Assessment of the Association of Chlamydia e pneumoniae Infection with Lung Cancer in a Moroccan Patients' Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) is a respiratory pathogen associated with chronic inflammatory and its detection in human lung cancer suggests its involvement in cancerogenesis. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between C. pneumoniae  infection and Lung Cancer disease in Moroccans patients and control cohorts, through a molecular investigation. METHODS: The study comprised 42 lung cancer patients and 43 healthy controls. All participants provided demographics, Clinical, and Toxic behaviors datas, and a peripheral blood sample for testing, a Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed for C. pneumoniae Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) detection. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM®SPSS®software. RESULTS: Positive Nested PCR results for cases and controls were respectively 33.3% and 4.7%, there by  significant difference between cases and controls   infection was identified (p <0.05). Data analysis also showed that tobacco could act synergically with C. pneumoniae infection as a risk factor of lung cancer. In fact a significant difference between patients and controls was shown for tobacco and alcohol use (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: C. pneumoniae infection is potentially associated with primary Lung cancer in the Moroccan population and has combined effects with Tabaco consumption.

Right Intraventricular Metastasis of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Detected on 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography.

Cardiac metastasis from lung cancer is rare. They are clinically silent and often diagnosed only postmortem. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides interesting information about the tissue characterization and vascularization of the tumor. The 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) shows hypermetabolism in the cardiac metastasis. We present a case of a 74-year-old male, diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, who underwent cardiac MRI which showed a right intracavitary mass. We share interesting images, detected on 18F-FDG PET/CT, of cardiac metastasis.

[IManagement of patients with relapsed primary naso-sinusal tuberculosis]. / Gestion de la rechute d'une tuberculose naso-sinusienne primaire.

Primary naso-sinusal tuberculosis (TB) is a relatively rare or exceptional disorder characterized by polymorphic or non-specific clinical manifestation. Diagnosis is based on anatomo-pathological examination and mycobacteriology test of biopsy specimen. Predictor of good outcome is early conventional anti-tuberculous antibiotic therapy. However, our study reports recurrence at this rare site in an immunocompetent patient despite early suitable TB treatment and good adherence with therapy. Relapse was correlated with underdosing of rifampicin. This study highlights the diagnostic, etiological and therapeutic management of this relapse. Our experience could help clinicians to better manage this uncommon condition.

Intracardiac thrombus in Behçet's disease: a rare case in Morocco.

Behçet's syndrome is a systemic inflammatory disease generally presented with the triad of uveitis, oral and genital ulcers. However, it may present with gastrointestinal, central nervous system, skin and vascular disease manifestations. Intracardiac thrombus is a rare but serious complication of Behçet's disease. A 16-year-old man with Behçet's syndrome was hospitalized into our department with a history of cough, fever, chest pain, hemoptysis, and weight loss. Transthoracic echocardiography and chest scan revealed a right ventricular thrombus. After one month of treatment with cyclophosphamide, and corticosteroid the intracardiac thrombus has been resolved.

Typical presentation of pulmonary lepidic adenocarcinoma: a rare case report.

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a rare subtype of adenocarcinoma of lung with distinct features and distinctive characteristics. It accounts approximately for 4% of lung cancers. In the following study we report a rare observation of a 50 years old female with a clinical, radiological and histological presentation, which is typical of an invasive mucinous lepidic adenocarcinoma formerly named BAC.

