Successful management of severe cerebral infarctions in a child with macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae: A case report

The role of methylprednisolone pulse therapy as adjuvant treatment of Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis complicated by cerebral infarction has rarely been reported. We reported a case report and also performed a systematic literature review. A 1-year 2-month-old boy who presented with high fever, status epilepticus, and septic shock was diagnosed with cerebral infarction caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He was treated with methylprednisolone pulse therapy and his clinical condition gradually improved thereafter. At the follow-up visit 1 year after discharge, he was able to sit without support, but he had moderate delays in speech and developmental milestones and epilepsy sequelae. In severe cases, the use of high-dose methylprednisolone should be considered to modulate the inflammatory response in patients with severe cerebral infarction caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.

A previously healthy 31-year-old man presented with an extremely rare case of small meningioma associated with cerebral infarction preceded by recurrent transient ischemic attacks manifesting as a 3-day history of recurrent and transient weakness of the left lower limb lasting several minutes for each episode. The symptoms became persistent and complete on the following day. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed acute cerebral infarction in the right frontal lobe and a 20 mm diameter tumor in the planum sphenoidale encasing the right anterior cerebral artery. Cerebral angiography demonstrated occlusion of the right A(2) portion. The patient underwent surgery and the tumor was gross totally removed. The histological diagnosis was meningothelial meningioma. Cases of meningioma causing cerebral infarction are very rare, but the possibility should be considered even if the tumor is small.

BackgroundThiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia (TRMA) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disease characterized by the clinical triad of megaloblastic anemia, sensorineural deafness, and diabetes mellitus. To date, only 100 cases of TRMA have been reported in the world.Case presentationHere, we describe a six-year-old boy with diabetes mellitus, anemia, and deafness. Additionally, he presented with thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, horizontal nystagmus, hepatomegaly, short stature, ventricular premature beat (VPB), and cerebral infarction. DNA sequencing revealed a novel compound heterozygous mutation in the SLC19A2 gene: (1) a duplication c.405dupA, p.Ala136Serfs*3 (heterozygous) and (2) a nucleotide deletion c.903delG p.Trp301Cysfs*13 (heterozygous). The patient was diagnosed with a typical TRMA.ConclusionNovel mutations in the SLC19A2 gene have been identified, expanding the mutation spectrum of the SLC19A2 gene. For the first time, VPB and cerebral infarction have been identified in patients with TRMA syndrome, providing a new understanding of the phenotype.

A 48-year-old man presented with a rare dissection of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) causing simultaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and cerebral infarction manifesting as sudden onset of headache and left hemiparesis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed SAH localized in the interhemispheric fissure and cerebral infarction in the territory of the right ACA. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) demonstrated segmental narrowing and dilatation at the right A(1) and A(2) portions of the ACA, leading to a diagnosis of ACA dissection. Fourteen days after the onset, DSA confirmed the enlarged fusiform dilatation of the right A(2) portion with distal narrowing, suggesting the risk of rerupture of the dissection. Endovascular obliteration of the aneurysm with parent artery occlusion was performed without anastomosis on day 16. The aneurysm was catheterized and obliterated with detachable coils. Postoperative DSA revealed complete obliteration of the dissection and parent artery. The patient was doing well without recurrence of the dissection 8 months after the intervention. The simultaneous occurrence of SAH and cerebral infarction in patients with ACA dissection is extremely rare, and the optimal treatment has not yet been established. Endovascular treatment is safe and effective for the treatment of ACA dissection.

Perioperative cerebral infarction is uncommon and its mechanism is often uncertain. This is a report of an unusual case of acute cerebral infarction following general anesthesia. The patient was a 83-year-old female admitted for total hip replacement arthroplasty (THRA). There were no previous cerebro- and cardio-vascular symptoms and history. During introduced general anesthesia with sevoflurane, there was a persistent low systolic BP of 80-100 mmHg (preoperative BP was 140/85 mmHg). On emerging from anesthesia, confusion and dense right hemiparesis were observed. Emergency CT brain scan showed early cerebral infarction in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory. Even though prompt supportive neurosurgical intensive care was initiated, the patient died at postoperative 4 days.

Case presentation: A 60-year-old woman presented to the emergency department 2 hours after the onset of severe retrosternal chest pain that started soon after she was told that her son had died in a car accident. A 12-lead ECG demonstrated ST-elevation in the precordial leads (Figure 1), and the plasma troponin T level was elevated at 0.07 ng/mL. A diagnosis of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction was made, and the patient was admitted for emergency coronary angiography, which revealed normal coronary arteries. The left ventriculogram showed severe systolic dysfunction involving the mid and apical segments (Data Supplement Movie I). Figure 1. Twelve-lead ECG demonstrating ST-segment elevation in precordial leads. Physicians have long been aware of the possible association between stress and cardiovascular events. Awareness has increased of a distinct cardiac syndrome that was originally described in the Japanese population and was called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, named after the octopus-trapping pot with a round bottom and narrow neck that resembles the left ventriculogram during systole in these patients.1,2 Other names used to describe the condition include apical ballooning syndrome (ABS), broken heart syndrome, and stress or ampulla cardiomyopathy. The precise incidence of ABS is unknown, but it may account for 1% to 2% of patients who present with an acute myocardial infarction.3 The majority of patients have a clinical presentation that is indistinguishable from an acute coronary syndrome. Most present with chest pain at rest, although some patients have dyspnea alone as their initial presenting symptom. Rarely, patients present with syncope or an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.4 ABS appears to occur almost exclusively in postmenopausal women; however, a few cases have been reported in younger women and males.4 The patients are usually hemodynamically stable, but clinical findings of mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure …

