Gastrointestinal tuberculosis: An autopsy-based study.

Background: Tuberculosis is a disease of great relevance since it is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is an unusual presentation. It is defined as the involvement of any segment of the digestive tract, associated viscera, and peritoneum. The study's main objective is to collect information from autopsies of patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal tuberculosis in a Pathology reference center in Colombia. Methods: This is a retrospective and descriptive study of autopsy reports. A total of 4,500 autopsies were performed between January 2004 and December 2020. The inclusion criteria were authorization of a family member following local law regulations and a final autopsy diagnosis of gastrointestinal tuberculosis using microscopic visualization. Results: Forty-eight patients with gastrointestinal tuberculosis autopsies were included in our study. Most of the patients were male (n = 35, 72.9%) with a median age of 40.5 years old. Human immunodeficiency virus infection history was reported in 28 cases (58.33%). The most affected gastrointestinal tract site was the terminal ileum. Ulcers and thickened epithelium were common autopsies macroscopic findings. Tuberculosis multiorgan compromise was a relevant finding in patients with gastrointestinal tuberculosis. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is a disease of great importance, being its diagnosis a clinical challenge. Underdiagnosis can be reported in a high percentage of cases, so autopsy diagnosis can help reveal more accurate data about this condition.

Clinical characteristics of early-onset gastric cancer. A study in a Colombian population.

Gastric cancer is a multifactorial disease with important genetic and environmental factors. It is the fifth most common cancer in incidence, and the fourth cause of death secondary to cancer. The incidence of early-onset gastric cancer is increasing worldwide, but clinical information on these patients has not been well established. We analyzed the association between age and clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological characteristics of gastric cancer at the time of diagnosis in a Latin American population. A retrospective and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using the database of the Gastroenterology Service of the Clínica Foscal and Clínica Foscal Internacional in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Between January 2016 and December 2019, 259 de novo gastric cancer cases were diagnosed, of which 36 patients (13.9%) were 40 years old or younger. In patients with early-onset gastric, the prevalence of gastric cancer diagnosis was lower in men. A family history of gastric cancer or any other neoplasm was not associated with a higher prevalence of gastric neoplasms. In young patients, vomiting and ascites were more common, the preferred anatomical location was the body of the stomach, and the Borrmann IV classification and the diffuse-type histology were more likely. Our study showed an approximation of the characteristics of early-onset gastric cancer in a Latin American population, where we observed that early-onset gastric cancer has different demographic, anatomical, and histological features than late-onset gastric cancer.

A Practical Overview of the Articular Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Although it is widely known that joint involvement is the most frequent and prevalent manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), not having a validated organ-specific index for this domain in order to guide its treatment has been a major limitation. In addition, its clinical importance had been underestimated since it was not a vital risk domain; it was never the center of treatment, under the premise that in most cases its progression was slow and did not lead to significant functional disability. However, this concept has been changing due to the greater description of erosions both in ultrasonography and in osteoarticular magnetic resonance, so their identification can establish a more appropriate treatment time and thus avoid joint deformities, which in some cases can become irreversible. Recently, anifrolumab and belimumab have been able to significantly reduce the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) and British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index scores, along with improvement in quality of life indices and a significant decrease in the required dose of glucocorticoids. Despite this, the ideal moment to consider biological therapy in this domain is not clear, since the clinical examination can sometimes be biased by the pain associated with fibromyalgia or the fatigue associated with SLE. For this reason, perhaps ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging, apart from differentiating the joint phenotype, can identify patients in time to define the onset of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and rationalize the use of glucocorticoids. The objective of this review is to characterize in detail the joint manifestations of SLE to offer the clinician a practical view of its diagnosis and treatment.

Clinical characteristics of early-onset gastric cancer. A study in a Colombian population

Gastric cancer is a multifactorial disease with important genetic and environmental factors. It is the fifth most common cancer in incidence, and the fourth cause of death secondary to cancer. The incidence of early-onset gastric cancer is increasing worldwide, but clinical information on these patients has not been well established. We analyzed the association between age and clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological characteristics of gastric cancer at the time of diagnosis in a Latin American population. A retrospective and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using the database of the Gastroenterology Service of the Clínica Foscal and Clínica Foscal Internacional in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Between January 2016 and December 2019, 259 de novo gastric cancer cases were diagnosed, of which 36 patients (13.9%) were 40 years old or younger. In patients with early-onset gastric, the prevalence of gastric cancer diagnosis was lower in men. A family history of gastric cancer or any other neoplasm was not associated with a higher prevalence of gastric neoplasms. In young patients, vomiting and ascites were more common, the preferred anatomical location was the body of the stomach, and the Borrmann IV classification and the diffuse-type histology were more likely. Our study showed an approximation of the characteristics of early-onset gastric cancer in a Latin American population, where we observed that early-onset gastric cancer has different demographic, anatomical, and histological features than late-onset gastric cancer.

