ABSTRACT
Brucellosis remains an endemic zoonosis in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, owing to the high consumption of raw meat and unpasteurized cheese. In this report, we present the case of a twenty-one-year-old girl who was diagnosed with brucellosis during the investigation of persistent fever and night sweats that was confirmed by an elevated Brucella agglutination titer at 1/160 for Brucella melitensis species, and an indirect Coombs at 1/1280. Unfortunately, owing to non-adherence to the antibiotic regimen prescribed, her condition progressed, resulting in piriformis myositis with sacroiliitis, an unusual complication of brucellosis. Resolution occurred following a treatment regimen comprising intravenous gentamycin 5mg/kg daily for two weeks along with rifampin 300mg TID, and doxycycline 100mg BID for 12 weeks. Furthermore, we conducted a literature review, which revealed the diagnostic and imaging criteria for this uncommon complication to be still unclear, as well as the lack of universally approved guidelines for its treatment. Brucella - myositis should be suspected when patients present with fever and back pain.
ABSTRACT
Pituitary apoplexy is an uncommon condition typically resulting from a sudden haemorrhage within a pituitary adenoma. This bleed can present clinically with a wide array of signs and symptoms. This report documents the case of a 62-year-old male who presented to the Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui University Medical Center with signs and symptoms of meningeal irritation. He was initially thought to have meningitis, and was started on antibiotics; he was then found to have pituitary adenoma apoplexy that was complicated by syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone release (SIADH). The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics, and fluid restriction and hypertonic saline after ruling out other more common causes for his hyponatraemia, before undergoing a transsphenoidal resection of the pituitary adenoma. A three-month follow-up evaluation of the patient demonstrated the absence of hormonal imbalances and the absence of residual tumours on imaging. LEARNING POINTS: Pituitary apoplexy has as a wide clinical presentationPituitary apoplexy should be ruled out in patients with aseptic chemical meningitis with a history of pituitary adenomasSIADH can complicate chemical meningitis due to pituitary apoplexy.
ABSTRACT
Expansion of a primary spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (PSICH) has become lately of increasing interest, especially after the emergence of its early predictors. However, these signs lacked sensitivity and specificity. The flood phenomenon, defined as a drastic increase in the size of a PSICH during the same magnetic resonance study, was first described in this paper based on the data of a university medical center in Lebanon. Moreover, further review of this data resulted in 205 studies with presumed diagnosis of primary spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage within the last 10 years, of which 29 exams showed typical predictors of hematoma expansion on computed tomography. The intended benefit of this observation is to draw the radiologists' attention towards minimal variations in the volume of the hematoma between the two extreme sequences of the same MRI study, in order to detect inconspicuous flood phenomena-a direct sign of hematoma expansion.
ABSTRACT
Industrial disasters related to high-order explosives result in characteristic injuries that are seldom seen among civilians. Survivors of these disasters often present with injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Awareness of explosion and blast injuries for healthcare providers who care for civilians is important considering the possibility of such events as demonstrated in the past two decades, including the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 and the explosion of the port of Tianjin, China, in 2015. We report an unusual presentation of isolated bilateral rupture of the knee extensor mechanism in a 46-year-old healthy male, with history of anabolic androgen steroid (AAS) use. He was standing 1.5 miles from the site of the site of explosion of the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020. We discuss the imaging appearance of this injury, the different mechanisms of blast-related injuries, the role of possible underlying pathology, and the management of this patient.
