Abnormal whole blood thrombi in humans with inherited platelet receptor defects.

To delineate the critical features of platelets required for formation and stability of thrombi, thromboelastography and platelet aggregation measurements were employed on whole blood of normal patients and of those with Bernard-Soulier Syndrome (BSS) and Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia (GT). We found that separation of platelet activation, as assessed by platelet aggregation, from that needed to form viscoelastic stable whole blood thrombi, occurred. In normal human blood, ristocetin and collagen aggregated platelets, but did not induce strong viscoelastic thrombi.

An unruptured, thrombosed 10 cm right coronary artery aneurysm mimicking a pericardial cyst.

Giant coronary artery aneurysms are a rare and potentially life-threatening condition. A 47 year old male presented with a progressive 6 month history of dyspnea and acute right sided chest pain. During the patients work-up, a 10 cm × 10 cm right coronary artery aneurysm was discovered on CT scan and confirmed by cardiac catheterization.

Haemothorax and thoracic spine fractures in the elderly.

Both osteoporotic fractures and pleural effusions are frequently observed in medicine. However, rarely does one associate a hemorrhagic pleural effusion with a thoracic spinal fracture when the patient has not sustained massive trauma. In this paper, we discuss two cases where seemingly insignificant low-energy trauma precipitated massive haemothoraces in elderly patients with underlying osteoporosis, ultimately resulting in their immediate causes of death.

Platelet dysfunction is an early marker for traumatic brain injury-induced coagulopathy.

Background: The goal of this study is to determine the presence of platelet dysfunction in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The mechanisms underlying the coagulopathy associated with TBI remain elusive. The question of platelet dysfunction in TBI is unclear.

The use of therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest in a pregnant patient.

Therapeutic hypothermia is an effective intervention for the postresuscitative care of patients who have sustained a cardiac arrest. There has been only 1 documented case of successful resuscitation of a pregnant patient and fetus with therapeutic hypothermia, with an abbreviated developmental follow-up of the child. A 33-year-old woman in her 20th week of pregnancy presented to our emergency department after experiencing a cardiac arrest.

An unusual cause of dysphagia: pericardial effusion after implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement.

Background: Dysphagia is a known complication of pericardial effusions. Most cases of pericardial effusions are idiopathic, infectious, and neoplastic, but can also occur after cardiac procedures.

Objective: To report the case of a patient who developed dysphagia from a sub-acute pericardial effusion caused by the placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).