Munchausen syndrome in the emergency department mostly difficult, sometimes easy to diagnose: a case report and review of the literature.

Munchausen syndrome is a rare psychiatric disorder in which patients inflict on themselves an illness or injury for the primary purpose of assuming the sick role. Because these patients can present with many different complaints and clinical symptoms, diagnosis is often made at a later stage of hospitalisation. In contrast we report a case of a 40-year old woman very easy to diagnose with Munchausen syndrome.

Impact of anesthesia on valvular function in normal rats during echocardiography.

Anesthetic agents have different effects on hemodynamic and cardiac functional parameters. The influence of these changes on valvular function has not been studied in small animals. For this purpose, 48 male Wistar rats were divided into three equal groups.

Ketosis and cardiac failure: common signs of a single condition.

The metabolic effects of chronic alcohol abuse can induce a broad spectrum of disorders. We describe the case of an initially unidentified alcoholic, poorly nourished woman who presented with ketoacidosis. She developed severe cardiac failure, which did not respond to classical treatment.