Internal medicine
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A 39-year-old man was admitted because of cardiac arrest. Emergent coronary angiography revealed a preserved coronary blood flow; however, multiple-row detector computed tomography (MDCT) revealed that the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) was running inside the aortic wall, creating proximal stenosis without atherosclerotic changes. ⋯ Intraoperative findings during CABG did not reveal hematoma or coronary dissection. However, MDCT one year after CABG depicted improvement of the RCA and graft stenoses, suggesting that the post-unroof stenosis may have been caused by an inflammatory reaction after surgical intervention.
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A 42-year-old Japanese woman was admitted for the evaluation of proteinuria. She had a history of four habitual abortions and valvular heart disease, including severe mitral regurgitation and moderate tricuspid regurgitation. ⋯ Although the standard test for antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies was negative, the patient was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)-related disease by testing for phosphatidylserine dependent anti-prothrombin anticardiolipin antibody, a non-criterial aPL antibody. A kidney biopsy may lead to a diagnosis of APS in patients with negative laboratory test findings for APS.
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Several case reports of patients with both moyamoya syndrome (MMS) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) have been published. However, the relationship between MMS and APS has not been clarified. ⋯ The patient was triple-positive for antiphospholipid antibodies. Patients with MMS complicated by APS should be closely followed up with vascular imaging.
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An 86-year-old Japanese woman was referred to our hospital due to the sudden onset of abdominal pain. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed no signs of ischemic bowel; however, laboratory investigations revealed metabolic lactic acidosis, elevation of inflammatory markers, and a remarkable elevation in the serum phosphate level. A prompt surgical evaluation revealed non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI). Elevated serum phosphate levels may suggest extensive bowel ischemia or infarction, which can lead to a prompt surgical evaluation, even in the absence of specific radiological findings.
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A 75-year-old woman visited our hospital with constipation. Colonoscopy revealed a submucosal tumor in the rectum. She was followed up as a case of mucosal prolapse syndrome. ⋯ Amyloid protein deposition was detected from the submucosa to subserosa. Other organs showed no evidence of amyloidosis; we therefore diagnosed the patient with localized rectal amyloidosis. This is a rare case of symptomatic localized rectal amyloidosis whose long-term progression was able to be endoscopically observed.