Rituximab for treatment of pachymeningitis in granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Pachymeningitis is a rare manifestation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), and there is a paucity of literature regarding the efficiency of rituximab (RTX) in such cases. We present a woman in her early 50s with GPA who initially responded adequately to conventional therapy. However, the treatment course was complicated by pulmonary cryptococcosis. The patient later developed non-infectious pachymeningitis, which failed to respond to steroids and methotrexate. However, using RTX upfront led to good clinical response and radiological resolution.

Leptospirosis in Intensive Care Unit.

Tropical infections constitute 20 - 30% of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in developing countries. Leptospirosis is a spectrum with mild form presenting as an acute febrile illness with jaundice, complicating in few as acute kidney injury (AKI), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). The poor prognostic markers are hemorrhagic ARDS, acute renal failure, DIC, severe metabolic acidosis, older age, chronic alcohol abuse, high SOFA score, and septic shock. The confirmatory diagnosis relies on antibody testing, such as microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and IgM ELISA, while the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test being reserved for clinically suspected antibody negative cases. The spectrum of multi-organ involvement necessitates a complete hematological, biochemical workup, including electrocardiogram (ECG), chest X-ray, and two-dimensional echocardiography. Specific antimicrobial therapy consists of the following-benzylpenicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and doxycycline. The reported mortality ranges from 6% to as high as 44%. Various ICU scores like SPiRO, THAI LEPTO score, and Faine's criteria have been useful in risk stratification. Optimizing intensive care treatment with appropriate antibiotics, lung protection ventilation strategies, strict fluid management, and if need be timely initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) helps in reducing mortality. How to cite this article: Karnik ND, Patankar AS. Leptospirosis in Intensive Care Unit. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(Suppl 2): S134-S137.

Dermatomyositis during COVID-19 Pandemic (A Case Series): Is there a Cause Effect Relationship?

Viruses have been shown to modify the clinical picture of several autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Viral infections have also been considered as a possible trigger for autoimmune disorders like myositis through myositis specific antibodies. Dermatomyositis is an acquired inflammatory myopathy which is relatively rare with incidence of 9.3 per 1 million persons. Usually we come across 1-2 patients of dermatomyositis per year, amongst 800-1000 new patients in our tertiary care rheumatology services. A surge in the incidence was noted this year during the months of April-August of 2020, the period coinciding with the occurrence of corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic in the city of Mumbai, the total number of cases encountered being five in a span of six months. The following case series includes five such cases with review of available literature on virus-triggered autoimmunity with special reference to SARS-CoV-2 and the challenges of immunosuppression during this pandemic.