ABSTRACT
Scurvy is a clinical syndrome, resulting from ascorbic acid deficiency. Prevalence of the condition is now extremely low in the Western population and its diagnosis can be challenging without a high index of suspicion. When cases do present, they are often misdiagnosed initially. Therefore, a thorough history, physical exam, and laboratory evaluation are key to showing this now rare but extremely well-known disease. We report a case of scurvy manifesting as persistent non-healing lower-extremity ulcerations, initially mistaken for pyoderma gangrenosum. The patient responded to appropriate replacement therapy, but ulcers were slow to heal. As was the case in our patient, symptom reversal may require additional nutritional replacement. We encourage physicians to consider nutritional deficiencies in their differential diagnoses and highlight the incidence of malnutrition in the proper clinical setting to avoid diagnostic delay.
Subject(s)
Dermatologic Agents/therapeutic use , Immunotherapy/methods , Infliximab/therapeutic use , Leg Ulcer/diagnosis , Pyoderma Gangrenosum/diagnosis , Pyoderma Gangrenosum/therapy , Scurvy/diagnosis , Scurvy/therapy , Aged , Delayed Diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Leg Ulcer/therapy , Pyoderma Gangrenosum/epidemiology , Treatment Outcome , Western WorldABSTRACT
A 20-year-old man of Indo-Malaysian ancestry presented with a complaint of increased facial pigmentation that he first noticed at age 13. He had congenital adrenal hyperplasia (21-hydroxylase deficiency, salt-wasting variant; OMIM 201910), diagnosed during infancy. Glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid therapy was started at that time, but he had several episodes of salt craving during adolescence. During the past 7 years, the degree of facial pigmentation waxed and waned but never returned to baseline of early adolescence. Progressive skin darkening was also observed in annual family photos, which also showed a vast difference in skin tones between the patient and other members of his immediate family.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital/complications , Facial Dermatoses/etiology , Hyperpigmentation/etiology , Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital/drug therapy , Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use , Humans , Male , Young AdultABSTRACT
Although the dermatologic community rarely uses "Weber-Christian Disease" as a diagnosis, it still appears in the internal medicine literature. Herein we present a patient with recurrent cutaneous and subcutaneous nodules who was initially treated with aggressive immunosupression for a presumptive diagnosis of Weber-Christian Disease. After more than a decade the patient was diagnosed with cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonea. This case is an excellent example of the difficulty in diagnosing mycobacterial infections and underscores the importance of having a high suspicion for infectious etiologies for unresponsive cutaneous eruptions in patients on immunosuppressive medications.
Subject(s)
Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/diagnosis , Mycobacterium chelonae/isolation & purification , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/microbiology , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/pathology , Biopsy , Diagnosis, Differential , Diagnostic Errors , Female , Humans , Male , Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology , RecurrenceABSTRACT
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (p-NETs) entail a vast array of tumors, which can vary from benign neoplastic growths to rapidly aggressive malignancies. Such is the case with ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-producing p-NETs. These tumors have been found to be quite aggressive and a challenge to treat, especially due to the occurrence of metastatic disease even after resection of the primary tumor. We discuss the case of a 44-year-old female who initially presented with vague, non-specific symptoms, in which a malignant p-NET was found to be the cause of her clinical presentation. Although resection of the pancreatic mass was performed, the patient presented again with metastatic disease to the liver.
