Gangrenous stomatitis (cancrum oris) is a lesion involving the orofacial structures that is primarily seen in areas where the socioeconomic standards are low and there is poor hygiene. The general clinical features, associated etiologic factors, and ensuing complications in eight consecutive cases diagnosed between 1991 and 1995 are presented and ...

BACKGROUND: Air-gun pellet injuries (AgPI) of the central nervous system (CNS) are rare but catastrophic events. They occur mostly in children and young adults. The entrance is usually either through the orbit or through the neck and the entry wound is so small that it may be disregarded on physical ...

Accommodative spasm usually encompasses a classical triad of pseudomyopia, esodeviation and pupillary constriction. Accommodative spasm is most often psychogenic in nature; however, it may be associated with other organic diseases of which a rare cause is that of intracranial catheter complications. We report a case of dorsal midbrain syndrome with ...

Acute tonsillitis is a common infection of early childhood which may even run a self-limiting course without antibiotic therapy in some cases. Complications are encountered infrequently and rarely assume a life-threatening propensity. Central nervous system involvement has not to our knowledge been described in association with tonsillitis without local abscess ...

Dettol liquid is a commonly used household disinfectant and although it is labelled nonpoisonous, serious respiratory complications have been reported in up to 8% of cases of Dettol ingestion. We report a case in which the delayed onset of upper airway obstruction was treated with emergency awake, fibreoptic guided nasotracheal ...

Questionnaires were sent to all Consultant Radiologists in the UK regarding complications from barium enema examinations. The 756 respondents performed a total of 738,216 examinations over the three year period 1992 to 1994. Seventy-seven Consultants (10.2%) reported a total of 82 complications including 13 deaths: an overall mortality rate of ...

A case of psychogenic cough tic is presented to demonstrate the problems and complications that can arise from misdiagnosis of this dramatic and disabling disorder. It can be confused with TS and may be treated more aggressively than is beneficial. A single case with a recurrent course is described with ...

BACKGROUND: Complications of ambulatory phlebectomy performed in an office setting. OBJECTIVE: Complications of phlebectomy. METHODS: Review of 1000 consecutive cases performed in an office setting. CONCLUSIONS: Ambulatory Phlebectomy is a satisfying procedure for the treatment of most patients presenting with varicose veins. Its clinical as well as cosmetic results are ...

A case report of a newborn with sepsis due to nontypable H.Influenzae biotype IV is presented. There were no prematurity nor maternal obstetrical complications involved. The child however suffered from severe respiratory distress. With the aspiration of secretions, the resuscitation with mask oxygen and the empirically started combination of ampicillin ...

Measles remains one of the leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. The World Health Organization has identified effective case management as one of the specific strategies to reduce the burden of this disease. The purpose of this article is to review the aetiology, natural history, treatment ...

The history of a woman who developed diplopia after radial keratotomy is reported. Examination showed that this was the result of the appearance of accommodative esotropia. Some complications of refractive surgery reported in the literature were reviewed. It is the current policy of the U.S. military services to disquality an ...

We report a case of central venous catheter (CVC) malposition. Through subclavian approach the CVC tip was intended to anchor in the superior cava, but it turned out to be in the right internal jugular vein as revealed by chest X-ray. The cause of malposition was perhaps the preoccupancy of ...

We report the cases of two patients with spondylodiskitis due to Candida albicans who were successfully treated with fluconazole. On the basis of findings from these cases and a review of 52 mycologically proven cases in the literature, we describe the main characteristics of candidal spondylodiskitis. In 60% of the ...

Colonoscopic polypectomy has revolutionized the treatment of benign colonic neoplasia. It is performed widely by gastroenterologists and surgeons and is a safe procedure. The two major complications of colonoscopic polypectomy include hemorrhage which has a reported incidence of 0.2% to 3% and perforation which has a reported incidence of 0.5% ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the outcome of admitted malaria cases according to age, late presentation, and antimalarial drug treatments received. DESIGN: We reviewed all March 1994 hospital and laboratory records of patients with a clinical diagnosis of malaria. SETTING: Manicaland Provincial Hospital. SUBJECTS: 319 clinical malaria cases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cases ...

We report a case of B-cell chronic lymphatic leukaemia (B-CLL) complicated by constrictive pericarditis. The pericardial involvement was confirmed histologically to be leukaemic in nature. We draw attention to this complication which is amenable to surgical correction. To our knowledge this has been described only once before as an autopsy ...

