Internal medicine
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An 83-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma developed muscle weakness, ptosis, and dyspnea 3 weeks after receiving atezolizumab. Soon after, mechanical ventilation was initiated, which was followed by marked blood pressure spikes. ⋯ After immunotherapy, the serum markers and blood pressure normalized, and he was weaned from the ventilator after five months. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of AAG secondary to ICI-induced myositis, MG, and myocarditis.
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POEMS syndrome is often associated with a poor prognosis. Elevated serum vascular endothelial growth factor (sVEGF) is a useful diagnostic marker with high sensitivity and specificity. ⋯ However, at 21 months after the onset, the patient tested positive for sVEGF and was diagnosed with POEMS syndrome. Therefore, it is important to repeatedly measure sVEGF levels in patients with polyneuropathy with an atypical course when POEMS syndrome is suspected, even if the initial sVEGF level is normal.
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Anti-IgLON5 disease shows various neurological manifestations, of which dysautonomia is one of the major symptoms and is rarely improved by immunotherapy. We herein report a patient with anti-IgLON5 disease who showed several autonomic failures, including vocal cord palsy for four months. The patient presented with cognitive impairments, bulbar symptoms accompanied by myorhythmia in the pharynx and tongue, cerebellar ataxia with tremor, motor neuron symptoms in the limbs, gastrointestinal dysfunction, orthostatic hypotension, non-rapid eye movement sleep disorder on polysomnography, and severe vocal cord palsy. Combined immunotherapy improved his symptoms, including vocal cord palsy, suggesting that combined immunotherapy might improve dysautonomia in anti-IgLON5 disease.
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Case Reports
Successful Treatment of Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia with a Positive Donath-Landsteiner Test Using Rituximab.
Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (PCH) is a rare disease in adults, and its concurrent presentation with warm-type autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) has not yet been reported. We encountered a 19-year-old woman with AIHA and a positive Donath-Landsteiner test result identified by a hemolytic attack during blood transfusion. ⋯ After treatment with prednisolone followed by rituximab, the AIHA improved, and the Donath-Landsteiner antibody test result turned negative. Clinicians should be aware that patients may present with concurrent warm-type AIHA and PCH and consider rituximab for its treatment.
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Case Reports
Small Intestinal Arteriovenous Malformation Treated by Double-balloon Endoscopy: A Case Report.
A 42-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of anemia. The patient underwent gastroscopy and colonoscopy, but no bleeding site was detected. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed vascular dilatation along the wall of the small intestine. ⋯ The AVM was clipped using DBE. After clipping, abdominal contrast-enhanced CT and small bowel angiography revealed the disappearance of the AVM. DBE may be a viable therapeutic option, helping avoid surgery and its associated risks.