High scored thyroid storm after stomach cancer perforation: A case report

BACKGROUNDThyroid storm is a life-threatening emergency. Reportedly, the prevalence of thyroid storm is 1%-2% among patients admitted to the hospital for thyrotoxicosis. Burch and Wartofsky (1993) introduced a scoring system using precise clinical criteria to identify thyroid storms. Only 17 cases of thyroid storm with a score > 70 points have been reported. Although thyroid storms are uncommon, their clinical findings resemble those of sepsis.CASE SUMMARYA 48-year-old man was referred to the emergency room from a local clinic owing to suspicion of gastric ulcer perforation; medications for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperthyroidism had been suspended 1 year prior to this visit. We performed an emergency distal gastrectomy with Billroth II anastomosis for gastric cardia cancer perforation, and the patient was referred to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU). On the 2^nd d in the ICU, his body temperature (BT) increased to 41.3 °C at 19:00, with the thyroid storm score (90 points) peaking at 18:00 (BT; 41.2ºC, pulse rate; 138/min, irritable status). The patient was administered propylthiouracil, intravenous glucocorticoids, acetaminophen, and Lugol’s solution daily. Subsequently, we performed bladder irrigation with cold saline using a Foley catheter and applied a hypothermic blanket to decrease the patient''s BT. His vital signs were stable on the 8th day in the ICU. CONCLUSIONThyroid storms are uncommon, with few reports in the literature; however, their clinical findings resemble those of sepsis and require further investigation. Since an untreated thyroid storm results in a high mortality rate, it should be investigated when managing sepsis.     

Bronchogenic cyst of the stomach: A case report

BACKGROUND Gastric bronchogenic cysts(BCs)are extremely rare cystic masses caused by abnormal development of the respiratory system during the embryonic period.Gastric bronchial cysts are rare lesions first reported in 1956;as of 2019,only 37 cases are available in the MEDLINE/PubMed online databases.BCs usually have no clinical symptoms in the early stage,and their imaging findings also lack specificity.Therefore,they are difficult to diagnose before histopathological examination.CASE SUMMARY A 55-year-old woman presented at our hospital with intermittent epigastric pain.She had a slightly high level of serum carbohydrate antigen 72-4(CA 72-4).Endoscopic ultrasound found that a cystic mass originated from the submucosa of the posterior gastric wall near the cardia,indicating a diagnosis of cystic hygroma of the stomach.Furthermore,a computed tomography scan demonstrated a quasi-circular cystic mass closely related to the lesser curvature of the gastric fundus with a low density.Because the imaging examinations did not suggest a malignancy and the patient required complete resection,she underwent laparoscopic surgery.As an intraoperative finding,this cystic lesion was located in the posterior wall of the fundus and contained some yellow viscous liquid.Finally,the pathologists verified that the cyst in the fundus was a gastric BC.The patient recovered well with normal CA 72-4 levels,and her course was uneventful at 10 mo.CONCLUSION This is a valuable report as it describes an extremely rare case of gastric BC.Moreover,this is the first case of BC to present with elevated CA 72-4 levels.     

Contralateral hemopneumothorax after penetrating thoracic trauma: A case report

BACKGROUNDTrauma is the leading cause of death in young adults up to the age of 45 years. Hemothorax is a frequent consequence of penetrating thoracic trauma, and is usually associated with pneumothorax and pneumoderma. Intercostal arterial bleeding or intrathoracic hemorrhage occurs after penetrating thoracic trauma, and uncontrolled bleeding is the main cause of death.CASE SUMMARYIn this case report, a patient who developed a right hemopneumothorax after penetrating thoracic trauma was examined. A 19-year-old male patient, who was brought to the emergency room with a penetrating stab injury to the posterior of the left hemithorax, was diagnosed with a right hemopneumothorax after physical examination and thoracic imaging. Chest tube thoracostomy was performed as the initial intervention. Bleeding control was achieved with right posterolateral thoracotomy in the patient, who developed massive hemorrhage after 1 h and hemodynamic instability. The patient recovered and was discharged on the fourth postoperative day.CONCLUSIONContralateral hemopneumothorax that accounts for 30% of thoracic traumas and can be encountered in penetrating thoracic traumas requiring major surgery in 15-30% of cases was emphasized and the contralateral development mechanism was addressed.