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Query: UMLS:C0243026 (sepsis)
 52,417 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This elderly male with a long history of alcohol abuse presented with an acute pleural trauma and hemopneumothorax, which may have served as the precipitating medical illness for cecal volvulus. He subsequently developed bacterial peritonitis as a complication of his bowel obstruction. It is probable that his pleural cavity was seeded hematogenously via a bacteremia from his peritonitis, thus accounting for the empyema with species typical of bowel flora. Cecal bascule is a type of cecal volvulus that causes intestinal obstruction. Diagnosis is difficult, but a delay in recognition may result in intestinal ischemia, perforation, sepsis, and even death. Cecal ischemia or gangrene cannot always be determined based on physical examination or laboratory findings. Plain films of the abdomen may be helpful, and barium enema has been advocated by some authors. However, laparotomy is often necessary for definitive diagnosis and therapy. While cecal volvulus has not been reported to occur frequently in the elderly, the relatively common occurrence of anatomic predisposition in addition to the widespread use of respirators and the increasing age and number of medical illnesses of our population make it possible that cecal volvulus will be seen with increasing frequency in the future.
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PMID:Cecal bascule: an overlooked diagnosis in the elderly. 172 51

We have previously shown the safety and efficacy of University of Wisconsin solution for hypothermic preservation of the human donor heart in a pilot group of 16 transplant recipients. The present study is a randomized clinical trial comparing University of Wisconsin solution to conventional preservation using crystalloid cardioplegia and saline storage within a 4-hour limit of ischemia. Heart transplant recipients (n = 42) were randomized into two groups: those receiving hearts preserved by University of Wisconsin solution, the UWS group (n = 22), and those receiving hearts preserved in the conventional manner, the CCS group (n = 20). Recipient age, gender, heart disease, and preoperative inotropic support and donor age, gender, and mean ischemic time in hours (UWS 2 hours 36 minutes, range 1 hour 36 minutes to 2 hours 53 minutes; CCS 2 hours 20 minutes, range 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours 44 minutes; p = not significant) were similar. Significant differences observed between the two groups included (1) mean time (minutes) from reperfusion to achieve a stable rhythm, (2) need for intraoperative defibrillations, (3) need for transient cardiac pacing, and (4) integrated postoperative creatinine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase release over 48 hours. There was no difference in postoperative electrocardiogram, endomyocardial biopsy, or hemodynamics. One UWS patient died of sepsis and another of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. UWS is safe for donor organ arrest and preservation despite high viscosity and potassium concentration. When compared with CCS hearts, hearts preserved in UWS regained electrical activity more rapidly and had better myocardial protection as demonstrated by enzymatic analysis. Further investigation is required to determine the effects of UWS preservation on long-term survival, to determine the prevalence of rejection and graft atherosclerosis, and to test the ability of UWS to extend donor ischemic time in human cardiac transplantation.
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PMID:University of Wisconsin solution versus crystalloid cardioplegia for human donor heart preservation. A randomized blinded prospective clinical trial. 173 83

Although the shock syndrome is recognized as a form of "mediator poisoning", a plethora of details is hardly converging into a coherent concept of chronological and molecular order. As a model for organ failure in septic shock, three alternative experimental approaches with a common pathology are presented: When galactosamine-sensitized mice receive either lipopolysaccharide or leukotriene D4 or tumor necrosis factor alpha they develop fulminant hepatitis within few hours with a lethal outcome within one day. Detailed pharmacological intervention studies allow to conclude that endotoxin-induced leukotriene D4 release induces a transient ischemia by the known vasoconstrictive action of this eicosanoid. A following reperfusion/reoxygenation phase gives rise to superoxide formation which inactivates alpha 1 proteinase inhibitor. Thus a serine protease becomes active which is responsible for the processing of a monocytic tumor necrosis factor alpha precursor to be released into the circulation after proteolytic cleavage. By this sequence the final central mediator of shock and sepsis becomes systematically abundant. The concept arising from these studies reconciles previously known findings and provides a link between the role of reactive oxygen species in inflammation, the balance of proteases and antiproteases in the extracellular space and the release of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor in sepsis and shock.
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PMID:Reactive oxygen species, antiproteases, and cytokines in sepsis. 179 93

