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Background/Objective: Hypercalcemia is a common disorder with a wide differential and is most commonly related to malignancy and hyperparathyroidism. Hypercalcemia is a rarely reported consequence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and may be related to a granulomatous manifestation of the common stem cell transplantation procedure. Case Report: A 67-year-old woman with a history of allogenic stem cell transplantation due to myelodysplastic syndrome presented to the bone marrow transplant clinic with dysphagia, muscle aches, and rash. She was found to have an extremely increased calcium and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels, which were ultimately corrected with administration of steroids and zoledronic acid. Discussion: While uncommon, granulomatous disease can lead to hypercalcemia via the activation of 1α-hydroxylase within macrophages, which, in turn, activates 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D leading to an increased serum calcium level. GVHD is a common, variably presenting complication of bone marrow transplantation. Granulomatous processes related to GVHD may mediate hypercalcemia in patients with both increased calcium and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels. Conclusion: This is a rare cause of calcitriol-mediated hypercalcemia associated with GVHD. There have been cases of granulomas associated with GVHD, and this could potentially lead to ectopic production of calcitriol. We deemed GVHD to be a likely cause of the patient's calcitriol-mediated hypercalcemia because we did not find another etiology that fit the clinical findings. Physician awareness of this complication and the appropriate workup will allow future researchers to properly elucidate the etiology of this rare complication.
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BACKGROUND: Intravascular catheters are susceptible to infections, thus requiring catheter removal and leading to increased morbidity and costs. Antibiotic lock therapy (ALT) is a therapeutic technique that is used to salvage the catheter. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of antibiotic lock therapy in bloodstream infections in pediatric hematology/oncology patients in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed from January 2013 to December 2017 of pediatric hematology/oncology patients with bloodstream infections and who received ALT at Aga Khan University Hospital. All cases of polymicrobial infections, catheter removal, or malfunction before the completion of ALT were excluded. Descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of nine hematology/oncology patients were eligible. The catheter was salvaged in 7/9 (77.8%) children, and in 2/9 (22.2%) cases, catheter was removed because of persistent bacteremia. The most common organism isolated was Staphylococcus non-aureus species (33.3%). Relapse with a similar pathogen occurred in 2 (22.2%) patients and 2 (22.2%) of them developed an exit-site infection. CONCLUSION: In our experience, in almost two thirds of the cases, the catheter was salvaged, but disappointingly, relapses were high when the infection was due to Staphylococcus spp. Although this is a small study, our results show that ALT can be a potential safe adjunctive strategy to treat catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI). However, we need larger prospective studies to test the safety and efficacy of ALT to develop specific ALT recommendations and guidelines particularly in children.
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Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is given to newborns soon after birth. BCG vaccine overdose has been rarely reported. Here we report the outcome of newborns who accidently received high dose BCG at a tertiary care hospital, Karachi. We reviewed records of 26 newborns, who accidentally received intradermal high dose BCG, used for the treatment of urinary bladder cancers and 80 times higher dose than the BCG used for routine vaccination. The incident happened from 14-16th April, 2016 at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Analysis was carried out using SPSS. A total of 23/26(88.5%) newborns were followed for atleast 3 months and 11/26 (42.3%) were followed for atleast one year. 13/26 (50%) were male. All 26 patients were prescribed isoniazid and rifampicin for 3 months. 3/26 (11.5%) were lost to follow-up before completion of anti-tuberculous drugs (ATT). Lesions at the BCG site were observed in 16/26 (61.5%) infants, of which 15 (93.8%) had a papule, 3 (18.8%) developed a pustule, 3 (18.8%) had skin induration and 2 (12.5%) had skin erythema. Axillary lymphadenopathy was observed in 1/26 (3.8%) patient. Coagulation was deranged in 3/26 (11.5%) of babies. Intracranial bleeding was observed in 1/26 (3.8%) case. Localized skin lesions were the most common adverse events. None of them developed clinical tuberculosis. Chemoprophylaxis for inadvertent high dose BCG administration should be given for atleast 3 months. Furthermore, vigilant follow-up, transparency and disclosure are the vital steps in the management of any medical error.