Eltrombopag for tyrosine kinase inhibitors-associated thrombocytopenia in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) can develop cytopenias secondary to bone marrow hypoplasia after starting tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. These adverse effects are usually transient, but cytopenias can persist in some patients. TKI-associated thrombocytopenia can develop in a significant proportion of CML patients and may require TKI dose reduction or dose interruptions. The thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag may improve thrombocytopenia in these patients, but the supporting literature for this approach is limited. Herein, we describe the case of a 56-year-old woman who developed persistent TKI-associated thrombocytopenia and intracranial hemorrhage. She could not tolerate full doses of imatinib and she failed to achieve a major molecular response (MMR). She responded to eltrombopag and platelet count improved, which allowed commencement and continuation of dasatinib as second-line TKI therapy, resulting in achievement of MMR. TKI-associated thrombocytopenia can cause serious bleeding and may also interfere with the management of CML by necessitating TKI dose interruption or reduction. Use of eltrombopag can help maintain adequate platelet counts and uninterrupted delivery of TKI therapy.

Cytomegalovirus pneumonitis amid COVID-19 chaos: the hidden enemy-a case report.

BACKGROUND: The effect of coronavirus disease 2019 on the immune system is increasingly recognized. When severe, it causes immune dysregulation that may favor other infections, including Herpesviridae. Cytomegalovirus shares many innate immune pathways with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which may potentiate each other. We describe a case of cytomegalovirus pneumonitis complicating the course of coronavirus disease 2019 in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus/systemic sclerosis overlap and usual interstitial pneumonia, mimicking interstitial lung disease exacerbation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case to be reported worldwide in the setting of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe the case of a 47-year-old white/Yemeni female who is known to have systemic lupus erythematosus/scleroderma overlap and usual interstitial pneumonia who was initially admitted with severe coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia mandating intensive care. After initial improvement, it was later complicated with cytomegalovirus pneumonitis, mimicking interstitial lung disease exacerbation. The case was successfully treated with ganciclovir. CONCLUSION: Intriguingly, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and cytomegalovirus may potentiate each other, since they share some innate immune pathways. Subjects with severe coronavirus disease 2019 and underlying connective tissue diseases and those who are immunosuppressed carry higher risk compared with other cohorts, which may mandate active surveillance for cytomegalovirus coinfection or reactivation. Among various immunosuppressive therapies that has been tried for cytokine storm, use of anti-interleukin-6 inhibitors in the aforementioned population may carry more harm than previously thought, which may suggest that is reasonable to omit its use in treating this group with coronavirus disease 2019. This case underlines an underrecognized and underreported cause of morbidity and mortality during the course of severe coronavirus disease 2019 and will help to alert clinicians of its occurrence.

The Top 50 Most-Cited Articles on Acoustic Neuroma.

BACKGROUND: Acoustic neuroma is the most common extra-axial primary cerebellopontine angle tumor in adults. A plethora of studies have been published on acoustic neuroma, but none of the previous works have highlighted the most influential articles. Our objective was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the 50 most-cited articles on acoustic neuroma. METHODS: We performed a title-specific search on the Scopus database using the following search terms: "acoustic neuroma," "vestibular schwannoma," and "cerebellopontine angle." We recorded the 50 most-cited articles and reviewed them. RESULTS: The 50 most-cited articles had an average of 175 citations per article. All articles were published between 1980 and 2006, with 1997 the most prolific year, when 7 articles were published. The journals Neurosurgery and Laryngoscope published 10 and 8 of these articles, respectively. The most common study categories were nonsurgical management (17/50) and surgical management (13/50). Studies were predominantly published by otolaryngologists (22/50) and neurosurgeons (14/50). Douglas Kondziolka was the author with the highest number of contributions, with 7 publications. The majority of the articles were produced in the United States (64%). CONCLUSIONS: Identifying articles on acoustic neuroma with the most impact provides an important overview of the historical development of treatment methods and publication trends related to this condition. A finalized, comprehensive list of the most important works represents an excellent tool that can serve as a guide for evidence-based clinical practice.

A Novel Mutation of the CYP11B2 in a Saudi Infant with Primary Hypoaldosteronism.

Isolated hypoaldosteronism is a rare autosomal recessive disease presenting with severe salt wasting and failure to thrive in infancy. A 6-month-old Saudi girl born to consanguineous parents was referred from primary health care for failure to thrive and developmental delay. Laboratory tests revealed hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and metabolic acidosis with high renin and low aldosterone. Blood samples were collected for endocrine and genetic studies. Sequence analysis of the CYP11B2 revealed a T to A transition at position 1398 + 2 in exon 8 of the gene in a homozygous state (c.1398+T>A). This result was confirmed by sequencing an independent PCR product. Given the position of the transition at a highly conserved nucleotide and the predictions of different bioinformatic algorithms, it is likely that the mutation is the pathogenic cause of this condition. This result was compared with the reference NM_000498.3. Here, we report a novel homozygous mutation resulting in aldosterone synthase deficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this mutation has not been described in the literature or in any database thus far. The mutation manifested as a rare inherited disease in an infant exhibiting critical salt loss. An adequate replacement treatment will give a good long-term prognosis.

Prevalence of IgG-mediated food intolerance among patients with allergic symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Food intolerance mediated by food specific IgG antibodies has been implicated in a variety of disorders. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of food specific IgG antibodies among patients clinically presenting with allergic symptoms lacking laboratory evidence of allergy. DESIGN: Descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh between 2010-2015. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were screened for food specific IgG antibodies. All symptomatic patients lacking laboratory evidence of allergy who underwent food specific IgG testing during the study duration were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Levels of IgG antibodies in patients with unidentified allergic symptoms. RESULTS: We selected 71 patients with allergic symptoms lacking laboratory evidence of allergy. There were 49 female and 22 male patients mean age 38.8 (16.0) years. The majority (85.7%) had urticaria. The most frequently occurring food specific IgG antibodies were against cola nut in 80.3% of patients followed by yeast in 78.9%, wheat in 77.5%, red kidney bean in 71.8%, pea in 63.4%, corn in 62% and egg white in 62% of the patients. Compared with male patients, females harbored significantly higher food specific IgG antibodies for frequently occurring food materials, particularly against wheat (74% vs 25.5%; P < .0001), corn (77.3% vs 22.7%; P < .0001) and cola nut (71.9% vs 28.1%; P < .001). Patients aged less than 40 years had higher levels of food specific IgG against gliadin (P < .003), egg white (P < .03) and barley (P < .05) compared with older patients. CONCLUSION: The detection of a variety of food specific IgG antibodies among patients with allergic symptoms indicates a possible link to food intolerance allergy. Females are prone to develop food intolerance more than males. LIMITATIONS: Difficulty of comparison of results with previous studies because of lack of data. Follow-up studies could not be performed to assess the effects of elimination from the diet due to limited time allocated for this study.