Chest
-
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at high risk for OSA. Increasing elevation is known to exacerbate underlying respiratory disorders and worsen sleep quality in people without DS, but whether altitude modulates the severity of OSA in DS is uncertain. In this study, we evaluate the impact of elevation (≤ 1,500 m vs > 1,500 m) on the proportion of hospitalizations involving OSA in children with and without DS. ⋯ At elevations > 1,500 m, children with DS and OSA have a disproportionately higher risk for hospitalization than children with OSA without DS. This finding has not been described previously. With further validation, this finding suggests the need for greater awareness and earlier screening for OSA and its complications in patients with DS living at higher elevations.
-
A 19-year-old sportsman experienced a right-sided pneumothorax and hemoptysis after having had an intermittent cough and blood-tinged sputum for 2 months. A chest CT scan revealed small cavitary lesions in both lungs. The relapsing pneumothorax was treated with a chest tube twice, as well as surgically after the second relapse. ⋯ The patient's physical appearance and anamnestic information led us to suspect a genetic connective tissue disease. A sequencing analysis of the COL3A1 gene identified a novel, de novo missense mutation that confirmed the diagnosis of vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). This atypical presentation of vascular EDS with intrathoracic complications shows that enhanced awareness is required and demonstrates the usefulness of the genetic analyses that are clinically available for several hereditary connective tissue disorders.
-
A 62-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of abdominal distension and decreased exercise tolerance. A chest radiograph showed a probable left pleural effusion (Fig 1). A CT scan of the abdomen revealed a solid ovarian mass with omental caking and a large volume of ascites; there was also confirmation of a left pleural effusion. ⋯ She was extubated after surgery, but immediately after extubation, she became markedly hypotensive and hypoxemic with a BP of 50/20 mm Hg and an oxygen saturation of 70%. An ECG showed T-wave inversions from V1 to V5 and an S1Q3T3 pattern (Fig 2). A bedside echocardiogram showed an enlarged right ventricle (RV), septal dyskinesia, and obliteration of the left ventricle, all consistent with systolic and diastolic RV overload (Fig 3).
-
Case Reports
An unusual cause of respiratory failure in a 25-year-old heart and lung transplant recipient.
A 25-year-old woman, a never smoker with a history of heart-lung transplantation for World Health Organization group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension performed 20 months prior to presentation, was evaluated for shortness of breath. Following transplantation, she was initiated on standard therapy of prednisone, tacrolimus, and azathioprine, along with routine antimicrobial prophylaxis. ⋯ Sirolimus was added 9 months prior to presentation. Three months prior to presentation, she was admitted for increasing oxygen requirements, shortness of breath, and bilateral infiltrates on the CT scans of the chest.
-
A 44-year-old man presented with a 1-day history of sudden-onset abdominal pain. The pain was characterized as severe, diffuse, sharp, and nonradiating. Associated symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and subjective fevers. ⋯ His medical history was notable for gout and end-stage renal disease secondary to chronic nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use, for which he attended hemodialysis sessions three times weekly. Surgical history consisted of a currently nonfunctioning left upper extremity fistula, a longstanding right internal jugular PermCath IV access for chronic hemodialysis that had been removed 2 weeks prior to presentation, and a left brachiocephalic fistula. He did not smoke, consume alcohol, or have a history of illicit drug use.