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Italian Journal of Pediatrics Jul 2022Primary Synovial Chondromatosis (PSC) is a rare benign tumor of the synovial membrane in which cartilage metaplasia produces calcific loose bodies within the articular...
BACKGROUND
Primary Synovial Chondromatosis (PSC) is a rare benign tumor of the synovial membrane in which cartilage metaplasia produces calcific loose bodies within the articular space. Only a few cases are reported in the pediatric population and its etiology remains unknown. This condition typically affects large weight-bearing joints with pain, swelling and decrease range of motion. Due to its slow progressions, delayed diagnosis is frequent and differential diagnosis should consider other chronic arthritis and malignancies. While arthroscopic removal of loose bodies is the current treatment up to now, the association of partial or complete synovectomy is debated.
CASE PRESENTATION
We report about a 14-year-old girl with a long-lasting right shoulder pain, especially during movements or exercise, localized tenderness and hypotonia of the glenohumeral joint. No previous trauma was mentioned. Blood exams, Mantoux test and plain radiography of the right shoulder were unremarkable. Ultrasound imaging revealed echogenic and calcified bodies stretching the glenohumeral joint and dislocating the long head of biceps tendon. Magnetic resonance showed a "rice-grain" pattern of the right shoulder. From an arthroscopic surgery, multiple loose white bodies were removed within the synovial membrane, and synovial chondromatosis was confirmed by histological analysis. At one month follow up visit, the patient completely recovered without pain.
CONCLUSION
Synovial chondromatosis is a very uncommon cause of mono articular pain in children, especially when it affects shoulder. Pediatricians should keep in mind this condition to avoid delayed diagnosis and treatment, even in consideration of the low risk of malignant transformation. Through this case, we would highlight common diagnostic pitfalls and treatment of synovial chondromatosis.
Topics: Adolescent; Arthroscopy; Child; Chondromatosis, Synovial; Female; Humans; Joint Loose Bodies; Shoulder Joint; Shoulder Pain
PubMed: 35908061
DOI: 10.1186/s13052-022-01332-4 -
Cureus Apr 2022In Bangladesh, tuberculosis and leprosy are endemic mycobacterial diseases; however, co-infection is rarely seen. Our patient had a high-grade fever, symmetrical...
In Bangladesh, tuberculosis and leprosy are endemic mycobacterial diseases; however, co-infection is rarely seen. Our patient had a high-grade fever, symmetrical polyarthritis, polymorphous erythematous lesions, widespread lymphadenopathy, peripheral neuropathy, bilaterally thickened ulnar nerves, and claw hands. A lymph node biopsy revealed tuberculosis having acid-fast bacilli with caseating epithelioid histiocytic granuloma. Cutaneous lesions and sural nerve biopsies indicated borderline lepromatous leprosy. Fite-Faraco stain showed the presence of lepra bacilli in the biopsied sural nerve. Mantoux test showed 15 mm induration in 72 hours. Nerve conduction study (NCS) showed severe sensory-motor polyneuropathy (axonal) of all four limbs. Prednisolone and thalidomide for severe type-2 lepra response and category-01 antituberculosis medication and multidrug therapy for multibacillary leprosy improved the patient's condition. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination in the community might protect against tuberculosis and leprosy, thus reducing such coinfection. However, reduced cell-mediated immunity might promote latent tuberculosis reactivation or super-infection in individuals with multi-bacilli illnesses.
PubMed: 35530889
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.23892 -
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary... Feb 2022Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the main causes of mortality among infectious diseases. The prevalence of tuberculosis is very high in developing countries such as India....
BACKGROUND
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the main causes of mortality among infectious diseases. The prevalence of tuberculosis is very high in developing countries such as India. Mantoux test is frequently used for the diagnosis of latent or active tuberculosis despite low sensitivity and specificity. However, the Mantoux test is a crucial test in a resource-less setup for the diagnosis of TB. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to find the dropout rate and dropout reasons in Mantoux testing.
METHODOLOGY
All suspected TB patients attending out-patient department and further tested for Mantoux test.
RESULTS
Of the total 789 Mantoux tests, 459 (58%) were negative, 195 (25%) were positive, and 135 (17%) were dropouts. One of the main reasons for dropout was patients did not give importance to the Mantoux test.
