ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To present a case of asymptomatic spontaneous pneumomediastinum and review available evidence-based workup and management. CASE PRESENTATION: A young Caucasian adult male with a history of inhalational drug use was admitted to the internal medicine service for evaluation of dehydration and mild rhabdomyolysis. Patient had been on the run from the police and had spent the last days prior to presentation without food, water, or shelter. On admission, patient had no complaints, except for thirst. It was detected on physical exam and chest x-ray that patient had subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum. The patient was treated conservatively and discharged after a period of observation. CONCLUSION: Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is benign and seen primarily in young adults. It is more commonly associated with symptoms like chest pain and/or dyspnea, making an asymptomatic case particularly distinctive. The etiologies and precipitating factors are varied and often an apparent cause isn't identified. The diagnostic approach involves chest x-ray and/or computed tomography (CT) chest with further workup being largely unnecessary. The tenants of management include bedrest, analgesics, and supplemental oxygen as needed.
ABSTRACT
Hyperammonemia is a recognized cause of encephalopathy. However, it is commonly seen in patients with liver disease. The clinical entity of noncirrhotic hyperammonemia is now being increasingly recognized. We report a man who presented to our hospital with relapsing altered mental status later diagnosed as noncirrhotic hyperammonemia.
ABSTRACT
Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is a rare multisystem disorder of unknown etiology that is characterized by erosive polyarthritis and papulonodular lesions on the skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs. We report the case of a 54-year-old female who was misdiagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis and underwent numerous joint replacement surgeries for progressively destructive arthritis in her hands, shoulders, hips, and knees. The patient finally received a diagnosis of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis after histopathological examination of the patient's left knee arthroplasty which revealed a diffuse histiocytic infiltrate, multinucleated giant cells, and finely granulated eosinophilic cytoplasm with a ground-glass appearance.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) carriage and disease studies in Nepali children suggest a significant burden of infection. Hib conjugate vaccines (HibCV) do not have uniform immunogenicity between populations. We determined the immunogenicity of HibCV in Nepali infants, before its introduction into the routine immunization schedule. METHODS: Ninety infants recruited at Patan Hospital, Kathmandu, received 3 doses of the HibCV with routine immunizations (diphtheria, tetanus, whole cell pertussis-hepatitis B vaccine + oral polio vaccine) at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age, and a HibCV booster at 52 weeks. Anti-polyribosylribitol phosphate (PRP) concentrations were measured at 18, 52 and 56 weeks, and the antibody persistence at 52 weeks was compared with antibody values in unimmunized controls (n = 30). RESULTS: After 3 doses of primary immunizations, at 18 weeks of age (n = 74), all infants had anti-PRP concentrations above the accepted thresholds for short- and long-term protection (0.15 and 1.0 µg/mL, respectively). At 1 year of age, before administration of the booster of HibCV, the anti-PRP geometric mean antibody concentration was 2.76 µg/mL (confidence interval: 1.88-4.07) in sera from the immunized children compared with 0.11 µg/mL (95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.17) in the nonimmunized control group (n = 30). Twenty-seven percent (20/74) of participants, however, had anti-PRP concentrations <1.0 µg/mL. Four weeks after the booster dose of HibCV, 98.5% of infants had anti-PRP concentrations above 1.0 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: Immunization with HibCV given as part of the Expanded Program on Immunization schedule in Nepal elicits robust antibody responses. Though the antibody wanes during the first year of life, most 1-year-old infants remain protected and respond robustly to a booster dose of the vaccine.
