1/65. Refractory arthropathy after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy. Usefulness of isoniazide.BACKGROUND: Arthritis associated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy usually responds dramatically to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy. isoniazid is generally reserved for other complications such as granulomatous hepatitis. CASE-REPORT: A 73-year-old man was admitted for fever, arthritis of the knees and right temporomandibular joint, an inflammatory swelling over the left achilles tendon and bilateral conjunctivitis. The symptoms started in the wake of a course of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy. Laboratory tests showed evidence of severe inflammation. Cultures of blood, urine and joint fluid specimens were negative, as were tests for autoantibodies and serologic tests for organisms known to cause reactive arthritis. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory therapy was ineffective and glucocorticoid therapy produced only a partial response. All the symptoms resolved under isoniazid therapy in a dosage of 300 mg/day for three months. CONCLUSION: Use of antituberculous agents may be required in some cases of arthritis associated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy, most notably those with severe pyrexia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/65. Indolent aspergillus arthritis complicating fludarabine-based non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation.Fungal arthritis and osteomyelitis are rare and documented mainly in immunocompromised or neutropenic patients. patients receiving therapeutic immunosuppression for organ transplants have also reported to suffer from aspergillus osteoarthritis. We describe two patients with aspergillus arthritis of the knee joint following fludarabine-based non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation. Both were suffering from acute and chronic GVHD and treated with heavy immunosuppression including steroids and cyclosporine. Interestingly in one of our patients, the arthritis was almost asymptomatic and did not spread to other organs. Heavy pre- and post-transplant immunosuppression is a major risk factor for invasive fungal infection, which can involve remote organs and manifest in an indolent and atypical manner.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/65. Chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular syndrome: two new cases with rare manifestations.CINCA/IOMID is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology that resembles congenital infection and systemic juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). This disorder is characterized by neonatal onset, persistent rash, ocular inflammatory lesions, and progressive articular and neurological involvement. We report two new patients with this syndrome. Both children presented periodic bouts of cutaneous rash, fever, organomegaly, articular involvement with typical radiological features, and developmental delay. One of the patients presented neonatal jaundice and elevation of liver enzymes; inflammatory infiltrates were observed in the liver biopsy. The other patient showed retinal vasculitis detected at age 18 mo on fundoscopy and fluorescent angiography. Therapy with azathioprine was associated with prolonged remission of this complication. In both cases, the disease was diagnosed after some delay. Conclusion: Early hepatitis and retinal vasculitis are rare features of CINCA/IOMID that may help differentiate this syndrome from JRA. azathioprine may have induced the remission of vasculitis in one case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/65. Pancreatic pseudocystportal vein fistula manifests as residivating oligoarthritis, subcutaneous, bursal and osseal necrosis: a case report and review of literature.Pseudocyst is a common complication of pancreatitis. Pseudocyst may rupture into the surrounding organs. rupture into the portomesenteric vein is extremely rare with only seven cases being described in the English literature. pancreatic portal vein fistula is very difficult to verify. The aim of this study was to view the diagnostic methods of pancreatic portal vein fistula and to describe the results of high-dose corticosteroid treatment to our knowledge for the first time. We report here a case of pancreatic portomesenteric vein fistula that was manifest as subcutaneous fat necrosis, bursal necrosis, intramedullary aseptic bone necrosis and recidivating oligoarthritis. The literature of this unusual complication is reviewed. The results of high-dose corticosteroid treatment are also described. In patients with recidivating oligoarthritis, subcutaneous, bursal or osseal necrosis a pancreatic process should be included in the differential diagnosis even in cases of no abdominal signs or symptoms or previous abdominal history. Operative exploration of the pancreas should be performed in the early phase of the disease. To diminish the ongoing extrapancreatic manifestations after the closure of the fistula massive corticosteroid treatment may be attempted although the role of this therapy remains controversial.