Internal medicine
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Case Reports
Persistent Hemichorea as a Preceding Symptom of Cerebral Infarction due to Middle Cerebral Artery Stenosis.
We herein report an 84-year-old woman with right middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis who presented with persistent left hemichorea preceding cerebral infarction. She visited our hospital on day 9 after the hemichorea onset. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no acute cerebral infarction. ⋯ Repeat MRI revealed a cerebral infarction in the right putamen. MCA stenosis can present with persistent hemichorea, even in the absence of cerebral infarction. Persistent hemichorea with MCA stenosis may presage cerebral infarction.
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A 58-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) visited our hospital complaining of a persistent cough and sputum for the past year. She had a high cold hemagglutinin titer and chronic sinusitis. Chest computed tomography revealed bilateral diffuse centrilobular nodules, bronchiectasis, and bronchial wall thickening. ⋯ Her condition improved after the administration of clarithromycin. Several cases of RA complicating DPB have previously been reported, but only in Japan. We need to consider DPB as a bronchiolitis types accompanying RA among Japanese patients.
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Observational Study
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction from a Single-center Experience in Tokyo.
Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on global healthcare systems. Some studies have reported the negative impact of COVID-19 on ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients; however, the impact in Japan remains unclear. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on STEMI patients admitted to an academic tertiary-care center in Tokyo, Japan. ⋯ Furthermore, the in-hospital mortality was higher, but the difference was not significant (9.4% vs. 5.0%, p=0.098). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted STEMI patients in Tokyo and resulted in a slight decrease in hospitalization, a significant increase in late presentation and treatment delays, and a slight but nonsignificant increase in mortality. In the COVID-19 era, the acute management system for STEMI in Japan must be reviewed.
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Case Reports
Long Spinal Cord Lesions Caused by Venous Congestive Myelopathy Associated with Intravascular Large B-cell Lymphoma.
Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a subtype of B-cell lymphoma, characterized by lymphoma cell proliferation within small blood vessels. We herein describe a rare case with long spinal cord lesions caused by venous congestive myelopathy associated with IVLBCL. ⋯ The patient died three months after disease onset, and a neuropathological analysis revealed predominantly atypical B-lymphocytes located sparsely in the veins of the spinal cord. IVLBCL should be considered in the differential diagnoses of long spinal cord lesions.
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Case Reports
High-grade Primary Central Nervous System Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis: Successful Rituximab Monotherapy.
The primary central nervous system (CNS) presentation of lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is rare, and no standard therapy for LYG with primary CNS symptoms exists. CNS-LYG patients usually survive for only less than a year from diagnosis. This is the first report of high-grade primary CNS-LYG with monoclonality that was successfully treated with rituximab monotherapy, resulting in a durable remission for more than 1 year in a 66-year-old woman with pemphigus vulgaris who was also on immunosuppressive therapy.