Noninvasive Ambulatory Electrocardiographic Markers from Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Report of Three Cases.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected medical practice. More than 7,000,000 patients died worldwide after being infected with COVID-19; however, no specific laboratory markers have yet been established to predict death related to this disease. In contrast, electrocardiographic changes due to COVID-19 include QT prolongation and ST-T changes; however, there have not been studies on the ambulatory electrocardiographic markers of COVID-19. We encountered three patients diagnosed as having COVID-19 who did not have a prior history of significant structural heart diseases. All patients had abnormalities in ambulatory echocardiogram parameters detected by high-resolution 24 h electrocardiogram monitoring: positive late potentials (LPs) and T-wave alternans (TWA), abnormal heart rate variability (HRV), and heart rate turbulence (HRT). Case 1 involved a 78-year-old woman with a history of chronic kidney disease, Case 2 involved a 76-year-old man with hypertension and diabetes, and Case 3 involved a 67-year-old man with renal cancer, lung cancer, and diabetes. None of them had a prior history of significant structural heart disease. Although no significant consistent increases in clinical markers were observed, all three patients died, mainly because of respiratory failure with mild heart failure. The LP, TWA, HRV, and HRT were positive in all three cases with no significant structural cardiac disease at the initial phase of admission. The further accumulation of data regarding ambulatory electrocardiographic markers in patients with COVID-19 is needed. Depending on the accumulation of data, the LP, TWA, HRV, and HRT could be identified as potential risk factors for COVID-19 pneumonia in the early phase of admission.

Invasive candidiasis presenting bronchiectatic cavity as chest radiological findings: A case report.

Invasive candidiasis is rare but is associated with high mortality in immunocompromised or critically ill patients. Here, we present a case of a 55-year-old man with untreated diabetes who was diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 and subsequently developed invasive candidiasis. The patient presented with fever, tachycardia, and tachypnea. Chest computed tomography revealed multiple consolidations mainly distributed around the bronchovascular bundles with bronchiectatic cavity formation, which initially raised suspicion for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. However, subsequent testing confirmed Candida albicans infection; hence, we changed the antifungal agents effective for invasive candidiasis. This improved the patient's respiratory status, and he was then successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation. This case report highlights the importance of considering invasive candidiasis in the differential diagnosis of patients with bronchiectatic cavities on chest computed tomography, particularly in immunocompromised or critically ill patients with risk factors for invasive candidiasis.

Cardiac tamponade due to eosinophilia treated with intravenous corticosteroid: A case report.

RATIONALE: Cardiac tamponade, a condition in which the heart is compressed by pericardial fluid retention, is easy to diagnose; however, identifying the cause may be challenging since it can be caused by a variety of conditions, including trauma and pericardial disease. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 22-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory failure. He had previously received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia and developed chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) that was treated with a corticosteroid. At this time, he developed bilateral femur head necrosis and underwent surgery after discontinuation of the corticosteroid but developed respiratory failure postoperatively. The initial diagnosis was cardiac failure, which temporarily improved with treatment; however, eosinophilia and pericardial effusions became prominent. DIAGNOSES: Pericardial effusion gradually progressed, resulting in cardiac tamponade. INTERVENTIONS: Pericardiocentesis was performed. Eosinophilia could be the cause of cardiac tamponade; thus, corticosteroid was administered. OUTCOMES: Pericardial effusion improved remarkably after corticosteroid administration. The corticosteroid dose was gradually tapered, and the patient was discharged. LESSONS: This case presented with cardiac tamponade associated with eosinophilia, probably owing to graft-versus-host disease. This is an unusual condition associated with a history of hematologic neoplasms; although evaluation is challenging, appropriate assessment could help save the patient's life.

Fulminant elderly adult-onset Still disease effectively treated with tocilizumab and methotrexate: A case report.

RATIONALE: Adult-onset Still disease (AOSD) is a rare inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. AOSD is common in young or middle-aged adults; however, in recent years, there have been increasing reports of elderly AOSD. Differentiating AOSD from diseases such as infections and malignancies is difficult. Moreover, rare fulminant AOSD cases with resistance to corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs have been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: An 80-year-old woman presented with flaccid fever, generalized arthralgia, and erythema of the anterior chest for 2 weeks. On day 5 of hospitalization, the patient developed pleural effusion with hypoxemia and her vital signs indicated rapid progression to shock. During the clinical course, the levels of inflammatory markers, including maximum level of ferritin and white blood cells (WBCs) were elevated (252,796 ng/mL and 86,500/µV, respectively) with disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome (DIC) and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). DIAGNOSIS: The patient was diagnosed with elderly AOSD as per the Yamaguchi criteria for AOSD. The state of disease was extremely severe with rapid progression and was, thus, categorized as a fulminant form of elderly AOSD. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated with prednisolone (PSL) pulse therapy (1000 mg/d) twice and plasma exchange in the intensive care unit for the primary disease and shock. Although she recovered from shock, she developed DIC and MAS. Methotrexate (MTX; 10 mg/d) improved the DIC and MAS. However, severe pleuritis recurred and the patient developed pericarditis; her primary disease was poorly controlled. Finally, tocilizumab (TCZ) was introduced using interleukin-18 (IL-18) as a surrogate marker. The IL-18 level was measured repeatedly following admission, with the peak level (170,000 pg/mL) recorded on the 75th day of hospitalization, immediately prior to introducing TCZ. OUTCOMES: The combined use of MTX, TCZ, and PSL was effective in suppressing elderly AOSD, which was unsuccessfully controlled with MTX and PSL. Frequent monitoring of IL-18 levels proved useful for differentiating elderly AOSD from other diseases. LESSONS: A fulminant form of elderly AOSD was treated with a combination of MTX, TCZ, and PSL. Repeated monitoring of IL-18 levels can be useful for decision-making in treating elderly AOSD.

Uninodular Fibromyxomatous Gastric Tumor Resected by Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy of a 45-year-old woman revealed a submucosal tumor in the gastric antrum. Endoscopic submucosal dissection of the tumor was performed. The histological findings revealed a fibromyxomatous tumor composed of myofibroblastic cells with no evidence of malignancy. The growth pattern of the resected specimen was not multinodular or plexiform. We therefore tentatively referred to the present tumor descriptively as a gastric uninodular fibromyxomatous tumor, stressing its singular nodularity. It was initially roughly 10 mm in size but grew over a period of 4 years. A uninodular plexiform fibromyxoma might increase in size but might not become multinodular if it remains small.

Refractory leg ulcers associated with Klinefelter syndrome.

We present a man with refractory leg ulcers, bilateral varicosis of the lower extremities, and Buerger disease. Autoimmune work-up was negative. However, chromosome analysis showed Klinefelter syndrome (48 XXY). Ulcerative lesions of the lower extremities are a complication of Klinefelter syndrome. To date, the pathogenesis of ulcers in Klinefelter syndrome has not been clarified, but several factors, such as abnormalities of fibrinolysis and prothrombotic states, might be involved. Our present case emphasizes the importance of considering Klinefelter syndrome in the differential diagnosis of a male patient with nonhealing ulcers of the lower extremities.