Prevalence and diagnostic performance of iron deficiency in polycythemia.

INTRODUCTION: Several observations have shown that patients with polycythemia have iron deficiency. Our objectives were to report the prevalence of iron deficiency and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of serum ferritin in polycythemia vera. PATIENTS AND METHOD: This is a retrospective descriptive and analytical study carried out in the internal medicine department of the Henri Mondor Hospital, Aurillac, France. The study involved 114 patients with polycythemia, followed in the department from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2021. To evaluate the diagnostic performance, the JAK2 mutation was considered as the gold standard of diagnosis. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients had polycythemia vera and 76 patients had secondary polycythemia. The mean age of the patients was 61.79 years (±15.44) with a sex ratio of 4.43. The overall prevalence of iron deficiency was 21.05%. The prevalence was 53% in polycythemia vera group and 1.32% in secondary polycythemia group. The risk of iron deficiency was high in polycythemia vera (OR = 115; 95% CI [14.4-918.2], p < 0.0001) and the sensitivity and specificity of serum ferritin were 52.63% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSION: Assessment of iron deficiency should be part of the initial evaluation of polycythemia. Iron deficiency had a high specificity during polycythemia vera.

Spontaneous bilateral intraorbital hematoma: A particular form of sickle cell disease complications in children.

Spontaneous bilateral intraorbital hematoma is a rare complication of sickle cell disease in children. Imaging examinations are of paramount importance in the diagnosis and conditioning of the management processes in order to avoid complications that can compromise the visual function prognosis.

[Prevalence and etiological profiles of atypical localization venous thrombosis : A descriptive multicenter study]. / Prévalence et profils étiologiques des thromboses veineuses de localisation atypique : une étude multicentrique descriptive.

INTRODUCTION: Venous thrombosis of unusual sites is much rarer than in the lower limbs and requires a rigorous etiological approach. The objective was to describe the clinical and progressive peculiarities of unusual localization venous thrombosis as well as their etiologies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Multicenter descriptive retrospective study of hospitalized patient records in the two large Hospital Centers, Antananarivo, Madagascar between 2017 and 2020 in which the diagnosis of unusual venous thrombosis was confirmed by imaging. RESULTS: Seventy-seven thrombosis of atypical localization were present in fifty-nine patients identified. These were 24 men and 35 women with an M/F sex ratio of 0.68. The mean age of our patients was 49.4 years (± 16.76). Thrombosis seated in the majority of cases in the portal veins (n ​​= 27), cerebral veins (n ​​= 20), vena cava (n = 10), splenic veins (n ​​= 5), upper limbs and splenomearic trunk (each n = 4), Renal vein (n = 3). Venous thrombosis had occurred following tobacco intoxication (n = 15 cases); bed rest (n = 10); surgical intervention (n = 4). The aetiological assessment revealed a neoplastic origin in 27 cases (45.77%) dominated by hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 13). the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome dominates the case of autoimmune causes (n = 4). In terms of mortality, there were no deaths during the initial hospitalization. Eight patients had died, 4 of them due to hepatocellular carcinoma, 2 after surgery, and 1 each due to kidney cancer and liver cirrhosis. The mean follow-up period was 34.03 ± 51.5 days. CONCLUSION: Unusual thrombosis, although rare, constitute a real challenge in the etiological approach. In clinical practice, the description of these thrombosis would allow us to understand their pathophysiological mechanism in order to plan the best management.

Listeria endocarditis and spondylodiscitis: A case report and review of the literature.

A 75-year-old man with an aortic bioprosthesis was admitted with polyarthritis in a non-febrile setting. Blood cultures were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The diagnosis of Listeria endocarditis and spondylodiscitis was evoked. These are two unusual forms of listeriosis. The evolution was favorable after antibiotic therapy.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation revealing Osler-Weber-Rendu disease: A case report.

Osler-Weber-Rendu disease is a genetic disease characterized by mucocutaneous and visceral telangiectasias. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation is one of the main visceral complications revealing Osler-Weber-Rendu disease. The present case was a 34-year-old woman with exertional dyspnea and severe hypoxemia revealing pulmonary arteriovenous malformations on chest CT scan.