Community-Acquired Pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae: When to Consider Coinfection with Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an important cause of hospitalizations in adults. In the United States, Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequently identified bacterial pathogen responsible for CAP. Other etiologic pathogens of CAP vary based on the geographic region. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an uncommon cause of CAP in the United States, while it is a principal cause in many African and Asian countries. Coinfection with Streptococcus pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rare and has only been reported in the setting of underlying HIV infection in areas of high tuberculosis prevalence. Here, we report a case of CAP in the absence of HIV, where Streptococcus pneumoniae was identified on admission and delay in diagnosis of concomitant active pulmonary tuberculosis led to inappropriate isolation. In addition to a high index of suspicion, epidemiologic and radiographic findings can be helpful to recognize tuberculosis as a cause of CAP even when other pathogens have already been identified.

Disseminated tuberculosis masquerading as a neuroendocrine tumour.

We describe the case of a 61-year-old man from the Dominican Republic admitted with diarrhoea, fevers and weight loss who was found to have lab studies and imaging (including radiolabeled somatostatin positron emission tomography/CT scan) initially consistent with a metastatic neuroendocrine tumour. However, after weeks of workup and multiple inconclusive biopsies, he was diagnosed with disseminated extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Here we examine the data for neuroendocrine tumour and tuberculosis labs and imaging to delineate where these studies overlap. We also analyse the biases and pitfalls in this case that led to a protracted diagnosis.

Ovarian Cancer: The Fallopian Tube as the Site of Origin and Opportunities for Prevention.

High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most common and aggressive histotype of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and it is the predominant histotype associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are responsible for most of the known causes of HBOC, while mutations in mismatch repair genes and several genes of moderate penetrance are responsible for the remaining known hereditary risk. Women with a history of familial ovarian cancer or with known germline mutations in highly penetrant genes are offered the option of risk-reducing surgery that involves the removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes (salpingo-oophorectomy). Growing evidence now supports the fallopian tube epithelia as an etiological site for the development of HGSC and consequently, salpingectomy alone is emerging as a prophylactic option. This review discusses the site of origin of EOC, the rationale for risk-reducing salpingectomy in the high-risk population, and opportunities for salpingectomy in the low-risk population.