The authors describe a case of fatal acetaminophen overdose which occurred in a 16-year-old female. Her serum acetaminophen concentration 11.5 h postingestion was 154 mg/L. Antidotal therapy was unsuccessful, and after 9 days she died. Autopsy findings included centrilobular zonal liver necrosis, acute proximal renal tubular necrosis, and diffuse alveolar pulmonary damage. Her heart was transplanted into a young woman with congenital heart disease. The recipient expired 14 days after the transplant as a result of sepsis complicating bowel ischemia. The transplanted heart showed extensive subendocardial myocyte necrosis related to acetaminophen toxicity and not rejection.
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PMID:Fatal acetaminophen poisoning with evidence of subendocardial necrosis of the heart. 185 55

Sepsis, shock, and resuscitation may result in various degrees of ischemia-perfusion injury that may produce widespread organ dysfunction through complex interactions and activation of host immunoinflammatory processes. As the pathophysiologic mechanisms of the inflammatory response are better defined, we may be able to modulate the generalized inflammatory state we know as sepsis and prevent the development of multiple organ failure syndrome. At present, however, the mainstay of therapy remains prompt resuscitation to eliminate regions of hypoperfusion and to limit as much as possible those factors that predispose to further organ injury while the source of inflammatory stimulation is being identified and controlled.
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PMID:Sepsis. What it is and how to recognize it. 186 69

Between January 1, 1980, and June 30, 1989, 9 patients (6 males and 3 females) developed ischemic injury to the spinal cord or lumbosacral plexus following 3,320 operations on the abdominal aorta (0.3%). The incidence of this complication was 0.1% (2 of 1,901) after elective and 1.4% (3 of 210) after emergency abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and 0.3% (4 of 1,209) after repair for occlusive disease. Three of the latter had prior clinical evidence of distal embolization. Eight grafts were bifurcated (aorto-iliac:four, aorto-femoral: three, aorto-ilio-femoral:one). One patient underwent extra-anatomic revascularization. Only two patients had supraceliac aortic cross-clamping and one patient underwent exclusion of both internal iliac arteries. Four patients had hypotension. Early mortality was 22% (two of nine). Severe perioperative complications, mostly due to associated visceral and somatic ischemia and sepsis, were present in seven of the nine patients. The extent and type of the neurologic injury correlated with long-term outcome. Patients with ischemic injury of the lumbosacral roots or plexus had better recovery. Attention to the pelvic circulation and the collateral blood supply is important. Use of gentle technique to prevent embolization, avoidance of hypotension and prolonged supraceliac cross-clamping, revascularization of at least one internal iliac artery, and the use of heparin may decrease but not eliminate paraplegia. Once this unexpected complication occurs, careful neurologic evaluation should be done to localize the lesion and aid prognosis.
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PMID:Ischemic injury to the spinal cord or lumbosacral plexus after aorto-iliac reconstruction. 186 33

Models for the study of prosthetic vascular graft infection have been studied frequently in the dog and rabbit. We have developed a reproducible swine model to study this problem and its treatment. The cardiovascular system, healing characteristics, and the bloodstream clearance of bacteria in swine more closely resembles those of humans than do other animal models. The low cost and availability of the swine is an additional attractive aspect. One hundred fifty-six farm-bred pigs have undergone infrarenal aortic replacement with a 3-cm segment of 6-mm prosthetic graft over the past two years. Graft infection was produced by (1) direct inoculation of 10(6) Staphylococcus aureus at the time of the surgery or (2) intravenous infusion of bacteria (10(2)-10(6) organisms/mL) immediately after surgery. All animals were sacrificed 1 to 4 weeks later, depending on the study design. Cultures, histology, and electron microscopy were performed on each graft. Anesthetic complications were rare (2.5%). Postoperative complications leading to animal death decreased with increasing experience (11.5%), but included graft thrombosis, bleeding, sepsis, intussusception, and colonic ischemia. Wound infection was the most common cause of morbidity. The swine model is an attractive alternative to that of other animals for the study of prosthetic vascular graft infections. Further details of the operative technique and the comparison to the human and other animal models is discussed.
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PMID:Porcine model for vascular graft studies. 186 86

