Amiodarone Related Skin Toxicity -The Blue Man Syndrome; a Case Report and Review of Literature.

Amiodarone induced blue-gray syndrome is a rare condition. It develops over years of use of amiodarone and can lead to discontinuation of the drug. It tends to develop over the sun exposed areas of the body typically involving the face and neck. Published medical literature is scarce with regard to the pathogenesis, clinical implications and management of this potential association. We chronicle here the case of a patient with amiodarone induced blue-grey discoloration of skin from our clinical experience. Furthermore, a systematic literature search of the medical databases PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted. A total of 9 cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data on patients' characteristics, epidemiology, clinical features, comorbid conditions, diagnosis, clinical course and outcome were analyzed. The present review outlines our current understanding of the epidemiology and risk factors for amiodarone induced-blue man syndrome, the pathophysiology of this condition and currently available management options.

A Retrospective Chart Review of Patients Who Underwent Cardiac Evaluation Before Bariatric Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity are considered to be a global pandemic. Its associations with hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia are important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational chart review of obese patients who were seen in our outpatient clinic for cardiovascular clearance prior to an intended bariatric surgery between 2004 and 2020. Data from patient's demographics, risk factors, presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and other cardiovascular diseases were collected from medical charts. They underwent clinical evaluation, non-invasive workup including electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, treadmill exercise tests and some of them myocardial perfusion studies and coronary angiograms when indicated, based on their symptoms and/or risk factors for CAD. RESULTS: From 761 patients studied, 7.6% (58 patients) underwent coronary angiograms, based on their non-invasive workup and their history. Among them, we found that 17 patients had significant CAD. It should be mentioned that this is a selected group of patients with the intention to undergo a bariatric surgical procedure, which this makes them somewhat different from the general population, and this could be considered among the limitations of our study. CONCLUSIONS: Data from our selected population chart review showed that in this specific population, there was no high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, specifically coronary atherosclerosis, dilated cardiomyopathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, venous thrombosis and obstructive sleep apnea.

Endovascular treatment of coronary subclavian steal syndrome complicated with STEMI and VF: A case report and review of the literature.

Endovascular treatment of coronary subclavian steal syndrome is usually successful and safe. However, it might be lethally complicated, such as our case of STEMI and ventricular fibrillation during stent deployment. Early diagnosis of subclavian stenosis, intermittent dilations of balloons during stent deployment, and choosing the accurate stent size are suggested to avoid such complications.

Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery in a Morbidly Obese Patient Presenting with Chest Pain.

BACKGROUND Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly with an incidence of 0.002%. CASE REPORT A 58-year-old African American female with a history of diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension was evaluated for shortness of breath and chest heaviness. On physical examination, she was found to be morbidly obese. Her blood pressure was 160/90 mmHg. There were no carotid bruits or jugular venous distension. Cardiac auscultation showed distant heart sounds with no audible murmurs. Lower extremity examination showed +1 edema with weak pedal pulses. ECG showed non-specific ST segment and T-wave changes. Echocardiogram demonstrated dysfunction grade I with preserved ejection fraction. An adenosine nuclear study showed an area of reversible ischemia of the inferior wall. Selective left coronary angiography showed the left coronary artery (LCA) originating from the left sinus of Valsalva. From the LCA, the left anterior descending and the left circumflex coronary arteries arose in a typical course. The right coronary artery (RCA) was visualized in a retrograde fashion via collaterals originating from the left coronary system and it drained into the pulmonary artery. On aortic root angiography, the origin of the RCA could not be determined. The patient's surgical risk was deemed unacceptably high and she was not considered a surgical candidate. Her symptoms were controlled conservatively. CONCLUSIONS By reporting this case, we shed some light on a rare congenital anomaly involving the coronary arteries. Variable presentations have been described for ARCAPA, however, many patients remain asymptomatic. Diagnosis can be confirmed by coronary angiography. Surgical correction is the definitive treatment.

Pulmonary Embolism Following Incomplete Surgical Resection of a Right Ventricular Myxoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Right ventricular (RV) myxomas are extremely rare, but may have dreadful clinical sequelae including pulmonary embolism (PE). We present a case of a patient who had an RV myxoma that was attached to the tricuspid valve, and therefore could not be resected completely during surgery, and remnants of the tumor were seen on transthoracic echocardiogram during post-operative follow-up. Five months after surgery, the patient had PE, which could be due to tumor emboli or thromboemboli. Since repeat surgical resection was not feasible, the patient was started on warfarin. The patient is doing well and has had no PE recurrence over the past 20 months of follow-up. We have complemented the current case report with a comprehensive literature search and review on RV myxomas associated with PE in order to shed light on this uncommon but potentially lethal disorder. We concluded that right-sided cardiac myxomas, including RV myxomas, should be considered while dealing with PE, particularly in young patients with no risk factors, and that follow-up with echocardiography after surgery is important due to the possibility of recurrence, especially if complete resection was difficult to perform. Plain language summary available for this article.

Electrical plasticity and cardioprotection in myocardial ischemia--role of selective sodium channel blockers.

