A 33-Year-Old Woman With Breathing Difficulty, Inspiratory Wheeze, and Hemoptysis.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 33-year-old teacher from Ghana with no medical comorbidities and no relevant family history came to our pulmonology department with progressive difficulty in breathing, wheezing, and stridor for 6 months. Similar episodes had been treated previously as bronchial asthma. She was being treated with high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators but had no relief. The patient also described two episodes of large quantities of hemoptysis (> 150 mL) in the previous week. A general physical examination revealed a tachypneic young woman with an audible inspiratory wheeze. Her BP was 128/80 mm Hg; pulse, 90 beats/min; and respiratory rate, 32 breaths/min. There was a hard, minimally tender, nodular swelling of 3 × 3 cm in the midline neck felt just below the cricoid cartilage, moving with deglutition and protrusion of the tongue, with no retrosternal extension. There was no cervical or axillary lymphadenopathy. Laryngeal crepitus was present.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring for the Detection of Hypoglycemia in Patients With Diabetes of the Exocrine Pancreas.

BACKGROUND: Detailed evaluations of hypoglycemia and associated indices based on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) are limited in patients with diabetes of the exocrine pancreas. Our study sought to evaluate the frequency and pattern of hypoglycemic events and to investigate hypoglycemia-specific indices in this population. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study comprising 83 participants with diabetes of the exocrine pancreas. CGM and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) were performed on all participants for a minimum period of 72 hours. The frequency and pattern of hypoglycemic events, as well as hypoglycemia-related indices, were evaluated. RESULTS: Hypoglycemia was detected in 90.4% of patients using CGM and 38.5% of patients using SMBG. Nocturnal hypoglycemic events were more frequent (1.9 episodes/patient) and prolonged (142 minutes) compared with day-time events (1.1 episodes/patient; 82.8 minutes, P < 0.05). The mean low blood glucose index was 2.1, and glycemic risk assessment diabetes equation hypoglycemia was 9.1%. The mean time spent below (TSB) <70 mg/dL was 9.2%, and TSB <54 mg/dL was 3.7%. The mean area under curve (AUC) <70 mg/dL was 1.7 ± 2.5 mg/dL/hour and AUC <54 mg/dL was 0.6 ± 1.3 mg/dL/hour. All of the CGM-derived hypoglycemic indices were significantly more deranged at night compared with during the day (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with diabetes of the exocrine pancreas have a high frequency of hypoglycemic episodes that are predominantly nocturnal. CGM is superior to SMBG in the detection of nocturnal and asymptomatic hypoglycemic episodes. CGM-derived hypoglycemic indices are beneficial in estimating the risk of hypoglycemia.

Intra-abdominal fat estimation by bio-electrical impedance analysis in patients with fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes compared with BMI matched type 2 diabetic subjects and healthy controls.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) is a major contributor to insulin resistance (IR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Prior studies have demonstrated evidence of IR in fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD). However, no data exists on IAAT estimation in FCPD. Hence, we compared IAAT area among FCPD patients and an equal number of body mass index (BMI) matched T2D patients and healthy controls. METHODS: We recruited 60 patients with FCPD between January 2019 and February 2020. Body composition analysis was performed via bio-electrical impedance analysis. RESULTS: The mean ages were 37.82 ± 10.07, 51.02 ± 9.9, and 30.7 ± 11.51 years for patients in the FCPD, T2D, and control groups, respectively. The mean BMI of patients in the three groups was 20.65 ± 2.01, 20.83 ± 1.49, and 20.91 ± 1.59 kg/m2, respectively (P = 0.684). The mean IAAT area of patients in the FCPD, T2D, and control groups was 67.93 ± 43.38, 117.78 ± 48.03, and 100.52 ± 42.31 cm2, respectively. IAAT was significantly lower in patients with FCPD compared with those in the other two groups (P < 0.0001). In the entire cohort, IAAT showed significant positive correlation with age (r = 0.20), abdominal circumference (r = 0.80), waist hip ratio (r = 0.75), and LDL level (r = 0.25) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with FCPD have significantly lower IAAT compared to BMI matched T2D subjects and healthy controls. IAAT does not appear to be a major contributor to insulin resistance observed in patients with FCPD.