RESUMO
Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare form of stroke that can present with various clinical features. In addition, it can present with nonspecific neurological features, and initial computed tomography (CT) cannot rule it out even if negative. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a hypercoagulable state; however, it is not much discussed. Here, we present a case of a 24-year-old immunocompetent female who presented with acute meningeal symptoms. She was managed as a case of an opportunistic central nervous system infection at initial presentation, which did not resolve her symptoms completely. Later, however, cerebral thrombosis was diagnosed, and she improved symptomatically on anticoagulants.
RESUMO
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a necrotizing vasculitis with upper and lower respiratory tract and renal system involvement. We present a case of a 59-year-old male presenting with complaints of abdominal pain with deranged renal function and acute increase in creatinine level. On investigation, the antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody, cytoplasmic (c-ANCA) was found to be significantly elevated in association with pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis on biopsy. This was diagnostic of Wegener's granulomatosis. He was treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide 10 mg/kg/pulse along with steroids at 1 mg/kg/day for induction and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) 80/400 mg for pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis after a negative tuberculosis QuantiFERON® assay (Qiagen, Netherlands). On discharge, he was on TMP-SMX prophylaxis for PCP, prednisone 60 mg daily, and cyclophosphamide on pulse dosing every 14 days with instructions to follow up. The patient showed improvement in therapy.
RESUMO
Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a neurological disorder typically caused by rapid correction of severe chronic hyponatremia. Conditions causing a hyperosmolar state can also cause CPM, but it is rarely seen in diabetes. Here we describe a case of a 34-year-old female with longstanding uncontrolled diabetes mellitus who presented with bilateral upper and lower limb weakness and dysphagia. Examination showed decreased muscle strength, and laboratory investigations showed high HbA1c, high blood glucose, increased serum osmolality, and normal sodium. A diagnosis of CPM was made after MRI showed restricted diffusion in the bilateral pons and CT showed pontine hypodensities. The patient was started on insulin therapy, and she showed clinical improvement with improving blood glucose levels. After five days of hospital stay, she was discharged home with appointments to neurology and endocrinology clinics. This case shows that CPM is a potential complication of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus in the presence of normal serum sodium. Timely treatment of hyperglycemia can lead to improvement of symptoms, but it is a potentially fatal condition. Thus, a diagnosis of CPM should be considered in diabetic patients who present with neurological symptoms and hyperglycemia.