Lipoma Growing on the Back for 26 Years: A Bizarre Case Report.

Lipoma is one of the most typical and benign tumors. They are typically regarded as a mass that is painless, asymptomatic, and slow-growing. It is composed of fat cells of the adult type. It can occur anywhere in the body and is often called a "universal" or ubiquitous tumor. They can develop in any region containing adipose tissue, with a higher prevalence in the subcutaneous tissue of the trunk and the nape of the neck and the limbs and occasionally in other locations, including the hand. There are three main varieties: encapsulated, diffuse, and multiple lipomas. A few lipomas may contain other tissues: fibrolipoma, neurolemma, and myelolipoma. Lipoma, when present for a long time, may undergo certain changes. This is particularly true in cases of lipoma under subcutaneous tissues of the thigh, buttock, or retroperitoneal lipoma. Such changes can be malignant, sarcomatous, calcification, or saponification. Clinically, a lipoma can occur in different anatomical situations; according to this, a lipoma can be classified into subcutaneous type, subfascial type, intramuscular type, subserous type, submucous type, intra-articular type, or it can be intraglandular. Lipomas, the most prevalent benign mesenchymal tumors, consist of mature lipocytes. Typically, lipomas are small, weighing only a few grams, with a maximum diameter usually under 2 cm. The term "giant" is applied when a lipoma reaches a diameter of at least 10 cm or weighs a minimum of 1,000 g. Due to their substantial size, giant lipomas can lead to functional limitations, such as lymphedema, pain syndromes, or nerve compression. Given the unique nature of this condition, characterized by the considerable size of the lesion and the challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, we present a case involving a 45-year-old woman with a giant lipoma in the suprascapular region.

Organocatalyzed Hydroacylation of Enones by Photosensitization of Acyl Silanes.

A mild protocol for hydroacylation of enones through photosensitization of acyl silanes with thioxanthone under blue light (455 nm) irradiation is reported. A Brønsted acid is used as a cocatalyst in the reaction. The versatility of the method is demonstrated through inter- and intramolecular hydroacylation reaction. The hydroacylation product is applied for synthesizing an anti-HCV agent. Mechanistic insights are also provided through control experiments.

Mediastinal extension of amoebic liver abscess: A case report on the rare thoracic complication of Entamoeba histolytica.

Amoebic liver abscess is one frequently encountered intra-abdominal infection, caused by Entamoeba histolytica and has various abdominal and thoracic life-threatening complications. Herein, describe a case of a 30-year-old female, who suffered from multiple amoebic liver abscesses and presented with massive right-sided pleural effusion. She was managed with recommended antibiotics and pigtail catheter for liver abscess and an intercostal drainage tube for massive pleural effusion. However, postintercostal drainage, her chest X-ray demonstrated a right mediastinal shadow, which was confirmed as an intrathoracic extension of the hepatic liver abscess on computed tomography. An ultrasound-guided pigtail catheter was manipulated and placed at the site of thoracic communication. This led to clinical and radiological improvement, but unfortunately, she developed ventilator-acquired pneumonia and died due to her illness. The case represents an uncommon complication of amoebic liver abscess, which is rarely described and adds more knowledge on the thoracic complexities of this infectious disease.

Role of N-acetylcysteine in liver injury due to dengue fever.

Dengue fever (DF) is a common mosquito-borne viral infection which is endemic in Southeast Asia. Liver involvement may vary from asymptomatic elevation of liver enzymes to fulminant hepatitis. Although the valuable effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in paracetamol toxicity and non-paracetamol liver failure have been extensively studied, its use in DF-associated hepatitis remains unclear. We made a literature search in an online format from libraries such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE, and selected 33 articles including original research articles, case reports, and systemic analyses. The majority of the articles reviewed had a positive outcome but treatment strategies involved NAC together with supportive care. Hence, data on sole use of NAC from large randomised control trials remain unclear.

