Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a recently defined condition that has dramatically increased in prevalence in the last several decades. It may occur at any age, but the clinical presentation in young children is often more vague than the classic solid food dysphagia and food impacting that are the major presenting symptoms of eosinophilic esophagitis in adults and adolescents. Successful therapies exist, including medications and dietary modifications, but disease typically recurs when the intervention is discontinued.

Is there a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization in patients with antibiotic allergy labels?

BACKGROUND: A penicillin allergy label has been associated with significantly higher rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) colonization, and correspondingly poorer clinical outcomes. However, there are limited data examining the association between any antibiotic label and colonization rates. We sought to evaluate if there is a relationship between patients with an antibiotic allergy label and prevalence of MRSA or VRE colonization. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all patients with an MRSA surveillance culture between December 15, 2014 and January 31, 2015, or a VRE surveillance culture between January 1, 2013 and January 31, 2015, at a tertiary community-based teaching hospital. Our primary objective was to evaluate the prevalence of MRSA or VRE colonization among patients with and without antibiotic allergies. Bivariate analyses included the χ² test and the Student t test to determine statistical significance for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. RESULTS: We included a total of 1,053 unique patients screened for MRSA, and 290 unique patients screened for VRE. The rate of MRSA and VRE colonization was 5.8% (62 of 1,053) and 32.4% (94 of 290), respectively, in our cohort. Antibiotic allergies were documented in approximately 1 out of 3 patients, 337 (32%) for the MRSA group and 94 (32%) for VRE group. There was a significant difference in MRSA colonization between patients with and without an antibiotic allergy, 28 of 337 (8.3%) versus 34 of 716 (4.7%) (P = .025), respectively. In contrast, there was no significant difference in antibiotic allergy rates with and without VRE colonization, 34 of 94 (36.2%) versus 92 of 196 (46.9%) (P = .10), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An antibiotic allergy label was associated with significantly higher rates of MRSA colonization but no statistical difference with VRE colonization.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a recently defined condition that has dramatically increased in prevalence in the last several decades. It may occur at any age, but the clinical presentation in young children is often more vague than the classic solid food dysphagia and food impacting that are the major presenting symptoms of eosinophilic esophagitis in adults and adolescents. Successful therapies exist, including medications and dietary modifications, but disease typically recurs when the intervention is discontinued.

A Rare Case of Three Distinct Epstein-Barr Virus Associated Lymphoproliferative Disorders Over Sixteen Years of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is well known to cause different types of malignancies. In immunocompromised patients, such as those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there is a higher likelihood of EBV related malignant transformation. Diagnosis of EBV related malignancies may be difficult and sometimes requires clinical and pathological correlation. It is very rare to have more than one type of EBV related malignancy in a single patient. Until now, there are no specific guidelines for treatment of EBV related malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD). We present a patient who developed three different types of EBV related LPD during a sixteen-year course of HIV infection.