ABSTRACT
We describe a case of a 57-year-old woman with a history of gastric MALT lymphoma and interstitial nephritis attributed to chemotherapy. In the study of chronic diarrhea, we found an atrophic pancreas, with elastase deficiency. Autoimmune pancreatitis is suspected. A significant elevation of serum IgG4 was observed. With these data, a review of the renal biopsy performed 10 months earlier was carried out. Immunohistochemistry reveals a significant number of IgG4-producing plasma cells. In the lungs, the patient has nodules, adenopaties and infiltrates. The diagnosis we arrived at is IgG4-related disease. (AU)
Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 57 años con antecedentes de linfoma MALT gástrico y nefritis intersticial atribuida a la quimioterapia. En el estudio de diarrea crónica encontramos un páncreas atrófico, con deficiencia de elastasa. Se sospecha pancreatitis autoinmune. Se comprueba una elevación importante de IgG4 sérica. Con estos datos, se procede a la revisión de la biopsia renal realizada 10 meses antes. La inmunohistoquímica revela un número significativo de células plasmáticas productoras de IgG4. En los pulmones, la paciente tiene nódulos, adenopatías e infiltrados. El diagnóstico al que llegamos es Enfermedad relacionada con IgG4. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Middle Aged , Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease/diagnostic imaging , Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease/diagnosis , Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease/therapy , /diagnostic imaging , /diagnosis , /therapy , Nephritis, Interstitial/diagnostic imaging , Nephritis, Interstitial/diagnosis , Nephritis, Interstitial/therapy , Lymph Nodes , Multiple Pulmonary NodulesABSTRACT
Background: Corticosteroids are the cornerstone of the treatment of patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospital. However, whether corticosteroids can prevent respiratory worsening in hospitalized COVID-19 patients without oxygen requirements is currently unknown. Aims: To assess the efficacy of methylprednisolone pulses (MPP) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with increased levels of inflammatory markers not requiring oxygen at baseline. Methods: Multicenter, parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in Spain. Patients admitted for confirmed SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia with raised inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein >60 mg/L, interleukin-6 >40 pg/ml, or ferritin >1,000 µg/L) but without respiratory failure after the first week of symptom onset were randomized to receive a 3-day course of intravenous MPP (120 mg/day) or placebo. The primary outcome was treatment failure at 14 days, a composite variable including mortality, the need for ICU admission or mechanical ventilation, and clinical worsening, this last parameter defined as a PaO2/FiO2 ratio below 300; or a 15% decrease in the PaO2 from baseline, together with an increase in inflammatory markers or radiological progression. If clinical worsening occurred, patients received tocilizumab and unmasked corticosteroids. The secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality, adverse events, need for ICU admission or high-flow oxygen, length of hospital stay, SARS-CoV-2 clearance, and changes in laboratory parameters. Results: A total of 72 patients were randomized and 71 patients were analyzed (34 in the MPP group and 37 in the placebo group). Twenty patients presented with treatment failure (29.4 in the MPP group vs. 27.0% in the placebo group, p = 0.82), with no differences regarding the time to treatment failure between groups. There were no cases of death or mechanical ventilation requirements at 14 days post-randomization. The secondary outcomes were similar in MPP and placebo groups. Conclusions: A 3-day course of MPP after the first week of disease onset did not prevent respiratory deterioration in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with an inflammatory phenotype who did not require oxygen.
Subject(s)
Community-Acquired Infections , HIV Infections , Lung Neoplasms , Pneumonia , Community-Acquired Infections/diagnosis , Community-Acquired Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Testing , Hospitals, Teaching , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis , Lung Neoplasms/epidemiology , Spain/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Both decreased GFR and albuminuria are associated with an elevated prevalence of peripheral artery disease. However, the combined effects of these alterations previously were not evaluated. Patients with hypertension and with no known vascular disease (n = 955; mean age 66 yr; 56% male) were selected from internal medicine outpatient clinics throughout Spain. Cardiovascular risk factors, urinary albumin excretion, and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) were assessed in all participants. GFR was estimated according to the Cockroft-Gault equation. Of the study population, 62% had diabetes, 23.8% had a GFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m2, and 43.8% had albuminuria. The prevalence of ABI <0.9 was greater in patients with a GFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (37.4 versus 24.3%; P < 0.0001) and in those who had albuminuria (32.2 versus 23.3%; P = 0.001). In patients with both alterations, the prevalence of ABI <0.9 was 45.7%. Multivariate analysis indicated that the factors that were associated independently with low ABI were age (odds ratio [OR] 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03 to 1.08; P < 0.0001), triglyceride concentration (OR 1.003; 95% CI 1.001 to 1.005; P = 0.001), presence of albuminuria (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.18 to 2.20; P = 0.003), smoking habit (OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.13 to 2.63; P = 0.012), and a GFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.17; P = 0.049). In patients with hypertension and without known vascular disease, reduced GFR and albuminuria are associated independently with an ABI <0.9. Their combined presence characterizes a subgroup of the population who have an elevated prevalence of peripheral artery disease and could benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.
