scholarly journals A case report of severe cardioinhibitory reflex syncope associated with COVID-19

Author(s):  
J Beil ◽  
A Gatti ◽  
L Bruch ◽  
H Schroer

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recognised as a disease with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. In this report we illustrate an extraordinary case of severe cardioinhibitory reflex syncope with prolonged asystole associated with COVID-19. Case summary A 35-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with a ten-day history of postural syncope and fever. ECG monitoring during positional change revealed reflex syncope with cardioinhibitory response, exhibiting sinus bradycardia, subsequent asystole and transient loss of consciousness (TLOC). The patient tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and was admitted to the ICU where temporary transvenous pacing was necessary because of prolonged episodes of asystole. Work-up included extensive cardiac and neurological diagnostic testing, but did not yield any structural abnormalities. Although temporary pacing was able to abort syncope, a decision was made to hold off on permanent pacing as the most likely aetiology was felt to be temporary cardioinhibitory reflex syncope associated with COVID-19. The patient was discharged with mild symptoms of orthostatic intolerance and responded well to education and lifestyle modification. Outpatient follow-up with repeat tilt testing after three and six months initially showed residual inducible syncope but was eventually normal and the patient remained asymptomatic. Discussion We believe that autonomic imbalance with a strong vagal activation due to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection played a pivotal role in the occurrence of transient syncope in this patient’s condition. Although pacemaker implantation would have been a reasonable alternative, a watch-and-wait approach should be considered in similar instances.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ahmed S. Yassin ◽  
Ahmed Subahi ◽  
Hossam Abubakar ◽  
Ahmed Rashed ◽  
Mohamed Shokr

Background. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is associated with increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, and bradyarrhythmias. However, sinus node dysfunction is relatively infrequent in the setting of takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Case Report. We are reporting a case of a 73-year-old woman with a history of asymptomatic sinus bradycardia who developed sick sinus syndrome complicated by takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Conclusion. Acute symptomatic sick sinus syndrome in patients with preexisting silent sinus node dysfunction can trigger takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Understanding precipitating factors of takotsubo cardiomyopathy and identifying the patients at risk of life-threatening arrhythmia can help in refining risk stratification and therapy planning. Patients with sick sinus syndrome complicated by takotsubo cardiomyopathy may benefit from pacemaker implantation. However, evaluation on a case-by-case basis is mandatory.


Author(s):  
Sayaka Funabashi ◽  
Kenichiro Yamagata ◽  
Tatsuya Nishii ◽  
Kengo Kusano

Abstract Background Head and neck malignancies rarely cause reflex syncope. Three mechanistic patterns of reflex syncope are known in such patients: carotid sinus syndrome, glossopharyngeal neuralgia syndrome, and parapharyngeal space lesions syncope syndrome. There are few reports describing parapharyngeal space lesions syncope syndrome. Case summary A 61-year-old man with a history of head and neck cancer underwent left lingual resection and left anterior cervical lymph node dissection followed by chemoradiotherapy. Two months later, he experienced his first syncope and was admitted to our hospital for further investigation. During the first few days in the hospital, he experienced loss of consciousness. Carotid artery massage and cervical rotation-extension examinations revealed no abnormalities, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia was not observed. Cervical computed tomography showed recurrence of tongue cancer infiltrating the para-nasopharyngeal space. Consequently, the patient had sinus pause during the loss of consciousness; hence, we suspected parapharyngeal space lesions syncope syndrome. Pacemaker implantation was considered but could not be performed as the patient passed away because of the original malignancy. Discussion Parapharyngeal space tumours are often characterized by the absence of subjective symptoms, although symptoms such as neck swelling and discomfort in the throat have been reported. Parapharyngeal space lesions syncope syndrome is caused by tumour invasion into the parapharyngeal space, and there is no known trigger for syncope. Our case is unique because the patient’s first symptom of recurrence of tongue cancer infiltrating the para-nasopharyngeal space was repeated loss of consciousness.


Author(s):  
Sara Abolghasemi ◽  
Mohammad Alizadeh ◽  
Ali Hashemi ◽  
Shabnam Tehrani

