RESUMEN
Trichinella encephalitis remains a rare but life-threatening illness. Although well known to clinicians of another era, this disease currently may represent a diagnostic dilemma because of its infrequent occurrence and varied presentations. This report of trichinella encephalitis, presenting as quadriplegia, demonstrates that technological advances such as CAT scan, angiogram, and EEG are of no diagnostic assistance and add nothing to traditional diagnostic modalities, i.e., eosinophilia, sedimentation rate, and muscle biopsy. In some cases of trichinosis encephalitis where hypersensitivity reaction and/or vasculitis is believed to be the inciting factor, cortical steroids may have a role in treatment.
Asunto(s)
Encefalitis/diagnóstico , Triquinelosis/diagnóstico , Biopsia , Sedimentación Sanguínea , Eosinofilia , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Músculos/parasitologíaRESUMEN
We describe a patient with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis who presented in full cardiopulmonary arrest. He was given intracardiac epinephrine. Fibroptic laryngoscopy determined the cause of the arrest to be upper airway obstruction from cricoarytenoid joint ankylosis, a complication of long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. The patient underwent a tracheostomy, recovered uneventfully, and was doing well nine months later. The literature is reviewed, and the pathophysiology, clinical findings, presentations, and treatment of this potentially fatal entity are described.