Chronic urticaria associated with lung adenocarcinoma - a paraneoplastic manifestation: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Urticaria is one of the most common causes of emergency room visits. It is defined as an acute inflammatory dermatosis, characterized by localized degranulation of mast cells, with consequent dermal microvascular and formation of edematous and pruritic plaques called hives. Urticaria affects the skin and tissues of the superficial mucosa. Sometimes it is accompanied by angioedema, which is characterized by deeper edema of the dermis and subcutaneous cellular tissue known as the urticarial-angioedema syndrome. About 15%-25% of the general population has suffered at least one type of urticaria at some point during their lifetime and hyperpermeability estimated at 7.6%-16% and has experienced acute urticaria that is usually self-limited and spontaneously resolves without requiring medical attention. CASE SUMMARY: We present the case of a young male patient who was referred to our department with a clinical picture of 4 mo of pruritus associated with hives of variable sizes, irregular borders, with interlesional confluence, that were non-painful, without involvement of the palms and soles of the feet but with a tendency to progression in a generalized manner. He had multiple emergency room visits and poor response to antihistamines and systemic corticosteroids. Imaging studies demonstrated nodules in the lower lingula segment, at the level of the greater fissure and in the anterior contour of the left anterior basal segment associated with parahiliar adenopathies in the absence of findings suggestive of infectious or autoimmune etiology. Segmental lobectomy was performed by thoracoscopy with resection of a lung nodule in the lingula and biopsy of the para-aortic mediastinal ganglion. The histopathological report showed the presence of poorly differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma with a solid morphological and acinar pattern with immunohistochemical description of lung tissue that expresses strong positive and diffuse reaction for thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) with negativity to P40 for a histopathological diagnosis of malignant epithelial neoplasia with expression of infiltrating adenocarcinoma. Spontaneous chronic urticaria is considered possibly secondary to lung adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: Chronic spontaneous urticaria is considered a paraneoplastic dermatosis with a controversial association in the literature. In the presented case, a young patient presented with chronic refractory urticaria and after an exhaustive clinical work-up was found to have a diagnosis of poorly differentiated lung adenocarcinoma with high expression of TTF-1. According to the Curth criteria, the urticaria presented by the patient is related to the oncological diagnosis. In addition, the high expression of TTF-1 documented in this case could be acting as an autoantigen that would cause chronic spontaneous urticaria. Further research evaluating a causal relationship between the TFF-1 protein and urticaria in lung cancer is needed.

Spontaneous pneumothorax, with or without pulmonary cysts, in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects mainly the lungs causing pneumonia and complications like acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pneumothorax is a rare manifestation of the disease. This report is a description of a series of patients with COVID-19 and spontaneous pneumothorax, some of them with associated pulmonary cysts. METHODOLOGY: Cases were collected retrospectively. We included clinical data from medical records and described radiologic findings. Patients that developed pneumothorax during mechanical ventilation were excluded. RESULTS: Ten cases were included in this report, nine of them were male. The median age of our series was 62 years (IQR = 57-68). The median days since the onset of symptoms until the development of pneumothorax was 27 (IQR = 17-31), most cases developed after the second week of the diagnosis of pneumonia. Two cases required invasive mechanical ventilation, but pneumothorax occurred after ventilator weaning. Three cases showed subpleural pulmonary cysts. CONCLUSIONS: Cysts and pneumothorax are rare manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia with mechanisms not completely understood. This report highlights the role of CT scan in diagnosis of COVID-19 complications.

Association of swine influenza H1N1 pandemic virus (SIV-H1N1p) with porcine respiratory disease complex in sows from commercial pig farms in Colombia.

Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is a serious health problem that mainly affects growing and finishing pigs. PRDC is caused by a combination of viral and bacterial agents, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), swine influenza virus (SIV), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Myh), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP), Pasteurella multocida and Porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2). To characterize the specific role of swine influenza virus in PRDC presentation in Colombia, 11 farms from three major production regions in Colombia were examined in this study. Nasal swabs, bronchial lavage and lung tissue samples were obtained from animals displaying symptoms compatible with SIV. Isolation of SIV was performed in 9-day embryonated chicken eggs or Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. Positive isolates, identified via the hemagglutination inhibition test, were further analyzed using PCR. Overall, 7 of the 11 farms were positive for SIV. Notably, sequencing of the gene encoding the hemagglutinin (HA) protein led to grouping of strains into circulating viruses identified during the human outbreak of 2009, classified as pandemic H1N1-2009. Serum samples from 198 gilts and multiparous sows between 2008 and 2009 were obtained to determine antibody presence of APP, Myh, PCV2 and PRRSV in both SIV-H1N1p-negative and -positive farms, but higher levels were recorded for SIV-H1N1p-positive farms. Odds ratio (OR) and P values revealed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in PRDC presentation in gilts and multiparous sows of farms positive for SIV-H1N1p. Our findings indicate that positive farms have increased risk of PRDC presentation, in particular, PCV2, APP and Myh.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis como agente etiológico potencial de sarcoidosis / Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a potential etiologic agent of sarcoidosis

La etiología de la sarcoidosis es aún desconocida; sin embargo, se ha encontrado una fuerte asociación con tuberculosis dadas sus similitudes clínicas e histológicas. A continuación se presenta un caso clínico que muestra la coexistencia de las dos entidades y su posible asociación etiológica. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 36-39).

The etiology of sarcoidosis is still unknown; however, a strong association with tuberculosis has been found, given its clinical and histological similarities. We present a clinical case that shows the coexistence of the two entities and their possible etiologi-cal association. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 36-39).

Estudio de la paratuberculosis en un rebaño de ovinos de la sabana de Bogotá mediante la utilización de tres técnicas diagnósticas / Paratuberculosis study in a sheep flock of la sabana de Bogotá by using three diagnostic techniques

El presente trabajo se llevo a cabo en una granja de ovinos de la sabana de Bogotá, donde la finalidad de la investigación fue realizar un estudio de la pararuberculosis en dicho rebaño, con el fin de diagnosticar mediante tres técnicas diagnosticadas la presencia del Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis. Para esto se emplearon 250hembras ovinas pertenecientes a la Granja Experimental ICA-San Jorge, donde se tomo a cada animal una muestra de materia fecal, y mediante la colaboración de Zielh Neelsen se determino la presencia de bacilos ácido-alcohol resistentes. A continuación, se procedió a aplicar la prueba de intradermorreacción o tuberculinización (PPD Aviar Sagar B -0653-034) a todas las ovejas y, por último, se realizo una prueba de serología (Elisa pourquier). De las muestras de materia fecal, solo diez resultaron positivas, de las cuales, cuatro fueron de carácter dudoso. En la tuberculinización se encontró que dieciséis animales resultaron positivos, debido a que presentaron una reacción >5 mm, pero tres de ellos fueron sospechosos, ya que en la medición arrojaron valores < 5 mm. En la prueba de Elisa se encontró que dos animales reaccionaron positivamente. Adicionalmente, se realizo un seguimiento de caso a cada uno de los animales objeto de estudio, que resulto positivo a las pruebas realizadas, a partir del cual, además, por medio de histopatología y necropsia, se logro confirmar la presencia de la enfermedad. Los hallazgos sugieren que para realizar un diagnostico exitoso de la paratuberculosis, es necesaria la combinación de dos o más técnicas con el fin de determinar la distribución y el estado de la enfermedad en el rebaño...