1/8. Autoimmune hepatitis associated with the odour of fish food proteins: a causal relationship or just a mere association?We present the case of a 15-year-old boy [HLA phenotype: A 1, 25 (10); B 18, 8; C 7; DR 17 (3), 6] with classic (type 1) autoimmune hepatitis presumably caused by a long-term exposure to the strong odour of food fed to a large number of tropical fish which that the boy kept in tanks in his bedroom. The boy presented with a history of recent symptoms of common cold, and a high cytomegalovirus-IgG titer, both known to activate proinflammatory cytokines. The patient's laboratory results and physical findings improved without specific treatment during his first stay in the hospital for several weeks, as well as when the thanks were removed from his bedroom while disease activity increased after his return home. This suggests that the association with fish food odour (putative volatile protein antigens) was not simply coincidental. Our patien's history is in agreement with the recently postulated pathomechanism of autoimmune hepatitis, according to which viral infections may trigger the disease in a genetically predisposed individuals persistently exposed to a constant antigenic stimulus, which results in ongoing allergic inflammation and finally develops into an immune process. The spontaneous remissions observed in our patient were characteristic of the natural course of autoimmune hepatitis and may reflect periods when he was not exposed to the eventually harmful effects of the odour of fish food proteins.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/8. Leflunomide therapy for cytomegalovirus disease in renal allograft recepients.Leflunomide has excellent antiviral activity against cytomegalovirus (CMV) in animal models and is considerably less expensive than intravenous ganciclovir. We used leflunomide in four consenting renal allograft recipients with symptomatic CMV disease, who were unable to afford ganciclovir and would otherwise remain untreated. This is the first report of efficacy of leflunomide in humans with CMV disease. They received loading dose of 100 mg of leflunomide once daily on days 1-3 and then 20 mg once daily for 3 months. All four patients were followed up three times weekly with physical examination, total leukocyte counts, blood urea and serum creatinine for a minimum period of 6 weeks. None of the patients showed drug related adverse events, alteration in cyclosporine levels, or decreased graft function, except one who developed leucopenia. Preliminary data presented suggests that leflunomide therapy for CMV disease is effective and could be used with careful monitoring in allograft recipients who cannot afford intravenous ganciclovir therapy. The duration of treatment and the role of leflunomide in secondary prophylaxis and in situations of ganciclovir resistance need to be studied further.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/8. Acute cytomegalovirus infection associated with the onset of inflammatory bowel disease.A 29-year-old man was admitted with high-grade fever, crampy abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea that had persisted for 2 weeks before his admission. Symptomatic treatment (acetaminophen only) was of no benefit. On physical examination, there was diffuse abdominal tenderness. Laboratory tests showed a leukomoid reaction with atypical lymphocytosis, and serology tests revealed acute cytomegalovirus infection. Abdominal computed tomography and colonoscopy revealed an inflammatory process involving the large intestine. On histologic examinations of intestinal biopsy samples, there was an active inflammation with no inclusion bodies.The patient was treated with ganciclovir with only mild improvement. Adding 5-aminosalicylic acid caused little further improvement. Repeated colonoscopy performed 2 months later showed severe chronic ulcerative colitis. Only the addition of systemic steroids caused complete resolution of the symptoms.On review of the literature (medline search for cytomegalovirus colitis in immunocompetent patients), 18 cases were found. On follow-up, 10 of these patients were found to have inflammatory bowel disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/8. Pharyngeal ulceration in AIDS patients secondary to cytomegalovirus infection.cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are common and may present as retinitis, encephalitis, esophagitis, gastritis, enterocolitis, adrenalitis, or pneumonitis. Three patients are presented with pharyngeal ulcerations secondary to CMV. Similar cases have not been previously described in the literature. Symptoms, physical findings, and the treatment of this clinical entity are discussed. Although pharyngeal CMV ulcers are not life-threatening, they may herald multisystemic CMV infection that may require prompt antiviral chemotherapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/8. Perimyocarditis. Report on an unusual cause.A 29-year-old man had a febrile illness accompanied by chest pain and tachycardia. The ECG suggested either myocarditis or acute ischemia. heart muscle enzymes were normal, the peripheral blood count showed absolute and relative lymphocytosis, and an echocardiogram disclosed a small pericardial effusion. After defervescence, splenomegaly was noted and the SGPT level was elevated to four times normal. There was a greater than