Urethral duplication with rectourethral fistula: Review of two cases.

Urethral duplication is a very rarely observed congenital anomaly, mostly affecting the males. This case report highlights the management of two patients diagnosed with Type II A, Y-type urethral duplication. An 11-year-old boy was diagnosed with Type II A of Y-type urethral duplication, where the dorsal urethra was completely hypoplastic, and the ventral urethra was communicating with rectum. After the failure of a single-stage inner preputial pedicled tube urethroplasty, a perineoscrotal flap urethroplasty was done, and at present, the patient is waiting for the 2nd stage of surgery. Case 2 is a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with Type II A2, Y-type urethral duplication, where the dorsal urethra at proximal part was hypoplastic with normal caliber of penile urethra, and the ventral urethra was communicating with rectum. The boy was treated with end-to-end urethroplasty, and good surgical outcome was observed. The purpose of this case report is to discuss the management of unusual form of Y-type urethral duplication by staging the surgical procedure.

Impact of HIV Co-Infection on Clinical Presentation in Patients with TB and Correlation of the Findings with Level of Immune Suppression.

BACKGROUND: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has long been known to alter the clinical presentation of tuberculosis (TB), which varies according to the time of occurrence of TB infection and the level of immunodeficiency. Identifying variations in clinical features in HIV-TB coinfection might be helpful in settings with limited diagnostic facilities. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical presentation of TB in HIV coinfection and associate clinical findings with level of immune suppression (CD4 count). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective, cross-sectional observational study 110 patients having TB-HIV co-infection were assessed for clinical presentation and correlation with CD4 count. The study setting was a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients were categorized in three group based on CD4 counts as group I: ≤ 100 cells/cmm, group II: 101-200 cells/cmm and group III: > 200 cells/cmm. RESULTS: 110 patients were enrolled, 70% had CD4 cell count < 200 cells/mm3. Mean age and CD4 cell were 33.82±8.79 years and 181.7cells/cmm, respectively. Most common form of tubercular involvement was pulmonary (56.4%) followed by combined pulmonary and extra-pulmonary involvement (28.2%) and exclusively extra-pulmonary (15.5%). No significant intergroup difference was observed in site of involvement among three groups (p=0.700). Cough (91.8%) followed by low grade fever (85.5%), anorexia (82.7%) and weight loss (66.4%) were the commonest presenting symptom without any significant inter group difference. 70.9% patients were in undernourished category and 53.6% were febrile on examination. Sputum negative TB was noted 53.8%. 72.0% of patients with CD4 counts ≤100 had sputum negative TB as compared to sputum positive TB (28%). CONCLUSION: Due to varied clinical presentation of TB in HIV patients, ample knowledge of the clinical spectrum at different levels of immunosuppression is absolutely necessary to identify such patients early.

Recurrence of malignant melanoma presenting as black-colored pyopneumothorax: a rare entity.

We report a 63-year-old patient with black-colored pus (pyopneumothorax) resulting from an infected pleural effusion associated with metastatic malignant melanoma of the skin. The patient was also positive for Pseudomonas, so the color was unexpected. Although rare, malignant melanoma can present as a black pleural effusion due to the presence of melanocytes in the pleural fluid. Black pleural fluid should raise the suspicion of malignant melanoma. SIMILAR CASES PUBLISHED: Nine cases of black pleural effusion due to different causes have been reported.1,2 Three cases of black pleural effusion due to metastatic malignant melanoma are published.2,6,7.

Pattern and predictors of paradoxical response in patients with peripheral lymph node tuberculosis.

