Toxic shock syndrome: a problem in the surgical patient.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C W Cruse.
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Two patients are described in whom a progressive systemic sclerosis-like illness developed several years after silicone augmentation mammoplasty. Both had removal of breast implants, followed by marked-to-complete recovery from clinical abnormalities. This entity is increasingly recognized and has become known as human adjuvant disease.
We reviewed 117 consecutive patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. The retrospective review includes age, race, location, risk factors, TNM classification, histologic differentiation, treatment methods, recurrent disease, site of recurrence, and follow-up status. Results reveal prognosis is related to original tumor size, location, local recurrence, histologic grade, and presence of cervical metastasis. The presence of cervical lymph node disease reduces the survival from 90 to 50 percent; the survival after recurrent disease to the neck is 10 percent. When a prophylactic suprahyoid neck dissection shows involvement with tumor, 83 percent of patients have metastasis to cervical lymph nodes. The overall recurrence rate is 20 percent. Over 60 percent of the recurrent disease is due to tumors less than 4 cm in diameter. The local recurrence rate is 7 percent, but reexcision of the local recurrence gives a 75 percent cure rate. Aggressive surgical treatment is recommended for identifiably poor prognostic lesions and includes surgical excision, prophylactic suprahyoid neck dissection, and possible radical neck dissection.
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Chemical burns and pulmonary complications are the most common problems encountered in the patient immersed in gasoline. Our patient demonstrated a 46-percent total-body-surface area, partial-thickness chemical burn. Although he did not develop bronchitis or pneumonitis, he did display persistent atelectasis, laryngeal edema, and subsequent upper airway obstruction. This had not previously been reported in gasoline inhalation injuries. Hydrocarbon hepatitis secondary to the vascular endothelial damage is apparently a reversible lesion with no reported long-term sequelae. Gasoline immersion injuries may be a series multisystem injury and require the burn surgeon to take a multisystem approach to its diagnosis and treatment.
This report reviews the experience with naso-ethmoid-orbital fractures at a major medical center. Thirty-three patients were treated between 1 October 1976 and 1 January 1979, who met our definition of naso-ethmoid-orbital fractures. The majority sustained trauma in a motor vehicle accident and 60% of the patients had associated nonfacial injuries. All patients had other facial injuries and fractures; orbital rim or floor, 94%; complex maxillary (LeForte II-III), 72%; and mandible fractures, 25%. Slightly over one half of the group of naso-ethmoid fractures were open; the remainder were closed injuries. Traumatic telecanthus was noted in 70% of the patients on initial examination. Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea was evident in 40%, and frontal sinus fractures were detected in 25% of the group. Severe ocular injury with initial or subsequent loss of sight occurred in an alarming 30% of the patients. In addition, nasolacrimal duct system lacerations occurred in 20%. One patient developed a large carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula 1 month postinjury. The severity of these injuries and the potential for deformity and dysfunction have not been properly emphasized in the past. Our experience has defined several diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. For example, vastly improved results were obtained with an open reduction and internal fixation procedure. A multidisciplinary approach by a neurosurgeon, ophthalmologist, and plastic surgeon is mandatory.
A case of mediastinal parathyroid cyst is presented, including a review of the world literature and a discussion of the etiology, diagnosis, and management.
Hyperplasia of Brunner's glands is a rare phenomenon. It may cause obstructive symptoms, anemia or the patient may be totally asymptomatic. The diagnosis can be confirmed with endoscopic examination and upper gastrointestinal series. The surgical treatment or hyperplasia of the Brunner's glands should be conservative since the lesion is not premalignant. If complications do occur, local excision is the treatment of choice. Two patients are reported who had Brunner gland hyperplasia as an incidental finding at exploration for pancreatic pseudocyst, and a brief review of the literature is made.
BACKGROUND: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cutaneous tumor with a propensity for local recurrence, regional and distant metastases. There are no well-defined prognostic factors that predict behavior of this tumor, nor are treatment guidelines well established. METHODS: Staging of patients with a new diagnosis of MCC was attempted using selective lymphadenectomy concurrent with primary excision. Preoperative and intraoperative mapping, excision, and thorough histologic evaluation of the first lymph node draining the tumor primary site [sentinel node] was performed. Patients with tumor metastasis in the sentinel node underwent complete resection of the remainder of the lymph node basin. RESULTS: Twelve patients underwent removal of 22 sentinel nodes. Two patients demonstrated metastatic disease in their sentinel lymph nodes, and complete dissection of the involved nodal basin revealed additional positive nodes. The node-negative patients received no further surgical therapy, with no evidence of recurrent local or regional disease at a maximum of 26 months follow-up (median 10.5 months). CONCLUSIONS: While the data are preliminary and initial follow-up is limited, early results suggest that sentinel lymph node mapping and excision may be a useful adjunct in the treatment of MCC. This technique may identify a population of patients who would benefit from further surgical lymph node excision.
BACKGROUND: If cutaneous lymphoscintigraphy (CL) is accurate in predicting the draining lymph node basins at risk from primary axial melanomas, then regional metastases should only occur in those lymph node basins identified by CL. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of patients undergoing CL for primary axial melanomas from June 1, 1985, until June 31, 1992. Data retrieved included age, gender, number of basins identified, location of basins identified, management of basins, recurrence in lymphatics, development of distant disease, and long-term follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 181 patients underwent elective LND, and 48 patients (27%) had melanoma in the nodes within the dissected basin. Of these 181 patients, seven developed nodal metastases as their site of first recurrence. All seven recurrences were seen at sites dissected or at sites indicated by CL, which the primary surgeon elected not to treat initially. Of the 116 patients observed, 16 (14%) developed lymph node metastases as their first site of recurrence. Fifteen of these 16 patients had their site of lymph node metastases predicted by CL. In this study, CL predicted 98.6% of all lymph node metastases. CONCLUSIONS: The high overall reliability of CL as demonstrated by long-term follow-up indicates that the information obtained by CL can be reliably used to guide intervention. Initial evaluation of patients with high-risk cutaneous melanomas at sites with ambiguous lymphatic drainage must include CL in order to determine the draining lymph node basins and to plan therapy.