CONCLUSION
Dropout rate in Mantoux testing can be reduced by patient counseling regarding TB and Mantoux test by the doctor.
PubMed: 35360823
DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1355_21 -
Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina,... Mar 2022Nontuberculous mycobacteria infections have become increasingly common in recent years and have even been confirmed in children. In addition to other organs, they can...
Nontuberculous mycobacteria infections have become increasingly common in recent years and have even been confirmed in children. In addition to other organs, they can even affect the skin; nevertheless, in children lymphadenitis is the most common manifestation of the infection. The diagnosis of mycobacterial skin infection is based on patient history, clinical picture, histopathological changes, and tuberculin test result. Evidence of the causative agent in the lesion is confirmed with cultivation and PCR, two of the main tests that help determine the type of the causative mycobacteria. Here we report the case of a 4-year-old boy that presented with a few pink-to-livid papules and one plaque with a central crust on the skin of the left knee and an enlarged popliteal lymph node, highly suspicious of nontuberculous mycobacteria infection. Among the laboratory results, only a positive QuantiFERON and Mantoux test stood out. In addition, in the histopathological report, superficial and deep inflammatory elements were described, which could be due to an infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria. Despite negative cultivation and PCR, in agreement with a pediatric pulmonologist we decided to introduce antibiotic therapy for 6 months. Treatment was successful, we achieved regression of the skin lesions, and lymphadenitis was no longer present.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Child; Child, Preschool; Humans; Lymphadenitis; Male; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria
PubMed: 35339141
DOI: No ID Found -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Mar 2022: This 10-year multicenter retrospective study reviewed the clinical manifestations, diagnostic tests, and treatment modalities of tubercular uveitis (TBU), including...
: This 10-year multicenter retrospective study reviewed the clinical manifestations, diagnostic tests, and treatment modalities of tubercular uveitis (TBU), including direct infection and indirect immune-mediated hypersensitivity to mycobacterial antigens in Taiwan. : This retrospective chart review of patients with TBU was conducted at 11 centers from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2017. We used a multiple regression model to analyze which factors influenced best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvement. : A total of 79 eyes from 51 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 48.9 ± 16.4 years. The mean change of LogMAR BCVA at last visit was -0.21 ± 0.45. Diagnostic tools used include chest X-ray, chest computed tomography, Mantoux test, interferon gamma release test (QuantiFERON-TB Gold test), intraocular fluid tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction, and bronchial alveolar lavage. The clinical manifestations included 48% posterior uveitis and 37% panuveitis. In the sample, 55% of the cases were bilateral and 45% unilateral. There was 60.76% retinal vasculitis, 35.44% choroiditis, 21.52% serpiginous-like choroiditis, 17.72% vitreous hemorrhage, 12.66% posterior synechiae, 6.33% retinal detachment, and 3.80% choroidal granuloma. Treatment modalities included rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, oral steroid, posterior triamcinolone, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitrectomy, and immunosuppressants. BCVA improved in 53.2% of eyes and remained stable in 32.9% of eyes. In the final model of multiple regression, worse initial BCVA, pyrazinamide, and receiving vitrectomy predicted better BCVA improvement. Ethambutol was associated with worse visual outcomes. Seven eyes experienced recurrence. : This is the largest 10-year multicenter retrospective study of TBU in Taiwan to date, demonstrating the distribution of clinical manifestations and clinical associations with better treatment outcomes. The study provides a comprehensive description of TBU phenotypes in Taiwan and highlights considerations for the design of further prospective studies to reliably assess the role of ATT and vitrectomy in patients with TBU.
Topics: Humans; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Taiwan; Uveitis; Vitrectomy
PubMed: 35334552
DOI: 10.3390/medicina58030376 -
Monash Bioethics Review Dec 2022We propose an emerging conceptualization of "intervention hesitancy" to address a broad spectrum of hesitancy to disease prevention interventions among healthcare...
