Secondary left ventricular injury with haemopericardium caused by a rib fracture after blunt chest trauma

Trauma is the third most common cause of death in the West. In the US, approximately 90,000 deaths annually are traumatic in nature and over 75% of casualties from blunt trauma are due to chest injuries. Cardiac injuries from rib fractures following blunt trauma are extremely rare. We report the unusual case of a patient who fell from a height and presented with haemopericardium and haemothorax as a result of left ventricular and lingular lacerations and was sucessfully operated upon

Primary Raynaud's phenomenon in an infant: a case report and review of literature

Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is an extremely unusual finding in early infancy. In the present report we describe a one-month-old previously healthy male infant who presented with unilateral acrocyanosis. Although infantile acrocyanosis is known to be a benign and self-resolving condition, it is generally bilateral and symmetric. The unilateral nature of the acrocyanosis was an atypical finding in this infant. Consequently, he was closely monitored to evaluate the progression of his acrocyanosis. Based on his benign clinical course and failure to demonstrate other etiologies contributing to his acrocyanosis, he was diagnosed to have primary RP. Due to the rarity of RP in children, we review the progress in understanding the pathophysiology, epidemiology and management of RP and additionally discuss the differential diagnosis of unilateral and bilateral acrocyanosis in infants

Resolving the neural circuits of anxiety

Although anxiety disorders represent a major societal problem demanding new therapeutic targets, these efforts have languished in the absence of a mechanistic understanding of this subjective emotional state. While it is impossible to know with certainty the subjective experience of a rodent, rodent models hold promise in dissecting well-conserved limbic circuits. The application of modern approaches in neuroscience has already begun to unmask the neural circuit intricacies underlying anxiety by allowing direct examination of hypotheses drawn from existing psychological concepts. This information points toward an updated conceptual model for what neural circuit perturbations could give rise to pathological anxiety and thereby provides a roadmap for future therapeutic development.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U.S.) (NIH Director’s New Innovator Award DP2-DK-102256-01)National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (NIH) R01-MH102441-01)JPB Foundatio

Traumatismo torácico: estudo retrospectivo de 168 casos

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o atendimento ao paciente portador de traumatismo torácico. MÉTODO: Estudo retrospectivo de 168 casos de trauma do tórax, com ênfase na abordagem inicial, conduta operatória e cuidados pós-operatórios. RESULTADOS: Dos 168 pacientes, 120 eram do sexo masculino e a média de idade encontrada foi de 35,5 anos. Dez pacientes foram toracotomizados de urgência, quatro por ferimento cardíaco, quatro devido à lesão de vasos pulmonares, um por lesão do saco pericárdico e outro do pedículo pulmonar. Os demais tiveram suas condições clínicas corrigidas através de simples drenagem torácica do hemitórax atingido. Ocorreram dois óbitos não cirúrgicos e um devido à insuficiência respiratória. CONCLUSÕES: O traumatismo torácico, além de ser muito freqüente, é na maioria das vezes, de fácil resolução. Podem ocorrer, no entanto, lesões torácicas graves envolvendo órgãos vitais que merecem intervenção mais agressiva e perícia técnica, com suporte hospitalar de alto nível