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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Common intracranial complications following head injury are meningitis, usually associated with a basilar skull fracture or open-depressed skull fracture; delayed hematoma; hydrocephalus; and vascular injuries. Prophylactic antibiotics are not recommended for the management of basilar skull fractures. The best means of preventing infection from open-depressed skull fractures is operative debridement and thorough irrigation, though recent evidence suggests that select cases can be safely managed without operation. Serial CT scans should be obtained in severely head-injured patients to identify delayed hematomas. CT and MRI scans obtained several weeks or months after severe head injury frequently reveal enlarged ventricles, though only a small percentage of these patients have clinical hydrocephalus. Those that do, often benefit from a shunt. Vascular injuries frequently are not detected until ischemic symptoms develop hours or days after the injury. Recommended treatment for intimal tears or dissection is full anticoagulation, but in those with cerebral contusions or other intracranial lesions, this may present an unacceptable risk for intracranial hemorrhage. Pulmonary infections frequently occur following head injury, and can be associated with admission to the ICU and intubation. A large percentage of these infections are caused by enteric gram-negative organisms, and aggressive treatment with appropriate antibiotics is necessary. Aspiration of gastric contents is common in head-injured patients and is frequently complicated by bacterial superinfection. The routine use of antacids and H2 blocking agents leads to bacterial colonization of the stomach with anaerobes and gram-negative aerobes. Thus, empiric therapy for aspiration pneumonia should include clindamycin. Sinusitis is a frequent cause of fever and leukocytosis in patients with nasotracheal or nasogastric tubes in place for several days and often subsides spontaneously with removal of the tubes. Pulmonary edema is often caused by excessive fluid administration during resuscitation of these patients, and can be avoided by monitoring central venous pressures. Pulmonary edema may also be caused by ARDS, excessive catecholamine release, or primary cardiac failure. Most of these patients will benefit from early intubation and PEEP. Pulmonary emboli most often originate from deep venous thrombi, and there is increasing evidence that prophylaxis with low-dose heparin and pulsating boots can significantly reduce the incidence of both complications. Erosive gastritis is found in the majority of severely head-injured patients and may be due to ischemia of the gastric mucosa as well as gastric hyperacidity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Complications of head injury and their therapy. 182 50

We present a case of stroke in a young girl, preceded by a deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, both clinically asymptomatic, and accompanied by upper limb acute ischemia. Diagnosis of paradoxical embolism through a patent foramen ovale was made on clinical grounds and with contrast echocardiography. We discuss the main points leading to diagnosis, stressing the importance of contrast echocardiography. We also suggest that paradoxical embolism could be a more frequent cause of stroke than usually suspected.
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PMID:Stroke due to paradoxical embolism. 233 27

We describe the case of a 23 years old male, who suffered a 45 bullet wound in the arm and upper right hemithorax. He walked after his injury and 10 minutes later presented dizziness, cough and tachycardia. On admission a minor haemothorax was seen on a chest X ray, but the bullet was not seen. Even without symptoms, an X ray of abdomen showed the missile lying above the left sacroiliac joint. A chest tube was placed, the patient had an excellent recovery and was discharged a week later. After several months he presented hemoptysis and a moderate pain on his right chest and was treated as an acute bronchitis. Six months after his initial injury he developed a florid picture of acute pulmonary embolism (chest pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, tachycardia, severe cough). A new chest X ray was done and the bullet was shown lying in the right chest. A pulmonary arteriography located it in a lower basal branch. Through a posterolateral thoracotomy the slug was obtained. The recovery was uneventful and he has remained well since. We discuss the possible mechanisms to explain the entrance of the bullet into the vascular system and conclude that in cases of gunshot wounds: a) An exit wound must be always searched for; if not found exploratory X ray are mandatory, b) If the bullet is not found, specially after thoracic injuries, bullet embolism should be contemplated, c) If there are signs of regional ischemia arteriography is mandatory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Embolism caused by a bullet. Report of a case and review of the literature]. 265 26

