Scot Med J
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The role of single pill combination therapy for stroke prevention remains to be established. We explored the perspectives of stroke survivors and healthcare professionals on single pill combination therapy for stroke prevention. ⋯ Stroke healthcare professionals and stroke survivors are most amenable to using single pill combination therapy for stable patients, although its role in this context should be evaluated in studies with risk factor targets and clinical outcomes as endpoints.
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von Willebrand disease is the most common hereditary coagulopathy and is characterised by a deficiency in the quantity or quality of the von Willebrand factor. Heyde Syndrome, in contrast, is an acquired form of von Willebrand syndrome (AVWS) due to calcific aortic valve stenosis, characterised by gastrointestinal bleeding from angiodysplasia. ⋯ Retrospectively, this life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding was a result of severe Heyde Syndrome, which could be alleviated by TAVI. Whether the patient had suffered from inherited von Willebrand disease in the past, remains uncertain. AVWS should be considered in patients with suspected inherited von Willebrand disease and concomitant severe aortic valve stenosis, since it constitutes a treatable cause of a potentially severe bleeding disorder.
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Case Reports
Spuriously raised serum amylase in a five-year-old girl: a note of caution in paediatric blood sampling.
Capillary (finger prick) blood sampling is commonplace in paediatric practice but this method is prone to produce spurious laboratory results. ⋯ Increased awareness of the potential for salivary contamination of serum amylase in finger prick samples may prevent misdiagnoses of pancreatitis.
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Review Case Reports
Gastric neuroendocrine tumour, atrophic gastritis and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia: a case report and review.
Gastric neuroendocrine tumours are rare. We describe a unique case of a 66-year-old male patient who presented with shortness of breath and malaise, eventually attributed to severe autoimmune haemolysis in the context of atrophic gastritis and multiple type-1 gastric neuroendocrine tumours. ⋯ A favourable outcome was attained with corticosteroids plus subtotal gastrectomy for the treatment of the underlying neoplastic disease. This case illustrates that the differential diagnosis of any associated causes of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia can be challenging, and may extend to unexpected conditions.
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Sialorrhoea, which has been defined as excessive amount of saliva in the mouth, can be a debilitating symptom. Psychoactive drugs may cause an increase or decrease in saliva secretion. Antidepressant drugs, especially tricyclic antidepressants and less often serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are often associated with a decrease in salivation and the complaint of dry mouth. ⋯ We could not find report of any case with antidepressant-associated sialorrhoea in the literature. Future cases may support a relationship between sertraline and sialorrhoea.