Introduction. Spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma (SRSH) is characterized by bleeding within the rectus abdominis muscle sheath, one of the rare causes of acute abdominal pain. Early diagnosis is imperative in SRSH to prevent complications and the treatment is usually conservative. We intended to present in this study our experience with SRSH patients with respect to diagnostic evaluation and management of their disease. Materials and Methods. In this retrospective study, 14 patients who had received treatment for SRSH in our clinic between January 2012 and December 2017 were assessed in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory parameters, diagnostic approach methods, treatment practices, length of hospital stay, and patient outcomes. Results. The patients consisted of 10 (71.4%) females and 4 males (28.6%). The age of the patients ranged between 47 and 93 with a mean age of 66.5 ± 12.1. Anticoagulant treatments were being administered to 5 (35.7%) patients, antiplatelet treatments to 4 (28.5%) patients, and both anticoagulant and antiplatelet treatments to 4 (28.5%) patients. The most common triggering factor was severe cough and the most common initial symptom acute abdominal pain (71.4%). In physical examinations, the entire patients had generalized abdominal tenderness, 10 (71.4%) voluntary guarding and 7 (50%) a right lower quadrant mass. The diagnosis was confirmed by abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography. Based on the computed tomography findings, the disease was classified as Type 2 found in 9 (64.3%) patients, Type 1 in 3 (21.4%) patients, and Type 3 in 2 (14.2%) patients. All the patients were treated conservatively. They were hospitalized for 1 to 23 days. There was no mortality. All the patients were followed up between 3 months and 2 years and no recurrence was recorded. Conclusion. Considering the presence of SRSH particularly in older female patients who use anticoagulant drugs and have newly developed an abdominal pain and a palpable mass after coughing spells is the key to make an early and correct diagnosis and to prevent possible morbidity and mortality with an appropriate treatment method.

Introduction. Scar endometriosis (SE) is a rare pathology that develops in the scar tissue formed on the anterior abdominal wall usually after a cesarean section. There have been instances of women presenting to emergency or general surgery clinics with abdominal pain due to SE. Materials and Methods. This study retrospectively reviews 19 patients who were operated on in our clinic between January 2010 and January 2017 with a prediagnosis of SE and were reported to have SE based on their pathology results. Results. The mean age of the patients was 30.8 years (range: 20-49 years). The body mass indexes of 12 (63.2%) patients were ≥ 25. All patients had a history of cesarean section and 9 (47.4%) patients had undergone cesarean section once. With the exception of one patient who had her SE localized in her inguinal region, all patients had a mass localized on their anterior abdominal wall neighboring the incision and complained about cyclic pain starting in their premenstrual periods. The complaints began 2 years after their cesarean section in 10 (52.6%) patients. Mostly abdominal ultrasonography was used for diagnostic purposes. The lesions were totally excised and the SE diagnosis was made through a histopathological examination in all patients. No postoperative complications or recurrences were seen in any of the patients. Conclusion. Suspicion of SE is essential in women of reproductive age who have a history of cesarean section and complaints of an anterior abdominal wall mass and a pain at the scar site that is associated with their menstrual cycle. An accurate and early diagnosis can be established in such patients through a careful history and a good physical examination and possible morbidities can be prevented with an appropriate surgical intervention.

BackgroundCarbon dioxide (CO2) pneumoperitoneum facilitates the visualization of abdominal organs during laparoscopic surgery. However, the associated increase in intra-abdominal pressure causes oxidative stress, which contributes to tissue injury.ObjectiveWe investigated the ability of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drug Erdosteine to prevent CO2 pneumoperitoneum-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions in a rat model.MethodsFourteen female adult Wistar albino rats were divided into a control group (Group A, n = 7) and an Erdosteine group (Group B, n = 7). Group A received 0.5 cc/day 0.9% NaCl, and Group B received 10 mg/kg/day Erdosteine was administered by gavage, and maintained for 7 days prior to the operation. During the surgical procedure, the rats were exposed to CO2 pneumoperitoneum with an intra-abdominal pressure of 15 mmHg for 30 min. The peritoneal gas was then desufflated. The rats were sacrificed following 3 h of insufflation. Their lungs were removed, histologically evaluated, and scored for intra-alveolar hemorrhage, alveolar edema, congestion, and leukocyte infiltration. The results were statistically analyzed. A value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsSignificant differences were detected in intra-alveolar hemorrhage (P < 0.05), congestion (P < 0.001), and leukocyte infiltration (P < 0.001) in Group A compared with Group B. However, the differences in alveolar edema were not statistically significant (P = 0.698).ConclusionsCO2 pneumoperitoneum results in oxidative injury to lung tissue, and administration of Erdosteine reduces the severity of pathological changes. Therefore, Erdosteine may be a useful preventive and therapeutic agent for CO2 pneumoperitoneum-induced oxidative stress in laparoscopic surgery.

