Vol. 4 No. 5

Vol. 4 No. 5
  • António Miguel Araújo Ferreira, Susana Manuela Barbosa, Soraia Oliveira, José Ramada, Augusta Silva
    Views: 1304 HTML: 356 PDF: 392 Table 1: 0 Figure 2: 0 Figure 1: 0 Copyright Authorization form: 0 Authors disclosure potential Conflict of Interests: 0

    Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an inflammatory gastrointestinal disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the digestive tract. The subserous type is the rarest form and diagnosis is challenging because the symptoms are heterogeneous and endoscopy may be non-diagnostic. The authors describe the clinical case of a 41-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with subserous eosinophilic gastroenteritis. This case highlights the importance of clinical suspicion of eosinophilic gastroenteritis in patients in the third to fifth decades of life with gastrointestinal symptoms, ascites and eosinophilia.

  • Ricardo Fonseca, Filipa Monteiro, Rita Mendes
    Views: 1186 HTML: 1160 PDF: 363 Table 1: 0 Figure 1 - Right lung hypotransparency in chest radiography: 0 Figure 3 - Serum sodium (mmol/L) evolution during hospitalization: 0 Figure 2 - Colon tumor in colonoscopy: 0

    Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH) is a common cause of euvolemic hyponatremia which has many possible etiologies such as tumors (mainly lung cancers). We present a case of a 79-year old women hospitalized due to microcytic anemia with transfusion need and hyponatremia due to SIADH. Three primary tumors without known metastasis were discovered. The case shows the importance of studying causes of hyponatremia.

  • António Araújo Ferreira, Alexandra Esteves, Yolanda Mahia, Aristóteles Rosmaninho, Augusta Silva
    Views: 2302 HTML: 2013 PDF: 714 Figure 1: 0 Figure 2: 0 Figure 3: 0 Figure 4: 0 Figure 5: 0 Authors’ Disclosure Potential Conflict of Interests: 0 COPYRIGHT AUTHORIZATION FORM: 0 Patient Consent for Photograph publication: 0

    Scabies is an infestation of the skin by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. A more severe form called crusted or Norwegian scabies may occur in immunosuppressed patients and the elderly. Crusted scabies mostly differs from normal scabies by the exuberance of its lesions, body distribution and high contagiousness, and requires different and more prolonged treatment. Early recognition of the lesions and isolation precautions are crucial for disease control and prevention of transmission. The authors describe a clinical case of crusted scabies with pruritus and exuberant cutaneous lesions.

  • Kenta Hamada, Yoji Takeuchi, Tomofumi Akasaka, Hiroyasu Iishi
    Views: 2483 HTML: 1896 PDF: 708 Figure 1: 0 Figure 2: 0

    We describe the case of a man with fundic gland polyposis associated with proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) use. Some investigators have reported an association between long-term PPI use and an increase in the risk of developing fundic gland polyps (FGPs). These FGPs are considered to be reversible on stopping PPI treatment. The current patient had used a PPI for 10 years, resulting in multiple FGPs in his gastric body. However, 6 months after cessation of the PPI, the FGPs had obvously regressed, even though a histamine-2 receptor antagonist had subsequently been prescribed. This case demonstrates a link between PPI treatment and FGPs.

  • Kapil Kumar Garg, Harpreet Singh
    Views: 1165 HTML: 324 PDF: 322 Figures - SHML with ALCL case report: 0

    Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML) is a rare and benign source of lymphadenopathy first described in 1969. This disease commonly presents in children and young adults with supra-diaphragmatic lymphadenopathy mainly at cervical nodal sites, composed of a polyclonal population of histiocytes. Since its description greater than 400 cases have been described, however the literature is quiet scanty when it comes to its association with lymphomas. This case report describes a case with co-existing SHML and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). The diagnosis of SHML in our patient did not alter the clinical outcome and patient responded well to treatment of ALCL. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion in cases of infra-diaphragmatic SHML for the presence of occult lymphoma.

  • Antreas Iacovou Ioannou, Dimitra Dimitriou, Panagiotis Dimitriou, Aram Katsios, Georgios Petrikkos
    Views: 1444 HTML: 309 PDF: 421 Untitled: 0 Figures: 0

    Aims: Lemierre syndrome is a life-threating condition characterized by recent oropharyngeal infection, internal jugular vein thrombosis, and anaerobic septicemia. It is usually caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum.

    Methods: A young Romanian male presented with fever and rigors, mild tachypnea, hypoxia, sore throat, decayed teeth, and tenderness of the left carotid triangle. Laboratory examination indicated severe sepsis with disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome while the Doppler ultrasonography of the carotids revealed left internal jugular venous thrombosis. The patient was administered piperacillin/tazobactam and vancomycin intravenously, doxycycline orally, and anti-coagulation by enoxaparin based on the diagnosis of Lemierre syndrome. Meanwhile, he was complicated by bilateral diffuse pulmonary cavities and encapsulated pleural effusions and so transcutaneous drainage was performed. The patient was discharged after a month and continued his treatment with oral phenoxypenicillin and doxycycline until full radiographic improvement. He was switched to oral anti-coagulation by vitamin-K antagonists and was referred to a hematologist, a vascular-surgeon, and a dentist.

    Results: Streptococcus gordonii was isolated from the patient’s blood and pleural fluid cultures and serology for Rickettsial spp. IgM was positive. Thrombophilia genetic tests revealed three minor mutations for fibrinogen-455, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. According to the literature, S. gordonii is not usually a causative agent and Rickettsial spp. have as yet not been correlated with Lemierre syndrome. The failure of left jugular vein recanalization shows a possible causative role of the underlying thrombophilic predisposition.

    Discussion: Because of the syndrome’s rarity and the atypical microorganisms isolated in this case, increased awareness is advised for its diagnosis and the underlying mechanisms involved in its genesis. The role of anti-coagulation is debatable.