Reversible posterior leucoencephalopathy syndrome associated with anticancer drugs.

BACKGROUND: Reversible posterior leucoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) is an underappreciated clinical-radiologic syndrome characterized by reversible cortical dysfunction preferentially involving the occipital lobes in conjunction with imaging findings of reversible subcortical oedema. As RPLS is being increasingly identified within the oncology population in association with cytotoxic chemotherapy and targeted agents, a review of the published work in English was carried out. METHODS: A MEDLINE search of the published work in English was conducted to identify cases of RPLS in patients more than 16 years of age who were treated with anticancer drugs for documented malignancy. Only cases with adequate documentation regarding demographic and treatment data, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging and outcome were selected. RESULTS: We identified 24 patients with RPLS associated with a variety of anticancer drugs, most commonly complicating polychemotherapy and/or bevacizumab-containing regimens. There was a female predominance: 18 females and 6 males (P= 0.023). Women were of premenopausal age and were younger than males: 49.3 +/- 16.4 years versus 60.7 +/- 6.4 years (P= 0.09). Most patients presented with acute headache (67%), seizures (63%), confusion (54%) or cortical blindness (46%) with mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 168 +/- 15 and 98 +/- 15 mm Hg, respectively. Findings on magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperintense lesions on T(2)-weighted images in all patients, which involved the occipital lobes in 75% of patients; all patients experienced clinical and radiologic resolution within days to weeks. No deaths were directly attributed to RPLS. CONCLUSIONS: Combination and single-agent chemotherapy as well as novel anticancer drugs are associated with RPLS. We found RPLS to be overrepresented in premenopausal woman; the prevalence in this subgroup may be related to an anticancer drug-oestrogen interaction inducing altered cerebral vasoreactivity and endothelial dysfunction.

Refeeding syndrome in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Refeeding syndrome (RFS) is a common, yet underappreciated, constellation of electrolyte derangements that typically occurs in acutely ill, malnourished hospitalised patients who are administered glucose solutions or other forms of intravenous or enteral nutrition. DISCUSSION: The hallmark of RFS is hypophosphataemia, but hypokalaemia and hypomagnesaemia are also common. Patients with various types of malignancies are at-risk for RFS, but very little exists in the oncologic literature about this disorder. CONCLUSIONS: As RFS can have many adverse metabolic, cardiovascular, haematologic and neurologic complications, practicing oncologist needs to be aware of the pathophysiology, risk factors and clinical manifestations to promptly recognise this important, and potentially fatal, metabolic disorder.

Stroke after marijuana smoking in a teenager with factor V Leiden mutation.

Factor V Leiden is a well-recognized etiology of venous thrombosis, but reports of stroke in patients with this mutation are few. Marijuana smoking has rarely been associated with thrombosis of cerebral and renal arteries and may be due to a direct toxic effect on the endothelium. Reported here is the case of a previously healthy young man who smoked marijuana on a daily basis and had an occipital lobe stroke; he was found to be heterozygous for factor V Leiden. This case suggests that marijuana smoking may increase the risk of arterial thrombosis in otherwise healthy individuals who are heterozygous for factor V Leiden.

Acute care of patients aged 95 to 99 years: experience in a community teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: People older than 90 years represent an increasing segment of the US population, but little information exists on their hospitalization for acute illness. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients aged 95 through 99 years admitted during 1 year to a large teaching hospital. RESULTS: Of 43 patients admitted at least once, 14 were admitted twice, 6 were admitted three times, and 1 was admitted four times; 35 (81%) were women, and 8 (19%) were men. Patients admitted more than once took a mean of 6.8 +/- 3.3 drugs compared with 4.4 +/- 2.6 drugs for patients admitted only once. Routine laboratory values were typically normal or mildly abnormal. Mean hospitalization was 5.6 +/- 3.5 days. Only 2 patients (5%) died. All 11 patients with a recent fall were discharged to a long-term nursing facility, compared with only 18 of 30 patients without a recent fall. CONCLUSIONS: Patients aged 95 through 99 years generally have a favorable prognosis when hospitalized for an acute medical condition. However, patients with a recent fall are more likely to require placement in a long-term nursing facility, and patients taking six or more drugs on admission are more likely to be rehospitalized within 12 months.

Acute diverticulitis in patients 40 years of age and younger.

Acute colonic diverticulitis typically occurs in patients older than 60 years of age but is uncommon in patients under the age of 40, which may lead to a delay in diagnosis. Because abdominal pain is a very common presenting symptom in emergency department patients, we retrospectively analyzed the cases of 21 patients 40 years of age and younger diagnosed with acute diverticulitis and characterized the presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory and radiographic findings, treatment, and outcome. There were 17 men and 4 women with a mean age of 34.1 +/-5.9 years. All patients had abdominal pain, with 14 (67%) patients noting pain in the left lower quadrant (LLQ) and 5 (24%) patients noting right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain. Nausea was present in 18 (86%) patients and fever in 15 (71%) patients. The mean pulse rate was 103 +/- 16 and the mean temperature was 100.7 +/- 1.4 F. Leukocytosis was present in 19 (90%) patients. Plain abdominal radiographs were obtained in 19 (91%) patients and were normal in 15 (79%) of these cases. Computed tomographic (CT) scans were obtained in 15 (71%) patients which revealed findings consistent with acute diverticulitis in 14 (93%) patients. The admitting diagnosis was diverticulitis in 10 of the 12 patients with LLQ tenderness and appendicitis in 4 of the 6 patients with RLQ tenderness. Overall, six patients were taken to surgery: three patients had cecal diverticulitis and three patients had perforated colonic diverticulitis. General treatment measures included bowel rest in 18 (86%) patients, and intravenous fluids and antibiotics in all patients. All patients survived. In conclusion, acute diverticulitis is uncommon in patients under 40 years of age; however, this condition may be confused with other conditions, usually acute appendicitis. As a result, clinicians should consider acute diverticulitis in young patients with acute abdominal pain, especially if they are male with nausea, fever, tachycardia, and leukocytosis, and consider obtaining a CT scan to aid in the diagnosis.

