A case cluster of possible tissue invasive gonorrhoea.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a cluster of patients presenting with severe symptoms and infected with an unusual strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. SETTING: A north London Department of Sexual Health. PATIENTS: Five patients were linked by reported sexual contact or other epidemiological evidence as part of a cluster of gonococcal infection. Cultured N gonorrhoea were subtyped by serological (serovar) and cultural (auxotype) methods and antibiotic sensitivities measured by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). RESULTS: Four of the patients had severe gonorrhoea-related systemic or extragenital symptoms: disseminated gonococcal infection with oligoarthritis (1 patient), acute pelvic inflammatory disease (1 patient, who was also chlamydia positive) and tender inguinal adenopathy (2 patients). The fifth patient was asymptomatic. N gonorrhoeae was isolated in four of the patients. All four organisms had identical MICs. Three of the organisms were subtyped and found to be the same rare strain (serovar 1A1, auxotype NR). CONCLUSION: This case cluster provides evidence for strain-related virulence in an uncommon gonococcal subtype.

Racial variation in serum creatine kinase unrelated to lean body mass.

In a group of 30 black and 30 white healthy workers, matched for age, sex and body weight, serum creatine kinase was significantly higher in black males than in white males (P less than 0.01). Seventeen blacks but only four whites had levels above the accepted upper limit of normal of 195 IU/l. There was no correlation with lean body mass. Elevation of serum creatine kinase need not signify disease in blacks, for whom a separate reference range should be established. Two cases are reported of physically healthy black men subjected to unnecessary investigation on the basis of persistently elevated serum creatine kinase.

Lesions of the mid-shaft of the humerus presenting as shoulder capsulitis.

We describe three patients who presented with pain and restriction of movement at the shoulder suggestive of capsulitis, but proved to have lesions of the mid-shaft of the humerus. It is important to be aware of the possibility of this cause of a 'frozen shoulder', since radiographs of the shoulder are usually cropped at the mid-humerus and lesions at this level may easily be missed. A radiograph of the entire humerus, or an isotope bone scan, may be more useful than repeated shoulder radiographs in patients whose shoulder symptoms do not respond to standard treatment.

Nutritional osteomalacia presenting with plantar fasciitis.

We report five patients with nutritional osteomalacia who presented with the symptoms and signs of plantar fasciitis. All the patients were Asian vegetarian women. All improved with treatment of the osteomalacia, albeit slowly in two cases.

Idiopathic multicentric osteolysis with acro-osteolysis. A case report.

We report a case of multicentric massive osteolysis. A 52-year-old woman presented with a three-year history of progressive deformities of the hands. She had osteolytic lesions of the metacarpals and metatarsals, and resorption of the terminal phalanges. During follow-up over four years osteolysis spread to affect the ribs, clavicles, mandible, and long bones. There was no family history of any bone disorder and renal function was normal. Death resulted from resorption of the rib cage and post-mortem studies failed to reveal the cause of the osteolysis.

Serum angiotensin converting enzyme in Sjogren's syndrome--a case report and study of 21 further cases.

We report the case of an elderly woman with primary Sjogren's syndrome and abnormal liver function tests indicative of primary biliary cirrhosis. She was found to have a raised serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity. We proceeded to study 21 further cases of Sjogren's syndrome to discover whether raised levels of this enzyme were a feature of Sjogren's syndrome. None of them had any features to suggested associated primary biliary cirrhosis. The cases included 12 with associated rheumatoid arthritis, two with systemic sclerosis, three with systemic lupus erythematosus and four with primary Sjogren's syndrome. In only two of these 21 patients was a raised serum angiotensin converting enzyme obtained, the elevation being modest. We conclude that a raised activity of the enzyme is not usually associated with primary or secondary Sjogren's syndrome, and that discovery of such an abnormality should prompt a search for an associated condition.

Sternoclavicular erosions in polymyalgia rheumatica.

The incidence of erosive arthropathy of the sternoclavicular joints in 25 consecutive cases of polymyalgia rheumatica was studied by means of sternoclavicular tomography. Definite erosions were found in 11 patients. Erosions were most likely to be found in patients whose symptoms had been present for more than 6 months.

Fenbufen in patients with gastric intolerance.

Forty-one patients with inflammatory or degenerative arthritis and a history of gastric disturbance on other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, or of peptic ulceration were treated with fenbufen 600-1200 mg dialy, and followed up for 3-17 months in an open study. Twelve patients withdrew because of lack of effect of the drug on the arthritic symptoms. Four patients withdrew because of non-gastrointestinal side effects. Three patients withdrew because of continuing dyspepsia. Twenty-two patients continued on fenbufen without dyspepsia or evidence of gastro-intestinal bleeding for 3-17 months (mean 8.3 months). These results suggest that fenbufen can be tolerated by patients with a history of gastro-intestinal disturbance on other NSAIDs, and that a larger controlled study would be warranted.