The American journal of case reports
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BACKGROUND Beta-hemoglobinopathies and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency are genetic disorders that cause hemolytic anemia when exposed to oxidative stress. Their co-existence is, however, not proven to enhance the severity of anemia. CASE REPORT We report the case of a young man with no known co-morbidities, who came with fever and cough and was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Hydroxychloroquine therapy can induce hemolytic crises in patients with underlying G6PD deficiency or hemoglobinopathies and should be avoided or closely monitored. Immediate intervention to stop hydroxychloroquine after 3 doses saved our patient from a major hemolytic crisis. The significance of this case report is that it is the first report that outlines the clinic course of COVID-19 pneumonia in a patient with underlying hemoglobin D disease and G6PD deficiency.
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BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurs because of a novel enveloped ribonucleic acid coronavirus called severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). One of the major reported complications of COVID-19 includes both arterial and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Here we describe a case of COVID-19 provoked pulmonary embolism in a young patient already receiving prophylactic treatment for VTE. ⋯ She was switched to Apixaban on discharge. CONCLUSIONS The finding of the case suggested that low-molecular-weight heparin prophylaxis may not be sufficient to prevent VTE in COVID-19 pneumonia. Some of these patients may benefit from receiving prophylactic half doses or full doses of anticoagulants.
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Case Reports
Pathophysiology of Hyperkalemia Presenting as Brugada Pattern on Electrocardiogram (ECG).
BACKGROUND Brugada phenocopies (BrP) are clinical and electrocardiographic (ECG) entities elicited by reversible medical conditions speculated to have pathogenesis rooted in ion current imbalances or conduction delays within the myocardial wall. During an inciting pathologic condition, it produces ECG patterns identical to those of congenitally-acquired Brugada syndrome and subsequently returns to normal ECG patterns upon resolution of the medical condition. This case report describes a 26-year-old man presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) for suspected heroin overdose with a rare ECG consistent with BrP secondary to acute hyperkalemia. ⋯ He was found to have community-acquired pneumonia, with a negative infectious disease workup, that improved with antibiotics. Upon resolution of his hypoxemic respiratory failure and improvement in mentation, he was discharged from the hospital. CONCLUSIONS Our case report adds to the growing literature on BrP and highlights the importance of recognizing its characteristic ECG pattern as a unique presentation of a common electrolyte derangement.