INTRODUCTION: Many of the patients with lymph node tuberculosis show 'Paradoxical Response" in the form of appearance of new lymph node (LN) or increase in the size of existing LN, development of new disease in other organ and worsening of the disease while on treatment. Reason behind such response in only selective patients is not clearly understood. We evaluated the pattern and predictors for paradoxical response(s) (PR) in patients with peripheral lymph node tuberculosis (TB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study included patients aged > 6 years with peripheral lymphadenopathy of tubercular etiology attending a tertiary care hospital from Jan 2010 to Dec 2010. PR in our study was defined as worsening of pre-existing disease or development of new lesions in a patient who has been on anti-TB therapy for at least 2 weeks. RESULT: One hundred ten patients with peripheral lymph node TB were included. Their mean age was 27.5 ± 5 years and 68 (62%) were females. PR occurred in 28 (25%) patients, at a mean onset time of 6 weeks (range 2-12 weeks) after starting anti-TB medication. Four of these 28 patients experienced PR on two occasions. Of these, 22 (79%) patients presented with enlarged lymph nodes only, 8 (29%) with new nodes at same or different site and 2 (7%) with discharging sinus. PR was observed more in younger age group (p> 0.05), female gender (p> 0.05), unilateral lymphadenopathy (p> 0.05) and those with positive AFB on initial examination (p< 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Paradoxical response in peripheral lymph node TB is associated with younger age, female gender, unilateral lymphadenopathy and those with positive AFB on initial examination.

Scrub typhus: A prospective, observational study during an outbreak in Rajasthan, India.

BACKGROUND: Scrub typhus, a potentially fatal rickettsial infection, is common in India. It usually presents with acute febrile illness along with multi-organ involvement caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. As there was an outbreak of scrub typhus in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan and there is a paucity of data from this region, we studied this entity to describe the diverse epidemiological, clinico-radiological, laboratory parameters and outcome profile of patients with scrub typhus in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: In this descriptive study, we included all patients with an acute febrile illness diagnosed as scrub typhus by positive IgM antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi, over a period of 4 months (July to October 2014). All relevant data were recorded and analysed. RESULTS: A total of 66 (24 males/42 females) patients were enrolled. Fever was the most common presenting symptom (100%), and in 67% its duration was for 7-14 days. Other symptoms were breathlessness (66.7%), haemoptysis (63.6%), oliguria (51.5%) and altered mental status (39.4%). The pathognomonic features such as eschar (12%) and lymphadenopathy (18%) were not so common. The commonest radiological observation was consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Complications noted were respiratory (69.7%), renal (51.5%) and hepatic dysfunction (48.5%). The overall mortality rate was 21.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Scrub typhus has emerged as an important cause of febrile illness in the Hadoti region and can present with varying clinical manifestations with or without eschar. A high index of suspicion, early diagnosis and prompt intervention may help in reducing the mortality.

Diagnostic yield and safety of closed needle pleural biopsy in exudative pleural effusion.

BACKGROUND: Closed pleural biopsy was previously considered a procedure of choice in cases of undiagnosed pleural effusion with good efficacy. Currently, the closed pleural biopsy has been replaced by thoracoscopic biopsy but not easily available in resource-limited setups. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze the diagnostic yield and safety of closed needle pleural biopsy in exudative pleural effusion and assessment of patients' characteristics with the yield of pleural biopsy. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: This study was conducted at Institute of Respiratory Diseases, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, a tertiary care center of West India. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 250 cases of pleural effusion were evaluated with complete pleural fluid biochemical, microbiological, and cytological examination. Out of these 250 patients, 59 were excluded from the study as the diagnosis could be established on initial pleural fluid examination. The remaining (191) patients were considered for closed pleural biopsy with Abrams pleural biopsy needle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measure was diagnostic yield in the form of confirming diagnosis. RESULTS: Out of the 191 patients with exudative lymphocytic pleural effusion, 123 (64.40%) were diagnosed on the first pleural biopsy. Among the remaining 68 patients, 22 patients had repeat pleural biopsy with a diagnostic yield of 59.9%. The overall pleural biopsy could establish the diagnosis in 136 (71.20%) patients with pleural effusion. The most common diagnosis on pleural biopsy was malignancy followed by tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: Closed pleural biopsy provides diagnostic yield nearly comparative to thoracoscopy in properly selected patients of pleural effusions. In view of good yield, low cost, easy availability, and very low complication rate, it should be used routinely in all cases of undiagnosed exudative lymphocytic pleural effusion. LIMITATIONS: There was no comparison with a similar group undergoing thoracoscopic pleural biopsy.

