ABSTRACT
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is extremely infrequent in children and adolescents. There is little information about this entity, mainly case reports and review articles. We describe three cases of children with poor-differentiated colorectal carcinoma and advanced disease at onset. The presenting symptoms were abdominal pain and constipation, with a median of latency of symptoms of 4-48 months. None of these patients had operable disease at onset; having a disease progression despite therapy in two cases. This study reaffirms poor prognosis of pediatric CRC, probably due to an aggressive tumoral biology and advanced stage at diagnosis. Therapeutic guidelines are based in adult treatment; therefore, efforts should be made to improve tools in early diagnosis and future therapies for a better survival in childhood.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms , Adolescent , Child , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Colorectal Neoplasms/therapy , Fatal Outcome , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Cerebral nocardia infections is a rare entity, which has been mainly reported in immunosuppressed patients. Currently, there are no clinical guidelines for first-line treatment. Our case refers to an older immunocompetent adult, with encephalopathy and left hemiparesis, associated with lesions compatible with multiple brain abscess and suggestive of infectious etiology. He initially received treatment for tuberculosis, bacterial abscess, and toxoplasmosis, without a favorable clinical response. An empirical treatment for nocardiosis started, by using meropenem and trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole, and clinical and imaging improvement was achieved. The occurrence of adverse events forces the temporary use of alternative medications. We highlight some criteria for including nocardiosis in the differential diagnosis in cases of multiple brain abscess and mention laboratory diagnostic methods and drugs to initiate empirical treatment.
La nocardiosis cerebral es una entidad rara que ha sido reportada principalmente en inmunosuprimidos, y en la actualidad no se dispone de guías clínicas que recomienden un tratamiento de primera línea. Presentamos el caso de un adulto mayor, inmunocompetente, con cuadro de encefalopatía y hemiparesia izquierda, asociado a lesiones compatibles con absceso cerebral múltiple y sugerente de etiología infecciosa. Recibió, inicialmente, tratamiento para la tuberculosis, absceso bacteriano y toxoplasmosis, sin respuesta clínica favorable. Se inició un tratamiento empírico para la nocardiosis con meropenem y trimetoprim/sulfametoxazol, y se logró mejoría clínica e imagenológica. La ocurrencia de eventos adversos obliga el uso temporal de medicamentos alternativos. Se resaltan algunos criterios a considerar para incluir la nocardiosis en el diagnóstico diferencial en los casos de absceso cerebral múltiple y se mencionan los métodos diagnósticos de laboratorio y los fármacos para iniciar un tratamiento empírico.
Subject(s)
Brain Abscess , Nocardia Infections , Nocardia , Adult , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Brain Abscess/diagnosis , Brain Abscess/drug therapy , Humans , Immunocompromised Host , Male , Nocardia Infections/diagnosis , Nocardia Infections/drug therapy , PeruABSTRACT
La neurocisticercosis espinal es una enfermedad infecciosa poco frecuente. Su presentación puede ser extraespinal o intraespinal y la mayoría de casos es de evolución subaguda o crónica. Se presenta el caso de una paciente mujer de 55 años, natural y procedente de Lima, Perú, con cuadro clínico de una paraparesia aguda secundaria a una mielopatía dorsal por lesiones quísticas de cisticercosis espinal. La paciente recibió tratamiento médico y quirúrgico con una evolución clínica y de imágenes favorable. Es importante considerar en nuestro contexto epidemiológico, la cisticercosis espinal como diagnóstico diferencial, ante un cuadro clínico de mielopatía aguda, ya que el adecuado enfoque diagnóstico y tratamiento oportuno de esta rara entidad pueden mejorar el pronóstico de los pacientes.
Spinal neurocysticercosis is an infectious and rare disease. Its presentation can be extraspinal or intraspinal and most cases are of subacute or chronic evolution. We report the case of a 55-year-old female patient from Lima, Peru with a 2-day history of acute paraparesis secondary to dorsal myelopathy due to cystic lesions of spinal cysticercosis. The patient received medical and surgical treatment with a favorable clinical and imaging evolution. In our epidemiological context, it is important to consider a spinal cysticercosis as a differential diagnosis when faced with a clinical picture of acute myelopathy, since the appropriate diagnostic approach and timely treatment of this rare entity can improve the prognosis of patients.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Middle Aged , Spinal Cord Diseases/etiology , Neurocysticercosis/complications , Spinal Cord Diseases/therapy , Spinal Cord Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Neurocysticercosis/therapy , Neurocysticercosis/diagnostic imaging , MyelitisABSTRACT
Ovarian and paraovarian neoplasms are uncommon in children, mainly originating from germ cell tumors and, least frequently, epithelial tumors. There is an association between genital tract tumors and Proteus syndrome, a rare, sporadic, and progressive entity, characterized by a postnatal overgrowth in several tissues caused by a mosaic mutation in the AKT1 gene. We describe a 20-month-old asymptomatic infant with Proteus syndrome who developed an endometrioid paraovarian borderline cystic tumor. This is the youngest patient so far reported in the literature with this rare syndrome and an adnexal tumor of borderline malignancy. A total of nine patients have been described with female tract tumors and associated Proteus syndrome, which includes bilateral ovarian cystadenomas and other benign masses. A paraovarian neoplasm is extremely rare in children and could be considered a criterion for Proteus syndrome. Standardized staging and treatment of these tumors are not well established; however, most authors conclude that these neoplasms must be treated as their ovarian counterparts.