Rare Manifestation of Idiopathic Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica: Misdiagnosed and Untreated Entity?

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TBPO) is a rare benign disease of unknown cause, in which multiple cartilaginous or bony submucosal nodules project into the trachea and proximal bronchi. It usually occurs in men in their fifth decade and can cause airway obstruction, bleeding and chronic cough; patients are more prone to post-obstructive pneumonia and chronic lung infection in some instances. We report a case of a 69-year-old female who presented with shortness of breath and lower extremity swelling over the past couple of weeks. Echocardiography (ECHO) was consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and she was treated with diuretics accordingly. Imaging revealed persistent pleural effusions bilaterally, more pronounced on the right side. During the course of her hospitalization, the patient coded once and had to be resuscitated. She had bronchoscopy done and pathology was consistent with TBPO. In this condition, there are numerous osseous or cartilaginous submucosal nodules in the trachea and the main bronchus and nodules are formed due to the deposition of calcium phosphate that results in the proliferation of osseous and cartilaginous structures resulting in the obstruction of large airways. Treatment for the most part is supportive and resolves around bronchodilators for symptomatic relief.

Developmental vascular anomaly associated hemi facial spasms and botox injections therapy.

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is characterized by involuntary synchronous contractions or spasms of one side of the face, usually beginning around the eye. They are typically brief, irregular clonic movements but are occasionally tonic. We present a case of a 41-year-old female who presented to the neurology clinic with complaints of recurrent right facial spasms. These involuntary spontaneous movements had affected her quality of life. The neuroimaging revealed the vascular malformation right cranial nerves (CN) VII/VIII complex. It was considered to be responsible for the patient's HFSs. The patient responded well symptomatically to the botox injections without any neurovascular decompression.

Abdominal Epilepsy Masked with Hiccups in a Patient with Intracranial Malignant Glioma.

Abdominal hiccups are often masked by abdominal epilepsy (AE) in clinical settings. Spontaneous arrhythmic muscular movements sometimes raise the suspicion for abdominal myoclonus as well. AE is an atypical and rare cause of seizure disorder. It is a manifestation of different transient abdominal complaints correlating with abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) changes and adequate response to anti-epileptic drugs. We present a case of an 80-year-old female who presented with an episode of tonic-clonic seizure that lasted for almost 10 minutes. The patient was confused and had a facial droop. She had another episode of seizure with a perseverative speech followed by left facial drooping and left upper extremity weakness. She continued having fluctuating mental status and left-sided hemiparesis with intermittent abdominal twitching. She was getting more bradykinetic than bradyphrenic. The computed tomography (CT) scan of the head and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a parietal lobe mass that was confirmed on biopsy as malignant glioma. The long-term video monitoring EEG report showed the occurrence of persistent right parietal spikes with background slowing. The brain mass was later treated with radiation therapy and surgery.

Combination Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae Urinary Tract Infection.

Hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella infection is posing a significant challenge to physicians all around the world. The spread of multiple antibiotic resistance among various members of bacteria continues to be a significant clinical threat. Antibiotic susceptibility testing is the initial step in optimizing the appropriate antibiotic therapy for infections with MDR Klebsiella. We report a case of MDR Klebsiella urinary tract infection (UTI) in a patient following a trimalleolar fracture, which was appropriately treated with a combination of amikacin and meropenem.

Extensive Pyoderma Gangrenosum: A Challenging Diagnosis and Literature Review of Management.

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a very rare, non-infectious leukocytic dermatosis, which is often associated with an underlying systemic disease. It is usually diagnosed based on the apparent clinical findings and by excluding other causes of ulcerative skin diseases. Treatment modality includes the use of systemic steroids and oral steroids. Immunosuppressive agents, such as cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil, can also be added if it fails to respond to steroids. We report a case of pyoderma gangrenosum in an 85-year-old female who presented in the inpatient facility with rapidly enlarging necrotic, ulcerative lesions with accompanying fever. She was managed with systemic steroids to which she responded well. This led to the arrest of the initially progressive lesions with some residual scarring.

Prevalence of Obesity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common compressive entrapment neuropathy caused by the compression of the median nerve at the wrist space known as the carpal tunnel. The epidemiologic factors related to CTS include genetic, medical, social, vocational, and demographic factors. The common symptoms experienced include pain, paresthesia, and numbness in the median nerve distribution. If left untreated, it can lead to irreversible median nerve damage, causing a loss of hand function. Body mass index (BMI) has been attributed as a risk factor for the development of CTS. We planned to determine the frequency of obesity among CTS patients in the neurophysiology department of a tertiary care center in Islamabad, Pakistan. The survey was designed as a cross-sectional descriptive study from March 2016 to August 2016 using a consecutive nonprobability sampling technique. A total of 112 patients with a mean age of 54 ± 5 years were included in the study. In the study population, 39 patients (35 percent) were males and 73 were females (65 percent). Based on BMI, 74 patients (66 percent) had a normal weight and 38 (34 percent) were obese. The frequency of obesity in our study was 34 percent, excluding the other comorbid conditions, which is quite high. Targeted therapy in those with CTS should also include weight reduction measures because obesity poses a cause-and-effect relationship for both the severity and the pathogenesis of CTS.

Role of Sex Hormone Levels and Psychological Stress in the Pathogenesis of Autoimmune Diseases.

The aim of this review article is to assess the connection between psychological stress and sex hormones and their effect on the development of autoimmune diseases. Psychological stress describes what people feel when they are under mental, physical, or emotional pressure. We searched for online articles using MEDLINE®, Embase, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Our research yielded a total of 165 articles out of which 30 articles were considered for further perusal. The articles were reviewed from February 2016 to February 2017. Case reports and patients suffering from hematolymphoid malignancies and active infections were excluded from the review. Estrogen and testosterone are potential physiological regulatory factors for the peripheral development of CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells. Stress at any age leads to the depletion of estrogen and testosterone stores in the body, leading to the loss of expansion of T regulatory cells, making the immature B cells evade the negative selection at the germinal center, or in other words, leading to the loss of central tolerance, a triggering event in autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus. Autoimmune diseases in women are most likely due to changes in estrogen levels during mental, physical, pre-menopausal, post-menopausal, and pregnancy-induced stress. We conclude that modulating estrogen in females (pre-menopausal and post-menopausal) and testosterone in males can be used to treat stress-related immune imbalance resulting in autoimmune diseases in both sexes.