Tubercular osteomyelitis of calcaneum bone: A rare occurrence.

In spite of the endemic nature of tuberculosis in India, skeletal tuberculosis is relatively infrequent. Involvement of foot bones is uncommon and isolated calcaneum is even rarer. Osteoarticular tuberculosis is a diagnostic enigma, as the characteristic signs and symptoms of this disease may be absent, or mimic other disorders, leading to emergence of complications and therapeutic delay, particularly when the disease affects unusual sites. Here, we are reporting the case of 20-year-old male, who presented with a rare localization of tubercular osteomyelitis involving the calcaneum without adjacent joint involvement to draw attention to this exceptional location in adults, managed with anti-tubercular treatment and gained excellent recovery.

Tracheal diverticulum: an unusual cause of chronic cough and recurrent respiratory infections.

Tracheal diverticulum (TD) defined as a typical benign out-pouching of the tracheal wall due to structural weakness, congenital or acquired in origin, resulting in paratracheal air cysts. It is rarely diagnosed in clinical practice with only limited reports in the literature. Most cases found incidentally in the postmortem examination and located on the right side. Uncomplicated TDs are usually asymptomatic and when symptoms have occurred, they usually present with non-specific symptoms like pharyngeal discomfort, cough, dyspnea, and recurrent respiratory infection due to either the compression of adjacent organs or secondary bacterial infection. Imaging techniques like thoraco-cervical multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) and fiber-optic bronchoscopy are important diagnostic tools for this entity. Asymptomatic TDs usually require no treatment and managed conservatively while surgical excision is indicated in cases of compression of adjacent organs and recurrent infections. Here we report a case of tracheal diverticulum on the left side, which was diagnosed as part of a work-up for chronic cough and recurrent chest infection in a 40 year old female who was already on bronchodilator without any relief. Diagnosis of TD was based on findings of computed tomography, revealing small bud like projection on left para tracheal region and further confirmed by fiber-optic bronchoscopy while the barium contrast study showed no esophageal communication. She was managed conservatively and referred for surgical excision.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis presenting as thoracic mass causing obstruction of the superior and inferior vena cava in an immunocompetent patient: a diagnostic dilemma.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a disease of immunocompromised patients, but its prevalence is increasing in immunocompetent persons. Patients usually present with non-specific symptoms, sometimes consistent with bronchopneumonia. We discuss the case of a 19-year-old boy who presented with constitutional respiratory symptoms along with signs of obstruction of the superior and inferior vena cava. A chest radiograph was suggestive of a thoracic mass raising suspicion of bronchogenic carcinoma/ benign mass, sarcoidosis and tuberculosis, but a diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis was established. The patient showed excellent clinico-radiological improvement with administration of voriconazole. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis may also present with atypical findings and should be considered in differentials when investigating a case even if the patient does not have a risk factor.

Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome: novel cause for a known condition.

A 50-year-old man presented with dyspnoea while sitting, standing and walking but resolved completely in supine position. On cardiorespiratory examinations, fine crackles were noted over bibasal area. Chest X-ray showed bilateral reticulonodular shadows, restrictive pattern on spirometry, elevated alveolar arterial O2 gradient on arterial blood gas. High-resolution CT of the thorax revealed pattern as 'confident' or 'certain' radiographic diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Bubble-contrast echocardiography in recumbent, sitting and upright positions revealed no intracardiac (right to left shunt) or intrapulmonary shunts. This case highlights the necessity of awareness of this syndrome in cases of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) also. Although 188 cases have been described thus far of platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome (P-OS) of various aetiologies, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first ever case of P-OS in ILD/IPF. Both lung bases were predominantly affected in this patient, platypnoea and orthodeoxia were attributed to areas of low/zero ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) ratio (zone 1 phenomena) as no other obvious explanation was found.