Vinoth Boopathy

Spontaneous fistulisation of infected walled-off necrosis (WON) into the duodenum in a patient following acute necrotising pancreatitis

Infected walled-off necrosis (WON), previously referred to by various terminologies including pancreatic abscess, is one of the well-known local complications of acute necrotising pancreatitis. Very rarely they can spontaneously rupture or fistulise into adjacent structures, leading to either further complications or resolution. More often these events lead to complications rather than resolution of the condition. We report a case of an infected WON following an episode of acute necrotising pancreatitis with spontaneous fistulisation into the duodenum resulting in a complete resolution of the symptoms.

Amoeboma: resurfacing of a vanishing illness

Amoeboma is a rare manifestation of intestinal amoebiasis. More than 90% of patients with intestinal amoebiasis have a history of diarrhoea. This report describes the case of a 60-year-old patient who presented with a right iliac fossa (RIF) mass with normal bowel habits and was eventually diagnosed with an amoeboma. In developing countries, a traditional differential diagnosis for an RIF mass is an amoeboma, but its incidence is declining. Hence this treatable condition is often overlooked in the differential diagnosis of an RIF mass. This case report emphasises that amoeboma still exists and should be considered in a patient with an RIF mass.

Assessment of Portal Venous and Hepatic Artery Haemodynamic Variation in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Patients

INTRODUCTION Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has various spectrums of liver diseases like isolated fatty liver, steatohepatitis and cirrhosis usually progressing in a linear fashion. In this process they are known to cause certain haemodynamic changes in the portal flow and hepatic artery flow. AIM The aim of the study was to study these haemodynamic changes in patients with NAFLD and to correlate it with the disease severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ninety patients diagnosed to have NAFLD based on ultrasound abdomen (30 each in grade1, grade2 and grade3 NAFLD) and 30 controls (Normal liver on ultrasound abdomen) were subjected to portal vein and hepatic artery Doppler study. Peak maximum velocity (Vmax), Peak minimum velocity (Vmin), Mean flow velocity (MFV), and Vein pulsality index (VPI) of the portal vein and hepatic artery resistivity index (HARI) of the hepatic artery were the doppler parameters which were assessed. Liver span was also assessed both for the fatty liver and controls. RESULTS The mean Vmax, Vmin, MFV and VPI of the portal vein in patients with NAFLD was 12.23±1.74cm/sec, 9.31±1.45cm/sec, 10.76±1.48cm/sec, and 0.24±0.04 as compared to 14.05±2.43cm/sec, 10.01±2.27cm/sec, 12.23±2.47cm/sec, 0.3±0.08 in controls respectively. All these differences were statistically significant except for Vmin. The Mean HARI in patients with fatty liver was 0.65±0.06 when compared to controls of 0.75±0.06 (p=0.001). HARI (r-value of -0.517) had a better negative correlation followed by VPI (r-value of -0.44) and Vmax (r-value of -0.293) with the severity of NAFLD. MFV had a very weak negative correlation (r-value of -0.182) with the severity of NAFLD. CONCLUSION The Vmax, MFV, VPI and HARI were significantly less when compared to controls suggesting a reduced portal flow and an increased hepatic arterial flow in patients with NAFLD. Among the parameters, HARI correlated better with the severity of NAFLD followed by VPI.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in association with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) has a well known association with lymphomas, especially of T cell origin. Prognosis of lymphoma associated HLH is very poor, especially in T cell lymphomas; and, therefore, early diagnosis might alter the outcome. Though association of HLH with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is known, its occurrence in primary cutaneous ALCL (C-ALCL) is distinctly rare. We aim to describe a case of C-ALCL (anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)−) in an elderly male who succumbed to the complication of associated HLH, which was possibly triggered by coexistent virus infection. We briefly present the literatures on lymphoma associated HLH and discuss the histopathological differentials of cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders. We do suggest that HLH may pose diagnostic challenges in the evaluation of an underlying lymphoma and hence warrants proper evaluation for the underlying etiologies and/or triggering factors.