The aim of our work was to study in a population of high risk patients with hemorrhagic and or thrombotic disease, the preventive or therapeutic effect of a low molecular weight heparin fraction, CY 216 (Choay, France), particularly in surgery. CY 216 was given to 9 patients for the treatment of a thrombosis (pulmonary embolism, acute ischemia, deep venous thrombosis) and to 40 patients in prevention of thrombosis. In this second group, 28 had a high thromboembolic risk such as valvular prosthesis, cardiac arrythmia, coronary artery bypass, etc. For all the patients, CY 216 was injected sub-cutaneously twice or three times a day at the mean dose of 1.5 mg/kg/d, equivalent to 300 U anti-Xa Choay/24 h, and always injected 24 hours before surgery. The biological tests used were: blood cells count, platelet count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, heparinemia levels by two technics: anti-factor-Xa activity and anti-factor IIa activity. None thrombotic complication was observed in the 40 patients prophylactically treated and a constant improvement of thrombosis was noted for the 9 patients with thrombo-embolic disease. In 3 patients, bleeding complications were observed: for 2 patients, all the coagulation tests were normal and anti-Xa activities were less than 0.55 U/ml; in one patient, the bleeding time was prolonged (15 minutes Ivy Incision) and returned to normal when the CY 216 was stopped. Concerning the biology, there was no modification except for anti-Xa activity which mean was 0.30 U/ml (01-07). However, this test is unable to predict either thrombotic or hemorrhagic events.
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PMID:[Prophylactic and therapeutic use of a low molecular weight heparin fraction, CY 216]. 283 83

The classic electrocardiographic abnormalities observed in massive or submassive thromboembolism in the absence of preexistent cardiac or pulmonary disease are: S1Q3T3 pattern, right axis deviation, "pulmonary" P wave, ST segment depression or elevation, subepicardic ischemia and transient right bundle branch block. Left axis deviation due to pulmonary embolism was first described in 1949; this same finding and the presence of low voltage of the frontal plane owed to pulmonary embolism has been reported occasionally in the last decades, but it has had little diffusion. We report on a patient with no prior cardiac or pulmonary disease who suffered massive pulmonary thromboembolism. Electrocardiographically left axis deviation and low voltage of the horizontal plane attributed to pulmonary thromboembolism was observed. The mechanisms that originate this electrocardiographic changes in pulmonary embolism are unknown. Since the electrocardiogram is aspecific method for the diagnosis of this disorder, and the presence of the mentioned changes originate a greater difficulty in the diagnosis; we consider is important to publish it.
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PMID:[Massive pulmonary thromboembolism with left axis deviation and low voltage]. 296 Feb 86

The use of fibrinolytic agents to control the fibrinolytic enzyme system and lyse pathologic fibrin deposits or thrombus has now assumed a position with anticoagulants and vascular surgery in the physician's therapeutic armamentarium. The principal exogenous activators that are used clinically are streptokinase, urokinase, and tissue plasminogen activator. Acute arterial occlusions are more likely than chronic occlusions to respond to thrombolytic therapy, especially if treatment is instituted within a few hours of onset of symptoms and if the disease is due to embolic material rather than in situ thrombosis. Since the duration of drug infusion necessary to lyse arterial thrombus cannot be predicted, patients in whom tissue viability cannot be determined or in whom ischemia cannot be tolerated during the drug infusion interval are not candidates for intraarterial fibrinolytic drug infusion. In treating patients with venous occlusion, thrombolytic therapy is more effective against proximal clots than in calf thrombosis. No protective effect from pulmonary embolism has been noted in trials comparing heparin with streptokinase. Fifty percent of patients with an initial episode of deep venous thrombosis treated within 72 hours of onset will have complete resolution of thrombus with preservation of valve function.
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PMID:Application of thrombolytic therapy in vascular occlusive disease. A surgical view. 311 28

This is a prospective analysis of patients undergoing 34 treatments for arterial thromboses and emboli with intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy. These included acute arterial thromboses, graft thromboses, arterial emboli and pulmonary emboli. Twenty-seven of 34 patients treated had evidence of lysis, 14 had complete lysis, 13 had partial lysis and seven had no lysis. Both patients with occlusions for longer than three weeks failed to respond to treatment. Thirty-two patients presented with ischemia of the extremity. Twenty-four of 32 patients had limb salvage with eight subsequently undergoing amputation. No patient who was treated for claudication or who had a patent popliteal artery distal to the acute thrombosis failed to respond. Extensive tibioperoneal occlusion generally responded poorly compared with femoropopliteal or more proximal thrombi. Complications are divided into direct (drug related) and indirect (technique related). Four of 34 patients had an extensive hemorrhagic event with two suffering intracranial bleeding who ultimately died. All of the patients with extensive hemorrhagic episodes had serum fibrinogen levels of less than 50 milligrams per cent. During infusion, extensive distal emboli occurred in three with two of these patients requiring thrombectomy; one instance resolved with infusion. Minor distal emboli occurred in three and all resolved with continued infusion. We believe that intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy is a valuable adjunct in the treatment of acute arterial occlusion. The local infusion of lytic agents appears to be more efficient than systemic therapy. The tip of the infusion catheter should be placed into the thrombus for optimal lysis, but not advanced too far. The fibrinogen level is a sensitive indicator of systemic lysis and should be maintained above 50 milligrams per cent. Systemic lysis is obtained even with low dose infusion when therapy exceeds six hours. Intra-arterial infusion of thrombolytic agents can be performed safely in the immediate postoperative period as well as intraoperatively if specific guidelines are followed. Patients with massive unilateral pulmonary embolism can be efficiently treated with intra-arterial lytic therapy.
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PMID:Intra-arterial thrombolytic therapy in peripheral vascular disease. 358 18

