A case of pyogenic liver abscesses in a previously healthy adolescent man.

An 18-year-old, previously healthy man admitted with abdominal pain, high-grade fevers, nausea and emesis was found to have multiple hepatic abscesses. Aspiration cultures grew Fusobacterium necrophorum, a rare bacterium causing potentially fatal liver abscesses in humans. Following sequential percutaneous drainages and narrowing of antibiotics, the patient was discharged on a 6-week antibiotic course and showed no signs of infection.

The role of advance directives and family in end-of-life decisions in critical care units.

Purpose: To define the extent and nature of the End-of-Life (EOL) decision-making process in critically ill patients.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective review of all deaths in adult medical and surgical intensive care units of a tertiary care hospital over a one-year period.

Results: There were sixty-one deaths in the study period.

Renal artery to inferior vena cava fistula following gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Traumatic fistula involving the renal artery and IVC is a rare event, and typically is a result of penetrating injury. A case of right renal artery to IVC fistula following a gunshot wound to the abdomen is reported, and illustrates the significant hemodynamic changes that accompany these fistulae. We also emphasize the importance of thorough initial exploration of retroperitoneal hematomas following penetrating trauma, and review management options in the treatment of renal arteriovenous fistulae.