Bronchorrhea, a Rare and Debilitating Symptom of Lung Cancer: Case Report and Review of the Treatment.

Bronchorrhea, defined as production of voluminous watery sputum greater than 100 mL/d, is a debilitating symptom mostly found in end-stage lung cancer, specifically in invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas. Very rarely, it can primarily contribute to hypoxic respiratory failure and found in a critical care setting. We report a case of a 51-year-old woman diagnosed with having mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung who presented to the intensive care unit with rapidly worsening respiratory failure and found to have massive bronchorrhea with daily sputum volume exceeding 1000 mL/d at its peak. With the limited quantity and quality of evidence available for the treatment of this condition, multiple agents were tried without considerable benefit. We discuss the pathogenesis of this condition and the different treatment options that can be used for palliation of the sputum volume.

Multi-organ system failure secondary to difluoroethane toxicity in a patient "huffing" air duster: a case report.

Inhalant misuse is a growing concern among Americans. According to recent reports by the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the prevalence of teenage inhalant misuse is increasing. Of the many household items that are "huffed", refrigerant-based propellant cleaners or air dusters, are one of the most misused. Although commonly referred to as "compressed air", refrigerant-based propellant cleaners contain harmful fluorinated hydrocarbons, such as 1,1-difluoroethane, that have significant toxic effects when inhaled. While the central nervous system is primarily affected, there are case reports of cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, and musculoskeletal injury secondary to 1,1-difluoroethane toxicity. However, there are few cases that have presented 1,1-difluoroethane toxicity leading to multi-organ system failure in adults with a long history of inhalant misuse. We present a unique case of multi-system organ failure secondary to 1,1-difluoroethane toxicity in a middle-aged female that was "huffing" a refrigerant-based propellant aerosol duster for more than three months. This case stresses the importance of obtaining a detailed social history to identify inhalant misuse in patients that present with acute illness of unknown etiology. This case also highlights the importance of early communication with toxicology professionals for treatment and supportive care recommendations in patients presenting the life-threatening 1,1-difluoroethane toxicity. Furthermore, this case demonstrates that 1,1-difluoroethane toxicity in the setting of "huffing" air duster has the potential to cause multi-organ system failure.

Factors Associated with 30-day Unplanned Readmissions of Sepsis Patients: A Retrospective Analysis of Patients Admitted with Sepsis at a Community Hospital.

Introduction Mortality from sepsis is decreasing in recent years owing to improved quality of care, targeted programs, and the implementation of sepsis bundles. This has led to an increased pool of sepsis survivors at risk of readmissions. Studies have shown that these sepsis readmissions are common and expensive. The factors associated with these readmissions remain elusive and have incited a lot of research in recent years. The 30-day sepsis readmission rate is increasingly being used as a quality metric for hospitals. A conducted a retrospective chart review analysis of patients admitted with sepsis to find factors affecting the 30-day readmissions of sepsis survivors. Methods Patients admitted to our hospital either on the medical-surgical floor or in the intensive care unit (ICU) with an administrative coding for sepsis between January 2014 to November 2015 were identified. A literature search, as well as expert opinion, was considered for the list of factors to be studied, including age, sex, residence on admission, length of stay, getting hemodialysis, hospitalization in the prior year, presence of acute kidney injury (AKI), source of sepsis, discharge disposition, receipt of red blood cell (RBC) products, and route of antibiotics on discharge. A univariate binary logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between the above-mentioned variables and sepsis readmission. Variables with statistical significance in the univariate analysis were used to compute the multivariate regression analysis along, with adjusted OR and their 95% CI. Results A total of 1297 patients were identified with sepsis. Of these, 1068 patients met inclusion criteria. The readmission rate in our study population was 19.19%, and 52% of the readmissions were secondary to an infectious cause. After controlling for the effect of all the potential confounders, the factors that showed a positive association with readmissions were hospitalizations in the year prior to the index hospitalization and discharge to either nursing home or short-term rehab. The requirement of the intensive care unit was not associated with increased readmission. High hemoglobin on discharge was associated with a reduced chance of readmission. Conclusions Readmissions after sepsis hospitalization are common and mostly caused by infections. Several factors associated with index sepsis hospitalization can be associated with readmissions. Some of these factors are modifiable and more research is needed to see if these readmissions can be prevented.

Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma, Not Otherwise Specified: An Unusual Presentation of a Rare Lymphoma.

We present a case of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) masquerading as a skin rash which progressively worsened over a year. After being treated for various dermatologic and infectious etiologies, he did not feel any relief and presented to our hospital. Imaging showed generalized lymphadenopathy. Later, lymph node biopsy and skin biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of CD30 + peripheral T-cell lymphoma. He was soon started on chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, etoposide, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOEP). However, because of the aggressive nature of his disease and advanced stage at presentation, he succumbed to complications and died of sepsis.  This case highlights the importance of considering a rash as one of the early symptoms of an underlying life-threatening disease.

Rapidly progressing dual infection with Aspergillus and Rhizopus: when soil inhabitants become deadly invaders.

We present a case report of a 61-year-old patient with acute pulmonary and cerebral infections with Aspergillus and Rhizopus. The only risk factor for invasive fungal disease was high-dose corticosteroids used to treat her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. She had rapid progression and succumbed to her infections within 2 weeks of diagnosis in spite of aggressive antifungal therapy and surgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of rapidly fatal dual infection with Aspergillus and Rhizopus Our case highlights the role of high-dose corticosteroids as a risk factor for invasive fungal disease in patients without traditional risk factors like haematological malignancies, solid organ transplantation or uncontrolled diabetes.

Underprescription of renin-angiotensin system blockers in moderate to severe chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Despite this, up to 40% of patients with CKD and an indication for RAS blockade do not receive these medications. The purpose of this study was to examine variables associated with the prescription of RAS blockers in patients with CKD and to identify opportunities to increase their use. METHODS: The electronic medical records of patients with moderate to severe CKD and an indication for RAS blockade were reviewed. For patients with an indication for RAS blockade who were not prescribed these medications, previous notes were reviewed to ascertain reasons why RAS blockade was not prescribed. RESULTS: Six hundred twenty-seven patients with moderate to severe CKD and an indication for RAS blockade were identified. Of these patients, 225 (36%) were not prescribed RAS blockade. This group was found to have significantly less diabetes, to be significantly older and to have significantly lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and blood pressure than the group on RAS blockade. For the majority (59%), no documented reason for not being prescribed RAS blockade was found. Among documented reasons, hyperkalemia and a history of acute kidney injury were the most common. CONCLUSIONS: The authors found that a large proportion of patients with CKD and an indication for RAS blockade were not prescribed these medications. For the majority, there was no provider-documented reason explaining why these medications were not prescribed, and the findings suggest that there may be opportunities to increase RAS blocker prescribing.