BackgroundEpidermal nevus syndrome is a group of congenital neuroectodermal and/or mesodermal disorders characterized by the epidermal nevi in common association with cerebral, eye, skeletal, cardiovascular, and renal abnormalities. Epidermal nevus syndrome is a rare syndrome, and epidermal nevus syndrome with the mutation of PTCH1 gene and cerebral infarction is even rarer and has not been reported to the best of our knowledge.Case presentationWe report the case of a 10-month-old Chinese female patient who presented to our pediatric neurologic department, University of Wenzhou medical teaching Hospital, Hangzhou. She has mobility disorders on the right limbs and recurrent seizures. She had congenital disorder accompanied by brownish-black and verrucose plaques on the right side of the face as well as extensive brownish-black plaques and brown nevi on the right side of the trunk and the right arm. Epidermal nevus syndrome was diagnosed on the basis of her symptoms. Somatic sebaceous nevi and hypoplastic defects of skin, cerebra, eyes, skeleton, and cardiovascular and renal system were observed. However, in addition to the typical clinical characteristics, the patient also has a mutation (c.109G > T) in PTCH1 gene and cerebral infarction. We present a novel case report and literature review.ConclusionTo our knowledge, epidermal nevus syndrome with a mutation of PTCH1 gene and cerebral infarction has not been reported previously. This case report may contribute to characterizing the phenotype of epidermal nevus syndrome, help clinicians be aware of the association of this condition with PTCH1 gene and cerebral infarction, raise clinical suspicion, and improve early therapy.

Stroke is the most prevalent disease involving the central nervous system. Since medical modalities are sometimes ineffective for the acute edema following massive infarction, surgical decompression may be an effective option when medical treatments fail. The present study was undertaken to assess the outcome and prognostic factors of decompressive surgery in life threatening acute, severe, brain infarction. We retrospectively analyzed twenty-six patients (17 males and 9 females; average age, 49.7yrs) who underwent decompressive surgery for severe cerebral or cerebellar infarction from January 2003 to December 2006. Surgical indication was based on the clinical signs such as neurological deterioration, pupillary reflex, and radiological findings. Clinical outcome was assessed by Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Of the 26 patients, 5 (19.2%) showed good recovery, 5 (19.2%) showed moderate disability, 2 (7.7%) severe disability, 6 (23.1%) persistent experienced vegetative state, and 8 (30.8%) death. In this study, the surgical decompression improved outcome for cerebellar infarction, but decompressive surgery did not show a good result for MCA infarction (30.8% overall mortality vs 100% mortality). The dominant-hemisphere infarcts showed worse prognosis, compared with nondominant-hemisphere infarcts (54.5% vs 70%). Poor prognostic factors were diabetes mellitus, dominant-hemisphere infarcts and low preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. The patients who exhibit clinical deterioration despite aggressive medical management following severe cerebral infarction should be considered for decompressive surgery. For better outcome, prompt surgical treatment is mandatory. We recommend that patients with severe cerebral infarction should be referred to neurosurgical department primarily in emergency setting or as early as possible for such prompt surgical treatment.

A pulmonary embolism and cerebral infarction are the second and third most common acute cardiovascular diseases after a myocardial infarction. Early diagnosis and appropriate management are important clinical challenges. In this case, a fatal pulmonary embolism and extensive cerebral infarction caused cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia for total hip replacement surgery. Transesophageal echocardiography indicated a pulmonary embolism and brain CT showed large area of acute infarction at right middle cerebral artery territory. Pulmonary CT angiogram revealed massive pulmonary embolism findings. This paper reviews this case and suggests other preventive modalities.

A 58-year-old woman with refractory hypertension presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Digital subtraction angiography and three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) angiography revealed a ruptured left vertebral artery (VA) aneurysm and an unruptured left middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm. The patient successfully underwent neck clipping of the left VA aneurysm. However, CT obtained just after the operation showed an asymptomatic cerebral infarction along the distribution of medial striate arteries of the right anterior cerebral artery in the caudate nucleus. The pathogenesis of the infarction was unknown. Before clipping surgery of the left MCA aneurysm, detailed examinations to find the cause of her refractory hypertension were performed. Laboratory tests revealed plasma serum level of norepinephrine at 15,521 pg/ml (normal range 100-450 pg/ml). Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging revealed a pheochromocytoma in the right adrenal gland. After preoperative management of the pheochromocytoma, the neck of the left MCA aneurysm was successfully clipped. When the patient awakened from anesthesia, she noticed right hemiparesis and motor aphasia. CT showed cerebral infarction along the distribution of lenticulostriate arteries of the left MCA in the putamen. Her symptoms gradually improved, and the pheochromocytoma was removed by laparoscopic surgery. Sustained severe hypertension and depletion of blood volume resulting from excess catecholamine release from the pheochromocytoma may have caused the complications. Hypervolemic fluid infusion and maintenance of normotensive blood pressure during surgery may avoid such ischemic events.