We report two cases in which concurrent abdominal aortic aneurysm and colon carcinoma were treated in the same surgical procedure. In the first case both lesions were detected preoperatively but were uncomplicated. Single-stage treatment was undertaken electively. In the second case the colonic lesion was found during treatment of the ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this review is to draw together a collection of uncommon complications of central neural block that affect the cranial nerves. There have been a small number of case reports, some of which have included a possible mechanism of the nerve dysfunction, but there is ...

A case of spontaneous thrombosis and infarction leading to death as complications of a cerebral venous malformation in a 13-year-old boy is reported. This is the first published report of this type of complication occurring in a case of venous angioma. While the biologic behavior of cerebral venous malformations has ...

A 71-year-old woman presented with altered level of consciousness following episodes of diarrhea and abdominal pain. Shigella sonnei was later cultured from her stool. Although neurological complications, primarily seizures, have been reported sequelae in children afflicted shigellosis, there are only rare cases of encephalopathy in affected adults. A brief discussion ...

Heterotopic ossification is a well-recognized condition frequently encountered by the orthopedic surgeon. Although typically asymptomatic, heterotopic ossification can be a complication of extreme severity. This article is a review of literature and attempts to clarify the definition, and delineates the etiology, incidence, risk factors, and current modes of prophylaxis and ...

We reviewed 40 cases of arterial complications after total knee replacement from the literature and report 4 of our own cases. The incidence is low (0.03%-0.2%), but the prognosis is poor, with death or amputation in one fourth of the cases. Preexisting arterial insufficiency, absent pedal pulses, arterial calcification on ...

Persistent gestational trophoblastic disease (PGTD) is a significant complication of complete hydatidiform mole. There are, however, no reliable clinical or pathological parameters to predict the development of PGTD following the evacuation of a complete mole. In this study we examined the value of Ki67 expression in the prediction of PGTD ...

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS1) complicated by glomerulonephritis is rare and is usually associated with the presence of cryoglobulins. Cryoglobulinaemic glomerulonephritis as described in type II essential mixed cryoglobulinaemia, characterized by the presence of deposits of cryoglobgulins within the glomerular capillary lumen, occurring in SS1 has previously been reported only once ...

Since the late 1980s there have been a number of reports about the complications associated with using the designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or 'ecstasy'. Although this drug has been widely abused in the past, the potentially fatal complications have arisen recently mainly due to the circumstances of its use at ...

A 48-year-old man presented to the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia in severe congestive heart failure. Echocardiographic studies revealed significant aortic valve insufficiency. Two anaerobic blood cultures performed two weeks apart were both positive for Actinomyces meyeri. The patient was treated with high dose intravenous penicillin. Three weeks after ...

Varicella gangrenosum, in which a necrotising soft tissue infection complicates the vesicular eruption of chickenpox, is rare. The condition may have devastating sequelae including disseminated intravascular coagulation and death. Survival is dependent on early diagnosis, adequate antibiotic coverage and, particularly, early surgical debridement. Three cases of varying severity are presented ...

Gas embolism is a rare life-threatening complication of obstetric or gynecologic procedures, arising as a result of gas bubbles being introduced into the circulation via severed blood vessels. Extensive brain damage and acute cardiovascular collapse will lead to a fatal outcome. A favourable outcome depends on early diagnosis and prompt ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether amnioinfusion is associated with labor and delivery complications, and whether complication type and reported incidence are related to infusion method. METHODS: Questionnaires regarding amnioinfusion experience were sent to every academic obstetrics and gynecology department in the United States (78 maternal-fetal medicine fellowship directors or, if the ...

Epidural lipomatosis (EL) is characterized by abnormal accumulation of unencapsulated fat in the epidural space, and usually occurs as a complication of longterm steroid therapy. This condition, which may result in devastating neurologic complications, has also been reported without exogenous steroid intake. We describe a case of nonsteroid induced symptomatic ...

Proliferative retinopathy is a recognized long-term complication of diabetes and the commonest cause of blindness in young people. There is, however, some uncertainty regarding counselling given on the continuation of pregnancy when it is complicated by retinopathy. This case is used to highlight this difficulty and to discuss management based ...

Posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a well-described complication of the systemic immunosuppression required for successful organ transplantation. Lesions of PTLD often occur in the region of the head and neck and require otolaryngologic evaluations. Although the majority of reported cases of PTLD are associated with cyclosporine immunosuppression, recently, PTLD has ...

Seventy-four reports of emphysematous complications in ambulatory dental patients, published in the English literature between the years 1960 and 1993, are reviewed, and an additional case of subcutaneous, retropharyngeal, and mediastinal emphysema following an impression-taking procedure for a crown preparation is presented. This rare complication occurred mainly in patients in ...

Complications of varus derotation osteotomies in the treatment of congenital hip displacement (CHD) are reported. Only "true" complications were considered, that is, those related to errors in technique, while those related to errors in indications were excluded. An analysis of 150 cases with a mean follow-up of 4.2 years revealed ...

A prong-type caval filter fractured and disintegrated within 4 months after its implantation in a 21-year-old woman. The fragments and the disrupted filter were removed surgically and the vena cava was plicated. Seven similar cases were found in the literature. Possible etiologic factors and measures to avoid this complication are ...

Postoperative intracerebral hemorrhage is a rare but devastating complication of carotid endarterectomy. Intracerebral hemorrhage on the side contralateral to the carotid endarterectomy has been reported only twice before in the literature. We present a case of fatal postoperative right intracerebral hemorrhage after left carotid endarterectomy in an 81-year-old patient. A ...

We report a case involving a young adult who had life-threatening bilateral pneumonitis in the course of an acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Because of severe hypoxemia, the patient required mechanical ventilation and additional oxygenation by an intravascular oxygenator. The patient was treated with corticosteroids and survived without sequelae. Severe ...

Barium ingestion is a routine practice in the radiologic examination of the alimentary tract. Barium intravasation is a rare complication, often resulting in the rapid onset of hypotension and death. The literature on this type of complication is sparse. In the majority of reported cases, the event involved high pressure ...

Tonsillar haemorrhage is a rare complication of infectious mononucleosis. We present a case of life-threatening tonsillar haemorrhage secondary to infectious mononucleosis in a young man whose predominant symptoms at presentation were haematemesis and melaena. The origin of the haemorrhage was not obvious until the patient was examined under anaesthesia. The ...

Haemorrhage from oesophageal varices is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of portal hypertension, which is usually due to cirrhosis of the liver. Although liver metastases and hepatic dysfunction frequently occur in malignant disease, reports of oesophageal varices arising as a consequence of metastatic liver disease are sporadic, suggesting that ...

BACKGROUND: The intrathoracic complications of the ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt are very rare. We report an unusual case of VP shunt complication with intrathoracic migration, associated with pleural effusion in a 55-year-old man. METHODS: We reviewed the seven cases reported in the literature and the mechanism of shunt-tip migration and preventive ...

BACKGROUND: Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by extracellular deposition of fibrillar protein. Secondary amyloidosis occurs in patients with chronic infectious or inflammatory processes. Only 18 cases of secondary amyloidosis complicating psoriasis have been reported. OBJECTIVE: We characterized secondary amyloidosis complicating psoriasis. METHODS: We reviewed all cases of ...

A case is presented in which a patient developed a complication related to the use of Silastic dural substitute. Ten years after the initial surgery, a fibrotic-haemorrhagic reaction around the graft material was found, mimicking a recurrent meningioma clinically and radiologically. A review of the literature and suggested mechanisms of ...

We report on our experience with 226 percutaneous needle trephinations in a total of 192 consecutive patients. Trephination was performed with a hand-driven drill. A special puncture needle was inserted into the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. The main indication for this procedure was the treatment of occlusive hydrocephalus ...

The proximal migration of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt into the ventricles is very rare. Only 5 cases have been previously reported [4, 8, 10, 11]. We believe that this unusual phenomenon has not been well-studied in the literature. We report a case of a 16-month-old baby girl who suffered a shunt ...

Intraabdominal abscess formation is a well-recognized complication of perforated appendicitis. Extraabdominal complications, however, are rare. The authors present the case of an 8-year-old boy who had an acute painful right-sided scrotal mass 2 days after an operation for perforated appendicitis. During exploration, an abscess within a previously undiagnosed patent processus ...

In this case report, we describe two patients with Candida shunt infection and review 22 cases from the previous literature. All of them had ventriculoperitoneal shunts, except one who had an external ventricular drain. The more outstanding predisposing factors were recent bacterial meningitis and/or neurosurgery (different from the shunt placement) ...

The authors report a case of tension intraventricular pneumocephalus developed six months after the removal of an acoustic neuroma and a CSF ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedure due to a concomitant hydrocephalus. A review of the literature show only 19 cases of CSF shunt complicating pneumocephalus. The authors discuss both about the ...

Perforation or penetration of the globe is a risk of retrobulbar injection of anesthetic. Visual outcome following this complication depends on the severity of injury to the retina and on the physician's ability to promptly recognize and treat it. Four cases are presented to illustrate factors that contribute to proper ...

A complication of infection and pus formation in the septum pellucidum et vergae is described in a young black man. The case report describes the presentation, investigations, management and outcome in this patient. This complication has not, it seems, been previously described in commonly read English-language journals. A literature review ...