scholarly journals An Unusual Case of Gas Gangrene in Intravenous Heroin Addict

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (C) ◽  
pp. 70-73
Author(s):  
Snežana Pavlekić ◽  
Dragan Ječmenica ◽  
Đorđe Alempijević

BACKGROUND: Gas gangrene is a clostridium infection primarily of muscle tissue, most commonly caused by C. perfringens. Clinical diagnosis is usually made by local inspection of the wound: the infected tissue shows characteristic signs of tissue inflammation with blistered changes. The disease can starts suddenly, 4-6 hours after the injury, but most commonly the incubation period lasts 2-4 days. Without proper medical intervention, death occurs in 4-24 hours after the development of the first symptoms, but even with timely and adequate therapy, the lethality is very high (around 12%). Due to its fulminant course, in all cases with fatal outcomes, a forensic autopsy is an obligatory procedure. However, discovering the entrance gate and source of infection is not an easy task, especially in the absence of a traumatic injury. CASE PRESENTATION: Male, 27 years old, an intravenous heroin addict for about 10 years, injured his left leg in a traffic accident. He only visited the doctor after 5 days. Upon examination, it was determined that there were no externally visible injuries and no fracture, and he was given a splint immobilization for an ankle luxation. Twelve days after the accident (or 7 days after the immobilization) his mother found him unconscious. CONCLUSION: From medicolegal aspects, it’s important to have in mind even the less frequent paths of infection, in order to give an expert professional opinion on origin and cause of death.

Author(s):  
Sukhvir Singh ◽  
Gazala Shabeen

Gas gangrene is a life threatening infection of muscles and soft tissues which is associated with very high mortality rate. Non clostridial gas gangrene is a rare phenomenon that mostly occurs in diabetic patients. Gas gangrene leads to various systemic manifestations. A 66-year-old female patient, diabetic with chronic kidney disease, on haemodialysis was presented as a rare case of non clostridial right great toe gas gangrene, which progressed to systemic toxicity and stroke within a period of 72 hours in postoperative period. The source of infection in this case may have been Acinetobacter which is a gram-negative bacterium. Despite prompt diagnosis and intensive therapy, the patient died 15 days after the operation. After going through literature, no case was found to be reported of stroke in postoperative period due to non clostridial gas gangrene thus making it a unique case to report. Also, only few cases of life threatening non clostridial gas gangrene are reported in literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf Mohammed ◽  
Kirubel Tesfaye

Abstract Background Ileoileal knotting is one of the rarest causes of intestinal obstruction. The pathology involves knotting of the ileum around itself, leading to mechanical intestinal obstruction that can rapidly evolve to gangrene. Case presentation Here we will discuss the case of an 18-year-old Oromo girl who presented with sudden onset of severe abdominal pain and signs of generalized peritonitis.Ultrasound examination showed massive peritoneal and cul-de-sac fluid. Explorative laparotomy was done, with a tentative diagnosis of ruptured ovarian cyst. Intraoperative finding was a gangrenous ileoileal knot. The gangrenous segment was resected and ileotransverse anastomosis done. Postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged improved on the sixth postoperative day. Conclusion We present this case to highlight the diagnostic difficulty that one can face in females of child-bearing age and to create awareness of this rare cause of intestinal obstruction, as morbidity and mortality are very high because of rapid progression to gangrene.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_6) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Gungadin ◽  
A Taib ◽  
M Ahmed ◽  
A Sultana

Abstract Introduction Small bowel obstruction can be caused by multiple factors. We describe an unusual case of small bowel obstruction secondary to three rare factors: gallstone ileus, peritoneal encapsulation and congenital adhesional band. Case Presentation A seventy-nine-year-old male presented with a four-day history of obstipation and abdominal pain. CT abdomen pelvis revealed small bowel obstruction secondary to gallstone ileus. The patient was managed by laparotomy. The intraoperative findings revealed the presence of a congenital peritoneal encapsulation with an adhesional band and gallstone proximal to the ileo-caecal valve. Although there was some dusky small bowel, this recovered following the release of the band. Discussion Peritoneal Encapsulation is a rare congenital pathology resulting in the formation of an accessory peritoneal membrane around the small bowel. This condition is asymptomatic and rarely presents as small bowel obstruction. The diagnosis is often made at laparotomy. There are less than 60 cases reported in literature. Gallstone ileus is another rare entity caused by an inflamed gallbladder adhering to part of the bowel resulting in a fistula. Conclusions The rarity of these conditions mean that they are poorly understood. A combination of this triad of gall stone ileus in the presence of peritoneal encapsulation and congenital band has not been reported before. Knowledge of this would raise awareness, facilitate diagnosis and management of patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ali Amirghofran ◽  
Elahe Nirooei ◽  
Mohammad Ali Ostovan