BackgroundAccidents caused by motorized vehicle in the agricultural sector are frequently observed. In Turkey; accidents arising from motorized vehicles, named Pat-Pat, which are used by farmers in the Western Black Sea region is not unusual.MethodsOne hundred five patients who were brought into the Emergency Department of Duzce University, Medical Faculty Hospital between September 2009 and August 2010 due to Pat-Pat related accidents were evaluated.ResultsThe cases consisted of 73 (69.5%) males and 32 (30.5%) females, ranging from 2 to 73 years of age. In the 10-39 age group, a total of 63 (60.0%) cases were determined. The months when the greatest rate of cases applied to the hospital consisted of July, August, September and the season is summer. The cases were exposed to trauma in roads in 54 (51.4%), and 51 (48.6%) occurred in agricultural area without roads. Eighty seven (82.9%) cases were injured due to the overturning of vehicle. The patients were brought to the hospital using a private vehicle in 54 (51.4%) of the cases and in 51 (48.6%) cases, 112 ambulance system was used. The cases were determined to apply to the hospital most frequently between 6 pm-12 am. The injuries frequently consisted of head-neck and spine traumas, thorax traumas and upper extremity traumas. In 55 (52.4%) cases, open wound-laceration was determined. Seventy five (71.4%) cases were treated in the Emergency Department, and 28 (26.7%) were hospitalized. Three (2.9%) cases were deceased.ConclusionsSerious injuries can occur in Pat-Pat related accidents, and careful systematic physical examination should be conducted. In order to prevent these accidents, education of farm operators and engineering studies on the mechanics and safety of these vehicles should be taken and legal regulations should be created.

The topical antimicrobial treatment with metronidazole as an addition to the classical medical treatments in acute anal fissure is an effective and safe practice resulting in further reduction in pain and increased healing rate.

Introduction. Being one of the scoring systems used in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, the RIPASA score can be used easily with a high diagnostic accuracy. Objective. To evaluate the possible relationship between RIPASA scores and the histopathological examination results of appendectomy materials. Materials and Methods. This study retrospectively reviews 242 patients who were operated in our clinic between January 2016 and January 2018 with a prediagnosis of acute appendicitis, and the RIPASA scores calculated in the preoperative period were compared to the histopathological examination results of the appendectomy specimens. Results. The patients consisted of 124 (51.2%) females and 118 (48.8%) males. The ages of the patients ranged from 15 to 81 years. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on their RIPASA scores as low-score (4-7), intermediate-score (7.5-11.5), and high-score (12 and over) groups. There were 20 (52.6%) catarrhal-stage appendicitis cases and 17 (44.7%) normal appendixes in the low-score group; there were 70 (83.3%) catarrhal-stage appendicitis cases, 9 (10.7%) suppurative-stage appendicitis cases, 4 (4.8%) gangrenous-stage appendicitis cases, and 1 (1.2%) perforated appendicitis case in the intermediate-score group. In the high-score group, there were 53 (44.2%) suppurative-stage appendicitis cases, 51 (42.5%) gangrenous-stage appendicitis cases, 11 (9.2%) perforated appendicitis cases, and 5 (4.2%) catarrhal-stage appendicitis cases. A strong positive correlation was found between the RIPASA scores of the patients and the pathological stage of appendicitis (r=0.889; p<0.001). Conclusion. The RIPASA scoring system can make a correct and prompt diagnosis of acute appendicitis including its possible pathological stage without any need for a computed tomography.

Clinical and pathological characteristics of incidental papillary thyroid microcancer cases, surgical, medical, and nuclear treatment methods, and patients' outcome were studied during follow-up period of 102 months. We studied 37 patients with incidental papillary thyroid microcancer (I-PTM). The surgical procedure was total thyroidectomy in 29 and hemithyroidectomy in 8 patients. Size, multifocality, and bilateralism of PTM foci, thyroid capsule invasion, and presence of lymphovascular invasion were histopathological parameters. We analysed adjuvant medical and nuclear treatment and patients' outcome during follow-up period of 102 (61–144) months. The prevalence rates of I-PTM were 9.4% in 395 thyroidectomy cases. Histopathological examination reported unifocal disease in 30 and multifocal disease in 7 (18%) patients. Multifocal disease was bilateral in 6 (20.1%) patients. The mean size of the PTM foci was 4.88 mm. The rate of thyroid capsule invasion was 5.4%. All patients received a suppressive dose of LT4 to achieve a low serum TSH level. Adjuvant surgical and nuclear treatment was not performed in our cases. We did not find any negative changes in blood chemistry and ultrasound imaging, and any unfavourable events as locoregional and systemic recurrence. In conclusion, diagnosis of I-PTM is common that multifocality and bilateralism appear as pathologic features. The prognosis is excellent after surgical treatment and TSH suppression. Routine adjuvant nuclear treatment is unnecessary in majority of patients.

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