The American journal of the medical sciences
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Review Case Reports
Thymic Carcinoma with Multiple Paraneoplastic Disorders.
Thymic neoplasms are rare and may run an indolent course. Among them, thymic epithelial carcinoma is exceptional as it may be presented with extensive local invasion and distant metastases. There is a wide spectrum of autoimmune/paraneoplastic syndromes associated with thymic tumors including autoimmune diseases, some of which may precede the diagnosis of thymoma. ⋯ Vitiligo, Raynaud's phenomenon and anti-centromere antibodies were preceded while eosinophilia, interstitial lung disease, rash, thickening of the skin and asymptomatic cryoglobulinemia were diagnosed concomitantly with the neoplasm. We have reviewed the literature and found only twenty case reports with a cluster of three or more autoimmune/paraneoplastic syndromes in the same patient but none with this unique constellation of disorders. The diversity of thymoma's clinical presentation and laboratory/histological features may cause diagnostic dilemmas and therapeutic challenges.
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Review Case Reports
A Case Report on Type 2 Amiodarone Induced Thyrotoxicosis and Hypercalcemia.
Amiodarone, the most commonly used antiarrhythmic drug, can cause either hypothyroidism by inhibiting iodide transport into the thyroid gland or hyperthyroidism. We present a rare case of type 2 amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis with hypercalcemia. A 64-year-old man with systolic heart failure, hypertension, and hyperthyroidism presented with complaints of dyspnea on exertion, orthopnea, and vomiting for several days. ⋯ Hypercalcemia, a rare presentation of AIT, was treated with calcitonin and intravenous fluids. The patient was taken off methimazole and started on propylthiouracil for the persistent elevation of thyroid hormones, especially FT3, and to reduce the conversion of T4 to T3. The patient was not completely responding to treatment with propylthiouracil alone, so prednisone was added to the regimen on day 12, effectively returning the patient to the euthyroid state.
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While frailty is thought to be a wasting disorder, there is scarce data regarding the association between frailty and body mass index (BMI). The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between BMI, frailty, and mortality among hospitalized older adults. ⋯ We did not find a relationship between BMI and frailty among hospitalized older adults. Overweight patients had a survival advantage if they were non-frail or vulnerable. There is need for further longitudinal studies assessing the interaction between frailty and BMI in older adults.
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Editorial Historical Article
Possible Early Examples of Medical Tourism.
Health tourism has hundreds of years of history, most notably in visitors traveling to thermal baths. Medical tourism, a type of health tourism, has rapidly expanded in the last quarter century by patients travelling abroad to health centers for medical treatment. Because of lack of records in ancient times, the history of tourism for actual medical treatment is unknown. ⋯ All three patients had the same medical illness and came to Konya for medical treatment. Therefore we emphasized that those patients searched for the name of doctor who was an authority on that illness. This study indicates that medical tourism may have occurred well before the 20th century.
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Patients hospitalized with acute heart disease [acute myocardial infarction (MI); heart disease exacerbation] may require red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. These patients are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Hematological biomarkers may help to identify increased mortality risk. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between hematological biomarkers and survival in these patients. ⋯ Hematological biomarkers may help to identify increased mortality risk of acute heart disease patients, receiving RBC transfusions in an internal medicine department.