Mitral Regurgitation Due to Caseous Calcification of the Mitral Annulus.

Mitral regurgitation can be a debilitating disease that has many etiologies. Frequent causes are mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic fever, dilated cardiomyopathy, and infective endocarditis. Another rare, but often overlooked cause is caseous calcification of the mitral annulus. This rare disease can lead to dangerous complications such as stroke and arrhythmias. In this report, we present an 84-year-old male with chronic kidney disease who was found to have mitral regurgitation secondary to caseous calcification of the mitral annulus. The goal of this report is to bring clinical awareness to this disease so that it is included in the differential diagnosis of mitral regurgitation.

An Aggressive Case of Mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is an aggressive fungal disease that can occur in individuals with certain predisposing factors, such as diabetes mellitus and pharmacologic immunosuppression. An astounding aspect of this disease is the speed at which it can spread to surrounding structures once it begins to germinate inside the human body. This case involves a 24-year-old male patient who presented to the emergency room complaining of a headache after a dental procedure who developed fulminant rhinocerebral mucormycosis within days. The objective of this report is to shed light on how fast this disease spreads, discuss current management of rhinocerebral mucormycosis, and illustrate the subtle, but critical radiographic findings to raise clinical awareness for this life-threatening disease.