Role of Serum Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor Level in the Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Serum Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor (sIL-2R) levels are used clinically as a disease activity marker for systemic sarcoidosis. Studies have investigated the diagnostic role of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) level for sarcoidosis relative to biopsy. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating the diagnostic utility of sIL-2R. METHODS: We carried out an electronic search in Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases using keyword and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms: sarcoidosis and sIL-2R. Studies evaluating the sIL-2R levels as a diagnostic tool in clinically diagnosed or biopsy-proven sarcoidosis patients compared to control groups with non-sarcoidosis patients were included. Forest plots were constructed using a random effect model depicting pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: We selected ten studies comprising 1477 patients, with 592 in the sarcoidosis group and 885 in the non- sarcoidosis group. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of sIL-2R levels were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.75-0.95) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.73-0.94) respectively. Pooled negative predictive value and positive predictive value were 0.91 (95% CI 0.77-0.97) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.59-0.96) respectively with diagnostic accuracy of 0.86 (95% CI 0.71- 0.93). CONCLUSION: In addition to its utility as a marker of sarcoidosis disease activity, sIL-2R has high diagnostic accuracy. Despite the limitations of the heterogenous sarcoidosis population and different sIL-2R cutoffs, our results suggest that sIL-2R is an important biomarker that can be used to confirm sarcoidosis diagnosis in unconfirmed or unclear cases.

Intracranial Calcifications in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

We present an unusual case of a 37-year-old woman diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus presenting with right-sided weakness and altered mentation. On computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, marked intracranial calcifications were seen. These localized calcifications are speculated to be secondary to the necrotic focus of repeated episodes of vessel inflammation. However, the pathogenesis of cerebral calcifications is largely unknown.

Impact of autologous transplantation on survival in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who have high-risk cytogenetics: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Despite routine evaluation of cytogenetics in myeloma, little is known regarding the impact of high-dose therapy (HDT) consolidation on overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) in patients who have high-risk cytogenetics. The authors performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the heterogeneity of HDT efficacy according to cytogenetic risk. METHODS: All RCTs in patients who had newly diagnosed myeloma from 2000 to 2021 that compared upfront HDT versus standard-dose therapy (SDT) consolidation were included. The primary objective was to assess the difference in HDT efficacy between standard-risk and high-risk cytogenetics in terms of the OS or PFS log(hazard ratio) (HR). The pooled OS and PFS HR was calculated according to cytogenetic-risk subgroup using a random-effects model, and heterogeneity (I2 ) (the percentage of total observed variability explained by between-study differences) was assessed using an interaction test. RESULTS: After screening 3307 citations, 6 RCTs were included for PFS analysis, and 4 were included for OS analysis. The median follow-up ranged from 3.1 to 7.8 years. The pooled OS HR for HDT versus SDT consolidation in patients with standard-risk and high-risk cytogenetics was 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-1.17; I2 = 0%) and 0.66 (95% CI, 0.45-0.97; I2 = 0%), respectively. The difference in HDT efficacy in terms of OS between standard-risk and high-risk patients was statistically significant in favor of the high-risk group (P for interaction = .03). The pooled PFS HR for HDT versus SDT was 0.65 (95% CI 0.56-0.76; I2 = 0%) versus 0.52 (95% CI, 0.33-0.83; I2 = 55%), respectively. The difference in HDT efficacy in terms of PFS between standard-risk and high-risk patients was not significant (P for interaction = .25). CONCLUSIONS: The magnitude of OS benefit with upfront HDT is cytogenetics-dependent. Patients with high-risk cytogenetics should preferably receive upfront rather than delayed HDT consolidation. LAY SUMMARY: Upfront autologous stem cell transplantation improves overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed myeloma harboring high-risk cytogenetics.

Dengue Encephalitis: A Case Series on a Rare Presentation of Dengue Fever.

Neurological manifestations like encephalitis, especially hemorrhagic encephalitis, are rarely described in dengue fever (DF), and the gamut may affect any part of the central or peripheral nervous system. Herein, we report two cases from Northern India, presenting with fever and altered sensorium, subsequently diagnosed with DF. Imaging studies revealed hemorrhagic encephalitis in both of them but one of them had a grave outcome, unfolding the fatal nature of the disease. The report enlightens DF as an unusual etiology of encephalitis and the importance of considering the infirmity as a differential in patients with neurological manifestations.

Mumps Infection With Symptoms of Parotitis, Pancreatitis, and Orchitis Concurrently in an Adolescent Male.

Mumps is a highly contagious childhood infectious disease caused by the mumps virus. Clinical symptoms of mumps infection among vaccinated young adults are rarely seen. We present an unusual case of a vaccinated young male who presented with a clinical picture suggestive of mumps infection with symptoms of parotitis, pancreatitis, and orchitis. The waning of vaccine-induced immunity and low efficacy of the mumps component of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could be the reasons for the same. Our patient was managed with supportive measures for the complications and made an uneventful recovery. It has been postulated that antigenic differences between the vaccine and strain-causing illness may result in a deficient immune response conferred by the vaccine. This case highlights the concerns regarding the effectiveness of the live attenuated vaccine currently in use.

