Publications by authors named "Erasmia Christou"

A patient on long-term glucocorticoid therapy for peristomal pyoderma gangrenosum (PPG) who developed mucormycosis (MM) of the wound with dissemination was presented. The importance of skin biopsy, together with clinical evaluation in patients with PPG who are resistant to conventional therapy or who develop new symptoms related to their PPG is stressed. The risk and pathogenesis of invasive fungal infections with long-term corticosteroid therapy were explored.

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Laparotomy incisions provide easy and rapid access to the peritoneal cavity in case of emergency surgery. Incisional hernia (IH) is a late manifestation of the failure of abdominal wall closure and represents frequent complication of any abdominal incision: IHs can cause pain and discomfort to the patients but also clinical serious sequelae like bowel obstruction, incarceration, strangulation, and necessity of reoperation. Previous guidelines and indications in the literature consider elective settings and evidence about laparotomy closure in emergency settings is lacking.

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Acute appendicitis induced by metastatic disease is uncommon. We present the case of an 82-year-old man with known bony metastases secondary to prostatic cancer who presents with a short history of acute abdominal pain. A CT scan was indicative of acute appendicitis and the patient underwent a laparoscopic appendicectomy; a phlegmonous mass seen intraoperatively was suspicious for malignancy, and histopathology confirmed acute appendicitis as well as metastases of prostate cancer.

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A systematic review of the literature surrounding the use of Extra-Corporeal Assisted Rewarming (ECAR) in patients presenting with deep hypothermia or hypothermic cardiac arrest was undertaken using a structured protocol. Thirty-one papers were deemed suitable for review, 13 of these were of sufficient quality to permit systematic data analysis. The primary outcome measure was survival to hospital discharge.

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