Evaluate the delay in the management of acute abdomen at the Yaounde central hospital: a prospective cohort study

Background: Early surgical treatment remains the first factor of good prognosis for the management of acute abdominal diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the delay in the management of these pathologies in our context. Material and methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study at the Yaoundé Central Hospital (HCY) over 7 months. All patients over 15 years of age presenting with an acute non-traumatic digestive surgical abdomen were included. The follow-up was done during the entire hospital stay of the patients. The dates and times of the different stages of management were recorded. Results: We collected 63 patients, 37 men, with a sex ratio M/F of 1.42. The mean age was 41.06±18 years. The mean time between arrival in the emergency room and the indication for surgery was 16.9 hours. Acute generalized peritonitis (n=26) was the most common diagnosis with 41.3% of cases. The average time between the indication for surgery and the availability of the surgical kit was 19 hours. The average time between the availability of the operating kit and the start of the surgical procedure was 6.2 hours. The complication rate was 33.3%. The mortality rate was 15.9%. Conclusion: Our delays in the management of acute abdomens are relatively long. A better organisation of the system and continuous training of the medical staff of peripheral hospitals would improve the prognosis of our patients.

Overflow diarrhea and acute kidney injury as a presentation of fecal impaction that led to obstructive uropathy

Fecal impaction is a known complication of chronic constipation and is particularly bothersome in the elderly population. Common complications of fecal impaction include hemorrhoids, megacolon, overflow diarrhea, and obstructive uropathy among others. Many case reports have been reported with fecal impaction and obstructive uropathy though none have reported overflow diarrhea as a presentation. In this case report, we present an elderly male who came in with overflow diarrhea and acute kidney injury that resulted from fecal impaction that caused obstructive uropathy. He was managed with catharsis and early recognition of the condition led to a good outcome. Recognition and management of fecal impaction can be challenging especially in patients who present with diarrhea. We, therefore, outline and discuss the importance of recognition of overflow diarrhea as a complication of fecal impaction and the management of such patients.

Diagnostic challenges in gastric adenocarcinoma: a case report

Occam’s razor dictates that the simplest diagnosis is usually the correct one. In ascites of unknown origin, the top differentials must include cirrhosis, malignancy and cardiac failure. Investigations such as ascitic fluid cytology and computed tomography can help identify the underlying pathology, however, these investigations do not have perfect specificity and sensitivity. Thus, “normal” investigations cannot be used to completely dismiss important differentials. In a middle-aged patient with no evidence of cirrhosis or cardiac failure, Occam’s razor suggests that a surgeon thoroughly consider and definitively exclude an occult malignancy prior to removing it from the list of differentials.

Metastatic ovarian cancer to the gallbladder indicative of the diagnosis

Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor that usually develops from the surface coating of the ovaries. The most common form is epithelial carcinoma. As a result of its location, and its silent nature responsible for a delay in diagnosis that makes the prognosis rather poor. The usual metastatic sites are the peritoneal cavity, liver and lung. Secondary biliary localization is a rare, even exceptional site. We report the observation of a patient who presented with abdominal pain in the right hypochondrium and progressive vomiting. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a 21 mm gallbladder lithiasis with hepatic steatosis. Abdominal CT scan revealed a large heterogeneous mass with engulfed gallstones. The patient underwent cholecystectomy. Histological study showed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma and acute cholecystitis. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the tumor cells were positive for antibodies against CK7, WT1, PAX8 and p53 and negative for CK20 and ER. These results suggest that the tumor was a metastasis of serous ovarian adenocarcinoma. Medical imaging done with abdominal CT showed an ovarian mass with peritoneal carcinosis, serum CA125 was elevated at 97U/ml. Carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were normal. The patient received first-line chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. After 6 courses of therapy, she achieved a partial clinical, biological and radiological response, in our medical oncology department of the CHU Hassan II from Fez. The interest of the subject is to report the rarity of this entity as well as the radiological, histopathological, prognostic and therapeutic characteristics.

Kaposi's sarcoma a series of cases and review of the literature

Introduction: Kaposi's sarcoma is a neoplasm associated with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - AIDS especially in advanced stages, in Quintana Roo HIV-AIDS ranks first in the country. Methodology: A series of 22 cases with diagnosis confirmed by biopsy attended by the oncology service of HGR No. 17 is presented. Results: They were classified as low risk (4); three of them with complete response. High risk (18); fifteen accepted chemotherapy. Nine (60%) received liposomal doxorubicin and six (40%) paclitaxel; of these, four had a complete response, one partial response, six with stable disease and five with disease progression that required a second line. The presence of adverse effects associated with chemotherapy treatment was documented in six patients classified as high risk (40%). Conclusions: Clinical interventions with therapeutic trials are necessary, since the available evidence dates from periods of more than 10 years ago. HIV patients require continuous monitoring and clinical trials to improve the therapeutic options available to treat one of the most common oncological diseases in this population such as Kaposi's Sarcoma.

A difficult airway made worse by apprehension: an obese young male with COVID 19

Intubation of a critically ill patient in the emergency department is always considered a difficult airway. Timing, patient factors which are not optimized, and intubation done by infrequent intubators. Add to this the complications and demands of Covid 19 pandemic which make crash intubations a thing feared for personal safety as well as successful completion of intubation without complications. If the patient has intrinsic comorbid conditions contributing to a difficult airway, worse the procedure would be. Furthermore, Covid pneumonia presents its own challenges in preoxygenation, timing of the intubation, ventilation of the patient and transport as well. This is a patient I came across during the third wave of covid19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, working in the Emergency department night shift. He came in acute respiratory distress and required intubation and ventilation.

‘Failure’ of laser prophylaxis in an eye with stickler syndrome

Background: Stickler syndrome is one of the most common inherited connective tissue disorders and is an important cause of pediatric vision loss due to a high risk of retinal detachment in these patients. Methods: Case report. Case summary: This case reports describes the clinical course of a 10 year old boy with Sticklers Syndrome who underwent bilateral peripheral laser prophylaxis. During routine follow up, he was found to have an asymptomatic giant retinal tear (GRT) with limited sub-retinal fluid expansion due to prior prophylactic laser. He underwent surgery with vitrectomy and scleral buckle with vision remaining at 20/25 at 6 month follow up. Conclusion: Although the utility of laser prophylaxis in Stickler patients is debated, this case demonstrates that after laser prophylaxis, even if GRT develops, expansion can be limited. Laser prophylaxis along with frequent examinations, can prevent development of PVR and complex detachments and preserve macular function with excellent visual outcome.

Inebriated liver causing mesangial turmoil

IgA nephropathy is the most common primary glomerular disease worldwide, diagnosed 10% of renal biopsies in the United States, up to 20% in Europe and approximately 40% in Asia, the latter being the leading cause of ESRD in Asia. Multiple studies have shown the relationship between cirrhosis and the development of glomerular lesions leading IgA deposition in the mesangium causing IgAN. Here we present an unusual case of a 64-year-old female presenting with IgA nephropathy induced by liver cirrhosis.

Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction after transcatheter mitral valve replacement: the importance of preprocedural planning and prevention

Given the prevalence of mitral valve pathology in high-risk patients, transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is becoming an attractive treatment modality. A known complication of TMVR is left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOT) due to the prosthetic mitral valve and native anterior mitral valve leaflet encroaching into the LVOT. This is a serious complication which can lead to decreased cardiac output and death. Preprocedural planning with various imaging modalities (multi-detector cardiac CT and echocardiography) can predict those at high risk of LVOT obstruct. To increase awareness and to prevent this complication from occurring in the future, we present a case of LVOT obstruction after TMVR.