Chilaiditi sign is a rare incidental radiographic finding where bowel is interposed between the diaphragm and the liver, often seen as air under the right hemidiaphragm. A majority of patients with Chilaiditi sign are asymptomatic and remain so throughout their lifetime. Chilaiditi sign is recategorized as Chilaiditi syndrome if it becomes symptomatic and is a very rare etiology of bowel obstruction. As bowel obstruction confers a huge financial burden to the health care system, studies of even the rarer etiologies are of significant value. Particularly in the case of Chilaiditi syndrome, the free air under the right hemidiaphragm can lead physicians to prematurely conclude pneumoperitoneum, which would require an emergent surgical evaluation. It is through the incorporation of a broad differential and clinical presentation that physicians can decrease the inappropriate allocation of hospital resources and unnecessary surgical procedures; additionally, keeping Chilaiditi syndrome on the differential may prevent unnecessary surgical intervention, cost to the patient, and downstream complications. Bowel obstruction secondary to Chilaiditi syndrome is most commonly treated with conservative management including intravenous fluids, bowel rest, decompression, and laxatives. If the symptoms worsen and progress to full bowel obstruction, surgical intervention has shown great efficacy. We report a case of a 69-year-old male who presented to the emergency department for progressively worsening abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting incidentally found to have colonic interposition with mild colonic dilatation on computed tomography (CT) imaging. The patient was diagnosed with bowel obstruction secondary to Chilaiditi syndrome and treated non-surgically with rapid recovery.
Hemorrhagic pericardial effusion is a rare presenting sign of undiagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We present a case of a 58-year-old female with a history of mucinous cystadenoma with subsequent omental caking status-post small bowel resection, chronic intermittent bilateral knee pain, carpal tunnel syndrome of the left hand, and drainage of a peritoneal inclusion cyst two days prior to admission. The patient had pleuritic chest pain and acute-onset shortness of breath but was hemodynamically stable on presentation. Transthoracic echocardiogram and CT scan demonstrated a large pericardial effusion measuring 1.5 cm anteriorly, 2.21 cm posteriorly, and 2.5 cm laterally. Diagnostic pericardiocentesis revealed a hemorrhagic pericardial fluid with a glucose level of 133 mg/dL, pH of 7.34, albumin of 2.6 g/dL, red blood cell count of 401,000 cells per cubic millimeters (CUMM), white blood cell count of 1,400 CUMM, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of 930 U/L, and protein of 5 g/dL. Infectious and malignancy workups were negative. Rheumatologic workup was positive for elevated rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide. The patient was diagnosed with RA; she was started on methotrexate with folic acid, and a pericardial drain was kept in place for three days. We present a brief review of the workup, etiologies, and therapeutic approach for patients who present with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion secondary to undiagnosed RA.
Enoxaparin is commonly used for prophylaxis as an anticoagulant in hospital settings. Although enoxaparin has been known to cause many minor adverse reactions, hepatocellular injury is one of the rare side effects which can impact clinical course, marked by an asymptomatic rise in liver function panel tests. In this paper, we not only delineate the relationship between enoxaparin-induced hepatocellular injury but also associate it with fevers that have not been previously documented. Furthermore, we posit the Moderna COVID19 vaccine as a potential contributor to this outcome. We hypothesize that the link between enoxaparin and hepatic injury is possibly due to the inflammatory state, which may be augmented by the vaccine.
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