We propose an emerging conceptualization of "intervention hesitancy" to address a broad spectrum of hesitancy to disease prevention interventions among healthcare personnel (HCP) beyond vaccine hesitancy. To demonstrate this concept and its analytical benefits, we used a qualitative case-study methodology, identifying a "spectrum" of disease prevention interventions based on (1) the intervention's effectiveness, (2) how the intervention is regulated among HCP in the Israeli healthcare system, and (3) uptake among HCP in the Israeli healthcare system. Our cases ultimately contribute to a more nuanced conceptualization of hesitancy that HCP express towards disease prevention interventions. Our case interventions included the seasonal influenza vaccine, the Mantoux test, and the hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine. Influenza and HBV are vaccine-preventable diseases, though their respective vaccines vary significantly in effectiveness and uptake among HCP. The Mantoux test is a tuberculin skin test which provides a prevention benchmark for tuberculosis (TB), a non-vaccine preventable disease. We conducted semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders and analyzed them within Israeli and international policy context between 2016 and 2019, a period just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose the conceptualization of "intervention hesitancy"-beyond "vaccine hesitancy"-as "hesitancy towards a wide range of public health interventions, including but not limited to vaccines". Results suggested that intervention hesitancy among HCP is rooted in weak trust in their employer, poor employment conditions, as well as mixed institutional guidelines and culture. Conceptualizing intervention hesitancy expands the ability of healthcare systems to understand the root of hesitancy and foster a supportive institutional culture and trust, cognizant of diverse disease prevention interventions beyond vaccination.
Topics: Humans; Pandemics; COVID-19; Health Personnel; Influenza Vaccines; Delivery of Health Care
PubMed: 35306625
DOI: 10.1007/s40592-022-00152-w -
Radiology Case Reports May 2022Pott's disease is a distinctive presentation of tuberculosis that occurs in approximately 5% of extrapulmonary cases that progressively developed a voluminous...
Pott's disease is a distinctive presentation of tuberculosis that occurs in approximately 5% of extrapulmonary cases that progressively developed a voluminous paravertebral abscess. While the disease is marked only by the occurrence of inflammatory symptoms and low-grade pain, the advanced mimics other infections and malignancies. Therefore, early recognition is important for proper treatment preventing deformity of the residual spinal and permanent neurological deficit. We present a 20-years-old woman who experienced low back pain for 2 years and presented with a right-side lump in the abdomen. CT and MRI were performed in this case. CT image showed bone destruction and extensive abscess formation, while on an MRI there was epidural granulation and compacted cauda equina resulting in severe central canal stenosis. To clarify the diagnosis, a chest radiograph and Mantoux test were performed and the patient was confirmed positive for lung tuberculosis. After antituberculosis drug treatment, (Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol) initial phase, the patient had difficulty walking.
PubMed: 35265249
DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2022.01.070 -
American Journal of Physiology. Lung... Mar 2022Tuberculosis has been present in the world's population for as long as there has been written language. It is a disease known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans,... (Review)
Review
Tuberculosis has been present in the world's population for as long as there has been written language. It is a disease known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, but its etiology eluded the world for thousands of years. Even after the germ theory was accepted and early scientists hypothesized a pathogen as the cause, the identity of the sleeping killer in society remained a mystery. That is until Robert Koch was able to grow and visualize . Koch introduced his Old Tuberculin solution as a diagnostic therapy of tuberculosis (TB), with the intent to reduce the number of infected persons and stop its spread. Old Tuberculin's ability to treat TB proved minimal, but its diagnostic potential paved the way for more effective tests from von Pirquet, Calmette, Wolff-Eisner, and Mantoux. Florence Seibert set out to identify and purify the active principle in Koch's Old Tuberculin and ended up creating purified protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin which is still used as the standard for the tuberculin skin test (TST). Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) are a more modern diagnostic tool for detecting latent TB infection that offer some benefits (and some disadvantages) to TST. TSTs and IGRAs can determine if an individual has been infected with but are equally unable to predict progression to active tuberculosis, the diagnosis of which relies on assessment of clinical symptoms, radiographic imaging, and sample culture.
Topics: Humans; Interferon-gamma Release Tests; Latent Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tuberculin; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 35170334
DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00217.2021 -
Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and... Feb 2022Serpiginous-like choroiditis is a rare immune-mediated sub-entity of tubercular uveitis with a usually deleterious outcome. Treatment is still controversial. The purpose... (Review)
Review
Tuberculosis-related serpiginous choroiditis: aggressive therapy with dual concomitant combination of multiple anti-tubercular and multiple immunosuppressive agents is needed to halt the progression of the disease.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
Serpiginous-like choroiditis is a rare immune-mediated sub-entity of tubercular uveitis with a usually deleterious outcome. Treatment is still controversial. The purpose in this case series is to indicate that only aggressive treatment comprising multiple anti-tubercular and multiple immunosuppressive agents seems to be able to halt the disease progression.
