La Revue de médecine interne
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Case Reports
[Libman-Sacks endocarditis under apixaban in a patient with a high-risk profile venous antiphospholipid syndrome].
Libman-Sacks endocarditis is a rare complication of antiphospholipid syndrome. Anti-vitamin K therapy is the standard treatment, although valvular replacement surgery may be required in some severe cases. In the latest EULAR recommendations, it is advised not to use direct oral anticoagulants in the management of antiphospholipid syndrome, especially of high-risk profile. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first case of Libman-Sacks endocarditis occurring during apixaban therapy in a patient with antiphospholipid syndrome. This severe case highlights the inefficiency of direct oral anticoagulants to prevent thrombotic events in the antiphospholipid syndrome.
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Review Case Reports
[Atypical actinomycosis revealed by distant dermatological disorders: Report of an unusual case and literature review].
Dermatological manifestations of actinomycosis are classical, most often related to Actinomyces israelii. In most of the cases, they occur near to the primary focus, and in the cervicofacial area. Systemic dissemination with cutaneous distant metastasis is rare, most often related to A. israelii, too. We report an original case of upper limb actinomycosis associated with an oral localisation and due to an unusual bacteria. ⋯ We report an atypical case of cutaneous actinomycosis due to an Actinomyces meyeri dental infection occurring in an immunocompetent, smoking adult, with poor oral hygiene. The literature review revealed only 4 well-documented cases of cutaneous A. meyeri infections distant to dental primary focus. All of patients were males, immunocompetent, with a history of poor oral hygiene. The prognosis is favourable with adequate treatment (antibiotic therapy and surgical treatment to eradicate dental infectious entry points).
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Although human polyomavirus JC (JCV) seroprevalence in the general population is high, its neurological complications are rare and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a lethal central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disease, is the most well-known. After an usually asymptomatic primary infection during late childhood, a latent JCV form persists in different sites, notably the kidneys and lymphocytes. Rearrangement of that archetype into the prototypical neurotropic strain can reactivate JCV, thereby enabling its CNS penetration and infection of glial cells. ⋯ PML is often lethal. No specific, evidence-based treatment with clinically relevant efficacy is available. The therapeutic objective is to restore host immune responses to JCV, while avoiding immune-reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.
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Observational Study
[Observational study of QuantiFERON® management for ocular tuberculosis diagnosis: Analysis of 244 consecutive tests].
Ocular tuberculosis (TB) diagnosisremains difficult and quantiferon (QFT) contribution needs still yet to be specified, despite its generalization in France. The purpose of this observational study is to assess in which ocular inflammation (OI) presentation QFT is prescribed and to evaluate the added value of new QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) test for diagnosis ocular TB diagnosis. ⋯ Positive QFT frequency among patients consulting for posterior OI remains high. In this study, radiological abnormalities and granulomas at angiography seemed to be more closely related to clinician decision for starting ATT trial in QFT+ patients, which was effective in 73% of cases. QFT-Plus does not seem more relevant than QFT-TB in exploring an OI. Prospective studies are necessary to codify QFT management in the etiological assessment of OI and clearly define ATT trial indications as well as their modalities.
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Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematopoietic malignancies which are also characterised by immune dysregulation. The impaired immune response is mainly due to T lymphocytes (CD8 and T regulatory cells) with increased cell apoptosis. MDS could be associated in some cases with various clinical dysimmune features; however, only MDS with trisomy 8 is correlated with particular clinical phenotype. ⋯ The dysimmune manifestations, and among them the Behçet's-like disease, do not impact the overall survival or the risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia. Immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies, and among them TNF-α inhibitors, are usually ineffective to control the dysimmune manifestations. Targeting the underlying clonal disease with specific therapies, such as azacitidine, seems to be the best strategy to control these disorders, even in MDS patients with low-risk disease.