Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma of the Rectum Incidentally Found in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis

Introduction: Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas are extra-nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphomas, most commonly found in the stomach, associated with Helicobacter pylori infections, and generally not linked with inflammatory bowel disease. Rectal MALT lymphoma is very uncommon and often associated with painful defecation, change in bowel habits, or rectal pressure/prolapse. Here, we present a rare case of an asymptomatic female with ulcerative colitis (UC) found to have benign-appearing rectal polyps during a routine screening colonoscopy. Case Description/Methods: The patient is a 56-year-old female with a history of left-sided UC, diagnosed in 1993, with one flare after receiving the 2nd dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, taking oral Olsalazine 500 mg twice daily, low-dose Prednisone, and mesalamine suppositories as needed presenting for screening colonoscopy. The patient was asymptomatic, citing regular non-bloody bowel movements and normal stool consistency. Colonoscopy revealed two 7 mm sessile, non-bleeding rectal polyps, surrounded by congested, erythematous, friable, and ulcerated mucosa in the rectosigmoid colon. Cold forceps biopsies were taken. Hematopathology evaluation of the routine colon biopsy samples revealed chronic nonspecific colitis while pathology of the rectal polyps showed marked lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate and extra-nodal marginal zone lymphoma of MALT. Ancillary studies, immunohistochemistry, and molecular studies for B-cell gene rearrangement confirmed extra-nodal marginal zone lymphoma of MALT with prominent plasmacytic differentiation. The patient was informed and close follow-up in Gastroenterology clinic was arranged. (Figure) Discussion: Rectal MALT lymphoma is rare with unclear management options. Treatments of UC include watchful waiting, surgical resection, endoscopic mucosal resection, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. Helicobacter pylori infections, though strongly linked with gastric MALT lymphoma, have not been shown to be strongly correlated with rectal MALT lymphoma. Given that patients with UC have chronic UCassociated colonic inflammation, lymphoma is often difficult to distinguish visually during colonoscopy, frequently masked by ulcerations and pseudo-polyps. In cases like these, more definitive treatments such as surgical resection could therefore be warranted. Long-term follow-up data is sparse and definitive management remains a clinical conundrum, thus these patients require reliable long-term multidisciplinary close follow-up. (Figure Presented).

The importance of a comprehensive study in allergic reactions

Background: Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a condensed polymer of ethylene glycol used as excipient in over 1000 commonly medicines, as well as for industrial products or cosmetics (shampoo, toothpaste.) where it can act as thickener, solvent, softener or humectant. In relation to the recently developed COVID-19 vaccines and their excipients some questions have arisen in our consultations. Method(s): A 48-year- old woman came to our clinic with doubts about the administration of COVID-19 vaccine. 8 years ago, after rectal administration of a healing suppository for an anal fissure she immediately presented a dry cough and a generalized urticaria which subsided spontaneously without attend to the emergency department. 5 years ago, with the application of an hemorrhoid cream se presented an immediate reaction consisting of cough, difficulty breathing and generalized urticaria. The symptoms subsided spontaneously after 30-45 minutes. The patient reported previous tolerance to both drugs. She has avoided them ever since. All these medicines have in common PEG as an excipient. We performed several studies to find out if PEG was the culprit. Result(s): *Prick test with Casenlax (which contains 10 grams of PEG 4000): negative. *Oral provocation test with Casenlax: we started with the intake of 2.5 grams of Casenlax and after 5 minutes she started with oropharyngeal pruritus, dry cough, feeling of shortness of breath and desaturation (since 98% to 92-90%). The patient was monitored and administered intramuscular adrenaline (0.3 ml), methylprednisolone 60 mg and dexchlorpheniramine 5 mg. The symptoms were controlled after 15-30 minutes. *COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine was administered without incident. Conclusion(s): Given the high incidence of reactions to the excipients accompanying the drugs, this should be taken into account when taking the patient's medical history and in the subsequent pharmacological study.

Assessment of the effectiveness of COVID-19 preventive measures in pregnant women

Objective. To assess the effectiveness of different preventive measures for novel coronavirus infection in pregnant women. Patients and Methods. This study included 125 pregnant women hospitalized with moderate to severe laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between September and November 2021 (the fourth pandemic wave), and 175 pregnant women who were not infected with COVID-19 during the same period. All women in these two groups were comparable for gestational age (II–III trimesters, 24–39 weeks), age (20–40 years), social status, parity, body mass index, and had no known COVID-19 risk factors. Results. Our findings revealed that vaccination 3-5 months before pregnancy (OR = 4.12;95% CI 1.28–13.27;χ2 = 0.022), inconsistent use and/or non-timely replacement of face masks (OR = 5.71;95% CI 2.83–11.51) were associated with the increased risk of COVID-19 in the second and third trimesters of gestation. It was showed that systematic (once in the morning at 24–48-hour intervals) intranasal administration of recombinant interferon alpha-2b (IFN-α;Grippferon) as compared with a single application after exposure to COVID-19 reduced the disease incidence rate and there was no evident risk of illness (OR = 0.08;95% CI 0.05–0.14;19.2% vs 74,3%, p < 0.001). This can be explained by the fact that women were mostly infected in unpredictable conditions (e.g., 29.2% of pregnant women were infected from family members, 23.9% had unknown source of exposure). The use of umifenovir, not currently authorised for the medication-assisted prevention of COVID-19 in pregnant women, and rectal administration of IFN-α suppositories did not reduce the disease incidence rate. Rectal use of IFN-α suppositories by pregnant women off-label increased the incidence (32.0 vs 15.4%, p = 0.001) and risk of developing novel coronavirus infection (OR = 2.58;95% CI 1.48–4.50). Conclusion. There is a need to improve awareness among pregnant women about the mandatory and timely vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy and the importance of strict adherence to wearing face masks. Increased efforts should be made to monitor and inform pregnant women about the use of only authorised medication-assisted preventive measures of SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as intranasal administration of recombinant IFN α-2b (Grippferon). During the epidemic rise in COVID-19 cases, the systematic intranasal administration of recombinant interferon-based medication Grippferon (once in the morning at 24–48-hour intervals) is recommended for pregnant women.

Bilious Emesis and Failure to Pass Meconium in the Nursery

Introduction: In this case we review important newborn nursery management strategies and unique surgical diagnostic measures in a severe case of intestinal obstruction due to small left colon syndrome (SLCS) - illustrating an impressive relationship between intestinal dysmotility and meconium plug formation that increases risk of intestinal perforation in the newborn. Case Description: We present a case of an infant born to a mother with symptomatic COVID-19, who at 24 hours of life was treated for failure to pass meconium with a glycerin suppository and went on to develop bilious emesis and severe abdominal distention as feeding continued over the next several hours. After a normal upper GI, a barium enema identified a distal obstruction and the pediatric surgical team used rectal irrigation to remove a large meconium plug which mimicked the appearance of the descending colon on plain film, ultimately leading to the diagnosis of SLCS. The infant went on to stool normally after removal, however due to the severity of his initial clinical picture, a multi-disciplinary team was consulted, and concluded that given the severity of the meconium plug, a workup for cystic fibrosis was indicated, but deferred a rectal biopsy for Hirschprung disease due to normal return of bowel function upon removal of the obstruction. Discussion: Meconium plug syndrome is a transient distal GI obstruction in the lower colon or rectum with thick meconium and is thought to be due to poor intestinal motility. A contrast enema is typically diagnostic, showing a decrease in bowel caliber distal to the plug, and therapeutic, as the plug is often passed during the procedure. A sharp transition zone at the splenic flexure followed by a narrow descending colon on imaging is consistent with SLCS with a meconium plug at the transition zone. Infants presenting with both meconium plug syndrome and SLCS may require an evaluation for an underlying diagnosis of cystic fibrosis or Hirschprung disease. Delayed meconium passage is present in 11.9% of infants diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, while 15% of infants with meconium plugs have an aganglionic segment on rectal biopsy, indicative of Hirschprung disease. The decision to perform additional tests in an infant with SLCS should be guided by the patient's clinical course and in conjunction with a pediatric surgical team. Conclusion: Although intestinal obstruction in the newborn is rather rare, it is imperative that it is promptly diagnosed and treated to avoid negative outcomes. Despite being considered a mild form of obstruction due to its transient nature, meconium plug syndrome can lead to an impressive clinical illness and urgent consultation with a surgical team is vital due to the risk of intestinal perforation if the obstruction is not relieved.

Therapy of post-COVID-19 syndrome: improving the efficiency and safety of basic metabolic drug treatment with tiazotic acid (thiotriazoline)

COVID-19 leads to disruption of the blood coagulation system, to thrombosis, hypercoagulability, as a result, to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks. During COVID-19, endothelial dysfunction develops associated with NO deficiency with decrease in the level of SH compounds. Tiazotic acid (Thiotriazoline) has immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-ischemic, cardio- and endothelioprotective, antiplatelet, hepatoprotective activity. Our studies conducted at the National Research Medical Center “University Clinic of ZSMU” with the participation of 57 patients (from 30 to 65 years old) with post-COVID syndrome, who received thiotriazol with basic therapy in either tablets (200 mg each) or suppositories Dalmaxin (0.2 g each) twice a day for 30 days. Inclusion criteria for the study were a positive PCR test for COVID-19;if the PCR test was negative, then the presence of IgM COVID-19 or IgG COVID-19 (with radiologically confirmed pneumonia). The following biochemical parameters were studied: C-reactive protein - by immunoturbodimetric method;D-dimer - by enzyme immunoassay;ferritin - by immunochemiluminescent method;endothelial NO-synthase (eNOS) - by ELISA method;alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), total bilirubin;international normalized ratio (INR) and determination of platelet aggregation. During treatment with thiotriazoline, significant increase in the eNOS content was recorded, which indicated the presence of endotheliopro-tective activity of the drug. Thiotriazoline significantly reduced the level of D-dimer in the blood of patients, and also led to the normalization of INR. The established effects testified to the presence of antiplatelet and fibrinolytic action of thiotriazoline and its ability to reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes in post-COVID syndrome. Thiotriazoline led to an objective improvement in general clinical parameters in patients with post-COVID syndrome, complaints of palpitations disappeared, blood pressure stabilized.