scholarly journals Possible environmental exposure-associated pulmonary cryptococcosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report and literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 030006052096230
Author(s):  
Guangdie Yang ◽  
Junjun Chen ◽  
Jiani Ye ◽  
Yinan Yao ◽  
Zhijie Pan

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) taking long-term immunosuppressive drugs are more susceptible to opportunistic infections, such as cryptococcosis. A 65-year-old woman was transferred to our hospital for rapidly progressing pulmonary lesions identified by lung computed tomography. She had a 7-year history of RA and had been prescribed methotrexate and glucocorticoids for 10 months. Additionally, our patient had a history of environmental exposure to house renovation lasting approximately 1 week before onset. Her serological test results and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC). The patient recovered well after 6 months of fluconazole treatment. In addition, we summarized 28 reported cases of RA patients with PC and found that older age might be a risk factor for cryptococcal infection in RA patients. The most common location for pulmonary lesions was the lower lobe, and the most common radiologic manifestations were nodules. Detection of cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide antigen was important for diagnosis. Patients undergoing antirheumatic therapy should avoid exposure to Cryptococcus.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 117955571772296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanet Kanjanapradit ◽  
Zdravko Kosjerina ◽  
Wiwatana Tanomkiat ◽  
Warangkana Keeratichananont ◽  
Siripen Panthuwong

Pulmonary cryptococcosis is commonly found in immunocompromised patients. This microorganism rarely infects immunocompetent individuals, and when it does, it causes mild symptoms. The radiological findings of this disease may involve an intrapulmonary mass that mimics lung tumor. The objective of this study was to review the clinicopathological information, radiological findings, and treatment of patients who presented with intrapulmonary mass due to cryptococcosis. This study collected data from 7 patients who were treated at Songklanagarind Hospital, Songkhla, Thailand, between 2009 and 2014. Their clinical data, radiological findings, pathological results, and treatment protocols were reviewed. The patients were 2 women and 5 men, ranging in age from 37 to 79 years old. One case was an immunocompromised host. Four cases experienced the chest symptoms of dyspnea, hemoptysis, and chronic cough. The most common location of mass was the left lower lobe (71%). Four cases had a history of bird contact. Lung lobectomy was performed in 3 cases (42%), and all of the patients were treated with oral fluconazole. An intrapulmonary mass caused by this microorganism is mainly found in immunocompetent patients. Treatment with the antifungal drug fluconazole is very effective.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 540.3-540
Author(s):  
A. Munir ◽  
C. Sheehy

Background:Corneal melt is a rare inflammatory disease of the peripheral cornea; it may lead to perforation of the globe and visual failure. Corneal melt can be a manifestation of systemic vasculitis in patients with RA and other conditions, such as cancer. Without early and aggressive treatment it may be associated with a poor visual outcome and a high mortality. It has been reported in patients with stable RA.Objectives:A case report in a patient with long standing but well controlled Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and metastatic disease.Methods:A 75 year old male with a background of sero positive Rheumatoid Arthritis for more than 10 years presented to the Eye Casualty with a two week history of a painful left red eye. His other medical history was significant for Stage IIB poorly differentiated cancer of the left lower lobe. Left lower lobectomy with a patch of diaphragm resected. Intratumoural lymphovascular invasion noted. He completed Adjuvant Carboplatin/Vinorelbine chemotherapy September, 2017. He had DVT proximal left leg 22ndof September, 2017. Follow up CT in 2018 demonstrated a right renal upper pole lesion for which he was awaiting biopsy with?metastatic lung disease vs primary renal carcinoma. His RA was well controlled on Methotrexate 10mg weekly. He had been treated by the ophthalmology team for left marginal Keratitis for the prior 2 months with steroid eye drops without significant improvement. On presentation to ED, he described sharp eye pain, waking him from the sleep, associated with watery discharge and photophobia. Examination showed corneal melt in left eye involving 25% of inferior portion of the cornea and spastic entropion with injecting eye lashes. He had no active joints and there were no other signs of vasculitis. CRP was 4.1. He had a negative ANA and ANCA; viral swabs were negative. He was admitted under the medical team. Intravenous Methyl Prednisolone was started. The patient felt better after 5 days of Methyl Prednisolone. Left temporary tarsorrhaphy was done by Ophthalmology. Cyclophosphamide was initiated after discussion with Oncologist pending the result of the renal biopsy. Patient was discharged after 5 days of admission in the hospitalResults:The renal biopsy was positive for metastatic Squamous cell carcinoma of lung. Cyclophosphamide was withdrawn and he was started on Carboplatin/Gemcitabine. The corneal melt improved with complete resolution of his visual symptoms.Conclusion:In this case, although the history of RA was felt by the ophthalmology team to be the most likely association with the corneal melt, we would argue the oncological diagnoses were likely the driving force behind the presentation.References:[1]Sule A, Balakrishnan C, Gaitonde S, Mittal G, Pathan E, Gokhale NS, et al. Rheumatoid corneal melt. Rheumatology (Oxford)2002;41:705–6.[2]S. Yano, K. Kondo, M. Yamaguchi et al., “Distribution and function of EGFR in human tissue and the effect of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition,” Anticancer Research, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 3639–3650, 2003.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 2797-2802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaozhe Cai ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Lingli Dong