Evaluation of GeneXpert MTB/RIF system performances in the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis represents a serious public health problem and a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge worldwide. Molecular diagnostic techniques are crucial in the World Health Organization's new tuberculosis control strategy. This study aims to evaluate the performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid Sunnyvale, CA, United States) in diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis then compare it's performance in detecting Rifampicin resistance to GenoType MTBDRplus (HAIN Life Sciences, Nehren, Germany). METHODS: Samples from pulmonary and/or extra-pulmonary origins were analysed in a 21 months retrospective study. Samples were sent to the bacteriology laboratory for Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection using conventional bacteriological and molecular methods (GeneXpert MTB/RIF and MTBDRplus). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the stained smear and GeneXpert according to culture (Gold Standard) as well as for GeneXpert MTB/RIF in both negative and positive microscopy tuberculosis cases. Data's statistical analysis was performed with SPSS13.0 software. RESULTS: Seven hundred fourteen patients' samples were analysed; the average age was 47.21 ± 19.98 years with a male predominance (66.4%). Out of 714 samples: 285 were from pulmonary and 429 were from extra-pulmonary origins. The positivity rates for microscopy, GeneXpert MTB/RIF and culture were 12.88, 20.59 and 15.82%, respectively. These rates were 18.9, 23.85 and 20.35% for pulmonary samples and 9.71, 18.41 and 12.82% for extra-pulmonary samples, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of GeneXpert MTB/RIF were almost the same in both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary samples (78.2 and 90.4%) and (79,3 and 90.3%) respectively. Rifampicin resistance rate found by GeneXpert MTB/RIF was 0.84%. Comparison of Rifampicin resistance obtained by GeneXpert MTB/RIF and Genotype MTBDRplus, showed 100% agreement between the two techniques for studied samples. CONCLUSIONS: This confirms GeneXpert MTB/RIF advantage for tuberculosis diagnosis, particularly extra-pulmonary tuberculosis with negatively stained smear. The performance of GeneXpert and Genotype MTBDRplus are similar in detection of Rifampicin resistance. However, variability of detection performance according to tuberculosis endemicity deserves more attention in the choice of screening techniques of Rifampicin resistance, hence the interest of conducting comparative studies of detection performance under low and medium endemicity on large samples of tuberculosis populations.

Prevalence and risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers in Morocco.

Increased prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) has been observed among high-risk populations such as healthcare workers (HCWs). The results may depend on the method of LTBI assessment, interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and/or tuberculin skin test (TST). Here, we investigated the prevalence and risk factors for LTBI assessed by both IGRAs and TST in HCWs living in Morocco, a country with intermediate tuberculosis (TB) endemicity and high BCG vaccination coverage. HCWs were recruited in two Moroccan hospitals, Rabat and Meknes. All the participants underwent testing for LTBI by both IGRA (QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube, QFT-GIT) and TST. Different combinations of IGRA and TST results defined the LTBI status. Risk factors associated with LTBI were investigated using a mixed-effect logistic regression model. The prevalence of LTBI among 631 HCWs (age range 18-60 years) varied from 40.7% (95%CI 36.9-44.5%) with QFT-GIT to 52% (95%CI 48.2-56.0%) with TST using a 10 mm cut-off. The highest agreement between QFT-GIT and TST (κ = 0.50; 95%CI 0.43-0.56) was observed with the 10 mm cut-off for a positive TST. For a definition of LTBI status using a double positive result for both QFT-GIT and TST, significant associations were found with the following risk factors: being male (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.40-3.49; p = 0.0007), belonging to age groups 35-44 years (OR = 2.43; 95%CI 1.45-4.06; p = 0.0007) and even more 45-60 years (OR = 4.81; 95%CI 2.72-8.52; p = 7.10-8), having a family history of TB (OR = 6.62; 95%CI 2.59-16.94; p = 8.10-5), and working at a pulmonology unit (OR = 3.64; 95%CI 1.44-9.23; p = 0.006). Smoking was associated with LTBI status when defined by a positive QFT-GIT result (OR = 1.89; 95%CI 1.12-3.21; p = 0.02). A high prevalence of LTBI was observed among HCWs in two Moroccan hospitals. Male gender, increased age, family history of TB, and working at a pulmonology unit were consistent risk factors associated with LTBI.

A Rare Cause of Chronic Pulmonary Embolism: Hydatid Cyst / Una causa infrecuente de embolismo pulmonar crónico: un quiste hidatídico

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Tuberculosis and impaired IL-23-dependent IFN-γ immunity in humans homozygous for a common TYK2 missense variant.

