Rehabilitation of a patient with spinal cord decompression sickness: First case report from Saudi Arabia

Background: Although neurological complications are well recognized in sickle cell disease (SCD), myelopathy has been rarely described. We present the first case report of longitudinally extensive myelitis (LETM) in SCD and review the differential diagnosis of myelopathy in these patients. Design and setting: case-oriented review. Methods: We report the case of a 29-year-old African-Brazilian man with SCD, who experienced a subacute flaccid paraparesis, with T2 sensory level and urinary retention. CSF analysis showed a lymphocytic pleocytosis and increased protein levels. MRI disclosed a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion, with a high T2/STIR signal extending from C2 to T12. Serum anti-aquaporin-4 antibody was negative. We searched Medline/ PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases for myelopathy in SCD patients. Results: Spinal cord compression by vertebral fractures, extramedullary hematopoietic tissue, and Salmonella epidural abscess have been reported in SCD. We found only three case reports of spinal cord infarction, which is unexpectedly infrequent compared to the prevalence of cerebral infarction in SCD. We found only one case report of varicella-zoster myelitis and no previous report of LETM in SCD patients. Conclusion: Specific and time-sensitive causes of myelopathy should be considered in SCD patients. In addition to compression and ischemia, LETM should be considered as a possible mechanism of spinal cord involvement in SCD.

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High-Altitude Decompression Sickness Treated with Hyperbaric Therapy and Extracorporeal Oxygenation

Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance ◽

10.3357/amhp.5457.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 91 (2) ◽

pp. 106-109

Author(s):

Jacek Siewiera ◽

Przemysław Szałański ◽

Dariusz Tomaszewski ◽

Jacek Kot

Keyword(s):

Case Report ◽

High Altitude ◽

Decompression Sickness ◽

Endothelial Damage ◽

Neurological Deficits ◽

Institute Of Medicine ◽

First Case ◽

Hyperbaric Therapy ◽

Extracorporeal Oxygenation ◽

Vv Ecmo

BACKGROUND: High-altitude decompression sickness (HADCS) is a rare condition that has been associated with aircraft accidents. To the best of our knowledge, the present paper is the first case report of a patient treated for severe HADCS using recompression therapy and veno-venous extracorporeal oxygenation (VV-ECMO) with a complete recovery.CASE REPORT: After depressurization of a cabin, the 51-yr-old jet pilot was admitted to the Military Institute of Medicine with a life-threatening HADCS approximately 6 h after landing from a high-altitude flight, in a dynamically deteriorating condition, with progressing dyspnea and edema, reporting increasing limb paresthesia, fluctuating consciousness, and right-sided paresis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the intensive care mode was initiated. A therapeutic recompression with U.S. Navy Treatment Table 6 was performed with neurological improvement. Due to cardiovascular collapse, sedation, mechanical ventilation, and significant doses of catecholamines were started, followed by continuous veno-venous hemodialysis. In the face of disturbances in oxygenation, during the second day of treatment the patient was commenced on veno-venous extracorporeal oxygenation. Over the next 6 d, the patient’s condition slowly improved. On day 7, VV-ECMO was discontinued. On day 19, the patient was discharged with no neurological deficits.DISCUSSION: We observed two distinct stages during the acute phase of the disease. During the first stage, signs of hypoperfusion, neurological symptoms, and marbled skin were observed. During the second stage, multiple organ dysfunction dominated, including heart failure, pulmonary edema, acute kidney injury, and fluid overload, all of which can be attributed to extensive endothelial damage.Siewiera J, Szałański P, Tomaszewski D, Kot J. High-altitude decompression sickness treated with hyperbaric therapy and extracorporeal oxygenation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(2):106–109.

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