AbstractRecurrences of COVID-19 were observed in a patient with long-term usage of hydroxychloroquine, leflunomide, and glucocorticoids due to her 30-year history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Tocilizumab was applied and intended to target both COVID-19 and RA. However, disease of this patient aggravated after usage of tocilizumab. After the discussion of a multiple disciplinary team (MDT) including rheumatologists, antimicrobial treatments were applied to target the potential opportunistic infections (Pneumocystis jirovecii and Aspergillus fumigatus), which were authenticated several days later via high throughput sequencing. As an important cytokine in immune responses, IL-6 can be a double-edged sword: interference in the IL-6-IL-6 receptor signaling may save patients from cytokine release storm (CRS), but can also weaken the anti-infectious immunity, particularly in rheumatic patients, who may have received a long-term treatment with immunosuppressive/modulatory agents. Thus, we suggest careful considerations before and close monitoring in the administration of tocilizumab in rheumatic patients with COVID-19. Besides tocilizumab, several disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can also be applied in the treatment of COVID-19. Therefore, we also reviewed and discussed the application of these DMARDs in COVID-19 condition.


VASA ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gruber-Szydlo ◽  
Poreba ◽  
Belowska-Bien ◽  
Derkacz ◽  
Badowski ◽  
...  

Popliteal artery thrombosis may present as a complication of an osteochondroma located in the vicinity of the knee joint. This is a case report of a 26-year-old man with symptoms of the right lower extremity ischaemia without a previous history of vascular disease or trauma. Plain radiography, magnetic resonance angiography and Doppler ultrasonography documented the presence of an osteochondrous structure of the proximal tibial metaphysis, which displaced and compressed the popliteal artery, causing its occlusion due to intraluminal thrombosis..The patient was operated and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma.


Author(s):  
K Thuraikumar ◽  
V Naveen ◽  
Mustaqim A ◽  
Arieff AA ◽  
K Shri ◽  
...  

Introduction: Spinal tuberculosis is the most common manifestation of extrapulmonar y tuberculosis. A combination of leprosy and tuberculosis is a rare entity.Case report: A 44-year-old male patient working as a laborer presented to our hospital with complaints of severe back pain and swelling over the back, difficulty in walking, associated with constitutional symptoms. On admission, he was febrile and had leukocytosis. Initial spine X-ray showed end plate destruction and increase in soft tissue shadow at the level of T8-T9. CT spine revealed thoracic paravertebral collection extending from T7 to T9 levels, suggest ive of tuberculous spondylitis with cold abscess. Patient refused a transpedicular biopsy and was started on anti-tubercular therapy. Two weeks after commencement of treatment, he developed worsening back pain and weakness of the lower extremities. MRI spine showed a paravertebral abscess and posterior soft tissue edema involving level of T7 to T11. Patient underwent a posterior decompression, debridement and posterior instrumentation. He was discharged well, there was improvement of his lower limb power. Upon clinic review, he complained of multiple hyperpigmented, painless, nonpruritic skin lesions over the trunk and back. No previous history of eczema, psoriasis and Tinea corporis. Given the history of allergy, initial impression was hypersensitivity reaction towards the titanium implants, and he was started on anti-histamines. However, there was no improvements seen. Histopathological examination of skin lesions revealed presence of granuloma within the dermis layer, composed of epitheloid, histiocytes, lymphocytes and plasma cells. Wade-Fite stain for Mycobacterium leprae is positive. Slit skin smear shows multibacillary leprosy. Patient was started on multidrug therapy (rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone) for 1 year. He has recovered well.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2019 Page: 33


