ABSTRACT
With the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, several vaccines were developed; messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have recently been widely used worldwide. However, the incidence of myocarditis following mRNA vaccination is increasing;although the cause of myocarditis has not yet been clearly identified, it is presumed to be caused by a problem in the innate immune system. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP) after vaccination is rare but has been reported and is also assumed to occur by the same mechanism. We report the first case of simultaneous myocarditis and ITP after mRNA vaccination. A 38-year-old woman presented with chest pain, mild dyspnea, and sweating after vaccination with mRNA-1273 vaccine (Moderna) 4 days prior to admission.Upon admission to the emergency department, cardiac enzymes were elevated; blood test performed 5 months ago showed normal platelet count, but severe thrombocytopenia was observed upon admission. After administration of intravenous immunoglobulin, the platelet count improved; subsequently, myocarditis was observed on endomyocardial biopsy. Thus, myocarditis and ITP were judged to have occurred simultaneously due to the expression of the innate immune system markers after mRNA vaccination. The patient was discharged on day 6 of admission.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a critical cardiopulmonary condition associated with high mortality and morbidity. In massive PTE, recently referred to as high risk PTE, the routine protocol for thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (alteplase) is 100 mg over 2 hours. However, there are concerns about bleeding in patients with low body weight (< 50 kg), elderly patients, and Asians. @*Methods@#We performed a retrospective study in patients who were diagnosed with intermediate or high risk PTE, and who were treated with a fixed dose of alteplase (100 mg) in a single center at Chungbuk National University Hospital between July 2008 and April 2018. @*Results@#A total of 42 patients were reviewed, 4 patients dropped out, and 38 patients were included in the analysis. There were 18 males (47.4%), and the average age of the patients was 70.68 years (± standard deviation 13.15). Major bleeding was seen in 10/38 patients (26.3%), and 30/38 patients (78.9%) were successfully discharged. @*Conclusion@#The major bleeding risk was higher in our study (26.3%) than in a previously published meta-analysis (9.24%). Therefore, we suggest reducing the dose of alteplase in patients who are elderly, Asian, or have cardiovascular disease. Further prospective studies of efficacy and bleeding rate after low dose alteplase should be considered.
ABSTRACT
Branch duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas (BD-IPMN) without malignant features rarely developed into invasive cancer. However, invasive cancer is aggressive once an invasive change occurs. We report three cases of invasive cancers which developed in patients with BD-IPMN and they showed grave clinical courses. All patients were diagnosed with BD-IPMN < 3 cm without malignant features on imaging. Invasive cancer was detected at 2.5 years, 3.0 years, and 4.0 years after BD-IPMN detection in each patient. The intervals of invasive cancer and the last follow-up were 9 months, 3 years, and 1.5 years in the three patients, respectively. All patients were diagnosed with locally advanced pancreas invasive cancers and were treated with palliative chemotherapy or conservative management. The patients died at 3 months, 9 months, and 10 months after the diagnosis of invasive cancers, respectively. We report three cases of invasive cancer developed in BD-IPMN patients and followed fatal courses.