BackgroundAluminum phosphide is a very common suicide agent in developing countries like Nepal. Due to the unavailability of a specific antidote, mortality is very high because the phosphine molecule that is formed leads to inhibition of the cytochrome oxidase enzyme system in mitochondria. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation provides life-saving support to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems until the deadly poison is eliminated from the body.Case presentationWe encountered one case of 67-year-old Asian woman, a known case of major depressive disorder, who presented to our center with suicidal ingestion of aluminum phosphide with cardiovascular and respiratory dysfunction. On presentation in our emergency room, she had an ejection fraction of 20% and had to be immediately intubated for respiratory failure. Based on the evidence of almost 100% mortality with aluminum phosphide poisoning, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was initiated in our intensive care unit. Her general condition and hemodynamics gradually improved over the course of 2 days and she was weaned from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventilator by post-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation days 3 and 4, respectively. After psychiatric evaluation and establishment of normal vital parameters, she was moved out of intensive care unit on post-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation day 6 and discharged to home on post-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation day 10.ConclusionsAlthough this seems to be a small step in terms of global perspective, it is a giant stride for a developing country. The management of reversible but severe cardiac and respiratory failure certainly opens up newer scopes where we can ensure a quality health care service being made accessible even to the most underprivileged people.

A 29-year-old patient with normal preanesthetic evaluation was planned for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for right nephrolithiasis with right pyelolithiasis. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation with muscle relaxation. At the conclusion of surgery, when the patient was turned over to supine position, tense abdomen was noted. Immediately extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (eFAST) was done in which both right and left quadrants of abdomen including pericardial and suprapubic region, right and left thoracic, and both lung basis were examined. Fluid collection was seen in Morison’s pouch which was drained by the urologist under real-time ultrasonography guidance by anesthesiologist. Distension of abdomen subsequently subsided and patient had normal vitals. Trachea was extubated and patient shifted to post-operative ward. eFAST and FAST scans are routine procedures in the rapid assessment of trauma victims in emergency settings. The fluid extravasation during a routine PCNL procedure may lead to abdominal compartment syndrome. This case demonstrated that use of eFAST rapidly detected abdominal collection and ruled out life-threatening conditions such as hemothorax and pneumothorax and prevented abdominal compartment syndrome. Our case is only an example that potentially lethal conditions like these may be encountered in the perioperative setting and the knowledge of eFAST scan may be of great help.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13089-018-0088-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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BackgroundIntravenous immunoglobulin is one of the most common modalities of treatment for Guillain–Barré syndrome. Although minor complications are easily preventable with pre-medications, rare complications like hemolysis occur at unexpected times and carry risks of repeated transfusions. A complication like difficulties in cross-matching blood is an uncommon event and is often not anticipated. We present one such rare case.Case presentationA 56-year-old man of Asian origin had presented to our hospital with rapidly progressive weakness of bilateral upper and lower limbs over 4 days. Guillain–Barré syndrome was diagnosed by nerve conduction velocity testing and lumbar puncture examination. On the third day of admission in hospital he was intubated because of respiratory failure. Intravenous immunoglobulin at 0.4 mg/kg per day for 5 days was planned and started. Our patient was scheduled for tracheostomy on a routine basis anticipating prolonged requirement of ventilator support. As the blood was being arranged, the blood bank facilities informed us about difficulties in cross-matching of the blood. Repeated samples and attempts at cross-matching were futile. After reviewing the available literature and diagnosing a case of hemolysis, relevant tests were performed and they were positive.ConclusionsAnti-A and anti-B antibody present in intravenous immunoglobulin preparations sensitize the red blood cells to hemolysis and this occurrence is often incriminated as a cause of cross-matching and sometimes blood grouping difficulty. Although a high dose of intravenous immunoglobulin or repeated courses are often cited as reasons for hemolysis, individual variability in responses is common and it is not surprising to see one like we had in our case.

A dual mode shared aperture antenna consisting of two planer arrays of ring antennas is designed for L and S bands. The array of larger dimension surrounds the array of smaller dimension. The antennas are isolated from one another and fed separately. The antenna dimensions are optimized and prototyped. The antennas radiate separately in L and S bands with least coupling or no coupling. Measured results are in agreement with the simulations, depicting good performance in terms of impedance bandwidth, isolation, and gain.