Typhoid fever with caecal ulcer bleed: managed conservatively.

Typhoid fever is caused by enteroinvasive Gram-negative organism Salmonella typhi. The well-known complications of typhoid fever are intestinal haemorrhage and perforation. In the pre-antibiotic era, these complications were quite common, but in the current antibiotic era the incidence of these complications is on the decline. We report a case of a patient with typhoid fever who developed haematochezia during the hospital stay and was found to have caecal ulcer with an adherent clot on colonoscopy. He was managed successfully with conservative measures without endotherapy and there was no rebleed.

Endoscopic (video) demonstration of hookworm infestation of the stomach

Hookworm infestation is common in southern India. The adult worms normally reside in the duodenum, graze the intestinal mucosa with their large buccal cavities and ingest the intestinal epithelial cells and blood. Depending on the number of worms the infection may be either asymptomatic or can cause iron deficiency anaemia due to chronic blood loss. Adult worms live in the small intestine and are not usually seen in the stomach. There are only very few case reports in the literature reporting hookworm infestation of the stomach. In this case report we present an endoscopic (video) demonstration of hookworm infestation of the stomach in a woman who presented with chronic anaemia.

Hyperpigmentation of palms - A clue to B12 deficiency

B12 deficiency anemia is commonly seen in elderly people who are pure vegetarians, especially in those who even avoids milk consumption. Hyperpigmentation of the palms is one of the common clinical manifestations of B12 deficiency, and here, we report such a case of B12 deficiency who presented with hyperpigmented palms.

The Role of MR Mammography in Differentiating Benign from Malignant in Suspicious Breast Masses.

INTRODUCTION Magnetic Resonance (MR) Mammography is being increasingly used now-a-days for the evaluation of breast lesions. AIM To find out the effectiveness and the exact role of MR mammography in differentiating benign lesions from malignant lesions in patients with palpable, suspicious breast masses found on routine conventional imaging techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS It was a prospective study wherein patients with suspicious breast lesions were subjected to MR mammography. The morphological feature (smooth vs irregular margin) and the enhancement patterns (Type Ia/Ib vs Type II vs Type III) of the lesions were assessed and finally the effectiveness of MR mammography in differentiating benign and malignant lesions was judged by taking the histopathological diagnosis as the gold standard. RESULTS A total of 33 patients with 35 breast lesions were finally analysed. The sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and the Negative Predictive Value (NPV) in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesion for the type of margin on MR mammography was 95.45%, 84.6%, 91.3% and 91.7%, while for the type of enhancement curve it was 76.2%, 90.9%, 94.1% and 66.7% respectively. The sensitivity and negative predictive value for the type of margins was statistically better when compared to the type of enhancement curve in differentiating benign from malignant lesions but the specificity and PPV though better for the type of enhancement curve was not found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION MR mammography was found to be an effective tool in differentiating benign from malignant suspicious breast lesions. The type of margin and the enhancement patterns both individually and in combination provide the clinicians with ample information so as to decide on further management.

Incidental entry of a colonoscope into the scrotum: not a mystery but a missed history.

A colonoscopy was performed to exclude colonic malignancy in a 50-year man with chronic constipation. The procedure was started under conscious sedation. After insertion of about 60 cm of the length of the colonoscope, the patient reported of pain in the lower abdomen on attempting to push the scope further. Examination of the abdomen at that time did not reveal any loop formation. However, we found that the …

A giant complex rectosigmoid bezoar with multiple foreign bodies: a first of its kind

A 20-year-old male patient presented with a 15-day history of constipation, abdominal distention and abdominal pain. He was mentally impaired and would swallow foreign bodies, including pieces of clothing. His abdomen was firm and tender on examination with absent bowel sounds. Rectal examination revealed impacted stools. CT of the abdomen showed a 19×26 cm ovoid intraluminal mixed density mass with mottled gas pattern and multiple foreign bodies occupying the rectosigmoid colon consistent with a bezoar (figures 1 and 2 …