Introduction: Epididymo-orchitis is a common urological disease among men. Little is known about the clinical and epidemiological aspects of the disease in Iran. Thus, the present study was aimed to investigate the etiology, clinical sequelae and risk factors of patients with epididymo-orchitis in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: Patients presenting with epididymo-orchitis were prospectively analyzed in order to study the etiology and pattern of the disease. Bacteriological, molecular and serological tests were undertaken to look for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Brucella spp., Mycoplasma spp, and other bacteria. Results: Fifty patients with epididymo-orchitis were evaluated according to their clinical symptoms, duration of symptoms, physical examination, and laboratory studies. The mean age of the patients was 53 years. Fever, dysuria, pain in the flanks, urinary frequency and discharges occurred in 58.0%, 50.0%, 50.0%, 28.0% and 6.0%, respectively. Bacterial pathogen was identified in 26% (13/50) of patients by urine culture. Escherichia coli was the etiological agent in 11/13 patients (84.6%). Two out of 50 patients (4.0%) were also positive for Chlamydia trachomatis. Two samples were serologically positive for Brucella spp. High Mean age, fever, urinary frequency, history of the underlying disease and history of urinary tract infections were found to have a significant association with the positive bacteriologic urine culture (P<0.05). Conclusions: The most common clinical manifestations were fever, dysuria, and abdominal pain. E. coli and C. trachomatis were the major causative agents. Use of a set of diagnostic approaches including clinical symptoms, urine culture and more precise techniques such as PCR should be taken into consideration for the definitive diagnosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Kamil ◽  
T.S.G Sehested ◽  
K Houlind ◽  
J.F Lassen ◽  
G Gislason ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Aggressive management of risk factors and lifestyle modification may improve outcomes for patients with PAD. The present study aims to investigate changes in use of cardioprotective medication after the incident diagnosis of PAD between 1997 and 2016. Methods By using Danish national healthcare registries, we identified all patients with first-time diagnosis of PAD between 1997 and 2016. These patients were classified into 2 main groups: PAD-all (n=167,762) that includes all PAD patients with or without a history of CVD, including myocardial infarction (MI), atrial fibrillation (AF), and stroke (n=167,761) and PAD-only (n=87,935) that comprise patients with PAD without a history of AF, MI, and stroke. We calculated temporal trends and assessed comparative use of cardioprotective medication in the first 12 months after the incident diagnosis of PAD. Results Our results showed an improved use of cardioprotective medication temporally in both groups. However, PAD-all were marginally better treated (Aspirin, 3.5% - 48.4%; Clopidogrel, 0% - 17.6%; VKA 0.9% - 7.8%; NOACs 0.0% - 10.1%; Statins, 1.9%- 58.1%; ACE-inhibitors, 1.2% - 20.6%), compared to PAD-only (Aspirin, 2.9% - 54.4%; Clopidogrel, 0% - 11.9%; VKA 0.9% - 2.4%; NOACs 0.0% - 3.4%; Statins, 1.5%- 56.9%; ACE-inhibitors, 0.9% - 17.2%), respectively. Proportion of PAD patients treated with any cardioprotective medication was greater among those with a history of MI or stroke. Whereas, PAD patients with a history of AF were substantially better treated with VKA and NOACs. Conclusion In this nationwide study, use of cardioprotective medication increased considerably with time, but there remains an underuse of guideline-recommended therapy in patients with PAD. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alcivan Batista de Morais Filho ◽  
Thiago Luis de Holanda Rego ◽  
Letícia de Lima Mendonça ◽  
Sulyanne Saraiva de Almeida ◽  
Mariana Lima da Nóbrega ◽  
...  

Abstract Hemorrhagic stroke (HS) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide, despite being less common, it presents more aggressively and leads to more severe sequelae than ischemic stroke. There are two types of HS: Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH), differing not only in the site of bleeding, but also in the mechanisms responsible for acute and subacute symptoms. This is a systematic review of databases in search of works of the last five years relating to the comprehension of both kinds of HS. Sixty two articles composed the direct findings of the recent literature and were further characterized to construct the pathophysiology in the order of events. The road to the understanding of the spontaneous HS pathophysiology is far from complete. Our findings show specific and individual results relating to the natural history of the disease of ICH and SAH, presenting common and different risk factors, distinct and similar clinical manifestations at onset or later days to weeks, and possible complications for both.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 2050313X2199611
Author(s):  
Evelyne Sandjojo ◽  
Vanessa AMC Jaury ◽  
Yufi K Astari ◽  
Mahendria Sukmana ◽  
Rizky A Haeruman ◽  
...  

Inferior wall myocardial infarction occurs in approximately 50% of all myocardial infarctions. The most common conduction disorder of this disease is complete atrioventricular block. Immediate attention must be given to the myocardial infarction patients with conduction block due to the increased mortality rate in these patients. Temporary pacemaker implantation and permanent pacemaker implantation are recommended in complete atrioventricular block cases that do not improve with reperfusion. In this case report, a 64-year-old-female patient came to the emergency department of a rural General Hospital with complaints of epigastric pain, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting for 2 days before admission. She had uncontrolled hypertension without a history of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, or a family history of heart disease. The electrocardiogram displayed an acute inferior wall myocardial infarction and complete atrioventricular block with escape junctional rhythm with a heart rate of 17 bpm. She was diagnosed with nonreperfused inferior wall myocardial infarction and a complete atrioventricular block. She was successfully treated with only dopamine and epinephrine as the definitive treatment because the patient refused to be referred to a tertiary hospital for percutaneous coronary intervention and pacemaker implantation due to financial reasons. Dopamine and epinephrine may be considered for complete atrioventricular block if transfer to a higher level of care is not feasible and as bridge therapy while waiting for transfer.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212199404
Author(s):  
He Yu ◽  
Xinyu Ma ◽  
Nianting Tong ◽  
Zhanyu Zhou ◽  
Yu Zhang

