Acometimento pancreático em casos fatais de leptospirose humana: aspectos clínicos e histopatológicos

Hyperamylasemia has been reported in more than 65% of patients with severe leptospirosis, and the true diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is complicated by the fact that renal failure can increase serum amylase levels. Based on these data we retrospectively analyzed the clinical and histopathological features of pancreas involvement in 13 cases of fatal human leptospirosis. The most common signs and symptoms presented at admission were fever, chills, vomiting, myalgia, dehydratation, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Trombocytopenia was evident in 11 patients. Mild increased of AST and ALT levels was seen in 9 patients. Hyperamylasemia was recorded in every patient in whom it was measured, with values above 180 IU/L (3 cases). All patients presented acute renal failure and five have been submitted to dialytic treatment. The main cause of death was acute respiratory failure due to pulmonary hemorrhage. Pancreas fragments were collected for histological study and fat necrosis was the criterion used to classify acute pancreatitis. Histological pancreatic findings were edema, mild inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes, hemorrhage, congestion, fat necrosis and calcification. All the patients infected with severe form of leptospirosis who develop abdominal pain should raise the suspect of pancreatic involvement.Hiperamilasemia tem sido documentada em mais de 65% dos pacientes com leptospirose severa, e o diagnóstico de pancreatite aguda torna-se difícil pelo fato de que a insuficiência renal pode aumentar os níveis séricos de amilase. Assim, foram analisadas, retrospectivamente, as características clínicas e histopatológicas do acometimento pancreático em 13 casos fatais de leptospirose humana. Os sinais e sintomas mais comuns foram febre, calafrios, vômitos, mialgia, desidratação, dor abdominal e diarréia. Trombocitopenia foi encontrada em 11 pacientes. Elevação dos níveis de AST e ALT foi observada em nove casos. Hiperamilasemia foi detectada em todos os pacientes em que foi dosada, com valores acima de 180 UI/L (três casos). Todos os pacientes desenvolveram insuficiência renal aguda e cinco necessitaram de tratamento dialítico. A principal causa de morte foi insuficiência respiratória devido à hemorragia pulmonar. Fragmentos do pâncreas foram obtidos para estudo histológico, e necrose gordurosa foi o critério utilizado para classificar pancreatite. Os achados histológicos foram edema pancreático, infiltrado inflamatório discreto de linfócitos, hemorragia, congestão, necrose gordurosa e calcificação. Deve-se suspeitar de acometimento pancreático em todo paciente com a forma grave de leptospirose que desenvolve dor abdominal

Manejo das complicações agudas da doença falciforme

Anemia falciforme (HbSS) é uma doença autossômica recessiva caracterizada pela herança homozigota da hemoglobina S (HbS). Clinicamente apresenta-se com anemia hemolítica e vaso-oclusão. O termo doença falciforme engloba a anemia falciforme e heterozigozes compostas com hemoglobina S, como S? talassemia e hemoglobinopatia SC, além de outras associações menos comuns. São várias as complicações agudas na doença falciforme: crises vaso-oclusivas, infecções por microorganismos encapsulados, principalmente do trato respiratório e septicemia, síndrome torácica aguda, sequestro esplênico, priapismo, Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC) e crise aplástica. O conhecimento das intercorrências na Doença Falciforme é de extrema importância para todos os níveis de atendimento destes pacientes. A detecção precoce das complicações possibilita tratamento adequado e diminuição da morbimortalidade relacionada a elas.Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by the presence of hemoglobin S. It presents with hemolytic anemia e vaso-occlusives phenomena. The term sickle cell disease (SCD) includes the SCA and a group of compound heterozygous states in which the person has only one copy of the mutation that causes HbS and one copy of another abnormal haemoglobin allele, like sicklehemoglobin C disease (HbSC), sickle beta-thalassaemia and other rarer combinations. There are many acute complications of SCD: vaso-occlusives crisis, encapsulated organisms infections, mainly of the airways and sepsis, acute chest syndrome, splenic sequestration, priapism, stroke and aplastic crisis.The knowledge of these complications is very important for all grades of medical assistence. The early detection allows appropriate treatment and reduction of the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease

Hematological particularities and co-infections in injected drug users with AIDS

AbstractHIV patients infected through injected drug use have poorer prognosis than other groups. We evaluated the hematological alterations and rates of co-infections in injected drug use patients with AIDS. Injected drug use patients were younger, predominantly of male gender, and presented lower CD4, total lymphocyte, and platelet counts, but not neutrophil count, than control group. Injected drug use patients had a higher rate of hepatitis C and mycobacteria infection. Furthermore, all injected drug use patients with hemoglobin <10.0gdL−1 and lymphocyte <1000μL−1 had CD4 count lower than 100μL−1. In conclusion, HIV-infected injected drug use patients constitute a special group of patients, and hemoglobin concentration and lymphocyte count can be used as surrogate markers for disease severity

Intrahepatic Cholestasis in Sickle Cell Disease: A Case Report

Intrahepatic cholestasis (SCIC) is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication of sickle cell disease (SCD), with a high death rate, observed mainly in patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia. Herein, we describe a case of severe SCIC treated successfully with aggressive manual exchange transfusion (ET). The patient was admitted with enlarged liver and signs of hepatic failure, such as hyperbilirubinemia and coagulopathy. There was no evidence of viral hepatitis or biliary obstruction. We performed several sessions of ET in order to reduce the percentage of HbS to levels inferior to 30%, which was successfully accomplished. The patient had a complete recovery of hepatic function. This case has shown that ET is an effective treatment of SCIC and should be introduced early on the onset of this severe complication