Author(s):  
Sabina Strano-Rossi ◽  
Serena Mestria ◽  
Giorgio Bolino ◽  
Matteo Polacco ◽  
Simone Grassi ◽  
...  

AbstractScopolamine is an alkaloid which acts as competitive antagonists to acetylcholine at central and peripheral muscarinic receptors. We report the case of a 41-year-old male convict with a 27-year history of cannabis abuse who suddenly died in the bed of his cell after having smoked buscopan® tablets. Since both abuse of substances and recent physical assaults had been reported, we opted for a comprehensive approach (post-mortem computed tomography CT (PMCT), full forensic autopsy, and toxicology testing) to determine which was the cause of the death. Virtopsy found significant cerebral edema and lungs edema that were confirmed at the autopsy and at the histopathological examination. Scopolamine was detected in peripheral blood at the toxic concentration of 14 ng/mL in blood and at 263 ng/mL in urine, and scopolamine butyl bromide at 17 ng/mL in blood and 90 ng/mL in urine. Quetiapine, mirtazapine, lorazepam, diazepam, and metabolites and valproate were also detected (at therapeutic concentrations). Inmates, especially when they have a history of drug abuse, are at risk to use any substance they can find for recreational purposes. In prisons, active surveillance on the management and assumption of prescribed drugs could avoid fatal acute intoxication.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014556132110039
Author(s):  
Jelena Sotirović ◽  
Ljubomir Pavićević ◽  
Stanko Petrović ◽  
Saša Ristić ◽  
Aleksandar Perić

Differential diagnosis of globus sensation in an otherwise asymptomatic patient should include hypopharyngeal fibrovascular polyp to avoid potentially fatal complications like airway compromise following regurgitation. We present a case of a 74-year-old man with a 13-cm long hypopharyngeal fibrovascular polyp with 9 months history of globus sensation. A narrow stalk of the giant polyp allowed endoscopic removal and complete resection with the CO2 laser. Histopathological examination was conclusive for the fibrovascular polyp.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malika A Swar ◽  
Marwan Bukhari

Abstract Background/Aims  Osteoporosis (OP) is an extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that leads to increased fracture susceptibility due to a variety of reasons including immobility and cytokine driven bone loss. Bone loss in other populations has well documented risk factors. It is unknown whether bone loss in RA predominantly affects the femoral neck or the spine. This study aimed to identify independent predictors of low bone mineral density (BMD) in patients RA at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck. Methods  This was a retrospective observational cohort study using patients with Rheumatoid arthritis attending for a regional dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary between 2004 and 2014. BMD in L1-L4 in the spine and in the femoral neck were recorded. The risk factors investigated were steroid use, family history of osteoporosis, smoking, alcohol abuse, BMI, gender, previous fragility fracture, number of FRAX(tm) risk factors and age. Univariate and Multivariate regression analysis models were fitted to explore bone loss at these sites using BMD in g/cm2 as a dependant variable. . Results  1,527 patients were included in the analysis, 1,207 (79%) were female. Mean age was 64.34 years (SD11.6). mean BMI was 27.32kg/cm2 (SD 5.570) 858 (56.2%) had some steroid exposure . 169(11.1%) had family history of osteoporosis. fragility fracture history found in 406 (26.6%). 621 (40.7%) were current or ex smokers . There was a median of 3 OP risk factors (IQR 1,3) The performance of the models is shown in table one below. Different risk factors appeared to influence the BMD at different sites and the cumulative risk factors influenced BMD in the spine. None of the traditional risk factors predicted poor bone loss well in this cohort. P129 Table 1:result of the regression modelsCharacteristicB femoral neck95% CIpB spine95%CIpAge at scan-0.004-0.005,-0.003<0.01-0.0005-0.002,0.00050.292Sex-0.094-0.113,-0.075<0.01-0.101-0.129,-0.072<0.01BMI (mg/m2)0.0080.008,0.0101<0.010.01130.019,0.013<0.01Fragility fracture-0.024-0.055,0.0060.12-0.0138-0.060,0.0320.559Smoking0.007-0.022,0.0350.650.0286-0.015,0.0720.20Alcohol0.011-0.033,0.0 5560.620.0544-0.013,0.1120.11Family history of OP0.012-0.021,0.0450.470.0158-0.034,0.0650.53Number of risk factors-0.015-0.039,0.0080.21-0.039-0.075,-0.0030.03steroids0.004-0.023,0.0320.030.027-0.015,0.0690.21 Conclusion  This study has shown that predictors of low BMD in the spine and hip are different and less influential than expected in this cohort with RA . As the FRAX(tm) tool only uses the femoral neck, this might underestimate the fracture risk in this population. Further work looking at individual areas is ongoing. Disclosure  M.A. Swar: None. M. Bukhari: None.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1253.2-1254
Author(s):  
T. Formánek ◽  
K. Mladá ◽  
M. Husakova

