About Raymond Zhou

Medical Student
Vanderbilt University

SAEM Clinical Image Series: Eye Pain

necrotizing

A 59-year-old gentleman experiencing homelessness with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis C, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco dependence presented to the emergency department (ED) with severe, worsening right eye pain, blurry vision, swelling, redness, and purulent discharge after scraping his upper face on concrete during a mechanical fall two weeks prior. Of note, his partner presented to the ED at the same time with a necrotic infection of the breast as well as multiple skin lesions reportedly due to insect bites.

Vitals: T 102.4°F; HR 108; BP 121/94

Head: Lice nits visible in his hair

Eye: Unable to open right eye without assistance; eyelids crusted and necrotic with underlying orbicularis oculi muscle visible; EOM full but painful in all fields of gaze; visual acuity 20/60 in each eye; pupils 2 mm, equal and minimally reactive.

White blood cell (WBC) count: 27,600/μl

Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP): Na 121; K 2.8; Cl 83; AST 113; ALT 45

Wound culture: Positive for MRSA, Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, and Staphyloccocus epidermis

This patient’s presentation is consistent with periorbital necrotizing fasciitis complicated by severe sepsis.

This patient had type 1 necrotizing fasciitis given the polymicrobial source of infection with both aerobic and anaerobic organisms growing from his wound culture. Type 2 necrotizing fasciitis is attributable to streptococcal and/or staphylococcal infection alone. Group A strep is the most common organism responsible for necrotizing fasciitis, found in about 50% of cases.

Independent risk factors for necrotizing fasciitis include advanced age, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, liver cirrhosis, alcohol use disorder, and trauma. Furthermore, persons who experience homelessness are at risk of skin lesions due to insect bites, burns, and physical trauma which predispose them to secondary bacterial infections because of inadequate hygiene resources.

A systematic review of periorbital necrotizing fasciitis showed that 35% of cases were triggered by trauma, while 14% were caused by other infections such as acute dacryocystitis, sinus infections, and infections of the parotid glands.  Thus, it is likely that the patient’s contact with his partner who had a necrotic soft tissue infection secondary to insect bites, as well as his recent trauma to the eye, predisposed his development of this condition.

Initiation of broad-spectrum intravenous (IV) antibiotics with vancomycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and clindamycin, as well as IV fluids.

In this case, the patient received the above antibiotics, underwent operative debridement, frequent wound care including dilute hypochlorous acid, local vancomycin administered via intra-orbital catheter, as well as lid reconstruction with glabellar flap. He was ultimately discharged on a two-week course of oral moxifloxacin and linezolid, healing well at his one-month follow-up appointment.

 

Take-Home Points

  • Skin problems are a common reason that persons experiencing homelessness seek medical care, given their risk factors for both primary insults and subsequent superinfection.
  • Common sources of infection for periorbital necrotizing fasciitis include trauma, surgery, and other infections of the upper face.
  • The standard of care for periorbital necrotizing fasciitis consists of IV and local antibiotics, and operative debridement.

  • Amrith S, Hosdurga Pai V, Ling WW. Periorbital necrotizing fasciitis — a review. Acta Ophthalmol. 2013 Nov;91(7):596-603. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2012.02420.x. Epub 2012 Apr 20. PMID: 22520175.

 

SAEM Clinical Image Series: Pediatric Penis Swelling

A 3-year-old healthy uncircumcised male presents to the Emergency Department with five days of penis swelling and pain. Five days prior, his father noted that the patient’s foreskin appeared stuck behind the head of the penis. The patient was seen at an urgent care facility four days prior and was given an antifungal cream for presumed balanitis, however, this did not resolve the patient’s symptoms. Since that time, the penis has been getting progressively more swollen and painful. The patient has not experienced the inability to urinate, decreased urine output, penile discharge, other penile lesions, fever, chills, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, testicular pain, or testicular swelling.

Vitals: Within normal limits

General: Alert, anxious

Genitourinary: Penile swelling, erythema, and tenderness to palpation

Non-contributory

Paraphimosis is a medical emergency due to the risk of tissue necrosis. A preputial or phimotic ring – a circumferential band of tissue – caught behind the glans causes swelling of penile tissue.

In the evaluation of painful penile swelling, the first step is to determine whether the patient is circumcised or not through a review of the medical record or discussion with the patient’s family. In an uncircumcised male, the critical next step is to assess for an entrapped and retracted foreskin (paraphimosis). Visualization of the glans penis and the urethral meatus as in this case demonstrates that the foreskin is retracted. Additionally, visualization of the glans penis and urethral meatus makes a scarred and unretractable foreskin (pathologic paraphimosis) unlikely to be the primary diagnosis. The differential diagnosis also includes hair tourniquet syndrome, chigger bites, and inflammation of the glans and foreskin (balanitis and balanoposthitis).

Take-Home Points

  • In any male presenting with penile pain, it is critical to first ascertain his circumcision status. In an uncircumcised male, visualizing the glans and urethral meatus demonstrates that the foreskin is retracted.
  • Paraphimosis is a medical emergency caused by an entrapped, retracted foreskin.
  1. Bragg BN, Kong EL, Leslie SW. Paraphimosis. 2021 May 4. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan–. PMID: 29083645.
  2. 2. Simonis K, Rink M. Paraphimosis. In: Urology at a Glance. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2014:361-364. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-54859-8_65

 

 

 

By |2021-09-13T10:34:13-07:00Sep 13, 2021|Genitourinary, Pediatrics, SAEM Clinical Images|
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