O impacto de um protocolo institucional de práticas transfusionais em unidades de terapia intensiva neonatal

Introdução: desde a década de 20 do século passado, a hemotransfusão em recém-nascidos vem sendo objeto de interesse de muitos hematologistas e neonatologistas, principalmente em pré-termos. As hemotransfusões deverão ser realizadas somente quando os riscos e benefícios forem cuidadosamente analisados. Objetivos: identificar a quantidade de hemotransfusões que são realizadas nos recém-nascidos da Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand. Comparar a quantidade de hemotransfusões realizadas antes de ser instituído o protocolo de hemotransfusões em 2014 e, após, em 2015. Material e Métodos: estudo transversal retrospectivo cujos dados foram coletados nos prontuários dos recém-nascidos, no período de janeiro a março de 2014, e no mesmo período em 2015. Resultados: no período de 01 de janeiro a 30 de março de 2014, 29 recém-nascidos necessitaram de hemotransfusão. E no mesmo período de 2015, após a instituição do Protocolo de Hemotransfusões, esse valor diminuiu para 21 recém-nascidos, verificando-se um total de 50 recém-nascidos admitidos para o procedimento nos dois períodos analisados. Assim, o número total de hemotrasnfusões reduziu de 60%, no 1º trimestre de 2014, para 40%, no 1º trimestre de 2015. Conclusão: evidenciou-se que a instituição do Protocolo de Hemotransfusões teve impacto na diminuição do número de hemotrasnfusões de 2014 para 2015

Associação de transfusão de concentrado de hemácias (CH) e enterocolite necrosante (ECN): relato de caso

A Enterocolite necrosante é uma síndrome clínicopatológica caracterizada por sinais e sintomas gastrintestinais e sistêmicos. De etiologia incerta, atinge um em cada 1.000 nascidos vivos. Alguns eventos levam à suspeita da síndrome, a qual pode estar associada à transfusão de hemácias. Objetivou-se relatar o caso de um recém-nascido prematuro que apresentou sinais de enterocolite necrosante após uma transfusão sanguínea com concentrado de hemácias. Recém-nascido, internado em uma Maternidade Escola de Fortaleza, Ceará, apresentava bom desenvolvimento e anemia, com hemoglobina 9,34 e hematócrito 30,1, sendo indicada transfusão. Na primeira transfusão, não apresentou reação clínica pós-transfusão; com 51 dias de vida, devido a outro quadro de anemia, foi indicada nova transfusão, apresentando hipoatividade, distensão abdominal e dois episódios de queda de saturação; após 66 dias, houve nova indicação para transfusão, a qual após infusão de 5,1ml evoluiu com novo episódio de taquidispneia, distensão abdominal e hiposaturação. O caso demonstrou evidência e clareza conforme achados na literatura. Observou-se que o uso da imagem como exame complementar para o diagnóstico identifica precocemente os achados da doença

Hematological differences between patients with different subtypes of sickle cell disease on hydroxyurea treatment

OBJECTIVE: Sickle cell anemia and the interaction S/Beta thalassemia differ in hematological values due to microcytosis and hypochromia caused by the thalassemic mutation. The clinical benefit of long-term hydroxyurea treatment is undeniable in sickle cell disease with monitoring of the biological action of the drug being by the complete blood count. The objective of this work is to compare changes in some of the erythrocytic indexes between S/Beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients on long-term hydroxyurea treatment. METHODS: The values of erythrocyte indexes (mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin) were compared in a retrospective study of two groups of patients (Sickle cell anemia and S/Beta thalassemia) on hydroxyurea treatment over a mean of six years. RESULTS: The quantitative values of the two parameters differed between the groups. Increases in mean corpuscular volume and reductions in mean corpuscular hemoglobin delay longer in S/Beta thalassemia patients (p-value = 0.018). CONCLUSION: Hematological changes are some of the beneficial effects of hydroxyurea in sickle cell disease as cellular hydration increases and the hemoglobin S concentration is reduced. The complete blood count is the best test to monitor changes, but the interpretation of the results in S/Beta thalassemia should be different

Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure after strenuous exercise and alcohol abuse: case report and literature review

CONTEXT: Rhabdomyolysis is a severe and life-threatening condition in which skeletal muscle is damaged. Acute renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis has been widely described and its main pathophysiological mechanisms are renal vasoconstriction, intraluminal cast formation and direct myoglobin toxicity. OBJECTIVE: To report on a case of acute renal failure (ARF) induced by rhabdomyolysis due to strenuous exercise and alcohol abuse and to describe the pathophysiology of this type of ARF. CASE REPORT: A 39-year-old man arrived at the hospital emergency service with swollen legs and lower extremity compartment syndrome. He was oliguric and had serum creatinine and urea levels of 8.1 mg/dl and 195 mg/dl, respectively. The diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis was made through clinical and laboratory findings (creatine kinase activity of 26320 IU/l). The initial treatment consisted of fluid replacement and forced diuresis. The specific treatment for compartment syndrome, such as fasciotomy, was avoided in order to prevent infection. Partial recovery of renal function was recorded, after ten hemodialysis sessions. Complete recovery was observed after two months of follow-up