[Diagnosis and treatment of visceral and renal embolisms].

In surgical practice, about 15% of all emboli are visceral emboli. Diagnosis is frequently delayed or established at autopsy.

BACKGROUND

The most common cause are atrial arrhythmias with intraatrial thrombus formation, less frequently, ventricular thrombus after myocardial infarction or in an aneurysm, emboli from vegetations due to infective endocarditis, from atrial myxomas and, occasionally, from arteriosclerotic plaques, aortic tumors or mural aortic thrombi. Cholesterol embolism: Cholesterol embolism or the multiple cholesterol emboli syndrome (MCES) is of particular importance. There are three large groups of symptoms: a peripheral manifestation with livedo reticularis, renal manifestation with progressive renal failure and visceral manifestation with intestinal bleeding and segmental infarction. The only possibility for treatment is surgical removal of the source of embolization through infrarenal aortic replacement or suprarenal aortic arteriectomy. Renal embolism: Acute traumatic interruption of the renal perfusion in otherwise healthy subjects usually leads to loss of the organ due to the limited ischemia tolerance. On the other hand, the results of renal artery embolectomy can be favorable even after 24 hours of ischemia since, as a rule, embolism does not completely occlude the vascular lumen and, in patients with arteriosclerosis, collateral vessels are usually present. The clinical presentation usually encompasses acute onset of flank or back pain, tenderness to percussion of the kidneys, nausea, vomiting and hematuria. In 25% of the cases, the course of renal embolism is bland. The low specificity of the complaints requires delineation of high-risk patients. At the first level of diagnostics, other causes of the complaints should be ruled out with catheterization of the bladder, ultrasound, intravenous pyelography and computer tomography with intravenous contrast medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)