Oral involvement in sarcoidosis: report of 12 cases.

AIM: To assess the clinical features, treatment and outcome of oral sarcoidosis and to determine whether oral involvement is associated with a particular clinical phenotype of sarcoidosis. DESIGN: Multicentric retrospective study. METHODS: Retrospective chart review. Each patient was matched with four controls. RESULTS: Twelve patients (9 women, 3 men) were identified. Their median age at sarcoidosis diagnosis was 38 years. Oral involvement was the first clinical evidence of sarcoidosis in seven cases and was a relapse symptom in five cases. Clinical presentations were nodules (n = 7) or ulcers (n = 5) and were mostly solitary. The tongue was the commonest site affected (n = 4), followed by lips (n = 3), oral mucosa (n = 2), palate (n = 2) and gingiva (n = 1). Patients with oral sarcoidosis were significantly younger and had more frequent lacrimal or salivary glands and upper airway tract clinical involvement than the controls; increased angiotensin-converting enzyme was less frequent in oral sarcoidosis. Multiple treatments of oral sarcoidosis were used: no treatment (n = 3), surgery (n = 2), corticosteroids (n = 7), hydroxychloroquine (n = 3), methotrexate (n = 2), doxycycline (n = 1). Methotrexate was efficient in one patient, hydroxychloroquine showed benefit in only 1 out of 3 patients. Three patients presented oral relapses. After a mean follow-up of 6 years, 10 patients experienced a complete (n = 7) or partial (n = 3) remission of oral sarcoidosis; stability was observed in the remaining two cases. CONCLUSION: Although oral manifestations of sarcoidosis are unusual, physicians should be aware that this specific localization is frequently the first manifestation of the disease. Treatment modalities range from observation in asymptomatic patients to immunosuppressants for severe involvement.

[Clinical and etiological aspects of uveitis: a retrospective study of 121 patients referred to a tertiary centre of ophthalmology]. / Aspects cliniques et étiologiques des uvéites: étude rétrospective de 121 patients adressés à un centre tertiaire d'ophtalmologie.

PURPOSE: Uveitis consists of a large group of diseases characterized by intraocular inflammation involving the uveal tract. This heterogeneity makes the diagnosis and the treatment of uveitis frequently challenging. The purpose of this study was to describe the various clinical and etiologic aspects of uveitis, through the new standardized uveitis classification and the use of modern investigations for its diagnostic work-up. METHODS: The medical records of 121 new patients with uveitis referred to our tertiary ophthalmologic centre between January 2002 and December 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Uveitis associated to human immunodeficiency virus and secondary to exogenous endophthalmitis were excluded. All patients had a complete ophthalmological examination and appropriate clinical and paraclinical examination. The diagnosis was established according to the recent international criteria. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-one patients were included. The four main etiologies were: toxoplasmosis (14%), sarcoidosis (11.6%), spondylarthritis or HLA B27-associated uveitis (13.2%) and Herpes virus infections (9.1%) that represented almost half of the uveitis causes (47.9%). Various diseases constituted the remaining causes of the uveitis (20.9%). Uveitis remained unexplained in the remaining 36 patients (29.7%). Overall, associated systemic diseases were diagnosed in 35.5% of our uveitis patients (34 patients), associated infectious conditions in 26.4% (32 patients) and specific ocular diseases in 8.3% (12 patients). CONCLUSION: Despite a limited number of patients, our study showed an etiologic distribution similar to that of the main series reported in the literature. Nevertheless, we observed an elevated frequency of sarcoidosis and systemic diseases, which emphasizes a management that takes into account standardized clinical and paraclinical criteria and the usefulness of a collaboration with the internist.

[Efficiency of imatinib in polyserositis revealing a FIP1L1-PDGFRA-negative hypereosinophilic syndrome]. / Efficacité de l'imatinib au cours d'un syndrome hyperéosinophilique FIP1L1-PDGFRA négatif révélé par une polysérite.

INTRODUCTION: Hypereosinophilic syndromes rarely manifest as polyserositis. Imatinib mesylate is the reference treatment for myeloid variants of FIP1L1-PDGFRA-positive hypereosinophilic syndromes. A response to imatinib has also been reported in FIP1L1-PDGFRA-negative hypereosinophilic syndromes. CASE REPORT: We report a 25-year-old man who presented with a FIP1L1-PDGFRA-negative hypereosinophilic syndrome, with severe pericardial effusion and bilateral pleuritis. Imatinib mesylate at the dose of 100mg daily was started because of high-dose corticosteroids dependence. A response was noted after 15 days of treatment. Corticosteroids were discontinued after 7 months and the patient remained asymptomatic after 23 months of treatment. CONCLUSION: This report evidences the association of polyserositis with hypereosinophilic syndromes and the potential efficacy of imatinib mesylate even in FIP1L1-PDGFRA-negative patients.

