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Query: UMLS:C0000727 (acute abdomen)
 3,084 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The most important facts for the anesthesiologist about porphyria are presented on the basis of an own case. The acute abdomen with unusual accompanying symptoms (tachycardia, neurologic and psychic disorders) should rise suspicion of possible porphyria. The clinical diagnosis is most important for the anesthesiologist, because barbiturates may cause fatalities in 50% of the cases. Halothane should be avoided, too. Every suspected case should be carefully investigated including the family. The symptomatic therapy of the severe porphyria-attack is presented in short.
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PMID:[Porphyria and anesthesia. A case report and a short review (author's transl)]. 95 35

Although the morbidity of porphyria is rare, the surgical and anesthetic managements of patients with porphyria should be prudent, for various stresses including surgery and anesthesia may cause occurrence or exacerbation of this disease, occasionally resulting in the mortal course. Several drugs such as barbiturate, diazepam, pentazocine, and pancuronium, which can be used during anesthesia or after operation, reportedly exacerbate the disease. Furthermore, the acute exacerbation of porphyria may be misdiagnosed as acute abdomen, ileus, acute appendicitis, cholelithiasis, urolithiasis, or ectopic pregnancy. The managements of patients with acute porphyria during anesthesia and after surgery are discussed along with the introduction of our case report. Since there is no definitive treatment of porphyria, the most important thing is to understand the disease and to prevent the acute exacerbation of the disease. When patients are suspected of porphyria or possible porphyria, careful management is required during anesthesia and after operation with selecting secure drugs against the disease.
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PMID:[Surgical and anesthetic managements of patients with porphyria]. 761 68

The porphyrias are a group of metabolic disorders of heme biosynthesis genetically determined defects. Acute intermittent porphyria is the most common form of porphyria found in the United States. It is caused by a genetic defect in chromosome 11, where one of two genes for porphobilinogen deaminase is defective. Acute intermittent porphyria is characterized by intermittent, acute, occasionally fatal attacks of abdominal, neurologic, psychiatric, and renal symptoms. Attacks are often confused with acute abdomen or bowel obstruction. A variety of drug, hormonal, nutritional, and infectious factors can precipitate clinical symptoms. Managing patients with acute intermittent porphyria involves removing the precipitating factors, increasing carbohydrate intake, controlling pain, and administering medications. A case study is provided.
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PMID:Caring for patients with acute intermittent porphyria. 776 95

Abdominal pain is a common complaint for visits to ED. Among the causes of abdominal pain, the acute porphyria may confuse emergency physicians. With wide range of unspecific symptoms and signs, acute porphyria is rarely considered as a differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in ED. Some patients even receive unnecessary surgery. There are 32 patients who visited the ED of National Taiwan University Hospital because of acute porphyric attacks over the past 13 years. Ten patients (3 males and 7 females) were diagnosed with acute porphyria for the first time at ED. The onset of age ranged from 17 to 55 years (mean, 32 years). All of our patients presented with abdominal pain but without fever, dermatologic, and neurologic symptoms that are typically presented in acute porphyria. On the average, most of them repeatedly sought for medical help because of persistent symptoms for 4 times before being definitely diagnosed and thus receiving the optimal treatment. Meanwhile, all patients needed at least 2 kinds of analgesic, and most of them needed narcotic analgesia for pain control before diagnosis. The most commonest point of tenderness is over epigastrium (7 of 10 patients). The laboratory and image studies of our patients were of no diagnostic value for acute porphyria, except for Watson-Schwartz test. In summary, our study revealed that when a patient after puberty with repetitive visits because of severe abdominal pain without reasonable causes and needs narcotics for pain control, acute porphyria should be taken into consideration.
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PMID:ED presentation of acute porphyria. 1576 37

Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by acute attacks of neuropsychiatric and neurovisceral dysfunction. In pregnancy, exacerbation of attacks in the form of seizures and acute abdomen occur due to hormonal changes. We report the case of a young woman presenting at 8 weeks of gestation requesting pregnancy termination. The patient suffered several episodes of acute abdomen and seizures in a prior pregnancy before the diagnosis was clinched. This case is reported because of its rarity and the limited obstetric experience of this disorder. Proper management depends on avoidance of precipitating factors. Anaesthetic drug safety in porphyria is reviewed and the choice of regional anaesthesia discussed.
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PMID:Medical termination of pregnancy in acute intermittent porphyria. 1651 40

Acute abdomen can be defined as a medical emergency in which there is sudden and severe pain in abdomen with accompanying signs and symptoms that focus on an abdominal involvement. It accounts for about 8 % of all children attending the emergency department. The goal of emergency management is to identify and treat any life-threatening medical or surgical disease condition and relief from pain. In mild cases often the cause is gastritis or gastroenteritis, colic, constipation, pharyngo-tonsilitis, viral syndromes or acute febrile illnesses. The common surgical causes are malrotation and Volvulus (in early infancy), intussusception, acute appendicitis, and typhoid and ischemic enteritis with perforation. Lower lobe pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis and acute porphyria should be considered in patients with moderate-severe pain with little localizing findings in abdomen. The approach to management in ED should include, in order of priority, a rapid cardiopulmonary assessment to ensure hemodynamic stability, focused history and examination, surgical consult and radiologic examination to exclude life threatening surgical conditions, pain relief and specific diagnosis. In a sick patient the initial steps include rapid IV access and normal saline 20 ml/kg (in the presence of shock/hypovolemia), adequate analgesia, nothing per oral/IV fluids, Ryle's tube aspiration and surgical consultation. An ultrasound abdomen is the first investigation in almost all cases with moderate and severe pain with localizing abdominal findings. In patients with significant abdominal trauma or features of pancreatitis, a Contrast enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) abdomen will be a better initial modality. Continuous monitoring and repeated physical examinations should be done in all cases. Specific management varies according to the specific etiology.
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PMID:Emergency management of acute abdomen in children. 2345 44

Porphyrias are metabolic disorders related to heme biosynthesis pathway enzyme dysfunctions. The heme pathway is fundamental for the formation of a number of molecules, and such defects cause noxious precursors (porphyrins) to build up. Porphyrias are heterogeneously manifested by symptoms that can either be neurovisceral, cutaneous, or both, usually during outburst episodes called porphyric crises. This article presents a literature review and reports on a case of porphyric crisis initially diagnosed as acute abdomen and treated with an inconclusive exploratory laparotomy During the postoperative period, the patient progressed with tetraparesis, tetraplegia and respiratory distress, suggesting Guillain-Barre syndrome, which was precluded after cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed no albumin-cytological dissociation. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit due to her neurological disorders, which required ventilation support. After admission, she progressed with choluria and seizures. A porphyric crisis was suspected and confirmed upon a 24 hour urine porphyrins test. Supportive therapy was initiated, but due to unavailability in our hospital, heme derivatives were not given. The patient progressed with nosocomial infection, organ dysfunctions and eventually died. Porphyria should be considered as a differential diagnosis in acute abdomen cases of unknown origin and associated with neurological disorders such as paresis, hydroelectrolytic and psychiatric disorders, especially in patients with triggering factors, with a history of recurring crises and a family history of porphyria.
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PMID:Acute intermittent porphyria, an important and rare differential diagnosis of acute abdomen: case report and literature review. 2394 67