Acute Q fever revealed by an anti-phospholipid syndrome: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. Acute infection is mainly asymptomatic. In other cases it mainly causes a flu-like illness, a pneumonia, or an hepatitis. We present an atypical case of an acute Q fever revealed by a massive pleural effusion. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 43-year-old man referred to our hospital for an acute respiratory distress. Further analyses showed an exudative eosinophilic pleural effusion, associated with a pulmonary embolism and a deep femoral vein thrombosis. Aetiologic explorations revealed an acute Q fever (IgM and IgG against C. burnetii phase II antigens) associated with anti-phospholipids. The outcome was favorable with vitamin K antagonists, doxycycline, and hydroxychloroquine, till the negativation of the anti-phospholipid antibodies. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: During acute C. burnetii infections, anti-phospholipid antibodies are highly prevalent but thrombotic complications are rare. The 2023 ACR/EULAR APS criteria restricts the diagnosis of APS, as in our case of acute severe infection. In front of an atypical pneumonia and/or thrombotic events, screening of C. burnetii and anti-phospholipid antibodies could be useful. Given its low level of evidence, prolongated treatment by doxycycline, hydroxychloroquine ± anticoagulant for C. burnetii's associated anti-phospholipid syndrome is discussed, but succeeded in our case.

Clinical description of sleep and trauma-related nightmares in a population of French active-duty members and veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major public health problem. The most frequent complaints in this pathology are sleep disorders and trauma-related nightmares in particular. Trauma-related nightmares are characteristic of PTSD and impact its severity insofar as they are associated with more severe, longer-lasting symptoms and resistance to first-line treatments. There are specific characteristics associated with military personnel, including overrepresentation of replicative trauma-related nightmares. The aim of this study was to provide an accurate description of sleep patterns and the characteristics of trauma-related nightmares in a population of active-duty members or veterans diagnosed with PTSD. METHODS: We recruited active-duty service members and veterans receiving treatment for PTSD in the psychiatric departments of five Military Teaching Hospitals (Hôpitaux d'Instruction des Armées, HIA) and described their sleep characteristics using a questionnaire, the Trauma-Related Nightmare Survey French version (TRNS-FR). RESULTS: Out of 77 patients, 72 (93.5%) who experienced traumatic nightmares were included. This population had very severe clinical manifestations of PTSD, with a mean PCL-S score of 62.6 and an estimated total sleep time of 5.3h (317min). Among these patients, 31% had replicative nightmares and 57.7% had partially replicative nightmares. Nightmares were frequent (4.7 nightmares on average over the previous week), highly realistic, and highly immersive with exacerbated symptoms during the nightmare and also upon awakening. DISCUSSION: Sleep quality was seriously altered among active-duty service members and veterans treated in Military Hospitals for PTSD with trauma-related nightmares. Certain criteria were identified to help characterize trauma-related nightmares: their level of replication, recurrence and the impact of these symptoms on patients' lives. CONCLUSION: Long-term traumatic nightmares are a prominent feature in the symptomatology of active service members and veterans suffering from PTSD. This symptom is of particular interest as it may be a sign of changes in the patient's condition and a potential therapeutic target.

First description of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. canettii concomitant infection: report of two cases.

We report the first two cases of tuberculous coinfection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. canettii. Both patients were young Djiboutian females with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). One had a miliary pattern with concomitant human immunodeficiency virus infection. Both recovered completely with a standard four-drug anti-tuberculosis treatment regimen. Due to the different natural reservoirs and routes of infection of these two strains, our study supports the common belief that multiple strains of infection in TB are related to superinfection rather than concomitant infection.

[Long-term fever after gastric banding]. / Fièvre au long cours et anneau gastrique.

We report a 65-year-old male, suffering from aspiration pneumonia after gastric banding revealed by intermittent fever inducing a delayed diagnosis. Several early and later pulmonary complications following laparoscopic gastric banding have been reported. Removal or deflation of the band should be considered in unexplained persistent fever to avoid more severe complications such as respiratory distress.

[A severe side effect of antitubercular therapy: pyrazinamide induced thrombocytopenia]. / Un effet indésirable grave du traitement antituberculeux: la thrombopénie au pyrazinamide.

The haematological side effects of antitubercular drugs are not well known. We report the observation of a patient who received Rifater for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. After one month of treatment, he developed an acute pulmonary infection, with neutropenia (1218/microl) and thrombocytopenia (109,000/microl), requiring suspension of his antitubercular drugs. After the reintroduction of he again developed thrombocytopenia (6,000/microl) associated with bleeding and required treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. The introduction of a combination of moxifloxacin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol was followed by a new relapse of the thrombocytopenia. Responsibility of pyrazinamide was then suspected and later confirmed by the evolution of platelet levels after stopping and reintroducing this antibiotic. This is the third reported case of pyrazinamide induced thrombocytopenia, whose frequency is probably underestimated because of the use of compound treatment.