Intramedullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord

1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Ratliff ◽  
Edward S. Connolly

✓ Intramedullary spinal tuberculosis infection remains an extremely rare disease entity. In the most recent reviews only 148 cases have been reported in the world literature, although numerous recent reports from developing countries and on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—positive patients have increased this number. The authors present an unusual case of intramedullary tuberculoma in an HIV—negative patient from the southern United States who demonstrated no other signs or symptoms of tuberculosis infection. The authors believe that this is the first case of its kind to be presented in recent literature. The presentation of miliary disease via an isolated intramedullary spinal mass in a patient with no evident risk factors for tuberculosis infection emphasizes the importance of including tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of spinal cord masses.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 857-863
Author(s):  
Shrikant Shrikrishnarao Sagane ◽  
Vishal Supda Patil ◽  
Girish Dnyaneshwar Bartakke ◽  
Kaustubh Yeshwant Kale

Study Design: Prospective comparative study.Purppse: A prospective comparative analysis of 30 patients with spinal tuberculosis (15 human immunodeficiency viruses [HIV] positive and 15 HIV negative). We compared the clinical and radiological parameters of the two groups.Overview of Literature: With the increasing incidence of HIV and tuberculosis co-infection, spinal tuberculosis is increasing globally, especially in developing countries. The diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis presents a challenge due to nonspecific constitutional symptoms and late presentation.Methods: A prospective study was conducted of 30 patients with spinal tuberculosis (15 HIV positive and 15 HIV negative) from August 2014–July 2016 for assessment of clinical and radiological parameters. Neurological assessment was done by classification of tuberculous paraplegia, and the amount of kyphosis was assessed by Cobb angle on a plain radiograph. Abscess size in anterior epidural space, the number of vertebral bodies involved and collapsed, and skip lesions were noted on magnetic resonance imaging. Results: In the prospective analysis of 30 patients, HIV positive (n=15) and HIV negative (n=15), there was no significant difference in neurological grading between the two groups. The amount of vertebral body destruction and degree of kyphosis was significantly greater in HIV-negative patients as compared with HIV-positive patients. There was a significant difference in Cobb angle between the two groups. The amount of anterior epidural space abscess formation was greater in HIV-positive patients as compared with HIVnegative patients.Conclusions: HIV-negative patients had greater vertebral body destruction and resultant kyphosis as compared with HIV-positive patients, who had greater anterior epidural abscess formation.


Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haralabos Zacharatos ◽  
Malik M Adil ◽  
Ameer E Hassan ◽  
Sarwat I Gilani ◽  
Adnan I Qureshi

Background: There is limited data regarding the unique attributes of ischemic stroke among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There is no published data regarding the occurrence and outcomes of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) among HIV infected persons. Methods: The largest all-payer Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS 2002-2010) data was used to identify and analyze all patients presenting with the primary diagnosis of SAH in the United States. Among this cohort, we identified the patients who were not HIV positive and those who were HIV positive. Patient demographics, medical co-morbidities, in-hospital complications, in-hospital procedures, and discharge disposition were compared between the two groups. The association between HIV infection and outcomes was evaluated in multivariate analysis after adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Of the 351,491 patients admitted with SAH, 1367 (0.39%) were infected with HIV. HIV infected patients were younger, mean age [±SD] of 45 ±14.2 years versus those who were not 58±19 years, (p<0.0001). The rate of blood transfusion [27,286 (7.8%) versus 245.6 (18%), p=0.0003], mechanical ventilation [51,199 (14.6%) versus 316.1(23.1%), p=0.008], and sepsis [14,644 (4.2%) versus 236.1 (17.3%), p<0.0001] was significantly higher among HIV infected patients. After adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, coagulopathy, atrial fibrillation, renal failure, and dyslipidemia, HIV negative patients had a significantly higher rate of discharge to home (odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% CI: 1.4-2.6, p<0.0001) and lower in-patient mortality (OR 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.5, p<0.001). Further adjustment for blood transfusion and sepsis reduced the odds of discharge to home for the HIV negative patients, from 1.9 to 1.7 but did not affect in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: The in-hospital mortality in HIV infected patients with SAH is higher despite these patients being younger than non-HIV infected patients. We believe that this study provides a nationwide perspective which may have some important implications for early recognition and diagnosis of HIV-infection in SAH patients.


Author(s):  
Ifeyinwa Chijioke-Nwauche ◽  
Mary C Oguike ◽  
Chijioke A Nwauche ◽  
Khalid B Beshir ◽  
Colin J Sutherland

Abstract Background In Nigeria, indiscriminate use of antimalarial drugs may contribute to the threat of drug resistance, but this has not been evaluated among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Methods HIV-positive adults attending a university hospital HIV clinic and HIV-negative adult volunteers from the university hospital community with a positive blood film were treated with artemether–lumefantrine. Parasite DNA from before and after treatment was polymerase chain reaction amplified to identify molecular markers of drug susceptibility. Results The pfcrt76T genotype was prevalent among both HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants (78.6% and 68.2%, respectively). Three new mutations in the pfmdr1 gene—F73S, S97L and G165R—and the uncommon pfdhps S436F variant were detected, whereas pfdhps K540E and pfdhfr I164L were absent. The A437G allele of pfdhps predominated (62/66 [94%]). The I431 V mutation was found in 19 of 66 pretreatment pfdhps sequences (28.8%). The pfmdr1 86N allele was significantly more common at day 3 post-treatment than at baseline (odds ratio 8.77 [95% confidence interval 1.21 to 380]). Conclusions We found evidence of continued chloroquine use among HIV-positive individuals. Selection for the pfmdr1 86N after artemether–lumefantrine treatment was observed, indicating a possible threat to antimalarial efficacy in the study area. The complexity of pfdhps haplotypes emphasises the need for careful monitoring of anti-folate susceptibility in Nigeria.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sivakumar Shanmugam ◽  
Nathan L Bachmann ◽  
Elena Martinez ◽  
Ranjeeta Menon ◽  
Gopalan Narendran ◽  
...  

