A 79-year-old woman presented to the emergency department following a motor vehicle collision. As part of her workup she underwent a CT scan which identified a large mass containing calcifications centred around the gastric antrum, and while being assessed she produced 500 mL of haematemesis. An endoscopy revealed an area of friable mucosa the nature of which was uncertain, and multiple biopsies revealed amyloid deposition and active Helicobacter pylori gastritis. Following review of imaging and...
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome represents a severe adverse drug reaction driven by eosinophilia. Treatment is focused on withdrawal of medication, supportive care and immunosuppression such as high-dose corticosteroid therapy. Here we report a 56-year-old male patient who initially presented with breathlessness and eosinophilia, subsequent development of respiratory failure and admission to ITU for non-invasive ventilation. The patient continued to deteriorate...
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a terminal, yet preventable, outcome of untreated infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV is endemic in many areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, including Haiti. Haitians have the highest incidence of liver cancer among Caribbean immigrants. Unfortunately, many of these patients are not screened, despite current guidelines. As HBV is treatable, screening of high-risk populations is crucial to early intervention and prevention of poor outcomes. We highlight...
A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of thyroid storm due to Graves’ disease. Near-total thyroidectomy was performed after 1 month’s pharmacological treatment, and he presented with tetany next morning. Serum corrected calcium value was 5.7 mg/dL. Procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide increased considerably, while tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b decreased. These changes indicated that bone formation exceeded bone resorption in reverse after thyroidectomy. Calcium...
We describe the case of a 76-year-old man who presented with bilateral lower limb weakness associated with decreased urine output. His initial blood results showed acute kidney injury (AKI) stage 3 with substantially raised serum creatine kinase concentration of 37 950 IU/L (normal range <171 U/L). He had been on high-dose rosuvastatin for 4 years with a recent brand change occurring 1 week prior to onset of symptoms. There was no history of pre-existing neuromuscular disease. Statin-related rhabdomyolysis...
Erythromelalgia (EM) is a rare disorder of small nerve fibres that leads to painful flushing and burning paresthesisas of the distal extremities and is typically associated with heat or physical activity; relief is found using cooling measures. Its effects are often debilitating in the general population, but this patient had an excellent response to specific treatment options and continues to maintain employment, something many individuals suffering from EM are unable to do. His presentation was...
A 59-year-old woman presented to an otolaryngology clinic with an 8-week history of a painless lump over her left parotid gland. Her medical history included an invasive ductal carcinoma (33 mm) and a ductal carcinoma in situ (70 mm) of the right breast, for which she had a mastectomy and various adjuvant therapies. The primary tumour presented 8 years prior to the metachronous metastasis. This patient was a non-smoker and had no significant family history. Post-superficial parotidectomy pathology...
We report the case of an otherwise healthy 60-year-old man presenting with fever, leucocytosis and a painful swelling of the right calf. We initially performed cultural and cytological examination of the popliteal fossa mass, but the results were disappointingly inconclusive. The subsequent development of several erythematous subcutaneous nodules, rapidly evolving to broad ulcerative lesions, prompted us to reconsider the clinical setting as a whole, which included fever, marked leucocytosis and...
Benign metastasising leiomyoma (BML) is a rare gynaecological tumour which most commonly presents with incidental lung nodules. Here, we present a case of BML in which a 43-year-old woman was admitted in respiratory distress. She was found to have widespread lung involvement with numerous, moderately sized lesions and emphysematous lung regions. Imaging of this patient demonstrated more extensive respiratory disease than has previously been reported in BML, and rendered surgical resection of the...
A 35-year-old man presented with decreased vision in his left eye following small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. The refractive error after surgery was nearly twice his preoperative refractive error in the left eye. The patient was diagnosed as having a retained lenticule after SMILE surgery, which was folded on itself and was successfully managed by conversion to a flap. Postoperatively, the patient maintained good uncorrected visual acuity and a low refractive error, with the best...
The case involves a 62-year-old female native of the USA with a history of bipolar disorder and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who presented with intractable diarrhoea. Prior to the index admission, she was admitted to the intensive care unit and required pericardiocentesis for an idiopathic pericardial effusion with tamponade physiology. Following discharge, she suffered intractable diarrhoea and represented for medical evaluation. She had a painful, swollen tongue as well as persistent hypoglycaemia...
Vallecular cysts are a rare entity but can complicate the airway management due to the physical impediment and distortion of the laryngeal inlet. It can lead to fatal life-threatening airway obstruction postinduction of anaesthesia. Infancy compounds the risks due to lack of cooperation and physiological reserves. The literature review suggested most anaesthesiologists avoided muscle relaxants and aspiration of the cyst was used as a rescue technique. The present case report illustrates the successful...
A 20-year-old college student presented with high grade, intermittent fever for 10 days associated with blood stained loose stools after taking tablet levamisole for 17 days for vitiligo vulgaris. He was febrile, had a toxic appearance and appeared pale. Investigations showed neutropaenia with thrombocytopaenia. Blood cultures were sterile and stool cultures did not grow any enteric pathogens. His bone marrow examination was suggestive of an aplastic anaemia. He was administered empirical antibiotics,...
Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare condition, a metabolic disorder of the haem biosynthesis. An acute crisis of AIP can present as a combination of symptoms, such as abdominal pain, autonomic dysfunction, hyponatremia, muscle weakness and neurological symptoms in the absence of others obvious causes. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman, who was previously diagnosed with AIP 5 weeks after therapeutic suspension has developed an acute disease exacerbation. During hospitalisation, further...
A 28-year-old woman suffered a traffic accident resulting in severe head injuries with deleterious prognosis. Diagnostics further revealed a hitherto unknown pregnancy, at suspected week 9. Based on the patient’s wish to donate organs, brain death protocol confirmed irreversible loss of brain function. Yet, vital pregnancy rendered organ transplantation impossible. Multiple ethical and legal issues arose, from invalidation of established legal care after brain death to the delivery of a healthy child...
A 44-year-old asthmatic male patient presented to the health centre with a 3-week history of coryzal symptoms, persistent productive sputum and shortness of breath. The chest X-ray (CXR) revealed symmetrical, perihilar airspace shadowed with peribronchial cuffing and bilateral reticular markings. The patient did not improve despite treatment, and hence a high resolution CT (HRCT) scan of the thorax was recommended. The HRCT showed smooth interlobular septal thickening, central perihilar soft tissue...
We report the case of a patient with anorexia nervosa accompanied by acute subdural haematoma following a fall. A 34-year-old Japanese woman had serious medical complications and brain atrophy. After careful nutritional treatment, her laboratory test results improved and brain atrophy was reversed, and we prevented to perform surgery. However, unexpected prominent oedema of her lower legs and pleural effusion occurred. After receiving treatment for these symptoms, she eventually returned to her former...
Parainfectious optic neuritis is a very rare cause of acute vision loss. We present a case of a 51-year-old man with a recent upper respiratory tract infection, presumably of viral aetiology, who showed up with complains of painless right eye vision loss, followed by the same symptoms on the left eye 3 weeks later. Ophthalmological examination revealed optic disc swelling (sequential in severity) which was confirmed by optic disc imaging. The remaining evaluations (lumbar puncture, MRI, laboratory...
Brown tumours are rare osteolytic lesions that occur secondary to hyperparathyroidism (HPT). In 2% of all cases, the craniofacial bones are affected, most frequently the mandible. HPT is classified according to aetiology into three types, of which tertiary HPT is the rarest. Here we present the case of a 42-year-old man who had received a renal transplant 16 years previously and was referred due to swelling on the right side of his jaw. An orthopantomogram revealed a multilocular radiolucency in...
A 6-year-old girl presented with a history of blistering and scarring in trauma-prone areas. On examination, calcium deposits were seen on bilateral palms and soles within her non-healing wounds. Clinical, genetic and radiological evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of autosomal recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa with dystrophic calcification. The patient was started on topical 10% sodium thiosulfate for her calcinosis cutis. Identification and management of dystrophic calcification are important...
Exposure of a renal transplant through the abdominal wall is a rare event. A search of the literature reveals only six documented cases which used skin autograft for coverage, with none reported since 1981, and none which used negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) to prepare the recipient bed. This case report demonstrates that NPWT followed by split thickness skin graft is a reconstructive option which is feasible in patients who are at high risk for surgical complications in prolonged flap surgery.
A boy developed immune thrombocytopenia 2 weeks after receiving his measles-mumps-rubella and varicella vaccines at 12 months of age. He then had a recurrent episode 1 week after the booster doses of his quadrivalent diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-polio, pneumococcal and meningococcal group C vaccines at 5 years of age. On both the occasions he required hospitalisation and treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. He received other vaccines, before and in between, without any adverse events. Future...
A 33-year-old postpartum patient, who had an uncomplicated repeat caesarean section 4 weeks prior, presented with a 2-day history of acute right lower quadrant, incisional and groin pain. She was found to have a palpable tender lump in the right groin. A CT scan with contrast identified fluid along the anterior abdominal wall of the right lower quadrant (inguinal region) measuring about 1.7 cm, a preliminary diagnosis of an incarcerated inguinal hernia was made and the patient underwent immediate...
Limy bile syndrome is a rare entity in which there is an excessive precipitation of calcium salts, mainly calcium carbonate in the gallbladder (GB) and to a rare extent in the common bile duct (CBD), making it radiopaque in plain radiographs. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and effective in patients with limy bile confined to the GB. However, for patients with an extension to the CBD, bile duct exploration with a T-tube placement, endoscopic naso-billiary drainage or endoscopic sphincterotomy...
Florid papillomatosis (FP) of the nipple, or nipple adenoma, is a rare breast tumour, affecting middle-aged group population. A 46-year-old woman presented to us with a cauliflower-like FP of the right nipple with no blood stained discharge or breast lump. FP can be mistaken clinically for Paget’s disease and occasionally misinterpreted as invasive ductal or intraductal carcinoma. Extensive intervention, correct diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential. Any breast pathology requires triple assessment...
Intraocular lens (IOL) opacification is a rare phenomenon noted with hydrophilic acrylic IOLs. We report a case of advanced IOL opacification appreciated on anterior segment optical CT (ASOCT)as a shrunken biconcave optic retracted away from the posterior capsule (PC), unlike the other eye which had a clear biconvex IOL of similar material abutting the PC. After IOL exchange, the affected eye was noted to have more folds and Elschnig’s pearls on the PC when compared with the other eye. Our case points...
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