Ringing in the Ears and Pain in the Head

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Angela O’Neal
Keyword(s):  
Headache Disorder ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Operator Experience ◽  
Blood Patch ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Pressure Headache ◽  
Pressure Headache

The case illustrates the classic clinical features of a low-pressure headache. The pathophysiology results from the loss of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This causes sagging of the brain, stretching of the bridging veins, and venodilatation. The clinical history is of a headache that is worse in the upright position and remits when the patient is supine. Due to the connection of the perilymphatic fluid and CSF, postural tinnitus is a frequent symptom. Risk factors for low-pressure headache include those that are patient-specific: female sex, low body mass index, prior history of a low-pressure headache, and an underlying headache disorder. Operator-specific factors that decrease the risk of a postdural puncture headache (PDPH) include greater operator experience and the use of a smaller-gauge, non-cutting lumbar puncture needle. The best treatment for low-pressure headache is a blood patch with resolution in over 90% of low-pressure headaches.

Managing Incidentalomas Safely: Do Computed Tomography Requisitions Tell Us What We Need to Know?

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-391
Author(s):  
Matthew Walker ◽  
Joy Borgaonkar ◽  
Daria Manos
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Incidental Findings ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Patient Questionnaire ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
History Of ◽  
Patient’S History ◽  
History Of Cancer

Purpose Technological advancements and the ever-increasing use of computed tomography (CT) have greatly increased the detection of incidental findings, including tiny pulmonary nodules. The management of many “incidentalomas” is significantly influenced by a patient's history of cancer. The study aim is to determine if CT requisitions include prior history of malignancy. Methods Requisitions for chest CTs performed at our adult tertiary care hospital during April 2012 were compared to a cancer history questionnaire, administered to patients at the time of CT scan. Patients were excluded from the study if the patient questionnaire was incomplete or if the purpose of the CT was for cancer staging or cancer follow-up. Results A total of 569 CTs of the chest were performed. Of the 327 patients that met inclusion criteria, 79 reported a history of cancer. After excluding patients for whom a history of malignancy could not be confirmed through a chart review and excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer, dysplasia, and in situ neoplasm, 68 patients were identified as having a history of malignancy. We found 44% (95% confidence interval [0.32-0.57]) of the chest CT requisitions for these 68 patients did not include the patient's history of cancer. Of the malignancies that were identified by patient questionnaire but omitted from the clinical history provided on the requisitions, 47% were malignancies that commonly metastasize to the lung. Conclusions A significant number of requisitions failed to disclose a history of cancer. Without knowledge of prior malignancy, radiologists cannot comply with current guidelines regarding the reporting and management of incidental findings.

scholarly journals Ezetimibe: An Unusual Suspect in Angioedema

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Lu ◽  
Tarundeep Grewal
Keyword(s):  
Clinical History ◽  
Prior History ◽  
African American Female ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Inhibitor Level ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Esterase Inhibitor

We describe a case of new onset angioedema likely due to Ezetimibe therapy in an elderly patient with a prior history of drug-induced bradykinin reactions who had been on the medication for multiple years. This is the second reported incidence of Ezetimibe-associated angioedema in literature. A 90-year-old African American female presented with angioedema of the face and oral mucosa with associated difficulty speaking developing hours after taking Ezetimibe 10 mg PO. She denied adding any new or unusual foods to her diet. A thorough clinical history determined Ezetimibe was the likely culprit. Ezetimibe was immediately discontinued. The swelling subsided after administration of methylprednisolone 125 mg, epinephrine 1 mg/mL, injection 0.3 mL, diphenhydramine 25 mg, and famotidine 20 mg BID within 48 hours. The patient’s C1 esterase inhibitor level was measured to be within normal limits. Food panel allergy testing showed very low or undetectable IgE levels in all categories. Based on the limited reports in literature and our current case, we conclude that there is a likely association of angioedema with Ezetimibe. The mechanism, however, is unknown since it is not related to bradykinin or mast cell-mediated activation. Clinicians should advise patients taking Ezetimibe to report any swelling of the lips, face, and tongue and to immediately discontinue its use if these signs are present.

Epidural Blood Patch

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth D. Candido ◽  
Teresa M. Kusper ◽  
Bora Dinc ◽  
Nebojsa Nick Knezevic
Keyword(s):  
Drug Delivery Systems ◽  
Dural Puncture ◽  
Epidural Blood Patch ◽  
Post Dural Puncture Headache ◽  
Blood Patch ◽  
Csf Leakage ◽  
Pressure Dynamics ◽  
Diagnostic Lumbar Puncture ◽  
Low Pressure Headache ◽  
Pressure Headache

Post-dural-puncture headache (PDPH) is a consequence of neuraxial anesthesia, diagnostic lumbar puncture, intrathecal drug delivery systems, or any other technique involving dural trespass. The spinal headache results from a dural puncture that leads to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage from the subarachnoid space to the epidural space, culminating in intracranial hypotension and development of a low-pressure headache. A key element of PDPH is an increase in pain severity upon a change in position from supine to upright, which corresponds to a gravity-induced influence on CSF pressure dynamics. Age, sex, and design of the needle used correlate with the risk of headache. Sometimes, the headache resolves spontaneously. At other times, conservative treatment or aggressive measures are required to terminate the pain. An autologous epidural blood patch is an established way preventing or treating PDPH. A careful history must be obtained to identify other causes of headache before the blood patch is attempted.

