Iterative epidural blood patch for recurrent spontaneous intracranial hypotension during pregnancy.

A 30-year-old woman at 28 weeks presented with sudden onset of intense headache, epigastric pain, hot flushes, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed pathognonomic signs of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). Epidural blood patch was performed 2 times during pregnancy for symptoms relief in spite of medical treatments. No other recurrence was noted until the spontaneous delivery. SIH is a rare entity during pregnancy which may be diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging. Iterative Epidural blood patch should be proposed to patients with SIH during pregnancy because it allowed faster symptoms improvement and patient relief with complete recovery than medical treatment only.

[African histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii): a case report from Mali]. / Histoplasmose africaine à Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii. A propos d'un cas au Mali.

We report a case of disseminated African histoplasmosis with lymph node and digestive involvement in a 19-year-old man living in the Kayes district of Mali. The patient, HIV-seronegative and not otherwise immunocompromised, presented voluminous cervical and axillary adenopathies as well as retrosternal and mesenteric tumor lesions. Direct examination of biopsy tissue showed numerous specimens of Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii. Because direct fungal techniques are the easiest and the most effective method of diagnostic investigation, no cultures were performed. Intolerance to therapy with amphotericin b and ketoconazole led its rapid replacement by surgical treatment: partial excision of the abdominal lesions led to partial remission of the symptoms.