[Tropheryma whipplei and Whipple disease: false positive PCR detections of Tropheryma whipplei in diagnostic samples are rare]. / Tropheryma whipplei et maladie de Whipple: résultats de la recherche par polymerase chain reaction (PCR) dans les échantillons à visée diagnostique.

BACKGROUND: PCR can be used to detect T. whipplei (Tw) in samples from variable tissue types and body fluids. We report clinical, evolutive characteristics and final diagnosis in patients with positive Tw PCR assay. METHODS: Retrospective study of Tw PCR realized since 10years in a microbiology laboratory. RESULTS: Twenty-five Tw PCR assays were positive among 200 realized. Diagnosis was not confirmed in six cases. One patient was missing for follow up. Eighteen patients presented with Whipple's disease. Among these 18 patients, 14 had a classic Whipple's disease, three patients presented an endocarditis and one patient isolated neurological manifestations. Ten patients presented fever, seven a weight loss and 12 joint involvement. Four patients presented cutaneous manifestations, only six had gastrointestinal symptoms. Neurological involvement was reported in five cases, pulmonary symptoms in four cases, cardiac involvement in six cases and ocular signs in two cases. Anemia was reported in four patients and elevated levels of acute-phase reactants in 14 cases. Positive predictive value of Tw PCR for Whipple's disease diagnosis was 75%. Thirteen patients had a good evolution with antibiotics. Three patients presented recurrence and two cases with cardiovascular involvement died. CONCLUSION: Whipple's disease is rare but often mentioned in internist experience. The diagnosis should be every time confirmed. Tw PCR assay is an important diagnostic tool but is not sufficient to establish the diagnosis and must be interpreted with histopathology and immunohistochemical testing results.

[Interest of an internist's consultation in uveitis. Comparative study in 66 cases]. / Apport de la consultation interniste dans le diagnostic étiologique des uvéites. Etude comparative portant sur 66 patients.

BACKGROUND: After exclusion of a masquerade syndrome, uveitis may be associated with infection, systemic diseases, specific ocular diseases, or may be drug-induced. In order to improve diagnostic strategy in uveitis, we performed a comparative study to assess the importance of internist and ophtalmologist's collaboration and we proposed a well-adapted diagnostic procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comparative study was performed in a tertiary centre. The population was divided in two groups. The first one was retrospective and consisted of patients treated at the Ophthalmology department of Croix Rousse Hospital from 1991 to 2002 without internist's collaboration. The second one was prospective and consisted of patients referred in the same centre in 2003 and 2004 with intervention of an internist. Patients of less than 18 years of age with pre-existent diagnosis, specific ocular diseases, toxoplasmosis infection, or with human immunodeficiency virus infection were excluded. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients were included. Anterior uveitis was the most frequent form (25 cases), followed by panuveitis (20 cases), posterior uveitis (14) and intermediate uveitis (7). The most frequent cause of uveitis was systemic disease (19 cases) followed by infection (7 cases) and neurological entities (4 cases). The rate of diagnosis was 30.3% without internist's intervention and 60.6% when patients were referred to an internist (P=0,01). The internist intervention was contributive in 75% of diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The internist intervention significantly enhances the rate of etiological diagnoses in uveitis. These results should further strengthen the internist/ophthalmologist collaboration for patients with uveitis.

Necrotizing gastritis due to Bacillus cereus in an immunocompromised patient.

Bacillus cereus is increasingly being acknowledged as a serious bacterial pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We present a case of acute necrotizing gastritis caused by B. cereus in a 37-year-old woman with acute myeloblastic leukemia, who recovered following total parenteral nutrition and treatment with imipenem and vancomycin. B. cereus was isolated from gastric mucosa and blood cultures. Up to now, no case of acute necrotizing gastritis due to this organism has been reported.

Loading dose of vancomycin in critically ill patients: 15 mg/kg is a better choice than 500 mg.

Delays in antimicrobial therapy in high-risk patients with infection may have deleterious effects on clinical outcomes. Therefore, appropriate treatment must be initiated promptly. The objective of this prospective study was to determine the better loading dose of vancomycin in critically ill patients with suspected Gram-positive infections. Two groups of patients were studied successively: Group A, loading dose of 500 mg; and Group B, loading dose of 15 mg/kg. The mean post-loading dose serum vancomycin concentration was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (19.1 +/- 7.4 mg/L versus 10.4 +/- 2.7 mg/L; P < 0.001), without producing toxic peak levels. Clinical cure rates were significantly different for infected patients in Group B compared with Group A: 93% (14 of 15 patients) versus 56% (10 of 18 patients), respectively. However, the proportion of patients surviving to Intensive Care Unit discharge was similar. Because vancomycin is believed to achieve maximum killing at concentrations in serum of four to five times the minimum inhibitory concentration for the infecting organism, our results suggest that the 15 mg/kg loading dose should be preferred.