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/65. mercury poisoning: an unusual cause of polyarthritis.Mercury is a toxic metal that is widely used in everyday life. It has organic and inorganic forms that are both toxic. As acute mercury poisoning is uncommon, diagnosis is difficult if the exposure is not manifest. It has usually a slow onset and non-specific symptoms. In this paper we report a patient who developed polyarthritis after mercury exposure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/65. Inhibition of the TNF-pathway: use of infliximab and etanercept as remission-inducing agents in cases of therapy-resistant chronic inflammatory disorders.OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential of the two tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors infliximab and etanercept as remission-inducing agents in chronic therapy-resistant inflammatory disorders of immune or non-immune pathogenesis. methods: 14 patients with adult Still's disease/macrophage activation syndrome (4), Wegener's disease (3), Behcet's disease (3), keratoscleritis (1), lymphomatous tracheo-bronchitis (1) Cogan's syndrome (1), and rapidly destructive crystal arthropathy (1) were treated with infliximab (n = 10) and etanercept (n = 4). All patients showed organ-threatening progression of their diseases with resistance to conventional immunosuppressive medication. Therapeutic benefit was assessed clinically and by documenting organ-specific functional and morphological alterations. Side effects were compared with the data of our clinic's rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated by TNF inhibitors. RESULTS: A rapid and dramatic beneficial effect was documented in 9 patients and a moderate one in 5. Best responses (clinical and laboratory parameters) were seen in patients with macrophage activation syndrome/adult Still's disease and Behcet's disease, while the results were less impressive in those with Wegener's disease, Cogan's syndrome, idiopathic cerato-scleritis and lymphomatous tracheobronchitis. In all cases immunosuppressive agents and systemic glucocorticoids could be reduced or discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: TNF inhibition may be highly effective in patients with severe, therapy-resistant chronic inflammatory disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/65. churg-strauss syndrome: diagnostic difficulties and pathogenesis.A 52-year-old woman with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented with symmetrical polyarthritis involving her metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints, knees, ankles, and hips and with a purpuric rash involving her lower extremities. She had a history of recurrent episodes of purulent otitis often associated with myalgias and arthralgias. Laboratory studies at presentation included leukocytosis with 16% eosinophils, an elevated rheumatoid factor titer, and an elevated antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody titer. Cultures from the right ear canal grew. skin biopsy revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis with pericapillary eosinophils. The patient was treated with prednisone and then with azathioprine after the rash relapsed during the tapering of prednisone. Four months after her initial presentation, she developed bilateral foot drop. A sural nerve biopsy revealed vasa nervosum vasculitis. The diagnosis of churg-strauss syndrome was established, and she was treated with an increased dose of azathioprine and a slowly tapering prednisone regimen. This case report suggests that patients with churg-strauss syndrome can present with a syndrome suggesting rheumatoid arthritis. In this particular patient, recurrent staphylococcal infections may have triggered the vasculitic process.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.71476742261687keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/65. A case of cutaneous sensory neuropathy associated with churg-strauss syndrome.Cutaneous sensory neuropathy manifests as multiple, sharply demarcated areas of hypoesthesia with a variable degree of pain. This rare neuropathy is caused by a multifocal infection or inflammation of the small sensory nerves of the skin. We report a case in a patient with febrile arthritis and eosinophilia. Her chronic cough and the presence of extravascular infiltrates of eosinophils in a neuromuscular biopsy specimen suggested churg-strauss syndrome. The course was favorable under corticosteroid therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.71476742261687keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/65. sarcoidosis with multiple organ involvement emerging as Lofgren's syndrome.A 52-year-old woman was admitted because of high-grade remittent fever, erythema nodosum, and arthritis which had been lasting two months. Antibiotics did not improve her condition. A chest CT scan examination revealed bilateral hilar and mediastinal adenopathy and multiple nodular opacities in the bilateral lungs. The wedge biopsy of the right lower lobe using video-assisted thoracoscopy presented the histological findings of sarcoidosis. Finally, this case fulfilled the criteria of Lofgren's syndrome. Due to the uncovered cardiac involvement, the systemic glucocorticoid therapy had to be initiated. This case suggests that atypical forms of sarcoidosis should be kept in mind as well, when facing cases with unknown fever.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/65. Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis with pulmonary involvement.Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is a rare and possibly devastating systemic disorder characterized by tissue infiltration by histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells. The disease commonly involves the skin, joints, and mucous membranes, with the rare involvement of other organ systems. We describe a patient with MRH presenting with papules and nodules on both hands and a rapidly progressive arthritis who may have had pulmonary involvement of the disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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