AbstractDifferentiation between relapse and reinfection in cases with tuberculosis (TB) recurrence has important implications for public health, especially in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection. Forty-one paired M. tuberculosis isolates collected from 20 HIV-positive and 21 HIV-negative patients, who experienced TB recurrence after previous successful treatment, were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) in addition to spoligotyping and mycobacterial interspersed repeat unit (MIRU) typing. Comparison of M. tuberculosis genomes indicated that 95% of TB recurrences in the HIV-negative cohort were due to relapse, while the majority of TB recurrences (75%) in the HIV-positive cohort was due to re-infection (P=0.0001). Drug resistance conferring mutations were documented in four pairs (9%) of isolates associated with relapse. The high contribution of re-infection to TB among HIV patients warrants further study to explore risk factors for TB exposure in the community.


2002 ◽  
Vol 186 (6) ◽  
pp. 872-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Marli C. Sartori ◽  
José Eluf Neto ◽  
Elizabete Visone Nunes ◽  
Lucia Maria Almeida Braz ◽  
Hélio H. Caiaffa‐Filho ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 357-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Herrera Vazquez ◽  
Matthew L. Romo ◽  
Agnès Fleury

ABSTRACT Infections caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and by the larvae of Taenia solium (i.e., cysticercosis) are still widespread in many developing countries. Both pathologies modify host immune status and it is possible that HIV infection may modulate the frequency and pathogeny of cysticercosis of the central nervous system (i.e., neurocysticercosis [NCC]). Objective: To describe published cases of NCC among HIV-positive patients and to evaluate whether the characteristics of NCC, including frequency, symptoms, radiological appearance, and response to treatment differed between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. Methods: Forty cases of NCC/HIV co-infected patients were identified in the literature. Clinical and radiological characteristics, as well as response to treatment, were compared with non-matching historical series of NCC patients without HIV infection. Results: Most of these patients had seizures and multiple vesicular parasites located in parenchyma. Clinical and radiological characteristics were similar between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with NCC, as well as between immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised HIV-positive patients. Conclusion: Our review did not reveal clear interactions between HIV and NCC. This may be partially due to the small number of cases and reliance on published research. A systematic, multi-institutional effort aiming to report all the cases of this dual pathology is needed to confirm this finding and to clarify the possible relationship between both pathogens.


1992 ◽  
Vol 175 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
T C Rodman ◽  
F H Pruslin ◽  
S E To ◽  
R Winston

We have detected, in sera of normal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-free subjects, IgM antibodies reactive with the Tat protein of HIV in significant titers and at very high frequency, and, in HIV-positive sera, progressively lower titers as HIV pathogenesis ensues. Epitope analysis indicates that the Tat-reactive antibodies of both HIV-negative and HIV-positive sera are homologous, suggesting, therefore, that their decline in HIV-positive sera may represent attrition of a host defense factor. The identified epitope displays minimal homology with that previously defined for another set of IgM antibodies shown to be present in normal sera, deficient in HIV-positive sera, and postulated to be natural antibodies. We propose that the Tat-reactive antibodies, as well, are a set of natural antibodies and that the normal humoral immune system includes a repertoire of antibodies, nonimmunogenic in origin, that contribute to immune homeostasis and, consequently, to host resistance to HIV pathogenesis.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Diaz ◽  
Maria de Gloria Bonecini Almeida ◽  
Ingebourg Georg ◽  
Suely de Carvalho Maia ◽  
Rogerio Valls de Souza ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Abbott Determine Rapid Syphilis TP assay is a treponemal test that can be used in resource-poor settings that lack laboratory facilities. However, this test has not been extensively evaluated. We measured its sensitivity and specificity by using stored serum specimens (n = 567) from all persons who tested Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA) positive (n = 250) or TPHA indeterminate (n = 17) in the year 2001 and the first 300 patients in 2001 who tested TPHA negative at the Evandro Chagas Research Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This rapid assay was independently interpreted by three different observers. With TPHA results as the reference, sensitivity ranged between readers from 95.6 to 98.4% and specificity ranged from 97.3 to 95.7%. There was little interreader variability in the interpretation of results, with approximately 98% agreement for all reader combinations. Of samples from persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (n = 198), sensitivity was 96.9 to 99.2% and it was 94.4 to 96.3% among HIV-negative persons (n = 127). Specificity was 92.4 to 95.5% among HIV-positive persons and 97.2 to 100% among HIV-negative persons. We found this test to have high sensitivity and specificity and little interreader variability, indicating that it may be easily used in resource-poor settings without laboratory facilities. Further studies are needed using this test on whole blood and under the clinical conditions for which it is intended.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Weil ◽  
Zhengping Zhuang ◽  
Svetlana Pack ◽  
Shimareet Kumar ◽  
Lee Helman ◽  
...  

✓ Molecular biological techniques have begun to transform modern medicine. These techniques have shown promise in the pathological diagnosis of difficult or uncommon tumors. Accurate molecular diagnosis of the small round-cell tumors, for example, is especially important because divergent therapies may be required to eradicate such disparate lesions as neuroblastoma, lymphoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, central primitive neuroectodermal tumors/medulloblastoma, or Ewing sarcoma (ES). The authors present an unusual case of a primary, extraosseous ES arising from the intramedullary spinal cord, in which molecular studies were required for specific diagnosis and therapeutic guidance.


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