Unilateral tonsillitis due to primary syphilis with gram-negative corkscrew-like spirochaetes confirmed by Gram stain of pus.

A man in his 40s presented with pharyngeal pain and right cervical lymphadenopathy that persisted for 1 month. His right tonsil was swollen and covered with exudate; however, a rapid streptococcal antigen test was negative. Rapid plasma reagin and Treponema pallidum antibody were positive. Gram staining of the pus confirmed the presence of gram-negative corkscrew-like spirochaetes. The patient had unprotected oral intercourse. He did not have any skin lesions. He was diagnosed with primary syphilis and treated with benzathine penicillin G. In adults, the differential diagnosis of tonsillitis should include sexually transmitted diseases. A rapid streptococcal antigen test is not sufficient for such a case; a syphilis test is necessary, and Gram staining, which is rapid and does not need any special equipment, can support the diagnosis.

Disseminated Cryptococcosis in a 63-year-old Patient with Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Fingolimod.

We herein report the case of a 63-year-old man who presented with a 3-month history of a cutaneous nodular lesion of his jaw, low grade fever, lethargy and progressive cognitive impairment. He had a 30-year history of multiple sclerosis and had been treated with fingolimod for the previous 2 years. Laboratory data revealed CD4 lymphocytopenia and a tissue culture of the skin nodule was positive for Cryptococcus neoformans. Cerebrospinal fluid and serum cryptococcal antigen tests were also positive and we diagnosed him to have disseminated cryptococcosis. This dissemination might be associated with fingolimod-induced CD4 lymphocytopenia. The risk of an opportunistic infection should therefore be considered when encountering fingolimod-treated patients.

A case of an elderly patient with slowly progressive type 1 diabetes who developed severe nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia without predisposing events.

A 72-year-old woman with slowly progressive type 1 diabetes (SPIDDM) was admitted to our hospital because of increasing abdominal pain and diarrhea. The patient was diagnosed with nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI), and a subtotal colonectomy was performed successfully. The resected sample revealed transmural gangrenous necrosis of the colon and rectum. This case is interesting because the severe NOMI occurred in a SPIDDM patient without common predisposing events such as hypoperfusion. Prolonged generation of reactive oxygen species in SPIDDM, together with the decline in adaptive response to oxidative stress with aging, might be an exacerbating factor for ischemic injury in the elderly.