Clinical and thyroid ultrasound evaluation in an asymptomatic adult Puerto Rican population: The San Juan city hospital experience Coromoto A. Pale.

OBJECTIVES: to determine the prevalence of thyroid disease in an asymptomatic Puerto Rican adult population within an iodine sufficient area. Correlate the clinical thyroic features during palpation with thyroid sonographic findings. Relate gender, laboratory data, and family history with the presence or absence of thyroid pathology. METHODS: Cross-sectional, descriptive, comparative study performed during the period of February 2008-January 2009 in an asymptomatic Puerto Rican copulation. The study sample size consisted of 110 adult participants, employees of the San Juan City Hospital in apparent good health. A questionnaire emphasizing relevant personal and family thyroid pathology (benign and malignant) was obtained. A complete physical examination was performed emphasizing thyroid gland palpation, utilizing a posterior approach. for detection of any abnormal thyroid features. All participants underwent thyroid ultrasonographic (US) examination and blood sampling for ultrasensitive TSH and antiperoxidase antibodies. Subjects with thyroid nodules over one centimeter, found on thyroid US, were encouraged to undergo fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). RESULTS: The prevalence of thyroid pathology detected by palpation was 52.72% and 38.23% by US. The most frequent thyroid pathology found on palpation was goiter (41.37%) and multinodular goiter (64.85%). Twenty-four percent (24%) of the participants with normal findings on palpation had abnormal findings by US and 33.33% of those met criteria for FNAB. In sixteen patients with abnormal US, only six agreed to have FNAB, all were reported negative for malignancy. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that routine thyroid US should be seriously considered for all patients with suspected thyroid disease. Statistical analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between palpation findings performed by an experience physician and thyroid ultrasonography results. Even in patients with negative family history of thyroid pathology, abnormal thyroid ultrasound abnormalities were detected in 35.73%. To our knowledge this is the first study done in Puerto Rico, comparing thyroid palpation and ultrasonographic findings.

Right lower quadrant abdominal pain in an immunocompromised patient: importance for an urgent diagnosis and treatment.

This is a case of a 34 years old male Hispanic patient with history of AIDS who presented to the ER with severe right lower quadrant abdominal pain of three days of evolution, associated with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, weakness and general malaise. Acute appendicitis, Clostridium Difficile Colitis and Ischemic Colitis were the most important clinical conditions to consider in the differential diagnosis. Abdominal CT with IV contrast demonstrated thickening of the ascending colonic wall a finding highly suggestive of a transmural inflammatory necrotizing colitis of infectious etiology. Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, cancidas and ganciclovir were started with mark clinical improvement. IgG antibodies against CMV were elevated. Typhlitis is a serious illness that affects patients with impairment in immunity. It is important to include it in the differential diagnosis of an HIV/AIDS patient that presents with RLQ pain and fever. Contrast enhanced CT-Scan is mandatory to establish the diagnosis and to differentiate typhlitis from other intra-abdominal pathologies. Therapy needs to be individualized.

An unusual cause of muscle weakness: a diagnostic challenge.

We report a case of 24 year-old-female presenting with bilateral leg heaviness sensation and difficult walking of one-day duration. Over the past three months she developed progressive and frequent tingling sensation on her hands accompanied by headache and increased thirst. Hypokalemia was identified and treated with resolution of symptoms. She was later found to have Graves' disease. After propranolol and radioiodine therapy no further episodes were reported. Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis is an alarming, potentially lethal, and rare complication of hyperthyroidism. The pathogenesis is uncertain. Because the condition is rare, it is frequently overlooked and misdiagnosed on presentation. It is important to recognize these clinical settings in hypokalemic patients in order to promptly start adequate medical therapy and avoid the lethal complications caused by prolonged sustained potassium depletion.