A Case of Acute Motor Sensory Axonal Neuropathy: A Variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, with Possible Syndrome of Irreversible Lithium-Effectuated Neurotoxicity.

Acute Motor Sensory Axonal Neuropathy (AMSAN) is a rare and severe variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) that has a prolonged recovery course. GBS is often suspected due to ascending muscle weakness, sensation difficulties, respiratory compromise, and antecedent diarrhea. The diagnosis of GBS is supported by cerebrospinal fluid analysis showing albuminocytologic dissociation. Electromyogram and nerve conduction study confirm the diagnosis and allow for further classification by variant. Treatment involves either IV immune globulins or plasmapheresis, and patients typically recover. However, depending on the variant and severity, patients may ultimately require prolonged mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy. In these cases, they may continue to have persistent muscle and sensation abnormalities requiring long-term care. We present a unique case of a 38-year-old female patient with decade-long use of lithium for bipolar disorder that presented with acute lithium toxicity. Though she was ultimately diagnosed with AMSAN, the Syndrome of Irreversible Lithium-Effectuated Neurotoxicity (SILENT) may have also contributed to her persistent neurological sequelae.

Interstitial Lung Disease Secondary to Long-Term Nitrofurantoin Use.

BACKGROUND Interstitial lung disease, also known as diffuse parenchymal lung disease, is a group of diseases that affects the interstitium of the lungs and can lead to progressive fibrosis of the lungs. The potential causes of interstitial lung disease are broad and includes infection, malignancy, autoimmune/connective tissues diseases, inhaled substances, and certain medications. One of the medications that can cause interstitial lung disease is nitrofurantoin. CASE REPORT A 88-year-old man with recurrent urinary tract infections was treated with long-term nitrofurantoin prophylactic therapy. He took 100 mg of nitrofurantoin on a daily basis for over 10 years as prophylactic therapy for recurrent urinary tract infections, and subsequently developed chronic respiratory failure requiring supplemental oxygen. Chest radiography and high-resolution computed tomography imaging were performed and revealed pulmonary fibrosis consistent with interstitial lung disease. CONCLUSIONS Although nitrofurantoin is one of the most commonly used antibiotics in the treatment of urinary tract infections and is often considered a relatively safe medication, long-term use can lead to the development of interstitial lung disease.

Daily Integrated Care Conferences to Reduce Length of Hospital Stay for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

CONTEXT: Inefficiencies in care coordination-specifically, the lack of an effective method of communication among multiple health care professionals-often leads to an unnecessary increase in length of hospital stay. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether daily integrated care conferences (ICCs) would significantly reduce the length of stay for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. METHOD: Patients with COPD exacerbation were selected for the study using electronic medical records from 2 osteopathic community hospitals located in northeastern Ohio. One hospital used daily ICCs and the other hospital did not use daily ICCs. The average length of stay for patients at each hospital was retrospectively investigated. RESULTS: A total of 1683 patients with COPD exacerbation were selected. The mean (SD) length of stay in the hospital with daily ICCs was 3.37 (2.89) days compared with 5.55 (3.99) days in the hospital without daily ICCs (P<.0001). At the hospital with daily ICCs, patients aged 40 to 69 years had a 67% shorter hospital stay and patients aged 70 to 99 years or older had a 36% shorter length of stay compared with patients at the hospital without daily ICCs. CONCLUSION: Daily integrated care conferences significantly reduced the length of stay for patients with COPD exacerbation at an osteopathic community-based hospital. Implementing daily ICCs may make current health care services and coordinated care more efficient, resulting in decreased costs and length of stay for patients with COPD exacerbation.

Tolerance of Rib Raising Among Hospitalized Patients: A Pilot Study.

CONTEXT: Rib raising is an osteopathic manipulative treatment modality that can help patients with various respiratory conditions to improve their work of breathing. However, the tolerance of this technique in hospitalized patients has not been assessed in a systematic manner. We hypothesized that rib raising would be a well-tolerated treatment modality for hospitalized patients admitted for asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or congestive heart failure. OBJECTIVE: To determine hospitalized patients' tolerance of rib raising through a prospective pilot study. METHODS: The study included patients at University Hospitals-Richmond Medical Center and University Hospitals-Bedford Medical Center who were admitted for asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or congestive heart failure between November 1, 2016, and October 31, 2017. Each patient was treated with rib raising, which was performed in a standardized fashion. Immediately after treatment, patients were asked to rate their tolerance of the procedure on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 represented no discomfort and 10 represented maximum discomfort. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 87 hospitalized, non-intensive care unit patients. The mean tolerance score for rib raising was 1.18, and the median score was 0. The score was between 0 and 3 in 80 patients (92.0%), between 4 and 6 in 6 patients (6.9%), and between 7 and 10 in 1 patient (1.1%). CONCLUSION: Rib raising was shown to be well tolerated by the majority of the patients in the study population.

Transformation of pulmonary histoplasmosis to sarcoidosis: a case report.

Histoplasmosis, a dimorphic fungus, and sarcoidosis, a disease of unknown etiology, share many clinical features, including typical manifestations of granulomatous inflammation involving the lungs and mediastinal lymphatics in association with constitutional symptoms. As such, they are often difficult to distinguish based upon clinical presentation. Recent studies suggest that sarcoidosis may be triggered by infectious agents. Here we present a case of documented pulmonary histoplasmosis that evolved into sarcoidosis. This case supports the notion that infections promote sarcoidosis in predisposed hosts.