Scrub typhus manifesting as electrocardiographic disturbance: A case report and review of literature.

Scrub typhus (ST) has wide organ system involvement, but cardiac involvement is paramount in this spectrum due to early hemodynamic compromise. Various forms of cardiac involvement have been described in the literature, but we are describing rare electrocardiographic changes in the ST infection. A young male presented in our emergency department with complaints of restlessness and vomiting of 2 days' duration. The patient was having stable vitals on presentation, but his electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated second-degree atrioventricular block type 1 (also known Mobitz 1) and Osborn wave in the precordial leads. Further, he was having thrombocytopenia and eventually diagnosed with ST. For this, appropriate antibiotic treatment was given, which led to considerable symptomatic improvement and reversal of the ECG changes.

Early cardiovascular involvement in dengue fever: A prospective study with two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

Cardiac abnormalities in dengue infection have been conventionally identified by clinical manifestations. The primary objective of our prospective observational study was to assess true cardiovascular involvement and early myocarditis in 150 hospitalised, confirmed cases of dengue fever, through myocardial strain detection using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography. Myocarditis was defined on the basis of European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2013 criteria. Cardiac biomarkers, namely, creatine phosphokinase myocardial band was elevated in 28.6% and Troponin-T in 23.3% patients. Electrocardiography was abnormal in 64.6% while 6% patients had two-dimensional structural echocardiographic abnormalities. Myocardial dysfunction was suspected in 27.3% based on ESC criteria and strain analysis. The severe dengue group had lower longitudinal strain [-16.4 (6.3)] and circumferential strain [-15.7 (6.7)]. Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography was found to be useful in improving the understanding of early myocardial mechanics in dengue fever.

Tocilizumab in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Tocilizumab is an interleukin receptor inhibitor that has been used in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. There are recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs that evaluated the effectiveness of tocilizumab in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 not requiring mechanical ventilation. RCTs comparing tocilizumab with the standard of care treatment in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia not requiring mechanical ventilation at the time of administration were included for analysis. The primary outcome was a composite of mechanical ventilation or 28-day mortality and the secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality and major adverse events. A total of 6 RCTs were included for the analysis. Tocilizumab was associated with a statistically significant reduction in the primary composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or 28-day mortality (risk ratio (RR): 0.83 (95% CI: 0.74 to 0.92, I2=0, tau2=0). Treatment with tocilizumab did not show a statistically significant reduction in 28-day mortality (RR: 0.90 (95% CI: 0.76 to 1.07), I2=0, tau2=0) and rate of serious adverse events (RR: 0.82 (95% CI: 0.62 to 1.10), I2=0, tau2=0). Tocilizumab was associated with a decrease in the incidence of primary outcome, that is, mechanical ventilation or death at 28 days in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Morbidities and mortality in patients with hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (hTTP) is a rare disorder caused by severe ADAMTS13 deficiency. Major morbidities and death at a young age are common. Although replacement of ADAMTS13 can prevent morbidities and death, current regimens of plasma prophylaxis are insufficient. We identified 226 patients with hTTP in 96 reports published from 2001 through 2020. Age at diagnosis was reported for 202 patients; 117 were female and 85 were male. The difference was caused by diagnosis of 34 women during pregnancy, suggesting that many men and nulliparous women are not diagnosed. Eighty-three patients had severe jaundice at birth; hTTP was suspected and effectively treated in only 3 infants. Of the 217 patients who survived infancy, 73 (34%) had major morbidities defined as stroke, kidney injury, or cardiac injury that occurred at a median age of 21 years. Sixty-two patients had stroke; 13 strokes occurred in children age 10 years or younger. Of the 54 patients who survived their initial major morbidity and were subsequently observed, 37 (69%) had sustained or subsequent major morbidities. Of the 39 patients who were observed after age 40 years, 20 (51%) had experienced a major morbidity. Compared with an age- and sex-matched US population, probability of survival was lower at all ages beginning at birth. Prophylaxis was initiated in 45 patients with a major morbidity; in 11 (28%), a major morbidity recurred after prophylaxis had begun. Increased recognition of hTTP and more effective prophylaxis started at a younger age are required to improve health outcomes.