METHODS
This retrospective case series included patients diagnosed with Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) -positive serpiginous choroiditis, seen at the Centre for Ophthalmic Specialized Care, Lausanne, Switzerland, treated with combined multiple antitubercular and immunosuppressive agents at presentation and having a sufficient follow-up. Disease history before referral, appraisal of disease, treatment modalities and follow-up were analyzed. Inclusion criteria were positive IGRA patients with serpiginous choroiditis with complete Spectral-Domain Optic coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and angiography images.
RESULTS
From 2001 to 2020, 24 of 1525 new patients (0.26%) were diagnosed as serpiginous choroiditis. 10/24 were related to tuberculosis (positive IGRA and/or hyper-positive Mantoux test), 8/24 were IGRA negative and in 6 there was no information available. 4/10 tuberculosis related serpiginous patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 39 ± 5.3 years. Snellen best corrected vision acuity (BCVA) at presentation in 3/4 where the macula was preserved was 0.96 ± 0.08. In 3/4 patients, treatment with multiple tuberculostatic therapy combined with multiple immunosuppressive agents, started at presentation or in the initial months after the first consultation, was shown to stop the progression of the disease, with a retained visual acuity of 1.0. One patient with macular involvement and a bilateral visual acuity of hand movements after 11 years of insufficient treatment, improved his visual acuity to 0.25 OD and 0.05 OS and presented a substantial visual field improvement that stabilized once multiple anti-tubercular and immunosuppressive therapy was introduced.
CONCLUSION
IGRA-positive serpiginous choroiditis (serpiginous-like choroiditis) could be halted by combined multiple tuberculostatic and multiple immunosuppressive agents, as seen in our study where 3/4 early treated patients had conserved central function and one late treated patient had recovered a substantial amount of visual field. In all 4 patients this treatment regimen halted the progression of the disease.
PubMed: 35132499
DOI: 10.1186/s12348-022-00282-6 -
Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Feb 2022To describe the clinical profile, multimodal imaging, and treatment response in macular serpiginous choroiditis (MSC).
PURPOSE
To describe the clinical profile, multimodal imaging, and treatment response in macular serpiginous choroiditis (MSC).
METHODS
Clinical records of 16 eyes (14 patients) with MSC presenting to a tertiary eye care institute between 2015 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively.
RESULTS
Mean age of 14 patients presenting with MSC was 33 ± 13 yrs with 64% males and 36% females. Mean visual acuity of the eyes with MSC at presentation was 0.43 ± 0.46 (logMAR) improving to 0.16 ± 0.28 (logMAR) at final visit. Thirteen eyes (81.3%) had active lesion at presentation. Mantoux test was positive in seven patients (50%) and QuantiFERON TB gold test positive in 10 patients (71%). HRCT chest showed latent tuberculosis in seven patients (50%). All patients underwent multimodal imaging. All patients received oral steroids as treatment therapy; 11 patients also received immunosuppressives, nine patients received additional anti-tubercular therapy (ATT). Mean duration of follow-up for the patients was 18 ± 10 months. A total of eight (50%) eyes had recurrence of lesions after an average duration of 14 ± 14 (3-36) months and were restarted on the treatment as per the requirement. At final follow-up, all eyes showed a good response to treatment and had healed lesions. Comparing the final BCVA to the initial BCVA, 38% (n = 6) showed improvement, 56% (n = 9) remained stable, and 6% (n = 1) eyes worsened at the final follow-up.
CONCLUSION
Clinical profile and presentation of MSC is similar to that of CSC, and combination treatment with intravenous methyl prednisolone (IVMP), steroids, immunosuppressives, and ATT can salvage vision. A high suspicion of associated tuberculosis in endemic regions should be kept in mind.
Topics: Adolescent; Choroiditis; Female; Fluorescein Angiography; Humans; Male; Multimodal Imaging; Retrospective Studies; White Dot Syndromes
PubMed: 35086211
DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_2140_21