Challenges in Diagnosis of Esophageal Tuberculosis.

Esophageal tuberculosis (TB) is a rare manifestation of extrapulmonary TB, accounting for <0.2% of all TB cases. Esophageal TB most commonly presents with dysphagia, odynophagia, retrosternal pain, and systemic symptoms like decreased appetite, loss of weight, and low-grade fever as associated or other presentations. We report a similar case recently encountered as an elderly male patient presented with chronic dysphagia to solids, loss of appetite, and significant loss of weight. Radiological and endoscopy pictures looked like esophageal cancer with histopathological examination (twice) negative for the same. Diagnosis of esophageal TB was confirmed by GeneXpert Ultra of biopsy sample and histopathological examination was suggestive of granulomatous esophagitis. The patient improved on 6 months antitubercular therapy. The unique aspect of this case was how the lesion mimicked an esophageal carcinoma on imaging which posed a diagnostic challenge.

Adequacy of sigmoidoscopy as compared to colonoscopy for assessment of disease activity in patients of ulcerative colitis: a prospective study.

Background/Aims: Patients of ulcerative colitis (UC) on follow-up are routinely evaluated by sigmoidoscopy. There is no prospective literature to support this practice. We assessed agreement between sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy prospectively in patients with disease extent beyond the sigmoid colon. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study at a tertiary care institute for agreement between sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. We assessed endoscopic activity using the Mayo Endoscopic Score (MES) and Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) and histological activity using the Nancy Index (NI), Robarts Histopathology Index (RHI), and Simplified Geboes Score (SGS). Results: Sigmoidoscopy showed a strong agreement with colonoscopy for MES and UCEIS with a kappa (K) of 0.96 and 0.94 respectively. The misclassification rate for MES and UCEIS was 3% and 5% respectively. Sigmoidoscopy showed perfect agreement (K = 1.00) with colonoscopy for assessment of the presence of endoscopic activity in the colon using MES ??1 as activity criteria and strong agreement (K = 0.93) using MES > 1 as activity criteria. Sigmoidoscopy showed strong agreement with colonoscopy for assessment of the presence of endoscopic activity using UCEIS (K = 0.92). Strong agreement was observed between sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy using NI (K = 0.86), RHI (K = 1.00), and SGS (K = 0.92) for the detection of histological activity. The misclassification rate for the detection of histological activity was 2%, 0%, and 1% for NI, RHI, and SGS respectively. Conclusions: Sigmoidoscopy showed strong agreement with colonoscopy for endoscopic and histologic disease activity. Sigmoidoscopy is adequate for assessment of disease activity in patients with UC during follow-up evaluation.

Effects of high bilirubin level in pregnancy in Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 2: An extremely rare but important clinical entity to recognize.

Crigler-Najjar is a rare genetic autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of enzyme Uridine 5-Diphosphate Glucuronosyl Transferase (UDP-GT). We report the case of a 24-year-old female with two consecutive pregnancies with a high level of total bilirubin level of 15.1 mg/dl and a direct bilirubin level of 0.8 mg/dl during the first pregnancy. As she was diagnosed case of Crigler Najjar type 2, she was on phenobarbitone 60 mg daily. With careful monitoring, she continued with the same dose. We concluded that even with high bilirubin level (15.1 mg/dl) in pregnancy, no adverse effects to the baby and mother were seen.

A Case of Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis Triggered by COVID-19 Infection.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel condition. One of the theories for its etiopathogenesis is gastrointestinal infections. Although COVID-19 primarily affects the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal involvement is also common. We have reported a case of a 28-year-old male who presented with bloody diarrhea, diagnosed with acute severe ulcerative colitis, triggered by COVID-19 infection after known triggers were excluded.

Takayasu Arteritis Presenting as Intestinal Angina: Unusual Presentation of a Rare Disease.

Intestinal angina refers to abdominal pain resulting from reduced mesenteric blood flow. Although atherosclerosis is the most common cause, large vessel vasculitis is emerging as one of the common causes. We have reported a case of an 18-year-old female who presented with classical symptoms of intestinal angina. On evaluation, the patient was found to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm with a compromised mesenteric blood supply. She was started on steroids and methotrexate along with anti-platelets and anticoagulants. She improved following the treatment and didn't have any complaints on follow-up.

Predictors of Severity and Mortality in Chronic Liver Disease Patients With COVID-19 During the Second Wave of the Pandemic in India.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in chronic liver disease patients is associated with poor outcomes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the predictors of severity and mortality in this group of patients during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. In addition, we compared cirrhotic patients with COVID-19 with cirrhotic patients from the pre-COVID-19 period. Methodology This was a single-center observational study. We included data from 50 patients with cirrhosis and COVID-19 retrospectively from the discharge/death files. A comparison group of 100 patients with cirrhosis from the pre-COVID period was also analyzed retrospectively. Results The majority of patients had predominantly respiratory symptoms, with fever being the most common symptom (85%). The most common presentation was acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF). The most common form of decompensation was jaundice followed by hepatic encephalopathy. The overall mortality in cirrhotic patients with COVID-19 was double than that in cirrhotic patients from the pre-COVID-19 period. All patients with ACLF succumbed to multiorgan failure. Diabetes was the only comorbidity that was associated with severe infection. Higher creatinine on admission and high D-dimer levels correlated with severity. D-dimer was the only parameter that correlated with severity and mortality on multivariate analysis. None of the comorbidities predicted mortality. Among various composite scores, the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score and CURB-65 correlated with mortality. On the area under the receiver operating characteristic analysis, a D-dimer level of >1.1 mg/L was associated with mortality. Conclusions COVID-19 infection in patients with cirrhosis is associated with poor outcomes. D-dimer levels of >1.1 mg/L on admission are a simple parameter to predict mortality. CTP and CURB-65 are composite scores that correlate with mortality in this group of patients.

Pattern of liver function test variations in COVID-19 infection & its clinical significance: A study from a dedicated COVID-19 tertiary care centre from India.

Background & objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and other systems disease. Studies describing liver involvement and liver function test (LFT) abnormalities are sparse from our population. This study was undertaken to estimate the LFT abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary care set up in India. Methods: In this retrospective study conducted at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai, India, all consecutive patients with proven COVID-19 by reverse transcriptase-PCR from March 23 to October 31, 2020 were enrolled. Of the 3280 case records profiled, 1474 cases were included in the study. Clinical characteristics, biochemical parameters and outcomes were recorded. Results: Overall 681 (46%) patient had deranged LFTs. Hepatocellular type of injury was most common (93%). Patients with deranged LFTs had more probability of developing severe disease (P<0.001) and mortality (P<0.001). Advanced age (P<0.001), male gender (P<0.001), diabetes mellitus (P<0.001), lower oxygen saturation levels at admission (P<0.001), higher neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (P<0.001), history of diabetes mellitus and cirrhosiss were associated with deranged LFTs. Acute liver injury was seen in 65 (4.3%) cases on admission and 57 (3.5%) cases during hospital stay. On multivariate analysis for predicting mortality, age >60 yr serum creatinine >2 mg%, PaO2/FiO2 ratio ≤200 and raised AST >50 IU/l (OR: 2.34, CI: 1.59-3.48, P<0.001) were found to be significant. Interpretation & conclusions: In COVID-19, LFT abnormalities were common, and derangement increased as severity progressed. The presence of deranged LFT worsens the clinical outcome and predicts in-hospital mortality.