Acute acalculous cholecystitis in systemic lupus erythematosus: a rare initial manifestation.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis is a very rare gastrointestinal manifestation in systemic lupus erythematosus and becomes rarer as an initial manifestation. There are only two cases reported. The authors report a 20-year-old black woman that presented acute acalculous cholecystitis revealed by abdominal computed tomography. During hospitalization, she was diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus. Conservative treatment with antibiotics was performed with complete remission of the symptoms. Corticosteroid was started in ambulatory. Cholecystectomy has been the treatment of choice in acute acalculous cholecystitis as a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient responded well to conservative treatment, and surgery was not required. This case is unique in the way that corticosteroid was started in ambulatory care. We should not forget that the acute acalculous cholecystitis can be the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus although its occurrence is very rare. Conservative treatment should be considered. Abdominal computed tomography was a determinant exam for better assessment of acute acalculous cholecystitis.

Hemorrhagic adrenal cyst.

The authors present a case of a hemorrhagic adrenal cyst, one of the tumors known in literature as incidentalomas, emphasizing the clinical characteristics, since adrenal cysts or pseudocysts are generally rare and observed by chance during imaging procedures. Traditionally they are classified as pseudocysts, endothelial, epithelial or parasitic cysts. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has been considered the treatment of choice for benign, functioning or non-functioning adrenal lesions. Small cystic adrenal tumors can be managed conservatively by laparoscopic decortication or marsupialization, but larger cysts should be treated by total or partial adrenalectomy.

Relationship between cardiac adrenergic image and exercise testing in heart failure.

BACKGROUND: The exercise treadmill test can be used in ventricular dysfunction patients for functional capacity or predicting prognosis. The cardiac image with 123I MIBG shows cardiac sympathetic activation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between exercise treadmill test variables and cardiac image changes in 123I MIBG. METHODS: 23 patients with LVEF ≤ 45% performed scintigraphy cardiac with 123I MIBG and divided into two groups. G1: Washout rate < 27%; G2: ≥ 27%. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR) and functional capacity were evaluated. It was performed Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman coefficient and linear regression. RESULTS: SBP at exercise peak (G1: 181.00 ± 28.01; G2: 153.27 ± 27.71 mmHg, p = 0.027), SBP variation [G1: 64(47.5-80.5); G2: 36(25-47) mmHg, p = 0.015], the HR at exercise peak (G1: 136.91 ± 19.66; G2: 118.45 ± 13.98 bpm, p = 0.018) and chronotropic response (G1: 70.42 ± 17.94; G2: 49.47 ± 14.89%, p = 0.006), and functional capacity [G1: 8.37(6.47-10.27); G2: 4.42(2.46-6.38) METs, p = 0.003] were smaller in G2 group. There was negative correlation between Washout rate and SBP at exercise peak (r = -0.505, p = 0.014), variation in SBP (r = -0.493, p = 0.017) and functional capacity (r = -0.646, p = 0.001). Nevertheless, SBP at exercise peak (r = -0.422, p = 0.016) and functional capacity (r = -0.804, p = 0.004) were the only variables associated with Washout rate, after linear regression. CONCLUSION: In heart failure patients, the SBP at exercise peak and functional capacity were the variables associated with Washout rate.