Abstract Background Pseudoaneurysm of ascending aorta is a rare but serious complication of cardiovascular surgeries and it infrequently occurs in the normal prosthetic graft materials. We share our experience with an unusual case of ascending aorta Dacron graft pseudoaneurysm caused by a fractured sternal wire. Case presentation A 34-year-old man, known case of Marfan syndrome, with history of two prior aortic surgeries for aneurysm of ascending aorta, arch and thoracoabdominal aorta, presented with hemoptysis. The hemoptysis originated from an aortobronchial fistula secondary to a huge ascending aorta Dacron graft pseudoaneurysm. The graft erosion and subsequent pseudoaneurysm was caused by a fractured sternal wire. Surgical repair of the pseudoaneurysm was performed successfully and a Gore-tex patch was placed behind the sternum over the graft to prevent further direct contact of the wire and the graft. Conclusion Sternal wires can damage the adjacent vascular grafts and lead to fatal complications such as pseudoaneurysm formation. Thus, preventive measures such as using sternal bands and placing a covering layer between the sternal wires and aortic grafts are recommended in patients with dilated or replaced ascending aorta.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. e0009453
Author(s):  
Sri Linuwih Menaldi ◽  
Anastasia Asylia Dinakrisma ◽  
Hok Bing Thio ◽  
Iris Rengganis ◽  
Salma Oktaria

We describe an unusual case of type 2 leprosy reaction (T2R) with septic shock–like features induced by helminth infection in a 31-year-old Moluccan male patient with a history of completed treatment of WHO multidrug therapy (MDT)–multibacillary (MB) regimen 2 years before admission. During the course of illness, the patient had numerous complications, including septic shock, anemia, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Nevertheless, antibiotic therapies failed to give significant results, and the source of infection could not be identified. Helminth infection was subsequently revealed by endoscopic examination followed by parasitological culture. Resolution of symptoms and normal level of organ function–specific markers were resolved within 3 days following anthelmintic treatment. This report demonstrated the challenge in the diagnosis and treatment of severe T2R. Given that helminth infections may trigger severe T2R that mimics septic shock, health professionals need to be aware of this clinical presentation, especially in endemic regions of both diseases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (7-8) ◽  
Author(s):  
K.V.S. Hari Kumar ◽  
Sai Priya ◽  
Altamash Shaikh ◽  
Pitambar Prusty

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiman Li ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Yunzhu Li ◽  
liu weiping

Abstract Background: Granulocytic sarcomas (GS) are very rare. If it occurs after complete remission of acute myeloblastic leukemia(AML), it indicates a recurrence of AML and a poor prognosis. In such cases, relapse of leukemia occurs within a mean of 10 months following granulocytic sarcoma.Case presentation: Here we present an unusual case of 78-year-old male who presented with AML-M1 38 years ago. After complete remission from AML-M1 6 years later, he developed unusual multiple isolated extramedullary relapses. And the extramedullary relapse occurred 7 times and involved 8 anatomic sites during 15 years. Despite repeated relapses, treatment and physical damage, the patient managed to survive into 2016.However, we did not detect any signs of leukemia after 1992 and his bone marrow and peripheral blood remained normal Until his death. Immunohistochemical results of our case are all the same, suggesting that they were all derived from the recurrence of the same tumor.Conclusions: Extramedullary relapses may occur in AML patients after complete relieve and without the blood count and BM involvement. Accurate diagnosis of GS is important so the patient could to be treated timely. It is a challenge for the pathologist to make the diagnosis, and without immunohistochemistry (IHC), it may be misdiagnosed as another tumor.


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