Hematometra: A Rare Case of Pelvic Pain in Females Identified with Point of Care Ultrasound

The differential diagnosis for abdominal or pelvic pain in women of child-bearing age that present to the emergency department is broad. A rare cause of abdominal and pelvic pain is hematometra, or a collection of blood products within the uterus. While blood is normally expelled through menses, this process is disrupted in some patients due to congenital or acquired abnormalities. This can lead to progressive uterine distension and pain, which may ultimately require medical or surgical intervention. Hematometra is rare, but is a serious condition that can be diagnosed easily at bedside using point of care ultrasound.

Timing and Outcomes After Coronary Angiography Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Without Signs of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

There is broad consensus that resuscitated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) should receive immediate coronary angiography (CAG); however, factors that guide patient selection and optimal timing of CAG for post-arrest patients without evidence of STEMI remain incompletely described.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to describe the timing of post-arrest CAG in actual practice, patient characteristics associated with decision to perform immediate vs. delayed CAG, and patient outcomes after CAG.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study at seven U.S. academic hospitals. Resuscitated adult patients with OHCA were included if they presented between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019 and received CAG during hospitalization. Emergency medical services run sheets and hospital records were analyzed. Patients without evidence of STEMI were grouped and compared based on time from arrival to CAG performance into "early" (≤ 6 h) and "delayed" (> 6 h).

RESULTS

Two hundred twenty-one patients were included. Median time to CAG was 18.6 h (interquartile range [IQR] 1.5-94.6 h). Early catheterization was performed on 94 patients (42.5%) and delayed catheterization was performed on 127 patients (57.5%). Patients in the early group were older (61 years [IQR 55-70 years] vs. 57 years [IQR 47-65] years) and more likely to be male (79.8% vs. 59.8%). Those in the early group were more likely to have clinically significant lesions (58.5% vs. 39.4%) and receive revascularization (41.5% vs. 19.7%). Patients were more likely to die in the early group (47.9% vs. 33.1%). Among survivors, there was no significant difference in neurologic recovery at discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

OHCA patients without evidence of STEMI who received early CAG were older and more likely to be male. This group was more likely to have intervenable lesions and receive revascularization.

Clinical factors associated with significant coronary lesions following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

OBJECTIVES

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) afflicts >350,000 people annually in the United States. While postarrest coronary angiography (CAG) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been associated with improved survival in observational cohorts, substantial uncertainty exists regarding patient selection for postarrest CAG. We tested the hypothesis that symptoms consistent with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including chest discomfort, prior to OHCAs are associated with significant coronary lesions identified on postarrest CAG.

METHODS

We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study among eight regional hospitals. Adult patients who experienced atraumatic OHCA with successful initial resuscitation and subsequent CAG between January 2015 and December 2019 were included. We collected data on prehospital documentation of potential ACS symptoms prior to OHCA as well as clinical factors readily available during postarrest care. The primary outcome in multivariable regression modeling was the presence of significant coronary lesions (defined as >50% stenosis of left main or >75% stenosis of other coronary arteries).

RESULTS

Four-hundred patients were included. Median (interquartile range) age was 59 (51-69) years; 31% were female. At least one significant stenosis was found in 62%, of whom 71% received PCI. Clinical factors independently associated with a significant lesion included a history of myocardial infarction (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 6.5, [95% confidence interval {CI} = 1.3 to 32.4], p = 0.02), prearrest chest discomfort (aOR = 4.8 [95% CI = 2.1 to 11.8], p ≤ 0.001), ST-segment elevations (aOR = 3.2 [95% CI = 1.7 to 6.3], p < 0.001), and an initial shockable rhythm (aOR = 1.9 [95% CI = 1.0 to 3.4], p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Among survivors of OHCA receiving CAG, history of prearrest chest discomfort was significantly and independently associated with significant coronary artery lesions on postarrest CAG. This suggests that we may be able to use prearrest symptoms to better risk stratify patients following OHCA to decide who will benefit from invasive angiography.

Race Predicts Unsuccessful Healing of Osteochondritis Dissecans in the Pediatric Knee

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of race, insurance status, and socioeconomic status on successful or unsuccessful healing of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions in the pediatric knee. The authors retrospectively reviewed patients younger than 18 years who were treated for a knee OCD lesion between 2006 and 2017. Patients were required to have at least 6 months of clinical and radiographic follow-up to be included, unless complete healing was achieved sooner. The primary outcome of interest was healing of the OCD lesion based on radiographic and clinical examination. A total of 204 OCD lesions in 196 patients with a mean follow-up of 15.8±6.4 months were included. The mean age at initial presentation was 12.4±2.8 years. At most recent follow-up, 28 (13.7%) lesions did not show radiographic or clinical evidence of healing. Nonhealing lesions were found in 25.0% of Black children compared with 9.4% of White children (P=.02). After controlling for age, sex, sports participation, lesion size and stability, skeletal maturity, and operative vs nonoperative treatment in a multivariate model, Black children had 6.7 times higher odds of unsuccessful healing compared with their White counterparts (95% CI, 1.1-41.7; P=.04). In this study, Black children with OCD of the knee were significantly less likely to heal than were White patients, even when controlling for numerous other factors in a multivariate model. Although the exact etiology of this finding is unclear, future work should focus on the social, economic, and cultural factors that may lead to disparate outcomes. [Orthopedics. 2021;44(3):e378-e384.].

Full-thickness neorectal prolapse after transanal transabdominal proctosigmoidectomy for low rectal cancer: a cohort study

AIM

Transanal transabdominal proctosigmoidectomy (TATA) with a coloanal anastomosis is an alternative to abdominoperineal excision of the rectum (APR) for low rectal cancer. Neorectal prolapse is an unusual complication following TATA. This study aimed to determine the incidence of neorectal prolapse after TATA for low rectal cancer.

METHOD

This cohort study was conducted in a tertiary referral colorectal centre. From a prospectively maintained database including 1093 patients treated for rectal cancer between 1984 and 2016 we identified those who underwent sphincter-preserving surgery. Data regarding the incidence, management and outcomes of neorectal prolapse were analysed.

RESULTS

A total of 409 patients were identified, of whom 185 underwent open surgery and 224 a minimally invasive surgical procedure (MIS). All received neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Neorectal prolapse occurred in 4.6% (n = 19) with an incidence of 2.2% in the open and 6.7% in the MIS group (P = 0.023), with no difference between MIS techniques. There was one recurrence of neorectal prolapse (5.9%). The incidence of neorectal prolapse was higher in women (9.5%) than men (2.5%) (P = 0.011). There were no differences in local recurrence rates between the neorectal prolapse group (5.3%) and our population without prolapse (3.4%) (P = 0.79).

CONCLUSION

Neorectal prolapse is a rare occurrence following minimally invasive sphincter-saving surgical procedures performed for rectal cancer. It appears to be more frequent in patients who undergo MIS procedures and in women.