Secondary Pneumothorax Induced by a Bronchopleural Fistula in a Patient With COVID-19 Pneumonia.

COVID-19 is a multi-system disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). One of the main highlights of the disease is the development of pneumonia complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome. While spontaneous pneumothorax has been reported in some patients with COVID-19, bronchopleural fistula has seldom been reported as the primary cause in these cases. We describe the rare case of a young patient who developed a pneumothorax complicating COVID-19 and was found to have a bronchopleural fistula and empyema secondary to Staphylococcus aureus superinfection.

Rare Case of Reversible Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Secondary to Cyclophosphamide and Doxorubicin Chemotherapy.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), characterized as a resting mean pulmonary artery pressure greater than 25 mmHg, is due to the narrowing of the pulmonary arteries, which can be idiopathic, inherited, or drug-related. Alkylating agents, including cyclophosphamide, are a risk factor for developing the pulmonary veno-occlusive disease. Drug-induced PAH is extremely rare. A 59-year-old female with newly diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast and high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ of the left breast was initiated treatment with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. About one week after receiving the first cycle, the patient developed worsening lower extremity edema and shortness of breath. She was then hospitalized, and a transthoracic echocardiogram and coronary angiogram revealed PAH. The team then changed the breast cancer treatment regimen to Taxol and carboplatin, and PAH was resolved in a follow-up echocardiogram after five months. This report has described the first case of PAH directly related to cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin. It is imperative to promptly recognize this rare but important side-effect as early diagnosis and response can potentially reverse the disease progression.

Multivalvular infective endocarditis with Proteus mirabilis.

Proteus species belong to the Enterobacteriaceae family and are gram-negative-rods, commonly known to cause urinary tract infections and asymptomatic bacteriuria in elderly patients with risk factors such as diabetes mellitus and urinary catheterization. However, Proteus species are rarely known to cause infective endocarditis. We present a case of an 85-year-old female who presented due to decreased responsiveness with urine and blood cultures growing Proteus mirabilis. While she was being treated for her urinary tract infection, her echocardiogram showed vegetation on the left coronary cusp of the aortic valve and left pulmonic valve leaflet. Uncontrolled tachyarrhythmias and new-onset atrial fibrillation complicated the hospital course. Later, she became bradycardic during the hospital stay, and all rate-control medications were held. Unfortunately, she went into cardiac arrest and spontaneous circulation could not be established with resuscitation attempts and she expired. To our knowledge, this is a rare case of native valve infective endocarditis secondary to Proteus mirabilis, leading to uncontrolled tachyarrhythmias and death.