Between January 1984 and December 1989, 13 patients, aged 39 to 89 (median 63), underwent surgery for histologically proven ischemic colitis. Most suffered from pre-existing cardiovascular conditions (2 shortly after surgery for aortic aneurysm). One patient developed ischemia after the traumatic avulsion of the ileocolic artery and another after the spontaneous reduction of a strangled inguinal hernia. Diagnosis of ischemic colitis was made prior to operation in 4 instances only. The left colon was affected 5 times and the right colon 8 times (with the terminal coil of ileum 3 times). Treatment always consisted in segmental colectomy; laparotomy was used in 3 patients (2 to 7 reoperations). Colon anastomosis was performed directly 5 times, while 4 patients had secondary stomy closures; 2 patients still have their original stomy. Two patients died (15%), one of sepsis and the other following broncho-aspiration. The prognosis of ischemic colitis is rather favorable, even at the stage of transmural necrosis, provided all ischemic zones are resected. This is in contrast with the severe mortality of mesenteric infarcts, when extensive small bowel necrosis is found in association with colonic ischemia.
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PMID:[Results of surgical treatment of ischemic colitis]. 186 48

The barium enema is a safe and accurate diagnostic study of the colon but, in rare cases, complications may result. Many of these can be prevented by proper equipment and careful attention to technique. When a complication does occur, prompt recognition and management is vital in decreasing morbidity and mortality. Perforation of the bowel is the most frequent serious complication, occurring in approximately 0.02% to 0.04% of patients. Rarely the colon may burst due to excessive transmural pressure alone. However, a colon weakened by iatrogenic trauma or disease is more likely to perforate during an enema than is a normal healthy bowel. Injury to the rectal mucosa or anal canal due to the enema tip or retention balloon is probably the most common traumatic cause of barium enema perforation. Inflation of a retention balloon within a stricture, neoplasm, inflamed rectum, or colostomy stoma is particularly hazardous. Recent deep biopsy or polypectomy with electrocautery makes the bowel more vulnerable to rupture. The tensile strength of the bowel wall is impaired in elderly patients, patients receiving long-term steroid therapy, and in disease states including neoplasm, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and ischemia. Intraperitoneal perforation leads to a severe, acute peritonitis with intravascular volume depletion. The ensuing shock may be rapidly fatal. Prompt fluid replacement and laparotomy are essential. If the patient survives the initial shock and sepsis, later complications caused by dense intraperitoneal adhesions may develop. Extraperitoneal perforation is usually less catastrophic but may result in pain, sepsis, cellulitis, abscess, rectal stricture, or fistula. Intramural extravasation often forms a persistent submucosal barium granuloma which may ulcerate or be mistaken for a neoplasm. The most dramatic complication of barium enema is venous intravasation of barium. Fortunately, this is quite rare as it may be immediately lethal. Most cases have been attributed to trauma from the enema tip or retention balloon, mucosal inflammation, or misplacement of the tip in the vagina. Bacteremia has been found in as many as 23% of patients following barium enema and, in rare cases, may cause symptomatic septicemia. Other less common complications include barium impaction, water intoxication, allergic reactions, and cardiac arrhythmias. Preparatory laxatives and cleansing enemas have been implicated in some instances of dehydration, rectal trauma, water intoxication, and perforation. Careful review of the indications for examination, previous radiographs, and clinical history will identify many of the patients at greater risk for complications so that appropriate precautions may be observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Recognition and prevention of barium enema complications. 188 35

Various beneficial effects of calcium channel blockers on cell and organ function following endotoxic shock, organ ischemia, and reperfusion have been reported; however, it is not known whether these agents have any salutary or deleterious effects on immune responses after low-flow conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine (a) the effect of hemorrhage on lymphocyte IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, and IFN-gamma synthesis, and (b) whether diltiazem has any salutary or adverse effects on these parameters when administered following hemorrhage and resuscitation. To study this, C3H/HeN mice were bled to a mean blood pressure of 35 mm Hg, maintained at that level for 60 min, and resuscitated with shed blood plus twice that volume of Ringer's lactate. Immediately following resuscitation mice received either diltiazem (2400, 800, or 400 micrograms/kg body wt), or an equivalent volume of saline. The mice were sacrificed 24 hr later, splenic lymphocytes were obtained, and their capacity to produce lymphokines was assessed. The results indicated that in the vehicle-treated animals, hemorrhage significantly decreased (P less than 0.05) IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, and IFN-gamma synthesis by 82 +/- 19%, 64 +/- 28%, 71 +/- 11%, and 86 +/- 14%, respectively. However, diltiazem (400 but not 2400 micrograms/kg) treatment after hemorrhage restored lymphocyte capacity to produce IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, and IFN-gamma (P less than 0.05). Additional groups of animals were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture 3 days following hemorrhage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Diltiazem restores IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, and IFN-gamma synthesis and decreases host susceptibility to sepsis following hemorrhage. 190 99


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