Brownebirch2931

A cluster of atypical pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, turned out to be a highly contagious disease, swept across most of the countries, and soon after was announced as a pandemic. Therefore we aimed to investigate the demographics and factors associated with the disease outcome.

In this retrospective chart review, we screened patients admitted to the emergency department with severe acute respiratory infection due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between March 15, 2020 and April 30, 2020. Age, gender, symptoms, laboratory data, and radiology data were obtained, as well as outcomes and length of stay.

We identified 177 patients (54.8% male). Seventy-eight percent of the cases were admitted into wards whereas 22% of the cases were admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU). Twenty-five percent of the cases needed invasive mechanical ventilation during their hospital stay and median length of hospital stay until death or discharge was eight days (interquartile range (IQR) 5.0 - 16.0). Among 177 pat and fibrinogen on initial admission were found to be less likely to survive COVID-19.

Patients with older age, higher RR, lower sO2 and DBP, higher creatinine, d-dimer, INR, CRP, procalcitonin, ferritin, and fibrinogen on initial admission were found to be less likely to survive COVID-19.Neuraxial anesthesia is preferred over general anesthesia for cesarean delivery when appropriate because the latter is associated with a higher incidence of airway complications and an increased need for neonatal resuscitation. Common complications of neuraxial anesthesia include backache and headache, whereas feared but rare complications include paraplegia, intraspinal hemorrhage, cauda equina syndrome, nerve injury, and epidural hematoma. This case report presents a 40-year-old female with undiagnosed and asymptomatic ependymoma who presented with concerning neurological symptoms after receiving spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean delivery. Stat lumbar and thoracic spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed on postoperative day 13 and were suggestive of a large hypervascular mass with areas of hemorrhage, concerning for ependymoma. An emergent laminectomy and mass resection were performed, resulting in an improvement in the patient's neurological symptoms.Barium studies are commonly used to rule out gastrointestinal (GI) pathologies and sometimes they are associated with complications such as barium aspiration with heterogeneity in clinical features ranging from mild to severe symptoms. We present a case of large volume barium aspiration in a 73-year-old male with past medical history of dysphagia diagnosed with diffuse esophageal spasm. Barium is an inert material commonly used for GI tract study. Although complications associated with barium studies are rare, aspiration of barium can have dramatic findings resulting in mild to severe symptoms. Clinically patient had very minimal symptoms but radiographic studies appeared dramatic. Therefore, a clinical and radiographic paradox must be kept in mind when evaluating patients and reviewing large volume barium aspiration imaging. Our case remained asymptomatic and had no respiratory complaints, nor did he develop any respiratory distress post barium aspiration.In geriatric patients scheduled for hip or knee surgery, neuraxial anesthesia is a safe and effective anesthesia method and may be a better option than general anesthesia. Unfortunately, establishing neuraxial anesthesia is not always easy in this group of patients. Anatomical abnormalities, such as spinal stenosis, scoliosis, and narrowed interspaces, contribute to the difficulties that anesthesiologists face while performing these procedures. The classic Taylor's approach targets the widest interspace, L5-S1, as the needle insertion site and accordingly has an increased success rate in difficult neuraxial anesthesia. As this technique historically relies solely on palpation, it might be difficult in patients with less prominent or distorted anatomic landmarks. Ultrasonography or fluoroscopy guidance may help to better target the epidural or subarachnoid space, but both have limitations due to equipment availability or provider expertise. The modified Taylor's approach we propose in this case report is based on preoperative lumbar x-ray interpretation when point-of-care image guidance cannot be performed. By measuring on the patient's preoperative lumbar x-ray, we successfully performed a modified Taylor's approach of spinal anesthesia on an elderly patient with severe scoliosis. She underwent open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the left femur with satisfactory pain control and no complications.Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) predominantly involves the respiratory system and shows a wide range of severity. Calcitriol There is a growing body of evidence about the occurrence of thromboembolic events in COVID-19. Case Report We report the case of a 48-year-old female patient who presented with sudden-onset abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed ascites and tender hepatomegaly. Subsequently, abdominal computed tomography was performed which revealed thrombosis in the hepatic vein and inferior vena cava in keeping with Budd-Chiari Syndrome. The patient was started on low-molecular-weight heparin and supportive care. Clinical improvement was observed over the course of the treatment and the patient was discharged after 10 days from the presentation. Thromboembolic events could be the first manifestation of COVID-19. Early recognition of these complications is crucial for prompt management.Introduction Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been widely studied in elective abdominal surgeries with promising outcomes. However, the use of these protocols in emergency abdominal surgeries has not been widely investigated. This study aimed to evaluate ERAS application outcomes via early oral feeding compared to regular postoperative care in patients undergoing perforated duodenal ulcer repairs in emergency abdominal surgeries. Materials and methods We conducted a randomized controlled trial at the Surgical Unit 1 Benazir Bhutto Hospital from August 2018 to December 2019. A total of 42 patients presenting to the emergency department with peritonitis secondary to suspected perforated duodenal ulcer were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups. Group A patients followed an ERAS protocol for early oral feeding, and Group B received regular postoperative care (i.e., delayed oral feeding). Our primary outcomes were the length of hospital stay, duodenal repair somic burden for patients. Keywords Perforated duodenal ulcer, ERAS protocol, randomized controlled trial, duodenal repair site leak, length of hospital stay, VAS score, postoperative ileus.Heyde syndrome is a triad of bleeding colonic angiodysplasia, aortic stenosis, and acquired coagulopathy. It is most commonly seen in the elderly between 60-80 years of age. We present a case of Heyde syndrome presenting with severe anemia secondary to bleeding angiodysplasia or arteriovenous malformations (AVM) in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

