Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jacques Serratrice.
We describe a 47-year-old man who successively presented atheromatous coronary artery disease, cholesterol embolism after angioplasty, periaortitis with presence of c-ANCA, and finally typical pulmonary lesions caused by Wegener's granulomatosis. This case illustrates the link between atheromatous and inflammatory process and emphasizes that periaortitis may be a feature of Wegener's granulomatosis.
Ergot alkaloids, such as ergotamine, have been associated with numerous vascular complications and with valvular heart disease. The authors describe a man who developed fibrosis of three heart valves during a 5-year treatment with bromocriptine for Parkinson disease. There were no other plausible causes. To our knowledge, such a side effect has never been described with this drug.
Hypoplasia of the inferior vena cava can be revealed by a deep venous thrombosis of the lower limbs. Associated precipitating factors or clotting defects leading to thrombosis are frequently observed. A case of bilateral iliac veins thrombosis occurring after a motor vehicle accident with seat belt injury is reported, revealing hypoplasia of the inferior vena cava. This young man was totally asymptomatic up to the crash, and did not have coagulation abnormalities. The patient had a very good outcome after anticoagulant treatment with complete regression of venous thromboses. Hypoplasia of the inferior vena cava was a predisposing anatomic abnormality that led to thrombosis, but seat belt trauma was probably the precipitating factor. This observation should be kept in mind in the evaluation of a deep venous lower limb thrombosis.