Venous thromboembolism: A problem in the Indian/Asian population?

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common and potentially life threatening condition. It continues to be under diagnosed and undertreated. Awareness among Indians regarding this potentially life-threatening disease is low. Contrary to earlier belief, the incidence of VTE in Asia and India is comparable to that in Western countries. The risk of VTE is especially high in hospitalized patients, in a majority of whom it is clinically silent. It is one of the commonest causes of unplanned readmission and preventable death. In the United States, it is responsible for more deaths than accidents. Thromboprophylaxis is highly effective in reducing the incidence of VTE without any increase in clinically significant bleeding. It is worth emphasizing that prevention of VTE is much easier and cheaper than its treatment.Sunil Agarwal, Arvind Dhas Lee, Ravish Sanghi Raju, Edwin Stephe

Portal Annular Pancreas. A Rare Variant and a New Classification

Context Portal annular pancreas is a rare congenital anomaly resulting from fusion of the pancreatic parenchyma around the portal vein/superior mesenteric vein. It is asymptomatic, but could have serious consequences during pancreatic surgery, if unrecognized. We describe a variant of this anomaly encountered during pancreaticoduodenectomy and propose a new classification. Case report We report a 51-year-old male who underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy for periampullary carcinoma. After division of the pancreatic neck, a sheath of tissue was found posterior and extending to the left of the portal vein. When we divided this tissue, a large duct was encountered; this duct communicated with the main pancreatic duct. On review of the CT images, the main pancreatic duct was seen to be passing posterior to the portal vein and a smaller accessory pancreatic duct was present anterior to the portal vein. We describe the surgical implications. Conclusion This variant of portal annular pancreas has not yet been reported during pancreaticoduodenectomy and we propose a new classification for this fusion anomaly.Image: Pancreatic ducts on either side of the portal vein

Inadvertent Central Venous Infusion of Enteral Feed: A Case Report

Inadvertent administration of enteral feed into an intravenous line is preventable usually by design of incompatible connectors, but these may not be available universally. We discuss a case report where this occurred and the subsequent management strategy