Residents and medical students noting the chief complaint during verbal presentations.

The chief complaint is an important element of the medical history. Over a one-month period in 1999, the author observed 55 presentations of house officers and medical students on an inpatient ward at Miami Valley Hospital, an affiliate of Wright State. House officers noted the chief complaint in 49% of their presentations; students, in 61% of theirs. Educators need to stress the importance of the chief complaint during verbal case presentations.

Spectrum of upper-extremity deep venous thrombosis in a community teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to characterize the spectrum of upper-extremity deep venous thrombosis in a community teaching hospital. DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective analysis was used at a large urban teaching hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 90 patients with ultrasound-documented thrombosis of the internal jugular, subclavian, axillary, or brachial veins to determine clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcome. RESULTS: The most common underlying conditions associated with upper-extremity deep venous thrombosis were the presence of a central venous catheter in 65 patients (72%), infection in 25 (28%), extrathoracic malignancy in 20 (22%), thoracic malignancy in 19 (21%), renal failure in 19 (21%), and a prior lower-extremity deep venous thrombosis in 16 (18%). Pain was noted in 31 (34%) patients, and 76 patients (84%) had edema of the involved extremity. The left subclavian vein was involved in 44 patients (49%), and 35 patients (39%) had a central venous catheter in the left subclavian vein. When a central venous catheter was present, the deep venous thrombosis was usually ipsilateral (P <.001). Heparin and warfarin were administered to 65 (72%) and 53 (59%) of the patients, respectively. Eleven patients (12%) died. Of these patients, 8 (73%) had an underlying infection, whereas only 22% of survivors had an infection (P =.0012). CONCLUSION: Upper-extremity deep venous thrombosis typically occurs in patients with a systemic illness in the presence of a central venous catheter. The left subclavian vein is frequently involved because this is a common site for placement of a central venous catheter. Pain is uncommon, but edema of the involved extremity is noted in the majority of patients. The mortality rate of patients in this study with an upper-extremity deep venous thrombosis was 12%; most patients who died had a central venous catheter and an underlying infection.

Bilateral thalamic infarction in a patient with factor V Leiden mutation.

In a 50-year-old unresponsive man with ophthalmoplegia, bilateral thalamic infarction was detected on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. A thorough evaluation, including urinalysis, laboratory studies, computed tomography of the brain, chest radiography, lumbar puncture, magnetic resonance angiography, cerebral angiography, carotid ultrasonography, and transesophageal echocardiography, revealed no obvious predisposing factors other than heterozygous factor V Leiden mutation. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of bilateral thalamic infarction associated with factor V Leiden mutation. Physicians should consider the possibility of this mutation in patients with ischemic stroke if no other source is evident.

Trimethoprim-induced hyperkalemia: An analysis of reported cases.

BACKGROUND: Trimethoprim has been recently implicated in the development of hyperkalemia when administered at standard doses to immunocompetent patients. However, many clinicians are unaware of this potentially dangerous adverse effect. OBJECTIVE: To review reported cases of trimethoprim-induced hyperkalemia in immunocompetent patients and identify predisposing factors, treatment, and outcome. METHODS: A MEDLINE literature search was performed using the key words 'trimethoprim' and 'hyperkalemia'. All English-language case reports and bibliographies of immunocompetent patients with trimethoprim-induced hyperkalemia were reviewed. RESULTS: Nine cases were identified. The mean patient age was 77.6 years, and the mean duration of therapy was 10.2 days. Seven patients received standard oral dosages of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for common infections, and 2 patients were concurrently receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The mean pretreatment levels of creatinine and potassium were 1.01 mg/dl and 4.55 mmol/l, respectively. The mean peak serum potassium level was 7.0 mmol/l. No deaths attributable to hyperkalemia occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperkalemia due to trimethoprim typically affects elderly patients administered standard oral dosages, even in the presence of a normal serum creatinine level. Concurrent angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy may increase the risk of hyperkalemia. The prognosis is favorable with standard therapy for hyperkalemia and withdrawal of trimethoprim.

Pneumococcal abscess manifesting as an anterior mediastinal mass and fatal hemoptysis.

An elderly man had several weeks of night sweats, weight loss, and an anterior mediastinal mass on chest radiography. Computed tomographic-guided needle aspiration was nondiagnostic. Shortly after the patient's admission, three sets of blood cultures yielded Streptococcus pneumoniae. Despite systemic antimicrobials, the patient had an episode of acute hemoptysis and died. Autopsy showed an anterior mediastinal abscess with pneumonic involvement of the left lung. There was histologic evidence of necrotizing pneumonia and parenchymal hemorrhage, which likely resulted in fatal hemoptysis.