Salmonella paratyphi-induced splenic vein thrombosis: A case report on infrequent cause of acute abdomen.

Splenic vein thrombosis and splenic infarction are complications beyond the usual clinical spectrum of paratyphoid fever, and the presentation is rarely described. We report the case of a young female, who presented with high-grade fever and severe left upper quadrant pain. Her blood culture was positive for Salmonella paratyphi A, with Widal test suggesting 4-fold rise in titers. Computed tomography revealed splenic vein thrombosis and multiple splenic infarcts, for which antibiotic and anticoagulation were instituted simultaneously. She had a complete resolution with this management, and anticoagulation was tapered off on subsequent visits.

Interlobular Septal Thickening in a Young Man With Dyspnea.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 30-year-old man with a history of childhood asthma, a 15-pack-year smoking history, and methamphetamine abuse was intubated and started on mechanical ventilation because of acute hypoxic respiratory failure after experiencing progressive dyspnea and a nonproductive cough over the previous year. During the previous 3 months, he had multiple clinic visits, with chest radiographs showing diffuse, bilateral, reticulonodular opacities and small bilateral pleural effusions and was treated for community-acquired pneumonia. Testing for COVID pneumonia was negative, and he failed to respond to antimicrobial therapy. Physical examination on admission showed diffuse fine crackles bilaterally on lung auscultation. Admission laboratory test results were unremarkable.

Dengue Myocarditis Complicated by COVID-19: A Case Report on Dual Viral Infection.

During the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is crucial for clinicians to have an insight into the emerging co-infections. As the dengue virus (DENV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have related symptomatology, a high index of suspicion is required for prompt diagnosis of concurrent infections involving these two pathogens, especially in the areas endemic for tropical diseases, i.e., dengue fever (DF), malaria, enteric fever, chikungunya, leptospirosis, etc. In this report, we present the case of a middle-aged man from Northern India, who had DF with myocarditis, and was simultaneously found to have COVID-19 co-infection. The patient was managed as per the COVID-19 protocol and had a favorable outcome.

Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum in COVID-19 Pneumonia.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is the collection of air within the mediastinal cavity, which is commonly described in the literature for mechanical ventilation and perforation of hollow viscera. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rare but salient etiology of this complication in the current pandemic. Here, we are narrating a case of a 46-year-old male, in whom COVID-19 pneumonia was complicated by SPM. The complication was identified on chest computed tomography (CT) and was managed conservatively, leading to a favorable outcome. SPM has undemanding management, but timely identification and appropriate treatment institution are crucial in this milieu. A literature search revealed similar cases of SPM in COVID-19 with different outcomes and the important ones are included in this report.

Bilateral Renal Replacement Lipomatosis: A Case Report on Rare Complication of Obstructive Uropathy.

Renal replacement lipomatosis (RRL) is an uncommon complication, leading to the fatty replacement of the renal parenchyma. Various etiologies have been described for this long-term infirmity, but obstructive uropathy is one paramount cause. Previously described reports have documented unilateral disease in the majority, but we are narrating a case of bilateral RRL, which is very scarce in the literature. A 57-year-old man, who was a known case of obstructive uropathy, presented to us with the symptoms of urinary tract infection. In imaging evaluation, the patient was found to have bilateral RRL.

The Mystery of Episodic Recurrent Jaundice in a Young Male: Cholestasis With a Normal Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase.

Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis (BRIC) is a very rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder which presents with recurrent jaundice. We report the case of a young male with a history of methamphetamine use who presented with recurrent episodes of right upper quadrant abdominal pain, vomiting, dark urine, and pale stools. These symptoms always resolved within four weeks of presentation. During these episodes, the patient had a cholestatic pattern derangement of liver function tests with a normal gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Workup for abnormal transaminases was unremarkable. A percutaneous liver biopsy obtained on the third visit was notable for a parenchymal lobule that exhibited slight Kupffer cell hyperplasia and subtle evidence of canalicular cholestasis. There was no evidence of cirrhosis, steatosis, hepatitis, or malignancy. Thus, a diagnosis of BRIC was made, and the patient was managed conservatively. Recognition of this rare entity is critical since its benign natural history is reassuring for the patient, and physicians can refrain from repetitive expansive and costly workups.