Neck Swelling in a Critically Ill Patient With COVID-19-Related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome on Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Consider the Differential.

Neck swelling during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) usually heralds the development of potentially serious complications, including superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, hematoma, and/or angioedema. In this case report, we describe a 43-year-old male patient who had received VV-ECMO support for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) acute respiratory distress syndrome. During his hospitalization, he developed acute onset of neck swelling after two weeks of VV-ECMO and two days after a tracheostomy. Clinical examination and investigations were performed to exclude ECMO-related SVC syndrome and tracheostomy-related complications. Consequently, it was discovered the patient had developed COVID-19-related subacute thyroiditis with enlargement of both thyroid glands. Conservative management, including the use of continued glucocorticoids, raising the head of the bed, and observing for complications of thyroiditis, was undertaken. Eventually, this patient's neck swelling resolved on its own, and he was eventually decannulated from ECMO several weeks later. Our case report highlights the differential diagnosis of neck swelling during VV-ECMO and considers the evaluation of different etiologies.

Bilateral Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Paralysis Manifesting as Long COVID.

Management with ventilation is used for severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After extubation, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis due to various factors may occur. Almost all cases of paralysis develop unilaterally; however, bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis occurs rarely. Such cases may be fatal due to upper air obstruction, and patients are forced to adhere to restrictions after a tracheotomy. The present case illustrates bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis that occurred 48 hours after withdrawal from the ventilator. A 75-year-old woman with a history of hypertension came to our hospital with a history of fever and cough for five days. She was diagnosed with pneumonia due to COVID-19 via polymerase chain reaction using her saliva, and ground-glass opacity was found in both lung fields on chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT). Mechanical ventilation, steroids, remdesivir, and baricitinib were administered. The patient's fever and oxygenation status improved with these treatments, and she was weaned from the ventilator on the eighth day of hospitalization. She had no symptoms immediately. However, 48 hours after extubation, bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis was suspected. Thus, oral intubation was immediately introduced and a tracheostomy was performed. Vocal cord movement disorders continued for eight weeks, and during that period, the patient displayed hoarseness and suffered from dysphagia. We considered that nerve disorders from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in addition to the compression by the endotracheal tube, caused bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. The neural injury by SARS-CoV-2 may prolong and manifest as "Long COVID."

Focal Myocarditis As the First Sign in the Presentation of a COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Patients with COVID-19 typically present with symptoms and signs related to respiratory tract infection. However, a broad spectrum of cardiac manifestations including myocarditis has been reported as complications of this virus. Nevertheless, focal myocarditis as the first clinical manifestation of COVID-19 infection has not been reported before. Thus, we herein present the case of a 56-year-old male patient previously healthy and presented to the emergency department with chest pain. The clinical picture was compatible with inferior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Initial COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was negative, as well for its classic symptoms. Thereafter, further investigations suggested the diagnosis of focal myocarditis. Later on, the patient started to have a fever and repeated COVID-19 PCR that returned positive.

Allergic Skin Rash Caused by Iguratimod: A Report of Two Cases.

Iguratimod has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Herein, we report two cases of skin allergic reactions caused by iguratimod in our hospital. Case 1 was a woman with SS who developed diffuse pruritus erythema after three weeks of combination therapy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and iguratimod. When the patient was again prescribed iguratimod after the rash subsided, the pruritus erythema reappeared. Case 2 was a 23-year-old girl treated with prednisone, HCQ, and mycophenolate mofetil for systemic lupus erythematosus and SS. In the follow-up treatment, mycophenolate mofetil was replaced by iguratimod. On the 20th day of treatment, a pruritic erythematous maculopapular rash appeared. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the characteristics of an allergic rash caused by iguratimod. It is better to administer HCQ and iguratimod successively rather than simultaneously to a patient.

Re-Positive SARS-CoV-2 With Respiratory Failure and Cerebrovascular Accident: Is This a Reinfection?

The coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) pandemic is a global pandemic where healthcare providers are concerned about the reinfection of recovered patients. The reinfection with COVID-19 is not common and considered less likely, but as time passes by, there are reports of patients becoming positive after having tested negative previously. Here, we report a case of a 28-year-old male with diabetes mellitus type 1, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis who presented initially in April 2020 with nausea, vomiting, and dyspnea. His severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) came back positive. He left against medical advice but was followed as an outpatient in the dialysis unit where he continued with dialysis in isolation for positive COVID-19 as per the dialysis unit guidelines. He presented three months later with altered level of consciousness in the setting of diabetic ketoacidosis. He also had gastrointestinal bleed and cerebrovascular accident. There was a strong possibility of reinfection in this patient as he was tested negative after the initial infection and then tested positive three months later, presenting with a different set of symptoms and more severe disease on his second admission.

Crisis, hallucinatory explanations and the experiences of a critically ill Covid-19 patient: a personal account / Crise, explicações alucinatórias e perspectivas de vivência como doente grave de Covid-19: um relato pessoal / Crisis, explicaciones alucinatorias y perspectivas de vivencia como enfermo grave de Covid-19: un relato personal

O presente trabalho constitui uma narrativa das experiências do autor, médico psiquiatra e pesquisador em Saúde Coletiva, referente ao tempo de sua enfermidade de Covid-19, como expressa na própria memória, por meio de recordação, fluxo de consciência, registro de elementos factuais e reflexão crítica. O tempo na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) foi esquecido e passou a ser lembrado segundo a lógica da fabulação, alucinatório-delirante. Os fatos temporais e clínicos são os que constam nos prontuários da UTI, da Enfermaria e da Equipe Domiciliar, de posse do autor. Espera-se oferecer à sociedade uma vivência singular de como a Covid-19 nos obriga a pensar o indivíduo, a coletividade e as políticas de saúde, por ocasião da primeira grande pandemia viral do mundo globalizado, que ainda não chegou ao seu termo. (AU)

This work presents a narrative of the author's experiences as a psychiatrist and public health researcher of his Covid-19 illness, as expressed in memory, through recall, stream of consciousness, recording of factual elements and critical reflection. The time in intensive care was forgotten and came to be remembered according to the logic of hallucinatory-delusional fabulation. The temporal and clinical facts are based on the intensive care unit, ward and homecare team's medical records in the author's possession. The author seeks to offer a singular experience of how Covid-19 makes us think about the individual, the collective and health policy in connection with the first great viral pandemic in the globalized world, which has not yet reached its end. (AU)

Este trabajo constituye una narrativa de las experiencias del autor, médico psiquiatra e investigador de salud colectiva, referente al tiempo de su enfermedad de Covid-19, como expresa en la propia memoria, por medio de recursos, flujo de conciencia, registro de elementos factuales y reflexión crítica. El tiempo en la UCI fue olvidado y pasó a recordarse según la lógica de la fabulación, alucinatoria-delirante. Los hechos temporales y clínicos son los que constan en las fichas de la UCI, de la enfermería y del equipo domiciliario, en poder del autor. Se espera ofrecer a la sociedad una vivencia singular de cómo la Covid-19 nos obliga a pensar el individuo, la colectividad y las políticas de salud, por ocasión de la 1ª gran pandemia viral del mundo globalizado, que todavía no ha llegado a su fin. (AU)

Paradoxical Embolism Causing Myocardial Infarction in a COVID-19 Patient Presenting With Pulmonary Embolism.

The presence of myocardial injury in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection is common. The cardiac complications of SARS-CoV2 infection are varied and distinguishing between them can be complicated.  A 55-year-old man with recent diagnosis of SARS-CoV2 infection presented with chest pain, syncope, and was found to have saddle pulmonary embolism (PE). Marked elevation in cardiac enzymes prompted a coronary angiogram which was normal. Cardiac MRI revealed late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in the anterolateral wall consistent with myocardial infarction (MI). He was diagnosed with paradoxical embolism causing MI. The differential for elevated cardiac enzymes is wide in patients with SARS-CoV2 infection. This case illustrates that sometimes multiple diagnoses exist, and that a high index of suspicion is required to continue work-up.