Internal medicine
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A 33-year-old woman developed paresthesia in her right thumb approximately 30 minutes after receiving the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. The paresthesia gradually spread to her right-side limbs and trunk, and cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a localized lesion in the right dorsal column. After glucocorticoid therapy, her symptoms and MRI findings improved. Although disease developing less than 24 hours after vaccination is considered an unlikely cause of immuno-associated adverse events following vaccination, we discuss the possible mechanisms involved in early-onset central nervous system inflammation after vaccination in view of preexisting immunopathological susceptibility.
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We encountered a 37-year-old Japanese man with KIF1A-associated neurological disorder (KAND) who exhibited motor developmental delay, intellectual disability, and slowly progressive cerebellar ataxia, hypotonia, and optic neuropathy. Pyramidal tract signs were evident late in this case. At 30 years old, the patient developed a neurogenic bladder. ⋯ L278P) of KIF1A. Serial neuroradiological studies revealed atrophy of the cerebellum at an early age, and cerebral hemisphere atrophy progressed slowly over a 22-year observation period. Our study suggests that the primary etiology of KAND may be acquired, long-standing neurodegeneration rather than congenital hypoplasia.
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We herein report a three-year-old boy with septic pulmonary embolism caused by Tsukamurella paurometabola bacteremia during chemotherapy for rhabdomyosarcoma. During the interval of chemotherapy, the patient was temporarily discharged with a peripherally inserted central venous catheter but was re-admitted to the hospital with a fever on the same day. ⋯ The patient had a persistent fever, and computed tomography performed on the ninth day showed septic pulmonary embolism. We stress the importance of being aware of the possibility of septic pulmonary embolism in patients with Tsukamurella bacteremia.
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Objective Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is associated with its prognosis. The fibrin monomer complex (FMC), a marker of thrombin generation, is reportedly useful in diagnosing acute thrombosis. To date, there has been only one report on FMC in COVID-19, and the usefulness of FMC in COVID-19 is unknown. ⋯ A multivariate analysis showed that severe progression was associated with elevated FMC levels (odds ratio, 7.40; 95% confidence interval, 2.63-22.98; p<0.001). Conclusion FMC can be useful for diagnosing VTE in the acute phase of COVID-19. Elevated FMC was found to be associated with severity on admission and severe progression.
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Case Reports
A Case of Intestinal Obstruction Due to Reassembly after Endoscopic Crushing of a Bezoar.
An 87-year-old woman visited her primary-care doctor because of nausea and epigastric pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a giant bezoar in her stomach. She was referred to our hospital after carbonated beverage dissolution proved ineffective and underwent endoscopic mechanical crushing. ⋯ Later, however, the crushed fragments reassembled in the duodenal bulb and caused intestinal obstruction. The patient underwent emergency EGD for crushing once more, and all of the fragments were extracted from the body. This case highlights the need for bezoars to be removed from the body after crushing in order to avoid reassembly.