scholarly journals Peripartum Isolated Cortical Vein Thrombosis in a Mother with Postdural Puncture Headache Treated with an Epidural Blood Patch

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Laverse ◽  
Sarah Cader ◽  
Rajith de Silva ◽  
Sanjiv Chawda ◽  
Satish Kapoor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epidural Blood Patch ◽  
Csf Leak ◽  
Postdural Puncture Headache ◽  
Mri Scan ◽  
Cortical Vein ◽  
Vein Thrombosis ◽  
Cortical Vein Thrombosis ◽  
Blood Patch ◽  
Low Pressure Headache ◽  
Pressure Headache

A 32-year-old woman presented with low pressure headache 3 days after delivery of her baby. An assessment of postdural puncture headache was made. This was initially treated with analgesia, caffeine, and fluids for the presumed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. The woman was readmitted two days after her hospital discharge with generalised seizures. A brain scan showed features of intracranial hypotension, and she was treated for CSF leak using an epidural blood patch. Her symptoms worsened and three days later, she developed a left homonymous quadrantanopia. An MRI scan confirmed a right parietal haematoma with evidence of isolated cortical vein thrombosis (ICVT).

Headache associated with head trauma

2020 ◽  
pp. 314-321
Author(s):  
Sylvia Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Primary Headache ◽  
Headache Disorder ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Secondary Headache ◽  
Primary Headache Disorder ◽  
Global Health Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
Probable Migraine

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an extremely important, common global health issue with approximately 2.5 million TBIs occurring yearly in the civilian population alone. The symptom manifestations of TBI are called ‘concussion’ symptoms and headache is the most common. Post-traumatic headache (PTH) is a secondary headache occurring in temporal association with the TBI and thought to be caused by the injury. Many studies have found PTH to be frequent and persistent, with a higher prevalence of PTH after mild than moderate to severe TBI. In both severity injuries, the most frequent phenotype of PTH is migraine or probable migraine. PTH risk factor after injury is a prior history of primary headache disorder. The relationship between TBI and PTH is unknown and currently the subject of intense research. As yet, treatment of PTH is empiric with standard of care to ‘phenotype’ the headache according to primary headache clinical characteristics and use the type as a guideline for management.

Secondary Malignancies of the Bladder: Avoiding the Diagnostic Pitfall

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Feldman ◽  
Samuel Borak ◽  
Soroush Rais-Bahrami ◽  
Jennifer Gordetsky
Keyword(s):  
Metastatic Tumor ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Bladder Tumors ◽  
Diagnostic Dilemma ◽  
Secondary Tumors ◽  
Diagnostic Pitfall ◽  
Imaging Characteristics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Primary Bladder

Although rare, secondary tumors of the bladder can present a diagnostic dilemma to pathologists considering a differential diagnosis of primary bladder cancer. We investigated the clinicopathologic and imaging characteristics of metastatic tumors to the bladder. We retrospectively reviewed the surgical pathology databases from 2 sites from 2013 to 2016, identifying 66 cases of secondary bladder tumors. Clinical, pathologic, and imaging findings were reviewed. Mean age at diagnosis was 63 years (range = 25-87). Females had a significantly higher proportion (44/66, 66.7%) of secondary bladder tumors compared with males (22/66, 33.3%; P = .007). In total, 56/66 (84.8%) patients had a clinical history of an in situ or invasive malignancy in another organ, and 54/66 (81.8%) patients had imaging supporting a metastatic tumor. Only 2/66 (3.0%) patients had a prior history of urothelial carcinoma. In total, 4/66 (6.1%) cases (all females) were originally misdiagnosed as primary bladder malignancies and were corrected after clinicoradiologic correlation. Overall, colorectal origin was most common (15/66, 22.7%), followed by cervical and ovarian primaries (10/66, 15.2% each). Cervical and ovarian origins predominated in the female cohort (10/44, 22.7% each), followed by endometrial (8/44, 18.2%). Colorectal and prostate primaries were the most common among males (10/22, 45.5%, and 7/22, 31.8%, respectively). Secondary bladder tumors can mimic urothelial carcinomas. In our cohort, gynecological, colorectal, and prostatic origins were most common. Clinical history, imaging, and immunohistochemical studies can be useful in avoiding this diagnostic pitfall.

scholarly journals Granulocytic Sarcoma of the Male Breast in Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia with Concurrent Deletion of 5q and Trisomy 8

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rizwan ◽  
Md. Monirul Islam ◽  
Zia ur Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Granulocytic Sarcoma ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
The Body ◽  
Male Breast ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Trisomy 8 ◽  
Extramedullary Tumor ◽  
History Of ◽  
Improve Patient

We describe a unique case of Granulocytic Sarcoma (GS) in a male, who presented to us with a painless right breast mass without any prior history of Leukemia. GS is an extramedullary tumor of myeloproliferative precursors and may involve multiple sites of the body, but involvement of male breast is extremely rare. In the absence of clinical history or hematological abnormality, GS may be misdiagnosed, depending on the degree of myeloid differentiation present within the tumor. Often it is misdiagnosed as lymphoma. Diagnosis is made by finding eosinophilic myelocytes, myeloperoxidase, chloroacetate esterase staining, and lysozyme immunostain. Chemotherapy regimens similar to acute myeloid leukemia are recommended to treat GS. Recognition of this rare entity is important because early, aggressive chemotherapy can induce regression of the tumor and improve patient longevity.

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