Major complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) include pancreatitis, hemorrhage, cholangitis, and duodenal perforation. The occurrence of free air in the peritoneal cavity post- ERCP is a...Major complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) include pancreatitis, hemorrhage, cholangitis, and duodenal perforation. The occurrence of free air in the peritoneal cavity post- ERCP is a rare event (< 1%), which is usually the result of duodenal or ductal perforation related to therapeutic ERCP with sphincterotomy. We describe for the first time a different aetiology of pneumoperitoneum, in an 84-year-old woman with pancreatic cancer and a large hepatic metastasis, after ERCP with common bile duct stent deployment. Our patient developed, pneumoperitoneum due to air leakage from rupture of intrahepatic bile ducts and Glisson’s capsule in the area of a peripheral large hepatic metastasis. The potential mechanism underlying this complication might be post- ERCP pneumobilia and increased pressure of intrahepatic bile ducts leading to rupture of intrahepatic bile ducts in the liver metastatic mass owing to neoplastic tissue friability. This case indicates the need for close clinical and radiological observation of patients with hepatic masses (primary or metastatic) subjected to ERCP. In such patients, avoidance of excessive air insufflation during ERCP and/or placement of a nasogastric tube for bowel decompression immediately after ERCP might be a reasonable strategy to prevent such unusual complications.展开更多
AIM: To detect the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies in adult multitransfused beta-thalassemic patients. METHODS: We studied 182 adult beta-thalassemic patients and 209 controls matched for age and sex from the sa...AIM: To detect the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies in adult multitransfused beta-thalassemic patients. METHODS: We studied 182 adult beta-thalassemic patients and 209 controls matched for age and sex from the same geographic area, at the same time. Anti-HAV IgG antibodies, viral markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were evaluated. RESULTS: Anti-HAV IgG antibodies were detected more frequently in thalassemic patients (133/182; 73.1%) than in healthy controls (38/209; 18.2%, P < 0.0005). When we retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies in 176/182 (96.7%) thalassemic patients, whose medical history was available for the previous ten years, it was found that 83 (47.2%) of them were continuously anti-HAV IgG positive, 16 (9.1%) acquired anti-HAV IgG antibody during the previous ten years, 49 (27.8%) presented anti-HAV positivity intermittently and 28 (15.9%) were anti-HAV negative continuously. CONCLUSION: Multitransfused adult beta-thalassemic patients present higher frequency of anti-HAV IgG antibodies than normal population of the same geographic area. This difference is difficult to explain, but it can be attributed to the higher vulnerability of thalassemics to HAV infection and to passive transfer of anti-HAV antibodies by blood transfusions.展开更多
文摘Major complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) include pancreatitis, hemorrhage, cholangitis, and duodenal perforation. The occurrence of free air in the peritoneal cavity post- ERCP is a rare event (< 1%), which is usually the result of duodenal or ductal perforation related to therapeutic ERCP with sphincterotomy. We describe for the first time a different aetiology of pneumoperitoneum, in an 84-year-old woman with pancreatic cancer and a large hepatic metastasis, after ERCP with common bile duct stent deployment. Our patient developed, pneumoperitoneum due to air leakage from rupture of intrahepatic bile ducts and Glisson’s capsule in the area of a peripheral large hepatic metastasis. The potential mechanism underlying this complication might be post- ERCP pneumobilia and increased pressure of intrahepatic bile ducts leading to rupture of intrahepatic bile ducts in the liver metastatic mass owing to neoplastic tissue friability. This case indicates the need for close clinical and radiological observation of patients with hepatic masses (primary or metastatic) subjected to ERCP. In such patients, avoidance of excessive air insufflation during ERCP and/or placement of a nasogastric tube for bowel decompression immediately after ERCP might be a reasonable strategy to prevent such unusual complications.
文摘AIM: To detect the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies in adult multitransfused beta-thalassemic patients. METHODS: We studied 182 adult beta-thalassemic patients and 209 controls matched for age and sex from the same geographic area, at the same time. Anti-HAV IgG antibodies, viral markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were evaluated. RESULTS: Anti-HAV IgG antibodies were detected more frequently in thalassemic patients (133/182; 73.1%) than in healthy controls (38/209; 18.2%, P < 0.0005). When we retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies in 176/182 (96.7%) thalassemic patients, whose medical history was available for the previous ten years, it was found that 83 (47.2%) of them were continuously anti-HAV IgG positive, 16 (9.1%) acquired anti-HAV IgG antibody during the previous ten years, 49 (27.8%) presented anti-HAV positivity intermittently and 28 (15.9%) were anti-HAV negative continuously. CONCLUSION: Multitransfused adult beta-thalassemic patients present higher frequency of anti-HAV IgG antibodies than normal population of the same geographic area. This difference is difficult to explain, but it can be attributed to the higher vulnerability of thalassemics to HAV infection and to passive transfer of anti-HAV antibodies by blood transfusions.