Inherited IL-12Rß1 and TYK2 deficiencies impair both IL-12- and IL-23-dependent IFN-γ immunity and are rare monogenic causes of tuberculosis, each found in less than 1/600,000 individuals. We show that homozygosity for the common TYK2 P1104A allele, which is found in about 1/600 Europeans and between 1/1000 and 1/10,000 individuals in regions other than East Asia, is more frequent in a cohort of patients with tuberculosis from endemic areas than in ethnicity-adjusted controls (P = 8.37 × 10-8; odds ratio, 89.31; 95% CI, 14.7 to 1725). Moreover, the frequency of P1104A in Europeans has decreased, from about 9% to 4.2%, over the past 4000 years, consistent with purging of this variant by endemic tuberculosis. Surprisingly, we also show that TYK2 P1104A impairs cellular responses to IL-23, but not to IFN-α, IL-10, or even IL-12, which, like IL-23, induces IFN-γ via activation of TYK2 and JAK2. Moreover, TYK2 P1104A is properly docked on cytokine receptors and can be phosphorylated by the proximal JAK, but lacks catalytic activity. Last, we show that the catalytic activity of TYK2 is essential for IL-23, but not IL-12, responses in cells expressing wild-type JAK2. In contrast, the catalytic activity of JAK2 is redundant for both IL-12 and IL-23 responses, because the catalytically inactive P1057A JAK2, which is also docked and phosphorylated, rescues signaling in cells expressing wild-type TYK2. In conclusion, homozygosity for the catalytically inactive P1104A missense variant of TYK2 selectively disrupts the induction of IFN-γ by IL-23 and is a common monogenic etiology of tuberculosis.

[The two major complications of tobacco in a single image!] / Les deux complications majeures du tabac en une seule image!

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, it is responsible for 90% of bronchopulmonary cancers and is the main cause of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, two disorders which contribute to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We here report the case of a 58-year old not weaned chronic tabagic patient with a 2-month history of diffuse abdominal pain evolving in a context of alteration of the general state. Clinical examination showed generally poor health. Pleuropulmonary examination objectified reduction of vesicular breath sounds in the right hemithorax and diffuse abdominal susceptibility and massive left subclavicular lymphadenopathy. Thoraco-abdominal CT scan showed pleural, intra-abdominal and retroperitoneal tissue infiltration and diffuse bilateral lung emphysema (Figure). Bronchial fibroscopy objectified bud obstructing the orifice of the apical bronchus of the right upper lobar bronchus. Anatomopathologic study of bronchial biopsy and lymph node biopsy showed non-differentiated carcinoma. Evolution was marked by patient's death after two weeks. This study aims to highlight fatal outcome due to these two complications due to tobacco use in the same patient in order to emphasize the importance of prevention awareness of the damages of tobacco use and on smoking cessation.

Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequences of Three Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains Isolated from Morocco.

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that usually attacks the lungs but sometimes attacks other parts of the body, such as the kidneys, glands, and bones. It is an endemic and major public health problem in Morocco. Tuberculosis is transmitted through the airways via the inhalation of microdroplets containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis We present here the whole-genome shotgun sequences of three multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains isolated from Morocco.

[Skin metastases revealing a bronchial adenocarcinoma]. / Métastases cutanées révélant un adénocarcinome bronchique.

We report the case of bronchial carcinoma revealed by metastatic skin nodules on the scalp. This fairly common mode of discovery is often associated with poor prognosis. This study aims to underline the importance of directing the search for a primary lung cancer in cases of secondary skin involvement.

[A rare cause of posterior mediastinal tumors: mediastinal hydatid cyst]. / Une cause rare des tumeurs du médiastin postérieur: le kyste hydatique médiastinal.

Mediastinal hydatid cyst is extremely rare even in endemic areas, representing 0-4% of all hydatid cyst locations. We report the case of a 50-year old patient admitted to our Department with a mass in the left dorsal paraspinal region; chest X-ray showed posterior left basal opacity. Chest CT scan showed posterior mediastinal mass located in the left costovertebral gutter extending from D9 to D11. MRI confirmed the existence of a posterior mediastinal mass with endocanalar extension and spinal cord compression, first evoking cystic schwannoma. These radioclinical data were consistent with a neoplastic origin; a transparietal biopsy was performed which showed a paucicellular specimen composed of translucent eosinophilic material with appearance just barely compatible with hydatid cyst. Hydatic serology was positive. The diagnosis of hydatid cyst was retained and the patient underwent thoracotomy which revealed mediastinal hydatid cyst, confirmed by histologic examination. The postoperative course was uneventful. Mediastinal location of hydatid cyst is very rare and poses a problem in differential diagnosis with other mediastinal tumors.