Internal medicine
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Case Reports
New-onset Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis Following COVID-19 Vaccination in a Patient with Seronegative Status.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide since 2019, and mRNA vaccines for the disease have been rapidly delivered to limit the severity of infection. However, while these vaccines are effective in reducing the morbidity and severity of the disease, some patients develop severe adverse drug reactions and new-onset autoimmune phenomena, such as myocarditis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, and vasculitis. ⋯ We herein report a case of new-onset seropositive RA following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Although tests for rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody had been negative three years before vaccination, the patient developed seropositive RA following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination.
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Cushing's disease causes numerous metabolic disorders, cognitive decline, and sarcopenia, leading to deterioration of the general health in older individuals. Cushing's disease can be treated with transsphenoidal surgery, but thus far, surgery has often been avoided in older patients. We herein report an older woman with Cushing's disease whose cognitive impairment and sarcopenia improved after transsphenoidal surgery. Although cognitive impairment and sarcopenia in most older patients show resistance to treatment, our case indicates that normalization of the cortisol level by transsphenoidal surgery can be effective in improving the cognitive impairment and muscle mass loss caused by Cushing's disease.
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To our knowledge, there have been no reports of right-sided infective endocarditis (RSIE) with ventricular free wall vegetation caused by Abiotrophia defectiva. We herein report a case of RSIE caused by A. defectiva with ventricular free wall vegetation in a 27-year-old man with ventricular septal defect (VSD). Computed tomography showed multiple bilateral pulmonary nodular shadows. ⋯ Blood culture revealed A. defectiva. These findings are consistent with a diagnosis of infective endocarditis and septic pulmonary embolism. Treatment with ceftriaxone and gentamicin and subsequent surgical VSD closure improved the patient's condition without recurrence.
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Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are extremely rare tumors with a poor prognosis. They usually involve the pericardium and the right side of the heart. ⋯ Multiple imaging modalities clearly demonstrated the tumors at the initial evaluation. The pathological diagnosis was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.