Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the major causes of maternal mortality worldwide. The leading cause of primary postpartum haemorrhage is uterine atony and active management of the third stage of labour with oxytocin is recommended for preventing primary postpartum haemorrhage. Parenteral oxytocin is also the drug of choice for medical management of postpartum haemorrhage secondary to uterine a...

Cardiac tamponade is defined as compression of the heart due to accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac, leading to raised pericardial pressures with haemodynamic compromise. We describe the case of a 76-year old female patient who underwent a routine off-pump coronary artery bypass graft operation and within 48 h developed classic signs of cardiac tamponade. The perioperative echocardiogr...

Traumatic pericardial tamponade is a serious and rapidly fatal injury. As penetrating chest wounds are becoming more common, early diagnosis of tamponade is important so that life saving treatment can be started. The classical features of tamponade may be modified by hypovolaemia and the presence of associated injuries; acute tamponade may also be precipitated by rapid administration of large v...

An acute cardiac tamponade from any cause may result in rapid deterioration of hepatic function in a previously healthy patient. We describe a case of an acute ascending aortic dissection that presented as acute hepatic failure, due to an acute cardiac tamponade and severe right heart failure. The differential diagnosis of the aetiology of acute liver failure is extensive and includes poisoning...

Cardiac tamponade resulting from hemopericardium after a thoracic trauma is a relatively common occurrence. We report on 2 cases of extrapericardial cardiac tamponade, a condition that is definitely less common although potentially life threatening. Both patients underwent sternotomic cardiac decompression and were transferred to ICU: the first patient died of neurological damage, the second pa...

We report two cases of surgical removal of a retained subfoveal perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL) bubble through a therapeutic macular hole combined with intravitreal PFCL injection and gas tamponade. Two patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy with PFCL injection for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. In both cases, a retained subfoveal PFCL bubble was noticed postoperatively by funduscopy and op...

SUMMARY Cardiac tamponade that occurs late after cardiac surgery (7 days) is relatively uncommon but potentially fatal. We analyzed its incidence, clinical course and relationship to the postpericardiotomy syndrome in 1290 consecutive adult patients who survived surgery. Criteria for diagnosis of cardiac tamponade were (1) elevated jugular venous pressure, (2) hypotension or decreased cardiac i...

Pericardial effusion is a common finding in everyday clinical practice. The first challenge to the clinician is to try to establish an etiologic diagnosis. Sometimes, the pericardial effusion can be easily related to a known underlying disease, such as acute myocardial infarction, cardiac surgery, end-stage renal disease or widespread metastatic neoplasm. When no obvious cause is apparent, some...

BACKGROUND A full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) is a common retinal condition associated with impaired vision. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that surgery, by means of pars plana vitrectomy and post-operative intraocular tamponade with gas, is effective for stage 2, 3 and 4 FTMH. Internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling has been introduced as an additional surgical manoeu...

BACKGROUND Development of experimental animal models has played an important role in understanding the mechanisms of cardiac memory. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new canine model of cardiac memory using endocardial ventricular pacing via internal jugular vein. METHODS Twelve Beagle dogs underwent placement of a permanent ventricular pacemaker mimicking the use of pacemakers in ...