Leukocytoclastic vasculitis and renal cell carcinoma

The association of leukocytoclastic vasculitis and renal cell carcinoma has been rarely documented. We report a patient who presented with leukocytoclastic vasculitis involving the skin and was diagnosed later as renal cell carcinoma. After the nephron-sparing surgery, the vasculitic lesions disappeared. We also briefly review cases of vasculitis and renal neoplasms

Characteristics of acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Istanbul

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse the characteristics of acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Patients and methods: All cases admitted to the Emergency Unit of the Istanbul University Cerrahpas, a Medical Faculty Hospital, between January 2001 and December 2001, were included in this study. We analysed the clinical charts for aetiological and demographical characteristics of the acutely poisoned patients. Results: There were 284 poisoning cases ( 207 females and 77 males) among 11 834 patients admitted to the Emergency Unit. This was 2.4% of all emergency admissions. The female-to-male ratio was 3: 1. The mean age was 27 +/- 12 years ( age range 15 - 87) and the majority of the patients (73.94%) were below the age of 30 years. The median age was 24 years. Medicinal drugs were the major cause (69.37%) of the cases, followed by inhalation of gases (14.44%), alcohol (5.99%), alcohol together with illicit drugs (4.23%), food (3.17%), corrosives (1.76%) and pesticides (1.06%). The route of administration was as follows: 84.51% orally, 14.44% by inhalation and 1.06% by intravenous injection. Seventy-one per cent of acute poisonings were self-inflicted and 88% occurred at home. The most frequently involved medicinal drugs were antidepressants and analgesics. In 32.04% of cases, there was more than one medicinal drug responsible for the poisoning. The seasonal distribution in poisoning patients suggested a peak in summer (31.7% of presentations) and winter (30.9%) and lower numbers in spring (22.9%) and autumn (14.5%). The follow-up period of the patients were 1 - 12 hours for 42 cases (15%), 13 - 24 hours for 134 cases (47%) and more than 24 hours for 108 cases (38%). Two of the 284 cases with acute poisonings were fatal. This was a university hospital-based study, so these results may not be representative of the general population. Despite this drawback, these data still provide important information about the characteristics of poisoning in the largest city of the country

Benign cystic mesothelioma: A rare cause of ascites in a case with familial Mediterranean fever

Benign cystic mesothelioma (BCM) is a rare neoplasm of the peritoneum, consisting of solitary or multiple cysts arising from mesothelial cells. Here we report a patient with a previous diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) presenting with abdominal distension and ascites which were found to be due to BCM. The co-existence of these two entities has not been reported previously. Ascites as the presenting feature of BMC is also a rare observation

Adult intussusception due to inverted Meckel's diverticulum - Laparoscopic approach

Nowadays, laparoscopy appears to be an attractive alternative to conventional surgery in the management of small bowel obstruction. Adult intussusception is an unusual cause of intestinal obstruction, and a wide range of pathologic conditions can result with intussusception. In this report, we present a very rare case of intussusception secondary to inverted Meckel's diverticulum in an adult who underwent laparoscopic surgery. The diagnostic modalities and surgical management of intussusception are discussed

Plasma nitrate/nitrite and endothelin-1 in patients with liver cirrhosis

The aims of this study were to examine the plasma nitrate/nitrite (NOx; two end products of nitric oxide metabolism) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentrations in patients with liver cirrhosis, and to investigate whether there is a relationship between these two vasoactive parameters and the course of,disease. Twenty-eight patients with liver cirrhosis (11 HBV-related, four HCV-related, four alcohol-related, and nine with idiopathic etiology) and 25 healthy subjects (controls) were included in the study. The venous plasma concentrations of NOx and ET-1 were significantly higher (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001) in the patients with cirrhosis than in the controls. A significant increase in ET-1 was observed in the Child B subgroup vs. Child A (P < 0.05), and in the Child C subgroup vs. either subgroup A or B (P < 0.05). There were no statistical differences between study subgroups (Child A-C) in the mean of NOx values. Plasma NOx and ET-1 were significantly increased in patients with ascites compared to those without ascites (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). Increased nitric oxide synthesis may be a compensation mechanism against endothelial injury. The highest ET-1 levels in Child C and moderately increased ET-1 levels in Child B, and the lower increase of ET-1 levels in Child A patients suggest that plasma ET-1 increases with the progression of the disease. The fact that NOx and ET-1 levels were higher in patients with decompensated cirrhosis (patients with ascites) than in those with compensated cirrhosis (patients without ascites), and the presence of a strong correlation between ET-1, NOx, and the degree of varices, supports the suggestion that there is a relationship between NOx, ET-1, and portal hypertension. Our study demonstrates that increased ET and nitric oxide metabolism is associated with the hemodynamic alterations induced by portal hypertension