Air Embolism Death of a Pregnant Woman Secondary to Orogenital Sex

Air embolism produced by vaginal insufflation is an unusual but potentially lethal consequence of sexual activity, especially in the pregnant patient. Reported here is the case of a young pregnant woman who presented to the ED in full cardiac arrest, with little history to explain her condition. Despite aggressive resuscitative measures, the patient died, but her infant son was delivered via perimortem cesarean section and survived. A high level of suspicion for air embolism should be maintained for young women who unexpectedly develop cardiac arrest, particularly during sexual activity. Air embolism patients may require vigorous medical resuscitation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or surgical intervention to survive. The emergency physician should be familiar with the indications for perimortem cesarean delivery in the third-trimester patient presenting to the ED with cardiac arrest.     

Burns during pregnancy: a gloomy outcome

The effect of burns on fetal and maternal survival is known to be detrimental. This prospective study describes the performance of pregnant burned patients who were managed and followed up for fetal and maternal outcomes at Ain Shams University's burn unit and Maternity Hospital during the period from October 1995 to September 1996. During the 12-month period, 27 pregnant burned patients were managed. Fetal and maternal mortality correlated with the total body surface area (TBSA) burned, the mortality rate being 63 per cent for both mothers and fetuses in the 25–50 per cent TBSA group. A fetal loss of 56 per cent with no maternal loss were recorded in the 15–25 per cent TBSA group. Experience in dealing with pregnant burned patients proves that early surgical excision and skin grafting, with timely termination of pregnancy are the best lines of treatment. Prevention or minimizing the effects of the burns may be achieved by proper education and guidance of the pregnant woman.     

Significance of haemorrhagic lacunes on MRI in patients with hypertensive cerebrovascular disease and intracerebral haemorrhage

Our purpose was to determine the frequency and signifcance of haemorrhagic lacunes (HL) on MRI in patients with a history of, or at risk for intracerebral haemorrhage. We examined 72 patients with old spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) using T1-and T2-weighted spin-echo sequences. MRI studies of 137 consecutive patients with cerebrovascular disease but no known ICH were also reviewed. Both groups showed about the same degree of age-related white matter change and nonhaemorrhagic lacunar infarcts, whereas the ICH group had a higher frequency of HL (12/72 patients) than the non-ICH group (6/131 patients,p<0.01). These results correlate well with reported pathological findings. We conclude that haemorrhagic lacunes found on MRI studies of patients with cerebrovascular disease may suggest a higher risk of intracerebral haemorrhage.     

Manic episode with psychotic symptoms induced by subthalamic nucleus stimulation in a patient with Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is an established therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). A manic episode with psychotic symptoms induced by STN-DBS occurred in a previously psychiatrically healthy patient, focusing on the role of STN-DBS in influencing not only motor but also emotional behaviour.     

Upper gastrointestinal tract dysfunction in bulimia

Bulimia nervosa is a health problem of increasing magnitude that is estimated to affect 2–5% of the American adolescent and young adult female population. Because of the magnitude of this clinical problem and because of the importance of the upper gastrointestinal tract in its expression, a intradepartmental program of health care for patients affected with the disease was initiated. Eleven consecutive symptomatic bulimic individuals have been evaluated jointly by the gastroenterology and the psychiatry departments of the University of Pittsburgh. Five of these 11 individuals were found to have clinically important upper gastrointestinal pathology including ulcerative esophagitis, erosive gastritis, duodenal ulcer, and delayed gastric emptying. These gastrointestinal conditions could have been either a result of or have contributed to the symptomatology of these five patients. These data suggest that bulimic subjects have clinically important gastroenterological disease processes that require specific diagnosis and treatment independent of the psychiatric treatment provided for the bulimic condition.This work was supported in part by grants from NIDDK AM 32556.     

Characteristics of open- and closed-loop smooth pursuit responses among obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and nonpsychiatric individuals

Twenty obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and comparison samples of 20 schizophrenia and 20 nonpsychiatric individuals were presented with (a) a step-ramp task designed to measure smooth pursuit initiation and (b) a regular ramp task designed to measure steady-stale tracking performance. Obsessive-compulsive disorder and non-psychiatric individuals had statistically similar pursuit reaction time and average eye accelerations during the open-loop interval. They also had similar closed-loop performance. Schizophrenia patients, however, had delayed pursuit reaction times and reduced eye acceleration during the last 60 ms of the open-loop interval. These findings suggest that brain regions supporting smooth pursuit performance are unimpaired among obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. Furthermore, the deficits found in the schizophrenia patients replicate and extend the results of previous smooth pursuit studies.     

Recall of medication during pregnancy: Validity and accuracy of an adjusted questionnaire

Objective — To study the validity and accuracy of an adjusted questionnaire on medical drug use during pregnancy eight years after the pregnancy. Methods — The ability of a questionnaire on medication during pregnancy to detect actual use (= sensitivity) was tested against information collected 8 years previously (in 1983–1984) from 473 women with high-risk pregnancies who delivered at the University Hospital Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Results — For separate drug groups, the sensitivity varied between 5% and 91%. The timing of use was recalled moderately well. Although specific questions on drug groups did improve the sensitivity as compared to an earlier questionnaire, the improvement was not enough to make the questionnaire valid. High maternal education, low birth weight, low gestational age and a low 5-min Apgar score were related to better recall. The sensitivity of the questionnaire depended on the behavioural score of the child, implying recall bias. Conclusion — Questionnaire data on drug use during pregnancy obtained eight years after delivery are not a valid source of information.     

血脂代谢紊乱与冠状动脉病变严重程度的关系

目的:分析血脂代谢异常与冠状动脉狭窄程度的关系.方法:对366例因胸痛而就诊的患者行选择性冠状动脉造影,按冠状动脉狭窄程度分为正常对照组、单支病变组、双支病变组、多支病变组.同时观察患者血脂各成分,并对各组指标进行统计学分析.结果:总胆固醇(TC)、甘油三脂(TG)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(HDL-C),在各组之间存在差异,尤其多支病变组与正常组之间差异显著(P＜0.01).TC、TG、LDL-C随冠状动脉病变加重而增加,HDL-C随冠状动脉病变加重而减少,LDL-C与冠状动脉狭窄程度呈正相关,HDL-C与冠状动脉狭窄程度呈负相关.结论:血脂代谢紊乱与冠状动脉狭窄的发生发展有内在的联系,对于预测有无冠状动脉病变及其进展有一定临床意义.     

以中医神志学说辨析百合病

运用神魂魄意志五神与五藏、五官、五体的配属关系．结合文献对百合病命名、病位、症状、病机及愈期判断加以探讨。提出百合病属中医神志失和类病变，由热病伤阴，余邪未尽．心肺阴虚，神志失养，加之情怀不畅，气郁不舒，百脉失调，形神失和而发病。     

微创手术治疗高血压脑出血

目的 探讨微创手术治疗高血压脑出血的临床疗效。方法 132例高血压脑出血分成微创手术组(68例)和传统开颅手术组(64例)，分析两组手术的特点和手术时机，比较两组手术治疗的疗效。结果 微创组术后GOS良好23例、中残24例、重残9例、植物生存3例、死亡9例；传统组术GOS良好16例、中残15例、重残12例、植物生存6例、死亡15例。两组超早期或早期手术均有良好的预后，而微创组效果更佳。结论 微创手术治疗高血压脑出血能明显提高临床疗效，降低病死率。