Internal medicine
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Review Case Reports
Development of sarcoidosis during etanercept therapy.
This report describes a 65-year-old woman who developed granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis during etanercept therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and multiple nodules in both lung fields developed 21 months after administration of etanercept. ⋯ Etanercept was discontinued, which resulted in symptomatic relief, improvement of oxygenation and radiologic findings. There is substantial evidence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha involvement in the induction and maintenance of granuloma formation; however, we should keep in mind that granulomatous disease, such as sarcoidosis, can develop during treatment with a tumor necrosis factor-alpha blocking agent, such as etanercept.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Gender-related and city- and countryside-related differences in patients with ulcerative colitis in a Chinese population.
The purpose of this study is to determine gender-related and city- and countryside-related differences of ulcerative colitis in a Chinese population, and to determine information on the role of lifestyle in the onset of ulcerative colitis. ⋯ Both gender-related and city- and countryside-related differences were found in the expression of ulcerative colitis in the Chinese population. Lifestyle factors such as psychological stress and fatigue may contribute to the expression of ulcerative colitis.
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We report an autopsied case of a 74-year-old man with primary pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) associated with leukocytosis, hypercalcemia, phagocytosis in the bone marrow, reactive lymphadenopathy and mesangial cell proliferation in the glomerulus. Laboratory examination revealed increased serum levels of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTH-rP), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble interleukin 2 receptor (s-IL2R). ⋯ Thus, pulmonary SCC seemed to produce both G-CSF and PTH-rP, causing leukocytosis, hypercalcemia, and IL-6 production from the bone. IL-6 also might have stimulated the proliferation of SCC and glomerular mesangial cells, and induced phagocytosis, reactive lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly by interacting with the mononuclear phagocytic system.
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Case Reports
Zygomycosis presenting as acute myocardial infarction during hematological malignancies.
Here we report two patients with hematological malignancies associated with complications of fatal cardiac zygomycosis. The first case, a 72-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome being treated with low-dose cytarabine, died of sudden cardiac arrest. An autopsy revealed disseminated zygomycosis accompanied with occlusion of the coronary artery by fungal thrombi. ⋯ She experienced sudden bradycardia with unstable hemodynamics and died of acute myocardial infarction. Histological examination of a skin biopsy demonstrated zygomycosis. In light of the above, it should be kept in mind that cardiac zygomycosis might occur in hematologically compromised patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction.
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The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mechanical ventilation (MV), including noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) and endotracheal intubation (ETI) in patients with very severe hypoxemia due to refractory heart failure (RHF). ⋯ Both NPPV and ETI are safe and effective modalities for improving hypoxemia and left heart function in patients with RHF. These results suggest that invasive MV should be applied to very severe patients with RHF as quickly as possible when an expected clinical improvement cannot be obtained by NPPV.