Cerebral Sinus Venous Thrombosis as a Rare Complication of Primary Varicella Zoster Virus Infection.

We present the case of a 23 year old with acute onset left hemiparesis and meningeal irritation, associated with recent history of chickenpox 15 days prior. Varicella-IgG and IgM was positive in the CSF and blood along with reduced serum/CSF ratios of VZV immunoglobulins. MRV showed thrombosis (CVT) of superior sagittal, transverse, right sigmoid sinuses with haemorrhagic infarct in right frontoparietal region. Patient responded well to intravenous heparin, Acyclovir and oral anticoagulant therapy.

Lipemia Retinalis due to Secondary Hyperlipidemia in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Lipemia retinalis is a rare and asymptomatic condition which occurs when high levels of triglycerides and chylomicrons are present in blood. We report a rare case of secondary hyperlipoproteinemia in a 27 year old type 1 diabetes patient who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis and this peculiar ocular manifestation. The fundoscopic abnormality and creamy white serum cleared as the level of chylomicrons in the plasma dropped with intensive insulin therapy.

Wilson's Disease with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Case reports of Wilson's disease occurring in combination with SLE are rarely reported in literature. Drug induced lupus have been observed in patients taking D-penicillamine for Wilson's disease. Here we report a case from Coimbatore Medical College hospital, who presented with fever and neuropsychiatric symptoms as the initial manifestation and found to have both SLE and Wilson's disease on subsequent evaluation.

Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia.

We report a 42 year old male who was an interesting case of "idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia"(ICL) in a non-HIV adult with-extra pulmonary tuberculosis along with the diffuse splenic calcification and whose symptoms improved with Antitubercular treatment. He was found to have low CD4 counts on two occasions.

Pulmonary Thromboembolism Presenting as Multiple Pulmonary Cavities.

A 38 years old male patient presented to the emergency department with acute severe retrosternal chest pain and was found to have pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient developed new necrotic lung cavities each day due to the dissemination of emboli from the thrombus. The cause of thrombus was found to be protein C deficiency, which is an inherited thrombophilia. The interesting features in this case are multiple lung cavitations and high grade fever, which was attributed to pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient improved symptomatically with anticoagulants and antiplatelets.

Transient ST Segment Elevation following Indian Red Scorpion Sting with Non-Occlusive Right Coronary Artery Disease.

A 50 yr old female developed transient ST segment elevation due to an acute coronary vasospasm following a Indian Red Scorpion sting and the angiogram revealed 50% occlusion in right coronary artery (RCA).The possible mechanism is that the sympathetic over-activity could have aggravated the occlusion in the RCA as the RCA is more commonly prone to spasm compared to the other coronary arteries.

Intestinal infestation with Fasciolopsis buski leading to acute kidney injury.

Fasciolopsis buski is the largest intestinal fluke infecting human beings. This trematode is endemic in certain parts of the country. Migration poses the risk of spread of the worm to other parts of the country. We report fasciolopsis buski in a migrant from Bihar working in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Acute kidney injury following intestinal obstruction occurred in this case which was never described before.

Two-year follow-up data from the STEPP-AMI study: A prospective, observational, multicenter study comparing tenecteplase-facilitated PCI versus primary PCI in Indian patients with STEMI.

BACKGROUND: A pharmacoinvasive strategy may alleviate the logistical and geographical barriers in timely reperfusion of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), especially in a developing country like India. AIM: To assess the safety and efficacy of pharmacoinvasive strategy versus primary PCI in STEMI patients at 2 years. METHODS: Patients enrolled in STEPP-AMI, an observational, multicenter, prospective study of 200 patients presenting with STEMI, were followed up for 2 years. Group 'A' comprised of patients with pharmacoinvasive strategy (n=45), and patients who underwent primary PCI (n=155) formed group 'B'. Primary endpoint was composite of death, cardiogenic shock, reinfarction, repeat revascularization of the culprit artery, or congestive heart failure at 30 days, with follow-up till 2 years. RESULTS: The primary endpoint occurred in 11.1% and 17.8% in group A and in 3.9% and 13.6% in group B, at 30 days and 2 years, respectively (p=0.07, RR=2.87; 95% CI: 0.92-8.97 at 30 days and p=0.47, RR=1.31; 95% CI: 0.62-2.76). There was no difference in bleeding risk between groups, 2.2% in group A and 0.6% in group B ('p'=0.4). The infarct-related artery patency varied at angiogram; it was 82.2% in arm A and 22.6% in arm B ('p'<0.001). In group A, failed fibrinolysis occurred in 12.1%. CONCLUSION: A pharmacoinvasive strategy resulted in outcomes that were comparable with primary PCI at 2 years, suggesting it might be a viable option in India. Larger studies are required to confirm these findings.

A prospective, multi-centric, observational registry to evaluate performance of Excel™ DES in 'real world, all comers' patient population.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of a biodegradable polymer-coated Rapamycin-Eluting Stent (Excel) used in conjunction with six-month dual antiplatelet therapy in daily practice. BACKGROUND: The polymeric material of cardiac stents has been reported to adversely affect the safety profile of the drug-eluting stents and is also suspected to cause serious long-term complications. It has been proposed that the biodegradable polymer coatings may reduce such late-stage adverse effects. METHODS: This is a prospective, multi-center registry of 654 patients from across 9 cardiology centers in India, who were enrolled and exclusively treated with Excel stents between February 2008 and May 2010. The recommended antiplatelet regimen included clopidogrel and aspirin for 6 months period, followed by lifelong aspirin therapy. RESULTS: The study population included 46.94% diabetics, 24.31% smokers, 48.93% hypertensives and 14.98% hyperlipidemics. The cumulative rates of major adverse cardiac events were 0.153% at discharge and 1.38% at 12 months. The mean percentage of stenosis was 88.24 ± 9.17% No events occurred between 6 and 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This multi-center registry study on "real world, all comers" has, thus, showed that EXCEL™ stent which is PLA-coated biodegradable Rapamycin-Eluting Stent exhibited high efficacy and safety profile in treatment of patients undergoing PCI as evidenced by significantly lower rates of MACE and no case of stent thrombosis. There was no event even after DAPT was discontinued after 6 months.