Importance: This is the first reported case of acute exudative paraneoplastic polymorphous vitelliform maculopathy (AEPPVM) in a patient with thymoma, accompanied by myasthenia gravis (MG) and polymyositis. Objective: To examine the pathogenesis of ocular disease in a patient with yolk-like fundus lesions and thymoma, MG, and polymyositis throughout the body based on clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and genetic testing to determine the appropriate treatment course. Design, setting, and participants: We describe a 63-year-old woman who presented to our tertiary medical center with a 3-month history of reduced visual acuity in both eyes. Concurrent fundoscopy revealed a 2.0 × 1.7-mm, unifocal, yellow, round vitelliform lesion in the macular region, surrounded by multifocal, shallow, yellow-white pockets of subretinal fluid. The patient’s medical history included thymoma with thymectomy treatment, combined with pericardiectomy and postoperative radiotherapy (20 years prior), followed by a diagnosis of MG with suspect thymic association (15 years prior). Three years prior, the patient had been diagnosed with polymyositis related to paraneoplastic syndrome; 1 year prior, she had been examined for pleural thickening due to suspected metastatic tumor. Results: On her most recent follow-up visit at 3 months after initial diagnosis, the patient was stable with no clinically significant progression in ocular or systemic conditions.


2021 ◽  
pp. sextrans-2020-054887
Author(s):  
Silvia Achia Nieuwenburg ◽  
Ricardo Jamie Sprenger ◽  
Maarten Franciscus Schim van der Loeff ◽  
Henry John Christiaan de Vries

ObjectivesHIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) may be at a higher risk of repeat syphilis, have different clinical manifestations and have a different serological response to treatment compared with HIV-negative MSM. The objective of this study was to assess whether HIV-negative and HIV-positive MSM with infectious syphilis (primary, secondary or early latent) differed in history of previous syphilis episodes, disease stage and non-treponemal titre of initial and repeat episodes, and the titre response 6 and 12 months after treatment. Furthermore, determinants associated with an inadequate titre response after treatment were explored.MethodsThis retrospective analysis used data of five longitudinal studies (four cohorts; one randomised controlled trial) conducted at the STI clinic in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Participants were tested for syphilis and completed questionnaires on sexual risk behaviour every 3–6 months. We included data of participants with ≥1 syphilis diagnosis in 2014–2019. Pearson’s χ² test was used to compare HIV-negative and HIV-positive MSM in occurrence of previous syphilis episodes, disease stage of initial and repeat syphilis episode and non-treponemal titre treatment responses.ResultsWe included 355 participants with total 459 syphilis episodes. HIV-positive MSM were more likely to have a history of previous syphilis episodes compared with HIV-negative MSM (68/90 (75.6%) vs 96/265 (36.2%); p<0.001). Moreover, HIV-positive MSM with repeat syphilis were less often diagnosed with primary syphilis (7/73 (9.6%) vs 36/126 (28.6%)) and more often diagnosed with secondary syphilis (16/73 (21.9%) vs 17/126 (13.5%)) and early latent syphilis (50/73 (68.5%) vs 73/126 (57.9%)) (p=0.005). While not significantly different at 12 months, HIV-negative MSM were more likely to have an adequate titre response after 6 months compared with HIV-positive MSM (138/143 (96.5%) vs 66/74 (89.2%); p=0.032).ConclusionsIn repeat syphilis, HIV infection is associated with advanced syphilis stages and with higher non-treponemal titres. HIV infection affects the serological outcome after treatment, as an adequate titre response was observed earlier in HIV-negative MSM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 003685042110042
Author(s):  
Haiying Zhou ◽  
Hui Lu

Neurofibroma is a rare nerve sheath tumor of neuroectodermal origin, especially the huge and isolated neurofibroma located in the inguinal region. To our knowledge, no such case has previously been reported. We report a case of 34-year-old male patient with a 4-year history of progressive enlargement of the medial root mass in his left thigh with sitting and standing disorders along with pain. The tumor was completely removed by operation, and pathological diagnosis showed neurofibroma. There was no obvious neurologic defect after surgery, and no recurrence tendency was found in the follow-up of 2 years. For a large solitary mass with slow growth and no malignant clinical manifestations for a long time, clinicians cannot rule out the hypothetical diagnosis of neurofibroma, even though its growth site is very rare, such as this case of a huge tumor located in the groin. For neurogenic tumors, early operation should be performed, and the prognosis of patients after tumor resection is excellent.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 2050313X2110030
Author(s):  
Asfandyar Mufti ◽  
Muskaan Sachdeva ◽  
Khalad Maliyar ◽  
Marissa Joseph

Background: Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized by abnormalities in blood vessel formation. The clinical manifestations of patients affected with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia include mucocutaneous telangiectasias and visceral arteriovenous malformations. Case Summary: We report the case of a 30-year-old female diagnosed with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia presenting with the classic triad of recurrent epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectasias and family history of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia with activin receptor-like kinase 1 mutation. Upon skin examination, she was noted to have telangiectasias under left naris, inner lower lip and surface of the tongue, and a vascular malformation on the right forearm. Conclusion: Although the skin involvement and epistaxis may be mild symptoms and signs of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia, timely recognition of these can ensure vigilant monitoring of potential severe complications from cerebral and pulmonary visceral arteriovenous malformations.


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