fourfold rise in titer of IgM antibodies to cytomegalovirus. This is only the second report in detail of perimyocarditis caused by cytomegalovirus mononucleosis. An interesting aspect of the case was an afebrile prodrome that lasted for more than one week, during which prostration, palpitations, and breathlessness on exertion were present and the sole physical finding was tachycardia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/8. cytomegalovirus infection in the normal host.CMV mononucleosis often resembles EBV infectious mononucleosis; however, certain features of the history and physical may help to distinguish CMV from EBV. While CMV mononucleosis is usually self-limited, certain laboratory abnormalities may persist for months or years after the patient has recovered. Previous reports on CMV in the non-immunocompromised host have rarely described systemic complications. We have reviewed 10 cases of CMV with systemic manifestations at one institution over a 15-year period. These patients had prolonged fevers (often greater than three weeks) and the diagnosis was often unsuspected during the early part of the illness. While two patients required mechanical ventilation, all patients had self-limiting disease and survived. When CMV is suspected and diagnosed early in the course, numerous diagnostic (and potentially dangerous) tests can be avoided in a viral illness in which prolonged fever is common.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/8. infection by human cytomegalovirus associated with chronic hematospermia.Hematospermia, or blood in the ejaculate, is not an infrequent urologic condition most often occurring without recognizable physical dysfunction. It is regarded as benign and self-resolving. In its chronic form, however, it may manifest periodic recurrences or persistence for months to years. We had opportunity to follow the course of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in a patient experiencing both chronic hematospermia and CMV mononucleosis. The level of virus output in urine (representing systemic CMV infection) remained constant over a period of forty-four weeks during and after convalescence from the mononucleosis syndrome. However, virus isolation from semen (representing localized CMV infection) appeared to parallel the course of and concomitantly terminate with the resolution of the urologic condition. The concentration and temporal association of CMV with the course of chronic hematospermia is suggestive of a causative role in this genital pathology.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/8. diagnosis, surveillance, and epidemiologic evaluation of viral infections in pediatric cardiac transplant recipients with the use of the polymerase chain reaction.BACKGROUND: Viral infections, particularly those caused by cytomegalovirus, are a major cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality in heart transplant recipients. These infections have classically been diagnosed by history, physical examination, peripheral viral cultures, and serologic studies. These methods are often time-consuming and lack sensitivity. Positive viral cultures from the heart are rarely obtained, and viral myocarditis and acute cellular rejection are unable to be differentiated histologically. We have therefore used the polymerse chain reaction to diagnose possible viral infection in pediatric heart transplant recipients with findings consistent with acute unexplained rejection. methods: polymerase chain reaction was used as an aid to diagnose cytomegalovirus infection of cardiac tissue obtained by right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy and follow its long-term course. In addition, polymerase chain reaction was used to diagnose infection of the heart by other viruses in patients with clinical and histologic evidence of rejection, especially those with unexplained late rejection or chronic rejection. polymerase chain reaction primers were designed to amplify nucleic acid sequences from cytomegalovirus, parvovirus, adenovirus, herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and the rna viruses of the enterovirus family. RESULTS: Forty patients underwent serial right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy (129 samples) for rejection surveillance with positive results obtained in 41 samples (32%) from 21 patients. Viral genome amplified included cytomegalovirus in 16 samples, adenovirus in 14, enterovirus in 6, parvovirus in 3, and herpes simplex virus in 2. In 13 of the 21 patients positive for viral genome (62%), endomyocardial biopsy histologic scores were consistent with multifocal moderate to severe rejection (Internal Society for heart and lung transplantation scores of 3A or greater). CONCLUSIONS: Polymerase chain reactions may be used as a rapid and sensitive method to evaluate postoperative viral infections in heart transplant recipients, especially in those with late-onset rejection or chronic rejection. polymerase chain reaction may also be useful in the serial analysis of cytomegalovirus status in transplant recipients. The use of multiple viral primers improves the diagnostic evaluation of these patients and may lead to a better understanding of the epidemiologic characteristics of posttransplantation viral infections and the cause of late or chronic rejection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |