Power washing pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is an uncommon cause of insidious onset shortness of breath and hypoxemia. It is caused by an accumulation of surfactant within the alveoli. Left untreated, it can be fatal. Standard-of-care treatment is whole-lung lavage; however, in severe cases, the associated hypoxemia can be profound and single-lung ventilation would not be tolerated, potentially preventing a lifesaving treatment. Single cases using veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to perform whole-lung lavage have been reported. Here we describe three patients with severe pulmonary alveolar proteinosis who were successfully treated with whole-lung lavage using veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for oxygenation support.

A 55-Year-Old Woman With Frequent Pulmonary Exacerbations and Endobronchial Lesions.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 55-year-old woman with COPD, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (congestive heart failure), diabetes mellitus, and hypertension presented with baseline dyspnea at rest that had worsened over the last week. She reported associated runny nose, congestion, and cough productive of green sputum. She smoked six cigarettes per day and denied alcohol, drugs, or occupational exposure. She was admitted and initiated on treatment for acute exacerbation of COPD; however, her condition did not improve with steroid, ceftriaxone, and nebulized albuterol and budesonide treatments. She had been diagnosed with asthma and COPD without ever undergoing pulmonary function testing. She presented 11 times to the ED with six hospital admissions in the last 1.5 years for worsening dyspnea at rest, wheezing, and lower extremity edema deemed secondary to exacerbation of her COPD or congestive heart failure. She reported medication compliance, which included fluticasone-vilanterol, tiotropium bromide, and furosemide. She repeatedly demonstrated mild vascular congestion on imaging without hyperinflation, a normal to mildly elevated brain natriuretic peptide (<10 to 200 pg/mL), and dyspnea without hypoxia. She was treated normally for both COPD and congestive heart failure exacerbations simultaneously with methylprednisolone, albuterol, and furosemide with rapid improvement over the course of 1 to 2 days. No significant improvement was noted with steroid therapy, despite receiving them as an inpatient and outpatient. At the time of discharge, her symptoms would be at her baseline.

Massive hemoptysis managed by rescue extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Massive hemoptysis can have a rapid and potentially fatal clinical course. A 68-year-old woman presented with recurrent hemoptysis complicated by refractory hypoxemia and shock despite aggressive intervention. The use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was a nontraditional intervention that ultimately proved to be lifesaving, but is by no means recommended for routine use in this setting.

Bartonella endocarditis with glomerulonephritis in a patient with complete transposition of the great arteries.

We describe a patient with history of dextro-transposition of the great vessels, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonary valve replacement who presented with fatigue, prolonged fever, and leg edema. He was found to have kidney injury, pancytopenia, and liver congestion. Echocardiogram revealed thickened leaflets with prolapsing vegetation on the pulmonary valve. Given the negative blood cultures, high Bartonella henselae immunogobulin G titer (≥1:1024) and positive immunoglobulin M titer (≥1:20), he was diagnosed with Bartonella endocarditis complicated with glomerulonephritis.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

While the World Health Organization included Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as a provisional entity of a lymphoma occurring in older individuals without any known immunodeficiency in 2008, it has since been recognized that this entity may occur in younger individuals. As a result, the 2016 revision has substituted the modifier "elderly" with "not otherwise specified" (NOS). The NOS highlights that there are more specific entities with neoplastic EBV-positive large B cells such as lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Diagnosis requires that there be no other cause of immunodeficiency and that other more specific entities with neoplastic EBV plus large B cells be excluded. We present the case of an 81-year-old woman hospitalized for generalized weakness, increasing confusion, unexplained weight loss, and intermittent fevers. Examination showed lymphadenopathy, lesions in the liver and small intestine, and a very high EBV viral load. She experienced a rapid demise and at autopsy was found to have EBV+ DLBCL, NOS.

Myroides odoratimimus bacteremia in a diabetic patient.

Myroides species are a rare source of human infection. Though not part of the human microbiota, Myroides species are commonly found in the environment. Myroides infections are typically attributed to contact with contaminated water; the most common presentation is in immunocompromised patients. We present a patient with a diabetic foot ulcer who subsequently developed Myroides odoratimimus bacteremia and bone abscess.