RESUMEN
RATIONALE: Ingestion of a massive amount of metallic mercury was thought to be harmless until the last century. After that, in a number of cases, mercury ingestion has been associated with appendicitis, impaired liver function, memory deficits, aspiration leading to pneumonitis and acute renal failure. Treatment includes gastric lavage, giving laxatives and chelating agents, but rapid removal of metallic mercury with gastroscopy has not been used. PATIENT CONCERNS: An 18-year-old man was admitted to our emergency department after drinking 1000âg of metallic mercury as a suicide attempt. DIAGNOSIS: Except from mild umbilical tenderness, he had no other symptoms. Radiography showed a metallic density in the area of the stomach. INTERVENTION: Gastroscopy was performed to remove the mercury. One large pool and several small droplets of mercury were removed from the stomach. OUTCOMES: Blood and urine mercury levels of the patient remained low during hospitalization. No symptoms of mercury intoxication developed during the follow-up period. LESSONS: Massive mercury ingestion may cause several symptoms, which can be prevented with prompt treatment. We used endoscopy to remove the mercury, which shortened the exposure time and minimized the risk of aspiration. This is the first case where endoscopy was used for the management of mercury ingestion.
Asunto(s)
Gastroscopía , Intoxicación por Mercurio/terapia , Adolescente , Humanos , Masculino , Intoxicación por Mercurio/sangre , Intoxicación por Mercurio/etiología , Intoxicación por Mercurio/orina , Estómago/diagnóstico por imagen , Intento de SuicidioRESUMEN
Background - Approximately 2% of patients admitted to the emergency department present with headache, which is often associated with vomiting, ocular pain, and earache. In rare cases, the presence of an abnormal communication between a cavernous sinus and the carotid arterial system that creates a carotid cavernous fistula is the main cause of these symptoms. Case presentation - A 32-year-old woman presented at the emergency department with unilateral headache associated with earache on the same side, and pulsating tinnitus. On examination, we observed unusual appearance of our patient (small stature, unusually visible skin, lobeless ears). In the first 5 hours of our observation no neurological symptoms had been present, but after a severe vomiting, exophthalmos, subconjunctival suffusion and moderate ptosis developed. First, regarding the initial general symptoms, otorhinolaryngologist assessed the patient, and did not find any abnormality. Further, we ordered computed tomography and consulted a neurologist. Despite of the negative results we continued the observation because her symptoms did not improve. After appearance of neurological symp-toms, carotid cavernous fistula was suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging and ophthalmologist consultation verified the diagnosis. For therapy, she was transferred to interventional neuroradiology. Because of the unusual appearance and carotic cavernous fistula, we ordered genetic examination. This indicated the presence of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV in the background. The first major manifestation of the syndrome was observed at our department. Conclusions - Carotid cavernous fistula is an uncommon diagnosis in the emergency department; however, the early recognition of symptoms and early treatment can prevent further consequences of this potentially severe condition.
Asunto(s)
Fístula del Seno Cavernoso de la Carótida/diagnóstico , Fístula del Seno Cavernoso de la Carótida/etiología , Síndrome de Ehlers-Danlos/complicaciones , Adulto , Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital , Femenino , Cefalea/etiología , HumanosRESUMEN
The purpose of our work is evaluation of the impact of 18FDG-PET/CT on the complex management of locoregionally advanced (T3-4N1-3) head and neck squamous cell cancer (LAHNSC), and on the target definition for 3D conformal (3DCRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). 18FDG-PET/CT were performed on 185 patients with LAHNSC prior to radiotherapy/chemoradiation in the treatment position between 2006 and 2011. Prior to it 91 patients received induction chemotherapy (in 20 cases of these, baseline PET/CT was also available). The independently delineated CT-based gross tumor volume (GTVct) and PET/CT based ones (GTVpet) were compared. Impact of PET/CT on the treatment strategy, on tumor response evaluation to ICT, on GTV definition furthermore on overall and disease-specific survival (OS, DSS) was analysed. PET/CT revealed 10 head and neck, 2 lung cancers for 15 patients with carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) while 3 remained unknown. Second tumors were detected in 8 (4.4%), distant metastasis in 15 (8.2%) cases. The difference between GTVct and GTVpet was significant (p=0.001). In 16 patients (14%) the GTVpet were larger than GTVct due to multifocal manifestations in the laryngo-pharyngeal regions (4 cases) or lymph node metastases (12 cases). In the majority of the cases (82 pts, 72%) PET/CT-based conturing resulted in remarkable decrease in the volume (15-20%: 4 cases, 20-50%: 46 cases, >50%: 32 cases). On the basis of the initial and post-ICT PET/CT comparison in 15/20 patients more than 50% volume reduction and in 6/20 cases complete response were achieved. After an average of 6.4 years of follow-up the OS (median: 18.3±2.6 months) and DSS (median: 25.0±4.0 months) exhibited close correlation (p=0.0001) to the GTVpet. In cases with GTVpet <10 cm3 prior to RT, DSS did not reach the median, the mean is 82.1±6.1 months, while in cases with GTVpet 10-40 cm3 the median of the DSS was 28.8±4.9 months (HR = 3.57; 95% CI: 1.5-8.3), and in those with GTVpet >40 cm3 the median DSS was 8.4±0.96 months (HR= 11.48; 95% CI: 5.3-24.9). Our results suggest that 18FDG-PET/CT plays an important role for patient with LAHNSC, by modifying the treatment concept and improving the target definition for selective RT modalities. Volumetric PET/CT-based assessment of the tumor response after ICT gives valuable contribution to further therapy planning.