Evidence-based Role of Aspirin in Giant Cell Arteritis: A Literature Review.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), or temporal arteritis, is a medium to large vessel vasculitis seen in the elderly. Its presentation varies from fever of unknown origin to cranial ischemic complications including complete vision loss. The early initiation of steroids is key to preventing complications of GCA. Here we discuss the role of aspirin in the treatment of GCA, both as an antithrombotic agent and its increasingly utilized anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this review article is to examine the evidence behind the use of aspirin as an adjunct to steroids for the prevention of cranial ischemic complications.

Baffling Case of a Patient With History of Lupus in a COVID-19 Pandemic.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a myriad of clinical presentations and periodic flares. We present a case of a young lady with a history of SLE who presented with constitutional symptoms 1 week after starting Isoniazid and Rifampin for treatment of latent TB. Her presentation shared similarities with several diseases including TB lymphadenitis, SLE flare, Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease (KFD) and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) posing a diagnostic dilemma. Additionally, she presented not long after the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, further expanding the differential diagnosis. She was ultimately diagnosed with a severe SLE flare caused by rifampin induced suppression of the CYP3A4 system, thereby reducing the therapeutic efficacy of steroids. This case highlights the deadly potential of drug-drug interactions, especially in patients with autoimmune conditions.

Atypical Lemierre's Syndrome. A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Lemierre's syndrome (LS) is a rare disease entity, which can be catastrophic if organism-directed treatment is not initiated early. Lemierre's syndrome is frequently caused by Fusobacterium infection which is frequently susceptible to clindamycin. Evidence suggests there is an increase in the incidence of cases of drug resistant Fusobacterium species. Through this case we present a unique case of a 45-year-old Caucasian female with Lemierre's Syndrome due to polymicrobial organisms that were resistant to clindamycin thus developing recurrent infections despite being on antibiotics.

Lupus Enteritis in the Absence of a Lupus Flare. A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Lupus enteritis is a rare manifestation seen in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Its diagnosis can be challenging as symptoms frequently overlap many gastrointestinal disorders, imaging findings are not specific, and endoscopic features are infrequently diagnostic. Moreover, enteritis can occur in isolation without other systemic manifestations or even elevated inflammatory markers.1 Here is presented the case of a 22-year-old female with known SLE manifested by lupus nephritis complicated by end-stage renal disease who presented with abdominal pain. She had leukocytosis with thickened bowel loops, ascites, "target sign", "comb sign" and patent abdominal vessels on CT imaging. The differential diagnoses considered ranged from infectious gastroenteritis to systemic vasculitis. Her infectious workup was negative while inflammatory markers and autoimmune workup did not support active lupus flare. Having ruled out alternative etiologies, steroid dosing was increased in consultation with rheumatology. Subsequently, her abdominal pain responded supporting a diagnosis of lupus enteritis. The case was perplexing in light of her non-specific presenting symptoms and the absence of laboratory evidence of active lupus flare which delayed the diagnosis. This case illustrates how the diagnosis of lupus enteritis continues to remain a challenge.

A case report of recurrent Well's syndrome masquerading as cellulitis.

Eosinophilic cellulitis (Well's syndrome) is a rare relapsing inflammatory disorder characterized by infiltration of eosinophils into the dermis. Although rare, WS should be considered in patients with a history of asthma and skin lesions that are resistant to antibiotic therapy. We report a case of recurrent WS. A 67-year-old woman with a history of asthma presented with a longstanding left pretibial ulcer with surrounding erythema, pain, and serous drainage, which had failed treatment with oral and parenteral antibiotics. Skin biopsy revealed eosinophilic cellulitis. Rapid improvement occurred with systemic steroid treatment; however, recurrent disease in the perineum developed as corticosteroids were tapered.

Management of Relapsed Hairy Cell Leukemia: A Systematic Review of Novel Agents and Targeted Therapies.

BACKGROUND: Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) responds well to purine analogs with an overall median relapse free survival of 11-16 years. Most patients can be retreated with the same or a different purine analog however a subset of patients will become resistant or develop cumulative toxicities. Novel agents such as Vemurafenib (BRAF kinase inhibitor), Bendamustine/Rituximab (BR), Moxetumomab pasudotox (anti CD-22 recombinant immunotoxin) and Ibrutinib have emerging roles in patients with relapsed HCL. METHODS: Five databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched using the following search terms: "hairy cell leukemia" or "leukemia, hairy cell" AND "relapse" or "recurrence". We included only prospective clinical trials with outcome data. RESULTS: Vemurafenib monotherapy was evaluated in two separate arms of a phase 2 trial. In the US arm (n=24), the ORR was 100% (CR 42%; PR 58%). In the Italian arm (n=26), the ORR was 96% (CR 35%; PR 62%). In a phase 2 study (n=25), the combination of vemurafenib and rituximab showed CR of 100%. The combination of BR achieved an ORR of 100% whereas CR was 50% and 67% at a bendamustine dose of 70mg/m2 (n=6) and 90 mg/m2 (n=6) respectively. In a phase 3 trial, moxetumomab pasudotox (n=80) had an ORR of 75% (CR 41%). Single agent Ibrutinib (n=37) had an ORR of 54%. Therapies were generally well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Novel agents have good efficacy in HCL in patients with multiple relapses.