In this 10-year retrospective survey of 2216 admissions to a regional burn center, 15 patients (0.67%) had self-inflicted burn wounds. The burns were serious, with a mean abbreviated burn severity index of 11.2, and eight patients died of their injuries. Nine patients had a documented history of psychiatric problems, seven of whom had undergone a previous psychiatric hospitalization. A psychiatric assessment was obtained for 12 patients immediately after self-immolation, and all but one had a major psychiatric disorder. Seven patients had major depression and four had chronic paranoid schizophrenia. Motives were assessed, both by chart review and by interview of five available survivors and of relatives of nonsurvivors. Fewer than half actually intended to kill themselves; equally important was the theme of attempting to control internal psychotic states.
Burn wound debridements requiring blunt or sharp manipulations are extremely painful even when large nonanesthetic doses of morphine are used. In this study we describe the use of debridement while the patient is under anesthesia (DUA) when manipulation of the wound is required. Seventy-one debridements were performed on 46 patients. One patient required additional fluids during the DUA, but no deaths, extensive blood losses, or significant changes in nutrition attributable to the DUA occurred. The mean number of required DUAs was 1.6 per patient compared with 6.0 per patient reported in a previous study from the same burn center that involved standard parenteral analgesic doses of morphine sulfate. Patients were completely anesthetized during the procedure. Therefore, they were free of pain and were amnestic for the experience. We conclude that DUA is a safe, efficacious procedure that permits full relief from the pain usually experienced during a manipulative burn wound debridement.
The W.O.R.K. Center at Tampa General Hospital is a facility accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for work hardening and specializes in assisting injured workers in returning to work. The most successful diagnostic group has been the burn injury population referred from the Tampa Bay Regional Burn Center. Eleven patients with burn injuries with an average total body surface area of 20.7% were referred to the W.O.R.K. Center for evaluation and admission to The Work Hardening Program. Ninety-one percent returned to work after discharge from the program compared with a 60% return-to-work rate for the total work hardening population at this facility. The success of the program may be attributed to an early referral process and the emphasis on rehabilitation in treating the patient with burn injuries. Work hardening provides a structured, goal-oriented approach in preparing the patient with burn injuries to reenter the work force.
Among 39 patients with burns evaluated a mean of 12 months after hospital discharge, 38% met DSM-III-R criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for at least 1 month. With proposed DSM-IV criteria, 43% met criteria for past or current PTSD. Analysis of specific symptom clusters of PTSD revealed that 74% of patients had been affected by a reexperience symptom for at least 1 month, but only 30% were currently experiencing flashbacks. No correlation was found between several clinical correlates (TBSA, length of hospitalization, and age) and development of PTSD. There was no correlation between presence of a DSM-III-R psychiatric diagnosis at the time of hospitalization and later development of PTSD and no correlation between whether or not a psychiatric diagnosis emerged during hospitalization and later development of PTSD. Finally, patients who had injuries that they could not prevent were no more likely to experience PTSD.
A burn injury so severe that inpatient treatment is necessary is a crisis in any patient's life. For patients who also suffer from an alcohol use disorder, hospitalization may offer a unique opportunity to facilitate entry into appropriate treatment. In this study, 442 hospitalized patients with burns were evaluated, and 50 (11%) were diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder by DSM-III-R criteria. All but one of the injuries were deemed preventable. The average length of stay in hospital was 9 days longer for the alcohol group compared with the average stay in the burn center, resulting in additional costs of $337,500. Referral for treatment of the underlying alcohol disorder was recommended for fewer than half the patients. Thus, although the patients with alcohol use disorders had lengthy hospitalizations and were in circumstances that might permit the characteristic denial of alcoholism to be relinquished, the treatment team usually did not capitalize on this opportunity.
To clarify the significance of the role of the immune system in the formation of proliferative burn scars, this study attempted to identify differential production of cytokines between patients with burn injuries with and without hypertrophic scars. Mononuclear cell fractions were isolated from the peripheral blood (PBMC) of each patient and incubated with and without antigenic or mitogenic stimulation. The resultant supernatants were then assayed by ELISA techniques for production of various cytokines. The production of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta2 by unstimulated PBMC was elevated significantly in patients with proliferative scar compared to control patients. Production of TGF-beta2 by stimulated PBMC also was elevated significantly in patients with proliferative scar. This study suggests that an increase in the production of TGF-beta and of proinflammatory cytokines by mononuclear cells may play a significant role in the processes that lead to excessive scar formation after burn injury.
Current problems in the assessment of scars are discussed. The concept of subjective and objective aspects of scar assessment is introduced. The patient's own view of the scar (the subjective component) can currently be assessed and may be very influential in determining the patient's quality of life, irrespective of the actual physical characteristics of the scar. The objective aspects of the scar, including size, shape, texture, and pliability, are currently difficult to measure. Although the Vancouver Scar Scale has been used as the standard for objective measurements, there are problems with both the validity and reliability of this instrument. Various imaging techniques may permit more reliable and accurate methods for measuring the quantitative aspects of scars.