Background:Cohort studies using nationwide health registers have shown an increased risk for affective and anxiety disorders in people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (1-3). Moreover, a nationwide cohort study demonstrated an increased risk for mental disorders in people with rheumatic diseases (4).Objectives:We aimed to investigate the risk for psychiatric hospitalization following a hospitalization for rheumatic disease.Methods:Using data from the Czech nationwide register of all-cause hospitalizations, we obtained 4 971 individuals hospitalized (index hospitalization) between 2004 and 2012 for rheumatic diseases - RA, spondyloarthritis (including AS, psoriatic arthritis and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis), systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerodermia, with no history of psychiatric and rheuma-related hospitalization in the previous 10 years from the index hospitalization. On these individuals, we randomly matched (on age, gender and year of index hospitalization) controls that were hospitalized in the same time period for a non-rheumatic disease and have no history of psychiatric and rheumatic hospitalization in the last 10 years from their index hospitalization, in the ratio of 1:5. We employed conditional logistic regression for assessing the risk for psychiatric hospitalization in the subsequent 3 years from the index hospitalization. To strengthen our results, we repeated the matching step 100 times and run the analysis on each resulting dataset separately, and pooled the results. The findings are expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).Results:We identified an elevated risk for psychiatric (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1; 1.78) and for affective disorders (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.17; 4.1) in people hospitalized for rheumatic diseases. We did not find a statistically significant association with organic, psychotic and anxiety disorders.Conclusion:There is an increased risk for experiencing a psychiatric disorder in the period of 3 years after a rheuma-related hospitalization.References:[1]Shen C-C, Hu L-Y, Yang AC, Kuo BI-T, Chiang Y-Y, Tsai S-J. Risk of Psychiatric Disorders following Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Nationwide Population-based Retrospective Cohort Study. The Journal of Rheumatology. 2016;43(3).[2]Park J-S, Jang H-D, Hong J-Y, Park Y-S, Han K, Suh S-W, et al. Impact of ankylosing spondylitis on depression: a nationwide cohort study. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1):6736.[3]Hsu C-C, Chen S-C, Liu C-J, Lu T, Shen C-C, Hu Y-W, et al. Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Risk of Bipolar Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Study. PLOS ONE. 2014;9(9).[4]Sundquist K, Li X, Hemminki K, Sundquist J. Subsequent Risk of Hospitalization for Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Patients With Rheumatic Diseases: A Nationwide Study From Sweden. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2008;65(5):501-7.Acknowledgments:Supported by the project (Ministry of Health Czech Republic) for conceptual development of research organization 00023728 (Institute of Rheumatology).Disclosure of Interests:Tomáš Formánek: None declared, Karolina Mladá: None declared, Marketa Husakova Speakers bureau: Novartis


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