The concept of electrical protection of the ischemic myocardium is in constant evolution and has recently been supported by experimental and clinical studies. Historically, antiplatelet agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, ß-blockers, and statins have been all proposed as drugs conferring anti-ischemic cardioprotection. This was supported by the evidence consistently indicating that all these drugs were capable of reducing mortality and the risk of repeat myocardial infarction. The electrical plasticity paradigm is, however, a novel concept that depicts the benefits of improved sodium channel blockade with drugs such as ranolazine and cariporide. Although it has been hypothesized that the protective role of ranolazine depends on decreased fatty acid ß-oxidation affecting preconditioning, we speculate against such a hypothesis, because inhibition of ß-oxidation requires higher concentrations of the drug, above the therapeutic range. Rather, we discuss the key role of calcium overload reduction through inhibition of the late sodium current (I(Na)). Mechanisms driving cardioprotection involve the block of a cascade of complex ionic exchanges that can result in intracellular acidosis, excess cytosolic calcium, myocardial cellular dysfunction, and eventually cell injury and death. In this review we discuss the studies that demonstrate how electrical plasticity through sodium channel blockers can promote cardioprotection against ischemia in coronary heart disease.

Segmental diastolic compression of circumflex coronary artery secondary to pericardial constriction: an uncommon cause of angina pectoris.

Diastolic segmental compression of a native coronary artery is an uncommon cause of chest pain. Here we describe a 24-year-old woman with constrictive pericarditis who had retrosternal chest pain, progressive dyspnea, tachycardia, and bilateral leg edema. She was diagnosed with compression of the first and second obtuse marginal branches of left circumflex coronary artery secondary to constrictive pericarditis. She underwent pericardiectomy and her symptoms were relieved following surgery.

Microangiopathic Anemia of Acute Brucellosis - is it a True TTP?

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a severe disease, potentially fatal, if not diagnosed and treated promptly. TTP is clinically characterized by the pentad of thrombocytopenia, Coombs-negative hemolytic anemia, fever, renal abnormalities and neurological disturbances. Advances in recent years have delineated the molecular mechanisms of acquired and hereditary TTP.Many infectious organisms have been reported to be associated with TTP, especially mycoplasma, but few cases of Brucella infection associated with thrombotic microangiopathy have been reported.We describe a young woman who presented with TTP after acute infection with both Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus. The patient completely recovered following aggressive therapy with plasmapharesis, high-dose corticosteroids and appropriate antimicrobial therapy.Since measurement of ADAMTS13 activity and neutralizing antibodies is now available, and none of the reported cases of brucellosis with thrombotic microangiopathy (including the present report) were tested, for better understanding of this rare association, we recommend this work-up in future cases.

A novel surgical approach to cardiac autotransplantation in complex cardiac sarcoma resection.

A 28-year-old woman was admitted to our institution, reporting progressive dyspnea, cough, and weight loss of 14 kg. Two-dimensional echocardiography revealed a left atrial mass, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed localized involvement of the mass with adjacent structures. These clinical signs and radiographic images were highly suggestive of cardiac sarcoma. The patient underwent emergent mediastinal exploration, and an incisional biopsy of the mass showed high-grade sarcoma. Removing the tumor required radical en bloc resection of the left atrium, including the mitral valve, the left pulmonary vein, and the left lower lobe of the lung. Autotransplantation was necessary for the resection and reconstruction. We report a unique method of handling the right atrium to avoid the potential complications associated with bicaval anastomoses after autotransplantation.

Emergency laparoscopy for acute abdominal conditions: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Currently, emergency laparoscopic surgery for acute abdominal conditions has become the favored surgical approach; therefore, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic efficacy of laparoscopy in acute abdominal pain in Saudi Arabian patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 176 patients with acute abdominal pain (113 patients with pain localized to the right iliac region [group A] and 63 patients with generalized abdominal pain [group B] underwent emergency laparoscopy between January 2002 and December 2006. We evaluated the initial clinical diagnosis, the laparoscopic diagnosis, and the outcome in these two groups of patients. RESULTS: In group A, a definitive diagnosis was established at laparoscopy in 89% of patients, and it was therapeutic in 81.4% of the patients, and in 9 patients (8%) a conversion to laparotomy was necessary a to manage their condition. In group B, the diagnosis was accurate in 87% of patients, and it was therapeutic in 79.4% of the patients, and in 5 patients (8%) a conversion to laparotomy was necessary. There was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The emergency laparoscopy is a diagnostic and therapeutic option in the majority of acute abdominal pain conditions.

Streptococcus pneumonia endocarditis associated with gastrointestinal malignancy.

Particular systemic infections have been found to be associated with concurrent malignancies sufficiently commonly as to warrant search for malignancy in patients with such infections. The current study adds Streptococcus pneumonia endocarditis to the list of relevant infections.

Intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis.

We report three female patients suffering from toxic epidermal necrolysis, with 30% to 70% epidermal detachment. Alleged causative agents were dipyrone, dibenzazepine, and allopurinol. All patients were treated by intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and survived without further complications, although poor prognostic factors such as concomitant diabetes, large areas of epidermal detachment, and pancytopenia were present. We report these cases with emphasis on the concept that prompt diagnosis, withdrawal of causative drugs, and immediate treatment are imperative for the favorable outcome of the disease. Our patients can be added to the list of those patients who were successfully treated by IVIG, as indicated in this review of the literature.

Carcinoma of pancreas presenting as a decrease in visual acuity.

Recent unilateral decrease in visual acuity of a 72-year-old woman was the background of a comprehensive medical investigation that led to the definitive diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. Visual improvement was achieved after ocular irradiation but the patient died two months later because of bilateral pneumonia and sepsis. Ocular metastasis from advanced carcinoma of various organs is well known and usually is an indicative sign of poor prognosis. Ocular metastases from pancreatic carcinoma are extremely rare, and to the best of our knowledge, it has not been reported previously in English. It should be emphasized that unilateral decrease in visual acuity must be thoroughly investigated.