A 28-Year-Old Pregnant Woman With a Lung Abscess and Complicated Pleural Effusion.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old woman G1P0 at 22 weeks of gestation and with no significant medical history presented to the ED complaining of worsening dyspnea and right-sided pleuritic chest pain. Symptoms started 2 weeks before presentation, with minimal productive cough and dyspnea on exertion. One week after the initial symptoms, the patient started noticing right-sided chest and shoulder pain along with subjective fevers and night sweats. She denied hemoptysis, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, arthralgia, or rash. Her pregnancy had so far been uncomplicated. The patient did not use tobacco, alcohol, or recreational drugs. She worked at a daycare center but denied any particular sick contacts. She moved to the United States 7 years ago from Sudan and denied any recent travel.

Large endotracheal tumour presenting as severe COPD: flow-volume loop analysis, not always a straightforward diagnostic test.

The flow-volume loop (FVL) analysis is typically helpful in establishing the diagnosis of airway obstruction caused by endobronchial lesions. In this report, we describe a patient with emphysema and tobacco abuse who presented with chronic dry cough and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refractory to standard therapy. The initial FVL showed a relatively normal forced expiratory peak flow shape followed by a smooth flattening of the expiratory curve on spirometry, a pattern consistent with distal airway obstruction as seen in severe asthma or COPD. The patient was later found to have a large endotracheal mass. This atypical presentation, along with the unusual FVL, led to a significant delay in the diagnosis of the tracheal mass. A high level of suspicion is needed to diagnose variable intrathoracic airway obstruction in patients presenting with severe asthma or COPD who fail to improve with standard therapy.

Photoreceptor cells with profound structural deficits can support useful vision in mice.

PURPOSE: In animal models of degenerative photoreceptor disease, there has been some success in restoring photoreception by transplanting stem cell-derived photoreceptor cells into the subretinal space. However, only a small proportion of transplanted cells develop extended outer segments, considered critical for photoreceptor cell function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether photoreceptor cells that lack a fully formed outer segment could usefully contribute to vision. METHODS: Retinal and visual function was tested in wild-type and Rds mice at 90 days of age (Rds(P90)). Photoreceptor cells of mice homozygous for the Rds mutation in peripherin 2 never develop a fully formed outer segment. The electroretinogram and multielectrode recording of retinal ganglion cells were used to test retinal responses to light. Three distinct visual behaviors were used to assess visual capabilities: the optokinetic tracking response, the discrimination-based visual water task, and a measure of the effect of vision on wheel running. RESULTS: Rds(P90) mice had reduced but measurable electroretinogram responses to light, and exhibited light-evoked responses in multiple types of retinal ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina. In optokinetic and discrimination-based tests, acuity was measurable but reduced, most notably when contrast was decreased. The wheel running test showed that Rds(P90) mice needed 3 log units brighter luminance than wild type to support useful vision (10 cd/m(2)). CONCLUSIONS: Photoreceptors that lack fully formed outer segments can support useful vision. This challenges the idea that normal cellular structure needs to be completely reproduced for transplanted cells to contribute to useful vision.