Medicine
-
Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) has been inadequately studied. We compared characteristics and outcomes of patients with CAP who were admitted to the ICU with those of patients managed on the ward. Of the 3675 patients hospitalized with CAP, 374 (10%) were admitted to the ICU. ⋯ The following factors were predictive of ICU admission on multivariable analysis: younger age, smoker, limitation of functional status, absence of cough or pleurisy, presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, substance abuse, elevated serum creatinine, abnormal serum glucose concentration, and a respiratory rate of <16 or >24 breaths per minute. Patients with low Pneumonia Severity Index scores and low CURB-65 scores were admitted to the ICU based on clinical judgment that appeared to supersede objective scoring. Severe CAP requiring admission to the ICU is common, and the decision about which patients to admit often requires clinical judgment that in many cases appears at odds with various validated pneumonia severity scoring systems.
-
Streptococcus pneumoniae infections can cause serious systemic disease in patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and the response to pneumococcal vaccine is inadequate in most HSCT recipients. We evaluated the clinical spectrum of pneumococcal disease and vaccine-breakthrough infections in HSCT recipients at our cancer center in a retrospective analysis of all consecutive episodes of S. pneumoniae infection from 1989 through 2005. During the study period, 7888 patients underwent HSCT at our center; we identified 47 HSCT recipients with 54 S. pneumoniae infections. ⋯ All 5 (11%) patients who developed vaccine-breakthrough S. pneumoniae infection (546 +/- 732 d following vaccination) had pneumonia, and in 4 patients concurrent bacteremia also occurred. A serious S. pneumoniae infection in HSCT recipients occurred more commonly in patients with lymphoma and patients receiving high-dose systemic corticosteroid therapy. It is noteworthy that there were no cases of extrapulmonary organ infection in HSCT recipients who presented with S. pneumoniae infection at our institution.
-
Susac syndrome is characterized by the clinical triad of encephalopathy, hearing loss, and retinal artery branch occlusions, mostly in young women. To our knowledge, long-term outcome and impact of pregnancy have not been specifically addressed. We report a series of 9 patients (7 female, 2 male) followed at the same institution, with special emphasis on clinical outcome including pregnancy and long-term sequelae. ⋯ In conclusion, at the end of follow-up, most patients had returned to work and none had severe impairment. Pregnancy may affect the course of Susac syndrome, with relapse of encephalopathy postpartum. Our main finding was that the course of Susac syndrome is not self-limited as previously thought, since isolated retinal arteriolar involvement may occur as a very late manifestation.
-
Review Case Reports
Emphysematous cystitis: illustrative case report and review of the literature.
Emphysematous cystitis is a rare disease characterized by primary infection of the urinary bladder with gas-producing pathogens. There is a paucity of information on this entity in the English-language literature covering the last 45 years, and the clinical picture is poorly outlined. We carried out a comprehensive, retrospective review of the English-language literature from 1986 to 2006, searching for reports describing cases of emphysematous cystitis. ⋯ Emphysematous cystitis has a highly variable presentation and course, with a considerable potential for complications. Further diagnostic imaging is highly recommended in diabetic patients with urinary tract infection who present with abdominal pain and hematuria. Knowledge of this rare entity may lead to early diagnosis and appropriate management.
-
Multicenter Study
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a series of 126 patients.
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disorder characterized by epistaxis, telangiectasia, and visceral vascular manifestations. Infectious and ischemic central nervous system (CNS) manifestations due to embolism through pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) represent the main causes of morbidity. To improve the phenotypic characterization of HHT with PAVM, we conducted a retrospective multicenter study of patients with HHT and at least 1 PAVM detected by chest computed tomography (CT) and/or pulmonary angiography, with particular attention to CNS and infectious manifestations. ⋯ A high frequency of CNS and infectious complications was observed in this large series of patients with HHT-related PAVM. Physicians may not be sufficiently aware of the clinical manifestations of this orphan disorder. Patients diagnosed with HHT should be informed by physicians and patient associations of the risk of PAVM-related complications, and systematic screening for PAVM should be proposed, regardless of a patient's symptoms, familial history, or genetic considerations.