Primary lateral sclerosis-like picture in a patient with a remote history of anti-N-methyl-D- aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) antibody encephalitis

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is a well-recognised disorder, first fully characterised in 2007. The long-term sequelae reported thus far include relapses with typical, as well as partial aspects of the well-defined neuropsychiatric syndrome. Rarely, isolated atypical symptoms (diplopia, ataxia and tremor) have been reported as relapse phenomenon. We report a case of a patient with a remote history of likely anti-NMDAR encephalitis with the longest follow-up reported in the literature to date (22 years). The relapse presentation was of a purely upper motor neuron syndrome with a primary lateral sclerosis-like picture.

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Raised intracranial pressure with bilateral anterior uveitis

We report the rare case of a 5-year-old boy with an infective cause of papilloedema and bilateral uveitis secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The patient presented with generalised headache and malaise. MRI showed signs of raised intracranial pressure and lumbar puncture opening pressure was 43 cmH₂O.

Lumbar puncture did not reveal any infective organisms. Blood tests showed raised inflammatory markers. The patient was started on prednisolone, acetazolamide and intravenous cefotaxime. Following an improvement, the patient was discharged.

However, the patient re-presented 2 weeks later with bilateral anterior uveitis. With the combination of papilloedema and bilateral uveitis, M. pneumoniae infection was suspected. Tests confirmed recent mycoplasma infection. Topical dexamethasone and oral azithromycin were given and symptoms improved.

Vision remained normal throughout. At 1-year follow-up, the patient remains well. The authors would like to highlight a rare infectious cause of papilloedema in young children.

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Acute hepatitis E superinfection leading to chronic hepatitis B reactivation

Reactivation of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There are many different causes of hepatitis B reactivation. This case describes an Asian woman with stable CHB presenting with significant hepatitis flare with markedly elevated serum aminotransferases and hepatitis B virus DNA level. The clinical symptoms were subtle with fatigue and vague right upper quadrant tenderness. We ruled out drug-associated hepatotoxicity and screened for common causes of acute hepatitis. Interestingly, she was noted to have reactive anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) IgM at initial presentation followed by anti-HEV IgG positivity a month later. The serological pattern confirmed the diagnosis of acute hepatitis E. The combination of antiviral therapy for hepatitis B and resolution of acute hepatitis E resulted in normalisation of serum aminotransferases. This case illustrates the importance of taking a careful history and having a high index of suspicion for various aetiologies when evaluating patients with reactivation of CHB.

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Common anaesthetic agent causing an uncommon side effect

Description

A 30-year-old man was brought to our trauma centre with a history of road traffic accident 1 hour back. He had sustained a right both bone forearm fracture and surgery in the form of open reduction internal fixation with plating was planned. The preoperative routine haematological and biochemical investigations revealed normal values and the patient was posted for surgery after achieving preanaesthetic fitness. General anaesthesia was induced with fentanyl and propofol 100 mg and maintained with nitrous oxide and vecuronium. Intraoperative period was uneventful with the fractures being treated with a 7-hole dynamic compression plate (DCP) for radius and a 6-hole DCP for ulna. Glycopyrrolate and neostigmine were used for the reversal of neuromuscular blockade. The patient was extubated successfully and transferred to the postoperative ward. Two to 3 hours postsurgery, the nursing staff noticed green-coloured urine, thereby alarming them and the other medical personnel (figure 1). Urinary tract infection (UTI) was suspected. After a thorough re-evaluation of the patient and...

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Clinical implications of the FEF25-75 variability in childhood asthma,

Publication date: Available online 10 June 2018
Source:Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Author(s): Jin-Kyung Kong, Soo-Hyun Lee, Jae-Yub Jung, Sang-Yong Eom, Youn-Soo Hahn




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Clinical implications of the FEF25-75 variability in childhood asthma,

Although forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity (FEF25-75) is one of the standard results in spirometry reports, current guidelines provide no recommendations for its use in the assessment of asthma. By contrast, forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) is recommended as a principle spirometric parameter to assess airflow limitation by these guidelines. However, FEF25-75 was shown to be more sensitive indicator of symptomatic asthma than FEV1 in children1,2 and better correlated with air trapping in asthmatic subjects than FEV1.

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Zumba-induced Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a case report

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient left ventricular apical ballooning in the absence of coronary occlusion. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism is still unc...

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