Multifocal Motor Neuropathy with Conduction Blocks During TNF-alpha Antagonist Therapy in a Patient with Spondyloarthropathy

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha antagonist has been proven to have benefit for rheumatologic diseases. Because TNF-alpha is not only an important mediator of inflammation in human body, but plays many physiologic roles, it can cause unique adverse effects or complications related to these functions. Adverse effects involving neurological systems, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy with conduction blocks (MMNCB), distal symmetric polyneuropathy, and small fibers neuropathy have been previously reported. However, only several cases of infliximab-associated MMNCB are reported. We report a case of MMNCB which developed while treating spondyloarthropathy with infliximab.

A Case of Polyarthritis Associated with Reactivation of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Hepatitis viruses (hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus) have been associated with development of inflammatory arthritis. Approximately 400 million people worldwide have chronic HBV infection. HBV infection is the one of the most common causes of liver disease, and the prevalence of HBV infection in Korea is almost 6%. Arthritis in patients with HBV can be encountered in two settings: as a rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-like, acute, self-limited polyarthritis during the pre-symptomatic phase of acute hepatitis B, or, more rarely, as arthritis occurring in the context of HBV-associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). In both cases, the pathogenesis of arthritis is attributed to the deposition of immune complexes containing viral antigens (HBsAg or HBeAg) and their respective antibodies (anti-HBs and anti-HBe) in synovial tissues. Here we report on a case of polyarthritis associated with reactivation of chronic hepatitis B virus infection with a review of the literature.

Incidence and Cinical Characteristics of Severe Community-Acquired Pneumococcal Pneumonia: Comparisons with Non-Pneumoccocal Pathogens / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Only limited data are available on severe community-acquired pneumonia (severe CAP or SCAP) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Korea. METHODS: All patients who were admitted to a tertiary hospital for CAP from January 2007 to December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively, and SCAP was defined by 2007 Infectious Disease Society of America/American Thoracic Society criteria. RESULTS: In total, 94 patients were diagnosed with SCAP (mean age, 73.5 +/- 14.3 years; male, 70). Among them, pneumococcal SCAP (P-SCAP) accounted for 24.5%, and non-P-SCAP accounted for 18.1% (four with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, [4.3%]; four with Staphylococcus aureus, [4.3%]), and no organisms were identified in 57.4% of the patients. A history of neoplasm was less frequent, and the incidence of shock and pneumonia severity index (PSI) scores were lower in patients with P-SCAP than in those with non-P-SCAP or with SCAP with no organism identified (p = 0.012, 0.023 and 0.007, respectively). Patients with P-SCAP had a lower rate of treatment failure (p = 0.048) and tended to have lower in-hospital and 30-day mortalities compared with those with non-P-SCAP. In a multivariate analysis, the history of neoplasm was the strongest independent factor for predicting 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 9.068; 95% confidence interval, 1.856-44.309). CONCLUSIONS: P-SCAP accounted for 24.5% of SCAP cases. P-SCAP was associated with lower disease severity and a tendency toward better hospital outcomes compared with non-P-SCAP.