El cáncer gástrico es una enfermedad multifactorial con importantes factores genéticos y ambientales. Es el quinto cáncer más común en incidencia y la cuarta causa de muerte secundaria al cáncer. La incidencia del cáncer gástrico de inicio temprano está aumentando en todo el mundo, pero la información clínica sobre estos pacientes no está bien establecida. Analizamos la asociación entre la edad y las características clínicas, endoscópicas e histopatológicas del cáncer gástrico al momento del diagnóstico en una población latinoamericana. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo y descriptivo de corte transversal utilizando la base de datos del Servicio de Gastroenterología de la Clínica Foscal y Clínica Foscal Internacional en Bucaramanga, Colombia. Entre enero de 2016 y diciembre de 2019 se diagnosticaron 259 casos de cáncer gástrico de novo, de los cuales 36 pacientes (13,9%) tenían 40 años o menos. En pacientes con enfermedad gástrica de inicio temprano, la prevalencia del diagnóstico de cáncer gástrico fue menor en los hombres. El antecedente familiar de cáncer gástrico o cualquier otra neoplasia no se asoció con una mayor prevalencia de neoplasias gástricas. En pacientes jóvenes fueron más frecuentes los vómitos y la ascitis, la localización anatómica preferida fue el cuerpo del estómago, siendo más probable la clasificación de Borrmann IV y la histología de tipo difuso. Nuestro estudio mostró una aproximación a las características del cáncer gástrico de inicio temprano en una población latinoamericana, donde observamos que el cáncer gástrico de inicio temprano tiene diferentes características demográficas, anatómicas e histológicas que el cáncer gástrico de inicio tardío.

Causes of death in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases-a 16-year autopsy-based study.

Introduction: the autopsy is an essential medical procedure; however, its use has declined over the decades. In autoimmune and rheumatological diseases, anatomical and microscopic diagnosis is critical to diagnose of the cause of death. For this reason, our objective is to describe the cause of death in patients diagnosed with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases who underwent an autopsy in a Pathology reference center in Colombia. Materials and methods: a retrospective and descriptive study of autopsy reports. Results: between January 2004 and December 2019, 47 autopsies of patients with autoimmune and rheumatological diseases were performed. Systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis were the most common diseases. The leading cause of death was related to infections, being opportunistic infections in the majority of the cases. Conclusions: our autopsy-based study was focused on patients with autoimmune and rheumatological conditions. Infections are the leading cause of death, particularly opportunistic infections, diagnosed mainly by microscopy. Thus, the autopsy should continue to be considered the "gold standard" to determine the cause of death in this population.

Interstitial Lung Disease in Mixed Connective Tissue Disease: An Advanced Search.

The spectrum of pulmonary manifestations associated with mixed connective tissue disease ranges from pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease to pleural effusions, alveolar hemorrhage, and complications from the thromboembolic disease. Interstitial lung disease in mixed connective tissue disease is a frequently occurring entity, although in most cases it tends to be self-limited or slowly progressive. Despite this, a significant percentage of patients may present a progressive fibrosing phenotype, thus posing a great challenge regarding its therapeutic approach, given the scarcity of clinical studies that compare the efficacy of immunosuppressants available to date. Due to this, many recommendations are extrapolated from other diseases with similar characteristics such as systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. That is why it is proposed to carry out an advanced search of the literature in order to clarify its clinical, radiological, and therapeutic characteristics to achieve its evaluation from a holistic point of view.