Atypical Pyoderma gangrenosum: a case of delayed recognition.

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an inflammatory skin condition that is often misdiagnosed as a necrotizing infection. This diagnosis must be considered in any patient with underlying systemic disease who presents with large ulcerating lesions that are unresponsive to antibiotics. Early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach to treatment are crucial to achieving improvement in quality of life and minimizing cosmetic morbidity. .

Hyponatraemia due to hypothyroidism: a rare side effect from pomalidomide.

Pomalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug used for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Hypothyroidism is an uncommon side effect of pomalidomide. We present a 70-year-old male patient with RRMM on daratumumab, pomalidomide and dexamethasone, who presented with 2 weeks of fatigue. Laboratory values showed sodium of 120 mEq/L, plasma osmolarity of 256 mOsm/kg, urine osmolarity of 648 mOsm/kg and urine sodium of 93 mEq/L. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test was within normal limits. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was 88.6 IU/mL (0.380-4.700 IU/mL), total triiodothyronine (TT3) <21 ng/mL (0.8-2 ng/mL), free thyroxine (fT4) 0.10 ng/dL (0.93-1.70 ng/dL) and free triiodothyronine (fT3) <0.5 pg/mL (2.3-4.2 pg/mL). Antithyroid peroxidase antibody was 726 IU/mL (<9 IU/mL). TSH 1 year ago was 2.88 IU/mL and TT3 was 1.06 ng/mL. He was started on levothyroxine with improvement in his symptoms, sodium level and thyroid functions. The most likely culprit was pomalidomide. Checking thyroid functions before and periodically while on pomalidomide is important in screening for this possible side effect.

The many manifestations of a single disease: neuroborreliosis.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that occurs in stages, multiple organs and tissue with highly variable clinical presentation. Most commonly, it presents with seventh cranial nerve palsy, often mimicking stroke and atypical rash (erythema migrans). Atypical presentations include abdominal pain, ileus/pseudo-obstruction and constipation thought to be due to autonomic dysfunction. Other less common presentations include Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormones (SIADH). Lyme disease should be a differential when a patient presents from Lyme endemic areas with abdominal pain, constipation and SIADH in the setting of other causes of gastrointestinal and renal symptoms ruled out. Here we present a case of multisystem involvement in a single patient with Lyme Disease along with neuroborreliosis (neurological manifestation of Lyme disease).

Remdesivir in a pregnant patient with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug currently being studied as a potential treatment of pneumonia caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2. The Adaptive Covid-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT-1) by NIH and the SIMPLE study by Gilead Sciences are two major trials that showed promising results of Remdesivir in the non-pregnant population. We are presenting the case of a pregnant patient who was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and successfully treated with Remdesivir.

Copper deficiency myeloneuropathy with a history of malabsorption: a tale of two cases.

Acquired copper deficiency is rare but often seen among patients with intestinal malabsorption syndromes. Often times, these patients can develop myeloneuropathies with copper deficiency as an elusive culprit. With early diagnosis and appropriate supplementation, many symptoms, such as myeloneuropathy, can be reversed entirely. Checking copper levels should be included in the workup of myeloneuropathies to prevent irreversible damage and improving morbidity and mortality.

Evidence-based supportive care in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by an abnormal clone of plasma cells in the bone marrow. MM and its therapy increase the risk of complications like anemia, osteolytic lesions, pain, infections, and renal abnormalities in MM patients. Supportive care for MM patients improves the quality of life. Treatment with bisphosphonates decreases skeletal-related events. Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are done in cases of vertebral compression fractures. Prophylactic antibiotics and antivirals can decrease infections related to morbidity. Plasmapheresis in patients with renal dysfunctions decreases dialysis dependency and improve quality of life.

Treating Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma in the Very Old or Frail Patients.

OPINION STATEMENT: R-CHOP has been the standard of care for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), curing approximately 60% of patients for more than 2 decades. However, the optimal treatment of patients who are too frail to tolerate this regimen and/or are not candidates for anthracycline therapy continues to be debated. MInT and GELA trials established addition of rituximab to CHOP in DLBCL but excluded patients older than 80 years. Multiple regimens have been tried with varying success in the very elderly, including R-mini-CHOP, R-mini CEOP, R-split CHOP, pre-phase strategies, and R-GCVP. However, there has not been a randomized trial among these strategies. Although addition of novel agents including ibrutinib, brentuximab vedotin, lenalidomide, and many others on the horizon holds promise in this population, none have been tested in a randomized setting or have results awaited. There is also a lack of a validated and easy to use clinical tool in this population to predict patients who will not tolerate R-CHOP. Identifying patients who will not tolerate R-CHOP early with the help of tools like CGA, along with integrating biology-based treatment (ibrutinib, lenalidomide in activated B cell type DLBCL) is being investigated in this population.