Label-Free Diagnosis of Pulmonary Fat Embolism Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopic Imaging

The diagnosis of pulmonary fat embolism (PFE) is of great significance in the field of forensic medicine because it can be considered a major cause of death or a vital reaction. Conventional histological analysis of lung tissue specimens is a widely used method for PFE diagnosis. However, variable and labor-intensive tissue staining procedures impede the validity and informativeness of histological image analysis. To obtain complete information from tissues, a method based on infrared imaging of unlabeled tissue sections was developed to identify pulmonary fat emboli in the present study. We selected 15 PFE-positive lung samples and 15 PFE-negative samples from real cases. Oil red O (ORO) staining and infrared spectral imaging collection were both performed on all lung tissue samples. And the fatty tissue of the abdominal wall and the embolized lipid droplets in the lungs were taken for comparison. The results of the blind, evaluation by pathologists, showed good agreement between the infrared spectral imaging of the lung tissue and the standard histological stained images. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic imaging significantly simplifies the typical painstakingly laborious histological staining procedure. And we found a difference between lipid droplets embolized in abdominal wall fat and lung tissue.

Can the rate of mortality and neurological recovery be predicted from the time of onset of symptoms and MRI grade in patients with cerebral fat embolism?

Aims The aim of this study was to assess whether it is possible to predict the mortality, and the extent and time of neurological recovery from the time of the onset of symptoms and MRI grade, in patients with the cerebral fat embolism syndrome (CFES). This has not previously been investigated. Methods The study included 34 patients who were diagnosed with CFES following trauma between 2012 and 2018. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed and the severity graded by MRI. We investigated the rate of mortality, the time and extent of neurological recovery, the time between the injury and the onset of symptoms, the clinical severity of the condition, and the MRI grade. All patients were male with a mean age of 29.7 years (18 to 70). The mean follow-up was 4.15 years (2 to 8), with neurological recovery being assessed by the Glasgow Outcome Scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Results In all, seven who had early-onset CFES (< 24 hours), and a severe Takahashi grade on MRI, died. There was a significant association between the time of onset of neurological signs and mortality (p = 0.035). Mortality was also significantly associated with a severe Takahashi grade (p < 0.001). Among the 27 surviving patients, 26 (96.3%) recovered completely. One (3.7%) had a cognitive deficit. The mean time to recovery was 4.7 weeks (2 to 13), with late recovery aftereight eight weeks being recorded in three patients. Conclusion There was a significantly increased rate of mortality in patients with CFES who had an early onset of symptoms and a severe grade on MRI. Complete neurological recovery can be expected in most patients with CFES who survive. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2022;104-B(1):142–149.

Fatal Pulmonary Fat Embolism Occurring in Lumbar Spinal Fusion Surgery: Case Report and Review of Literature

Fat embolism system is one of the serious complications of orthopedic surgery, which is common seen in cases of severe trauma with long bone fractures. However, in clinical medical practice, it is rarely seen for Fat embolism system in orthopaedic lumbar fusion surgery. This paper report a case of sudden shock and death during lumbar fusion due to lumbar intervertebral disc disease. By forensic pathological examination, the pulmonary and brain fat embolism were observed in tissue sections, and the patient was diagnosed as FES. Based on the review of relevant literature and the pathological findings of this case, the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of FES in lumbar fusion are commentated in this paper. At the same time, it is emphasized that the clinical practise should strengthened the understanding and attention of non-traumatic fat embolism cases in order to timely identify, diagnose and treat the disease, improve the effectiveness of treatment, and reduce the corresponding medical disputes.

CHARACTER AND FREQUENCY OF COMPLICATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH POLYTRAUMA AND CHRONIC ALCOHOL INTOXICATION

Purpose. Identify patterns of traumatic disease and characterize complications in patients with polytrauma (PT) and chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI). Materials and methods. Case histories of 39 victims with PT and alcohol history at age 19-60 years who were undergoing treatment at the Prof. Meshchaninov Kharkov City Clinical Emergency Hospital in 2016. Patient inclusion criteria: age 19-60, damage of two or more anatomical functional areas, severity of traumatic injury on the ISS scale 9-25 points, Glasgow coma scores ≥14 at the time of admission, absence of craniocerebral trauma, the absence of general anesthesia. Results. The average age of patients was 37.4 ± 9.4 years. Among these groups of patients were 29 men (74%), which is 2.9 times the number of women 10 (26%). Attention is drawn to the fact that the most important part of the victims (28.2%) was precisely the patients of the young able-bodied age. Infectious complications that developed in the early and late period of traumatic disease in victims with CAI are the main causes of death in PT - patients and induce a negative prognosis for survival. During analyzing the timing of the development of purulent-septic complications in this group of patients, we came to the conclusion that they occur on average at 7.2 ± 2.4 days. Among the infectious complications of PT in patients with CAI were pneumonia (28.2%), sepsis (7.6%), peritonitis (7.6%), pleural empyema (5.1%), osteomyelitis (5.1%). Non-infectious complications, in contrast to infectious, manifested from the first hours of injury and reached maximum development during the period by 2.3 ± 0.8 days, they were the main trigger for the development of severe infectious complications in the early period of traumatic disease. Noninfectious complications were consisted by delirium - in 29 patients, which increased the patients duration at intensive care unit on 39,6 ± 5 3 hours. These complications significantly increased the severity of the PT patients with CAI. With a higher incidence, it occurred in hyperactive, (62%) patients with delirium, and mixed (38%) form. Attention is drawn to the fact that patients with fatal outcome (29 cases), delirium was observed significantly more frequently (χ2 to include Yeats = 3.641, p <0.05) was found in 25 patients. Less frequently in patients occurred thrombosis 5(12.8%) and fat embolism syndrom 2 (5.1%). Conclusions. Most often, multiple injuries with history of alcohol use are obtained by young working aged men. The cause of injury in more than 60% of cases is accidents. 82% of the victims were in the state of alcohol intoxication during their hospitalization. On average, the terms of stay of patients with ICU are 64.9 ± 23.7 hours, although with the development of complications, these terms increase to 103.2 ± 14.2 hours. In patients with CAI there is a complicated course of traumatic disease. Among the infectious complications that develop at 7.2 ± 2.4 days, pneumonia, sepsis and peritonitis predominate. The most common non-infectious complications were delirium, thrombophlebitis thrombosis, fat embolism. Risk of fatal outcome in patients with delirium in 6.25 times higher than in patients without acute encephalopathy. Thus, the treatment of patients with a history of with polytrauma and chronic alcohol intoxication is an extremely important medical problem that needs further study and improvement.

Case Report and Literature Review: Catastrophic Embolism Following Cosmetic Injection of Autologous Fat in the Face

Injection of autologous fat on the face is a commonly performed procedure in plastic surgery. However, it can lead to rare but devastating complications due to fat embolism. In this study, we presented two cases of cerebral infarction and/or sudden vision loss after cosmetic injections of autologous fat on the face. Two women underwent injections into the temporal and frontal areas, respectively. In case 1, the patient underwent decompressive craniectomy as her condition deteriorated continuously and died. In case 2, the patient's vision had not improved at the 3-month follow-up visit. Imaging examinations showed occlusion of the right external carotid artery in case 1, and multiple retinal arterioles were segmentally occluded in case 2. We also screened relevant studies via a systematic search of PubMed (last updated on May 9, 2020) and performed a narrative review due to the significant heterogeneity between the studies. To prevent this catastrophic event, the autologous fat injection should be performed carefully. If embolization does occur, early diagnosis and timely treatment may help improve functional outcomes.