A venous air embolism and paradoxical air embolism (PAE) are serious complications in patients undergoing a hepatectomy. We report a case of PAE and cerebral infarctions in a patient undergoing a hepatic resection using a Cavitron Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator (CUSA®). A 65-year-old woman underwent a left lobe hepatectomy. During the middle phase of the liver resection with CUSA®, there was a sudden decrease in arterial blood pressure, end-tidal carbon dioxide and SpO2. With resuscitation, intraoperative ultrasonography revealed massive air emboli in both her left and right heart, which lasted for 40 min. The hepatectomy was completed after the disappearance of the air emboli from her heart. After surgery, her mental status was stuporous. The brain CT and MRI revealed multiple acute cerebral infarctions. Finally, she died from septic shock. This case highlights the need for anesthetists and surgeons to be aware of the potential for CUSA®-related massive PAE.

A RARE CAUSE OF PARAPLEGIA: DISTRIBUTIVE SHOCK CAUSING BORDER ZONE STROKES

A healthy 28-year-old man with no history of cardiac disease and no cardiac risk factors presented to the hospital 2 hours after being bitten on his right hand by his pet snake. He was in anaphylactic shock and was rapidly resuscitated with fluids, inotropic support, intramuscular antitetanus serum, and intravenous infusion of Viper-FAB, an antidote. His vital signs normalized and he was admitted to intensive care for further observation. One hour after admission, the patient’s systolic blood pressure dropped to 40 mm Hg. Intravenous noradrenaline was started. Thirty minutes later, the patient lost consciousness in association with a rhythm change to torsade de pointes. He was defibrillated with 100 J (biphasic defibrillator) to sinus rhythm. Intravenous magnesium was started, and a repeat 12-lead ECG showed a prolonged corrected QT interval at 490 ms with no ST elevation (Figure 1). An urgent echocardiogram demonstrated normal-sized left ventricle with mild hypokinesis of the anterior wall and a global left ventricular fraction of 60%. Tissue Doppler images acquired by Vivid-7 (GE Medical) …

Editorial: Thromboembolic Complications After Fontan Procedures—The Role Of Prophylactic Anticoagulation

Objective To explore risk factors of cerebral infarction in newborns by systematic reviews.Methods Case-control studies and case reports on risk factors of cerebral infarction in newborns from January 1997 to December 2011 were collected from database of CNKI,CQVIP,Wanfang Database,PubMed,OVID,Springer,Medline,Science Direct On Site,Besco and MD Consult.Meta analysis was performed on case-control studies with fixed or random effect model by Review Manager 5.0.Constitution ratio of risk factors of cerebral infarction in newborns in case reports was investigated.Results Two hundred and sixty-nine articles were found and among which,36 articles in English were selected for this study.Three case-control studies were found and adopted for meta analysis.Cumulative number of patients and control cases were 80 and 228,respectively.The pooled OR and 95 ％CI of selected factors were as follows:decreased fetal movement [7.10 (2.92-17.24)],abnormal fetal heart rate [4.45 (2.54-7.80)],vacuum delivery [2.99 (1.23-7.25)],resuscitation at birth [(3.14 (1.17-8.46)],premature rupture of membranes [2.40 (0.62-9.29)],cesarean section [2.64 (1.44-4.82)],preeclampsia [3.05 (1.44-6.43)],history of infertility [1.25 (0.18-8.67)],primiparous [1.79 (0.51-6.36)],oxytocin used [2.05 (0.99-4.25)],fetal growth restriction [0.99 (0.47-2.11)],meconium stained amniotic fluid [2.08 (0.94-4.58)],adverse pregnancy history [0.85 (0.43-1.68)] and breech presentation [0.38 (0.10-1.46)].Meta analysis showed that decreased fetal movement,abnormal fetal heart rate,vacuum extraction,resuscitation at birth,cesarean section and preeclampsia were risk factors of neonatal cerebral infarction.Decreased fetal movement,abnormal fetal heart rate and resuscitation at birth suggested that newborns suffered from perinatal hypoxia,vacuum extraction,cesarean section suggested abnormal delivery.It suggested that perinatal hypoxia and abnormal delivery were high risk factors of neonatal cerebral infarction.Among those factors,proportion of abnormal labor,fetal distress and hypercoagulabe state was 31.70％,21.13％ and 20.19％ respectively.Conclusions Abnormal birth,hypoxia,preeclampsia and hypercoagulation state might relate to neonatal cerebral infarction. Key words: Infant, newborn ; Cerebral infarction; Risk factors ; Systematic review; Meta analysis