The preoperative medical clearance process is well established to screen for medical comorbidities and therefore must be thorough. However, screening for potential cervical spine disease is often overlooked. In older surgical candidates, the presence of cervical spondylosis can increase risk of iatrogenic cervical spine injury during prolonged neck extension in non-spinal surgeries. We present a standard protocol for cervical spine clearance and a novel sustained neck extension maneuver through a retrospective case series.

Sixty-three consecutive cases that underwent preoperative cervical clearance between April 2012 and December 2019 were reviewed. Referral for clearance occurred through the department of anesthesiology after concerning radiographic or physical exam findings were noted. A standard preoperative screening protocol with a sustained one-minute neck extension maneuver was implemented. Recommendations were made for standard neck precautions with or without neuromonitoring or for cervical spine decompression surgery prior to the planned procedure.

There were 25 patients with symptoms of myelopathy, 11 with radiculopathy and 13 with neck pain at baseline. Cervical spondylosis was observed in 51 patients, cervical canal stenosis in 29 and cervical myelomalacia in six. Fifty-seven patients underwent neck extension exam and 25 exhibited new or worsening symptoms. Myelopathic symptoms and radicular pain at baseline and positive Hoffman's and Spurling's sign, independently, were significantly associated with a positive neck extension exam (p<0.05). Fourteen patients were recommended for cervical decompression prior to planned procedure.

Our preoperative cervical spine clearance protocol is safe and may aid in identifying patients susceptible to iatrogenic cervical spine injury.

Our preoperative cervical spine clearance protocol is safe and may aid in identifying patients susceptible to iatrogenic cervical spine injury.Background Monitoring severe acute maternal morbidity or maternal near-miss is currently proposed by WHO as a valuable tool to assess the quality of obstetric care and implement new strategies for improving maternal health. Aim and objective The objective of this study was to assess and analyze the incidence of maternal near-miss (MNM) and maternal death (MD) at Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur, a tertiary care hospital in eastern India. Material and method This study was a prospective observational study conducted at Tata Main Hospital from November 2016 to October 2019. The study population included all the pregnant women who fulfilled the WHO near-miss criteria based on organ dysfunction or failure and all the maternal deaths that occurred during the study period. Results During the study period, there were 15,377 deliveries and 14,636 live births. The MNM cases were 153, and 38 were maternal deaths. The maternal near-miss ratio (MNMR) and severe maternal outcome ratio (SMOR) were 19.9 and 13.1 per 1000 live births, respectively. The maternal near-miss to mortality ratio (MNM 1 MD) was 41, and the mortality index (MI) was 19.9%. Haemorrhagic disorders were the leading cause (40.5%) of MNM, followed by hypertensive disorders (25.5%) and cardiac diseases (14.4%). Similarly, both haemorrhage (23.7%) and sepsis (23.7%) were the leading causes of death followed by hypertensive disorders (15.8%). On reviewing patients, 62% of near-miss and 92% of mortality cases had shown organ dysfunction on admission. Conclusion MNM and MD cases share similar pathology with a different outcome. Hence, monitoring a larger volume of MNM cases helps in identifying the causes of maternal adverse events and finding out the gaps in the management more effectively than auditing only the maternal deaths.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that causes muscle weakness, disability, and eventually, death. Respiratory failure is the leading cause of death in ALS. It is common in the advanced stages of the disease. However, acute respiratory failure is a presenting symptom in only a small number of patients, such as in our case. Here, we present the case of a 54-year-old woman with ALS presenting with respiratory failure due to unilateral diaphragm paralysis as the first manifestation. Although rare, respiratory muscle function failure can be the first symptom of motor neuron disease. Therefore, a motor neuron disease such as ALS, which leads to respiratory muscle weakness and diaphragm paralysis, should be considered in cases of unexplained acute respiratory failure.