Pericardial actinomycosis.

A man in his 50s, with a history of night sweats and weight loss, presented acutely with dyspnoea and chest pain. Imaging revealed right middle lobe consolidation and a large pericardial effusion. The diagnosis of actinomycosis was made using endobronchial ultrasound-guided sampling from the pericardial effusion. An orthopantomogram demonstrated that the source was a large cavity in the left lower wisdom tooth. This tooth was extracted before the completion of his antibiotic course, and the patient made a full recovery. Cardiac actinomycosis is rare, and there are few case reports describing endobronchial ultrasound-guided sampling of pericardial fluid.

Isolated cardiac involvement of a primary myeloid sarcoma: a case report of an unusual cause of pulmonary oedema.

Background: Myeloid sarcoma, also known as chloroma, is a pathologic diagnosis for an extramedullary proliferation of blasts of one or more of the myeloid lineages. It is an uncommon manifestation of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), although the diagnosis may occur prior to or after diagnosis of AML. Cardiac infiltration by myeloid sarcoma is extremely rare, and of the few published cases, a diagnosis of leukaemia was almost always already present. Case summary: This is a 52-year-old patient admitted to the hospital with acute shortness of breath, with a large amorphous mass found on computed tomography scan invading the myocardium and causing heart failure. Echocardiography demonstrated multiple cardiac masses. A bone marrow biopsy was non-diagnostic. An endomyocardial biopsy confirmed a cardiac primary myeloid sarcoma. The patient was successfully treated with chemotherapy with complete resolution of the cardiac infiltration and of the heart failure. Discussion: We present this rare case of primary cardiac myeloid sarcoma and discuss current literature relevant to this effectively unique presentation. We discuss the use of endomyocardial biopsy in the diagnosis of cardiac malignancy and the advantages of early diagnosis and management of this unusual cause of heart failure.

Tuberculosis as a differential for bilateral adrenal masses in the UK.

Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a potentially fatal disease. Adrenal tuberculosis(TB) causing PAI is rare in the developed world. We present a seemingly well, 78-year-old Caucasianwoman in the UK who developed adrenal crisis following elective hip surgery. Biochemical tests confirmed PAI and steroid replacement was initiated. Imaging of the abdomen demonstrated bilateral adrenal masses and a fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan showed increased uptake in both adrenals suggestive of malignancy. Following a retroperitoneoscopic left adrenalectomy, histology showed caseating necrosis with xanthogranulomatous inflammation favouring a diagnosis of TB. She was commenced on anti-TB treatment. Diagnosing adrenal TB in the west can be challenging especially in the absence of extra-adrenal TB. FDG-PET scans can be falsely positive in presence of chronic active inflammatory conditions, such as TB, and a tissue diagnosis is required. It is important that clinicians remain vigilant of this important disease, which can masquerade as malignancy.

Elevated levels of natriuretic peptides in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) occurs in a wide variety of clinical settings and presents a diagnostic challenge to clinicians, often requiring extensive imaging of the vascular bed. Management increasingly requires accurate risk stratification to rapidly identify those with massive and submassive PTE requiring different therapeutic strategies such as thrombolysis. Provision of a rapid blood test that improves diagnostic certainty and helps stratify risk could therefore bridge the gap between uncertainty and delivery of immediate early life-saving treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with suspected PTE underwent prospective evaluation. Venous blood samples were obtained from an unselected group referred for ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and N-terminal pro-ANP (N-ANP) were measured by radioimmunoassay using commercially available kits. The scans were classified into three groups according to standard criteria (PIOPED); normal scan (N) (n=20), low/intermediate probability (L/I) of PTE (n=77) and high probability (H) of PTE (n=17). Comparisons were also made between patients with high probability scans who died (n=3) and those who survived (n=14). Values are quoted for the median and interquartile ranges. There were statistically significant differences between groups for levels of (a) BNP (P<0.001): N=6.7 pmol/l (5.6-11.9), L/I=12.5 pmol/l (6.7-28.2) and H=18.5 pmol/l (12.6-74.6); (b) ANP (P<0.005): N=12.6 pmol/l (7.1-16.0), L/I=19.51 pmol/l (12.5-28.2) and H=19.1 pmol/l (15.7-31.7) and (c) N-ANP (P<0.05): N=177 pmol/l (119-200), L/I=302 pmol/l (152-576) and H=322 pmol/l (223-563). Levels of BNP and ANP were significantly (P<0.05) higher in patients with high probability scans and a diagnosis of PTE who died (n=3) than in those who survived (n=14); BNP: 91.6 pmol/l (77.5-336.2) vs. 14.4 pmol/l (11.9-27.4) and ANP 32.5 pmol/l (21.7-105.5) vs. 17.6 pmol/l (15.2-19.3), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PTE is associated with significantly elevated levels of the natriuretic peptides ANP, BNP and N-ANP. Increasing ventilation-perfusion mismatch on scintigraphy corresponds to incremental increases in the levels of ANP, BNP and N-ANP found. These peptides, and in particular BNP, may add to the diagnosis by rapidly providing a probability of PE before dedicated imaging studies can be performed. Natriuretic peptides require further study to establish their role in identifying a high-risk group who may benefit from early treatments such as thrombolysis.

Improved lung function and body mass index associated with long-term use of Macrolide antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have suggested that the non-antimicrobial actions of macrolide antibiotics may be valuable in treating patients with cystic fibrosis. The use of long-term macrolide antibiotics for the management of CF patients colonised by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and progressive pulmonary disease was introduced into our clinic in 1997. A retrospective study was undertaken to assess of the impact of this therapy. METHODS: Twenty patients with progressive pulmonary disease (>10% fall in FEV(1) over 12 months despite optimising conventional therapy) were commenced on Azithromycin, 250 mg daily during a 21-month period. At the time of assessment they had remained on therapy for a mean of 0.9 years. Changes in lung function, weight, body mass index (BMI) and frequency of pulmonary exacerbations were assessed. A group of 20 patients with stable lung function and matched as far as possible for age and sex was identified for comparison. RESULTS: Pulmonary function increased significantly in the Azithromycin group with FEV1% predicted increasing from a mean of 50.2-59.1% (P=0.001) while FVC% predicted increase from 64.5 to 76.1% (P=0.002). There was small but non-significant fall in lung function in the comparison group. Body mass index increased by a mean of 1.1 in the Azithromycin group but remained unchanged in the comparison group. The number of pulmonary exacerbations requiring intravenous antibiotics declined by 48.3% in macrolide treated subjects compared to the pre-treatment period (P<0.025); frequency of exacerbations in the control group was unchanged. CONCLUSION: Long-term Azithromycin treatment in patients with progressive deterioration in lung function appears to have led to an improvement in pulmonary function, increased body mass index and decreased the frequency of pulmonary exacerbations requiring intravenous antibiotics.