Electromechanical dissociation is a rare but important cause of death in some patients with cardiac ischemia. It is a well characterized syndrome involving loss of contractile function of the heart without arrhythmia. Several other clinical syndromes, including massive pulmonary embolism and cardiac rupture, can mimic electromechanical dissociation, so its incidence is difficult to estimate. Experimental studies of early ischemic contractile failure show preservation of adenosine triphosphate levels, and of the calcium ion release mechanism. Intracellular acidosis is temporarily correlated, but direct causality cannot be assigned to the acidosis because of the lack of necessary direct studies. The role of the autonomic nervous system in triggering the sequence of events leading to electromechanical dissociation is unclear and is a promising area for further study.
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PMID:Electromechanical dissociation and its possible role in sudden cardiac death. 388 11

To evaluate the role of selective intra-arterial low-dose thrombolytic therapy (SILDT) as an alternative to the surgical management of acute arterial occlusion, the hospital records of 40 patients who underwent 43 SILDT treatments with either streptokinase (36) or urokinase (7) between December 1979 and March 1984 were reviewed. Twenty-eight patients underwent 30 treatments (group 1) for native arterial occlusion and 12 patients underwent 13 treatments (group 2) for prosthetic or autogenous graft occlusions. Therapy was deemed successful if subsequent surgical therapy was obviated. In group 1, SILDT was successful in 13 of 28 (45%) patients with 12 of 25 lower extremity occlusions and one of three upper extremity occlusions. Successful lysis in the native artery occlusion group fell into three categories: five patients were successfully treated for arterial thrombosis complicating percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA); four patients required PTA after complete lysis revealed an underlying arterial stenosis; and only three required no further therapy after SILDT. SILDT failed in all three patients with the aortoiliac occlusions. Eleven patients with femoral artery occlusions and unsuccessful SILDT required six bypass procedures, three amputations, one embolectomy, and one PTA. In group 2 only 3 of 14 treatments (21%) were successful. Bypass revision was not possible in 11 patients and all required amputation. Systemic fibrinolysis was seen in 20 (59%) of 34 patients with available data. Neither fibrinogen levels nor fibrin degradation products predicted the occurrence of complications. Minor complications occurred in 18 of 43 (43%) treatments; small hematomas at the catheter entry site were most common. Minor complications occurred in 20 of 43 treatments (44%) and included severe local hemorrhage (four), distant bleeding (three), pulmonary embolism (four), myocardial infarction (three), unmasking of an aortoduodenal fistula (one), and clot migration requiring emergency thrombectomy (four). SILDT is most effective in acute arterial thrombosis complicating arteriography or percutaneous angioplasty. It may play a role in the patient in whom thrombolysis can reveal an underlying stenosis amenable to percutaneous angioplasty. This experience shows SILDT to be of limited value in the management of prosthetic autogenous graft occlusions. Finally, thrombolytic therapy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates and requires cautious monitoring to detect arterial thrombus migration, worsening tissue ischemia, venous thromboembolism, intracerebral hemorrhage, and local or systemic bleeding.
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PMID:Thrombolytic therapy for acute arterial occlusion. 396 60

31 patients underwent embolectomy for acute embolism of the aortic bifurcation. In most instances paralysis of the extremity (84%) was present, sudden onset of pain (16%) was less common. Neurological disease had been considered in 55%. The heart was source of emboli in 92%. Postoperative complications were mainly due to renal failure (23%) and irreversible limb ischemia (10%) requiring amputation. Mortality after embolism of the bifurcation was 39%. The major cause of death was cardiac failure (58%) followed by renal failure and pulmonary embolism. Even after long delay (4 weeks) successful operation is possible due to adequate collateral circulation supplying the extremity until the blockade is removed.
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PMID:[Symptoms and therapy of aortic bifurcation embolism]. 398 34


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