part of every surgeon's base of knowledge when considering abdominal pathology.

Unusual presentation of intussusception of the small bowel with peutz jeghers syndrome: report of a case.

The Peutz Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant disorder which is characterised by hamartomatous polyposes of the gastrointestinal tract, melanin pigmentation of the skin and mucous membranes, and an increased risk for cancer. We are reporting a case of a 15-year-old male with Peutz Jeghers syndrome, who presented to us with features of chronic intestinal obstruction and anaemia. Initially, patient was managed conservatively, but later on, an elective exploratory laparotomy was done for definitive management of intussusception. Laparotomy revealed a jejuno-jejunal intussusception with spontaneous recanalisation of gut which contained a long segment of gangrenous small bowel in the lumen. Resection and anastomosis of the jejunal segment was done. To the best of our knowledge, this might be the first case report on spontaneous recanalisation of small intestine.

Erosion of small intestine with necrotising fasciitis of over lying abdominal wall after expanded poly-tetrafluoroethylene mesh implantation: A rare complication after laparoscopic incisional hernia repair.

Complications such as bowel erosions, enterocutaneous fistulae are rare with the use of expandedpoly-tetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) mesh in laparoscopic incisional hernia repair (LIHR). This unusual case patient presented to us with necrotising fasciitis of overlying anterior abdominal wall with peritonitis withsepticaemia and underwent aLIHR6 weeks before, which has not been reported till yet. We report a case of LIHR, presented to us with necrotising fasciitis of overlying anterior abdominal wall, peritonitis and septicaemia which was managed by small bowel segmental resection and exteriorisation of the ends, debridement of overlying anterior abdominal wall and maximum resection of implanted mesh. This case is unusual secondary to long experience with ePTFE mesh and the lack of published cases similar to this one. A brief review of relevant literature has been included in the article. We recommend pre-peritoneal placement of dual mesh fixed preferably by trans-abdominal polypropylene suture in LIHR.

Obesity and the response to intensified diuretic treatment in decompensated heart failure: a DOSE trial substudy.

BACKGROUND: Obesity could attenuate diuretic effectiveness in treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (HF). METHODS AND RESULTS: The DOSE trial randomized 308 subjects with acute HF to low- versus high-intensification intravenous diuretic therapy. We tested for statistical interactions between obesity and dosing strategy across clinical end points. After 72 hours of treatment, obese subjects (body mass index >30 kg/m(2); n = 173) had greater volume loss than nonobese subjects (n = 119) but similar improvements in dyspnea and freedom from congestion. Both groups had greater fluid loss with high-intensification treatment. Obese subjects had a higher incidence of worsening renal function (WRF) at 72 hours with low-intensification treatment, compared with nonobese subjects. In contrast, nonobese and obese subjects had similar incidence of WRF with high-intensification treatment. There were no differences between obese and nonobese subjects in time to discharge and 60-day freedom from death, emergency department visit, or rehospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of WRF was greater in obese than in nonobese subjects with low-intensification treatment. However, the frequency of WRF was equivalent in obese and nonobese subjects with high-intensification treatment. Additional studies are needed to assess whether obese patients with acute HF benefit from an initial high-intensification treatment strategy.