Clinical Diagnosis of Chikungunya Infection: An Essential Aid in a Primary Care Setting Where Serological Confirmation Is Not Available.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) diagnosis has become a challenge for primary care physicians in areas where the Zika virus and/or Dengue virus are present. Case definitions for the three arboviral infections overlap. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out. A bivariate analysis was made using confirmed CHIKV infection as the outcome. Variables with significant statistical association were included in an agreement consensus. Agreed variables were analyzed in a multiple regression model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to determine a cut-off value and performance. RESULTS: 295 patients with confirmed CHIKV infection were included. A screening tool was created using symmetric arthritis (4 points), fatigue (3 points), rash (2 points), and ankle joint pain (1 point). The ROC curve identified a cut-off value, and a score ≥ 5.5 was considered positive for identifying CHIKV patients with a sensibility of 64.4% and a specificity of 87.4%, positive predictive value of 85.5%, negative predictive value of 67.7%, area under the curve of 0.72, and an accuracy of 75%. CONCLUSION: We developed a screening tool for CHIKV diagnosis using only clinical symptoms as well as proposed an algorithm to aid the primary care physician.

Causes of death in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases—a 16-year autopsy-based study

ABSTRACT Introduction the autopsy is an essential medical procedure; however, its use has declined over the decades. In autoimmune and rheumatological diseases, anatomical and microscopic diagnosis is critical to diagnose of the cause of death. For this reason, our objective is to describe the cause of death in patients diagnosed with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases who underwent an autopsy in a Pathology reference center in Colombia. Materials and methods a retrospective and descriptive study of autopsy reports. Results between January 2004 and December 2019, 47 autopsies of patients with autoimmune and rheumatological diseases were performed. Systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis were the most common diseases. The leading cause of death was related to infections, being opportunistic infections in the majority of the cases. Conclusions our autopsy-based study was focused on patients with autoimmune and rheumatological conditions. Infections are the leading cause of death, particularly opportunistic infections, diagnosed mainly by microscopy. Thus, the autopsy should continue to be considered the "gold standard" to determine the cause of death in this population.

Opportunistic infections as a cause of death in patients with autoimmune diseases: An autopsy-based study.

BACKGROUND: Infections are an important cause of mortality in patients with autoimmune diseases and opportunistic infections account for a large percentage of these cases. It is often a clinical challenge to find a balance between immunosuppressive therapy and the risk of developing an infectious process. METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive study of autopsy reports. RESULTS: 15 patients with a premortem diagnosis of autoimmune disease were included. All patients died due to an opportunistic infection. The most commonly reported infection was tuberculosis, followed by invasive fungal infections. CONCLUSIONS: The most prevalent pathogens were found in our autopsy-based study of patients with autoimmune diseases and opportunistic infections. Prevention and early detection strategies are vital in order to reach a correct diagnosis and begin the appropriate treatment as soon as possible.

Perimyocarditis With Acute Heart Failure as the First Manifestation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Cardiac abnormalities are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, many of them tend to be mild or asymptomatic and can be recognized by non-invasive studies such as transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). However, heart failure secondary to perimyocarditis as the initial manifestation of SLE remains an extremely rare form of presentation. Below, we present the case of an adult female patient who initially consulted due to symptoms of acute dyspnea, atypical chest pain, and edema of the lower limbs, who underwent a chest X-ray as part of the initial studies, which described an increase in the cardiac silhouette associated with diffuse opacities in both lung fields. The admission electrocardiogram only showed sinus tachycardia and nonspecific alterations of the T wave, with an initial report of frankly elevated cardiac biomarkers compatible with acute myocardial injury together with the positivity of specific antibodies for SLE.

A Practical Perspective of the Hematologic Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease with an unknown etiology that can affect any organ or system of the human body. Hematological, renal, or central nervous system manifestations in these patients result in great morbidity because high doses of glucocorticoids, cytotoxic medications, or biological drugs are required to control these manifestations. It is noteworthy that hematological involvement predominates during the first years of the disease and tends to last over time, with the premise that it may be the initial manifestation of the disease. Clear examples of this are the cases of hemolytic anemia and immune thrombocytopenia that can be initially classified as idiopathic or primary to be later classified as secondary when associated with infections, medications, neoplasms, or autoimmune diseases. The spectrum of hematologic manifestations in SLE is very broad, including lymphopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, or pancytopenia. In some cases, lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly are also identified. The vast majority of these manifestations denote high disease activity. However, many of these alterations have a multifactorial cause that must be taken into account to adopt a more complete therapeutic approach. The objective of this review is to characterize in detail the hematological manifestations of SLE to offer clinicians a practical vision of its diagnosis and treatment.

Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome From the Perspective of a Rheumatologist.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease that can lead to thrombotic or obstetric complications. Recent histopathological studies have shown the absence of placental thrombosis, leading to the consideration of other pathophysiological pathways such as inflammation and complement activation. Due to this, various clinical studies are being carried out with different drug agents in order to avoid their complications. The combination of prophylactic heparin treatment and low doses of aspirin today result in successful pregnancies in most cases. Despite this, a minority of patients require alternative therapies to avoid recurrent miscarriage and decrease obstetric morbidity. Thanks to the better understanding of its pathophysiology, other treatments such as low doses of glucocorticoids, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), immunoglobulin, pravastatin, and plasmapheresis have been considered in refractory cases, achieving favorable results. Despite the great advances regarding its treatment, unfortunately, there are no treatments with a good level of evidence to reduce late obstetric complications. The evaluation of preconception risk factors, as well as the antiphospholipid antibody profile, is necessary to establish individual risk and thus anticipate possible complications.

HIV and COVID-19 Coinfection: A Synergism That Results in More Severe Forms of Reactive Arthritis.

Reactive arthritis is defined as arthritis that arises after infection, where pathogens cannot grow in the affected joints. Although the human immunodeficiency virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are not among the most commonly implicated pathogens, there is growing evidence that they have major implications in the genesis of reactive arthritis. However, there are no described cases of coinfection of both entities that cause reactive arthritis at the same time, and the alterations involved in the immune system that could cause the change of certain clinical characteristics to more severe forms of the disease are unknown. The following describes the case of a male patient in his third decade of life who has an unusual and severe presentation of reactive arthritis associated with coinfection by COVID-19 and the human immunodeficiency virus.

Extra-Articular Manifestations in Reactive Arthritis due to COVID-19.

Reactive arthritis (ReA) is defined as arthritis that arises after infection, where pathogens cannot grow in the affected joints. Formerly, the clinical triad of postinfectious arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis was called Reiter's syndrome; however, these clinical signs only represented a subset of patients with ReA. Due to the great diversity of its manifestations, its diagnosis is a challenge and can be overlooked in clinical practice. Additionally, it is associated with a variety of extra-articular manifestations that may be present either in the acute or chronic phase of the disease. Despite the cardinal clinical presentation characteristics of ReA, no case has been described in the literature that is diagnosed by the presence of classic extra-articular manifestations without objective joint involvement after COVID-19 infection. This report describes the case of a female patient in her third decade of life with an unusual presentation of ReA and focuses on her extra-articular manifestations.

Lupus Cystitis, From Myth to Reality: A Narrative Review.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multisystemic disease that usually involves the urinary tract, often in the form of lupus nephritis. However, another form of compromise of this system is lupus cystitis, which, despite being an unusual condition, turns out to be a challenging diagnosis due to the spectrum of nonspecific abdominal and urinary symptoms. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanism of bladder inflammation remains to be established, the role of small vessel vasculitis measured by immune complexes continues to be supported as a central axis for considering possible therapeutic targets. Additionally, there are no clinical studies that dictate a guideline regarding its treatment, however, the evidence from most cases described in the literature suggests the initiation of pulses of methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide in treatment regimens similar to those of lupus nephritis. Despite its low prevalence, obstructive complications and kidney damage can lead to increased morbidity and mortality.

Current Evidence for IL-17/23 Blockade for the Treatment of Lupus Nephritis.

In the current medical literature, there is increasing evidence for the involvement of the interleukin (IL)-17/23 axis and the potential role of Th17 cells in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis. Knowledge about the interaction of these immunological pathways in the development of autoimmune diseases has led to the identification of new therapeutic strategies aimed at blocking them. For this reason, the main objective of this review focuses on knowing the recent evidence of the different anti-IL-17/23 treatment strategies in lupus nephritis and their future perspectives. A non-systematic narrative review of the literature was carried out following the objective of having the most representative information on the different anti-IL-17/23 drugs available together with the description of the pathophysiological mechanisms of this pathway involved in systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis. Despite the great existing theoretical foundation, today few clinical studies support the use of these therapies in both contexts. Nevertheless, the publication of research with a better methodology is expected to approve the indication of some of these drugs in lupus nephritis. However, the clinical response seen with ustekinumab and secukinumab in clinical studies and case reports published to date has been encouraging.