Outcomes in 140 critically ill patients with status epilepticus.

Objective: Despite recent management guidelines, no recent study has evaluated outcomes in ICU patients with status epilepticus (SE).

Design And Setting: An 8-year retrospective study.

Subjects And Intervention: Observational study in 140 ICU patients with SE, including 81 (58%) with continuous SE and 59 (42%) with intermittent SE (repeated seizures without interictal recovery).

[Hematemesis revealing chronic volvulus of a wandering spleen].

A 23 years old woman was admitted on emergency for an upper digestive tract bleeding and endoscopy found gastric varices. CT scan revealed a splenomegaly, a twisted aspect of the splenic pedicle and varices in the gastrosplenic ligament. Arteriography showed a narrow splenic artery and varices in the gastrosplenic ligament.

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis in the forearm arterial bed of patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Increased vascular production of nitric oxide (NO) may contribute to the peripheral vasodilation and hyperdynamic state complicating advanced liver cirrhosis. In this study, we examined the effect on forearm blood flow of local brachial artery infusion of noradrenaline (NA) and NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), an inhibitor of NO-synthase, in 10 alcoholic ascitic cirrhotic patients (patients with decompensated alcohol-induced liver disease: DALD group) and 10 patients with well-compensated alcohol-induced liver disease (CALD group). Forearm blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography.