Wide pulse pressure and Quincke's pulse in high-output heart failure.

A 74-year-old man with a history of chronic alcohol use presented with progressive exertional dyspnoea and weight gain. On physical examination, he was noted to have wide pulse pressure, elevated jugular venous pressure, and alternating flushing and blanching of the nail beds in concert with the cardiac cycle, known as Quincke's pulse. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated normal biventricular systolic function and valvular function, but noted a dilated inferior vena cava. Right heart catheterisation revealed elevated filling pressures, high cardiac output and low systemic vascular resistance, consistent with high-output heart failure. Whole blood concentration of thiamine was low, confirming the diagnosis of wet beriberi. The patient abstained from alcohol use and was started on thiamine replacement therapy, resulting in narrowing of the pulse pressure over time and complete resolution of symptoms without the need for diuretic therapy.

Aseptic abscess syndrome.

A 43-year-old woman with Crohn's disease was admitted to the hospital with weight loss and 1 week of fever, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. At presentation, the patient was not on steroids or other immunosuppressive agents. Cross-sectional imaging of the abdomen revealed active colitis and multiple splenic and hepatic abscesses. All culture data were negative, including aspiration of purulent material from the spleen. Despite weeks of intravenous antibiotics, daily fever and abdominal pain persisted, the intra-abdominal abscesses grew, and she developed pleuritic chest pain and consolidations of the right lung. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with aseptic abscess syndrome, a rare sequelae of inflammatory bowel disease. All antimicrobials were discontinued and she was treated with high-dose intravenous steroids, resulting in rapid clinical improvement. She was transitioned to infliximab and azathioprine as an outpatient and repeat imaging demonstrated complete resolution of the deep abscesses that had involved her spleen, liver and lungs.

Disseminated nocardiosis with infective endocarditis of a transplanted heart.

Nocardiosis is caused by various species of Nocardia and typically occurs as an opportunistic infection. It frequently disseminates, most often involving the lungs, subcutaneous tissues and central nervous system. It has rarely been reported to affect native heart valves. We report the case of a 64-year-old man with disseminated nocardiosis involving the brain, lungs, muscle and tricuspid valve of a transplanted heart. Following antimicrobial therapy, the patient improved clinically and there was no evidence of residual infection on follow-up imaging. This case highlights the presentation of nocardiosis, current therapeutic guidelines and the question of prophylaxis against Nocardia in immunocompromised patients.