Rothsong4748
We report herein a case of nonmalignant middle lobe atelectasis of the right lung resulting in significant stenosis of the airway. The new short self-expandable metallic stents (SEMS) were used to perform temporary stenting and expansion of the right middle lobe airway. SEMS have been used to treat airway obstructions in the trachea, as well as the right and left carina, but few studies have looked at placing SEMS at the level of the bronchi, especially right middle lobe bronchus.Allergic acute coronary syndrome, Kounis syndrome, is a rare cause of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction triggered by an allergic reaction to a drug or environmental allergen, resulting in atheromatous plaque rupture or coronary artery vasospasm. We report three cases of Kounis syndrome presenting as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.Purulent pericarditis is rare, and the mortality rate is very high. Conservative management consists of pericardial drainage and antibiotic therapy. We report a case of purulent pericarditis on top of chest infection in a man presenting with dyspnea, productive cough, fever, and hypotension. Echocardiography revealed a large pericardial effusion with signs of tamponade. He was treated with pericardiocentesis along with intrapericardial fibrinolysis with streptokinase and intrapericardial and systemic antibiotics. A year later, there was no sign of constriction.Infective endocarditis is a commonly encountered disease in which diagnosis is often challenging due to the variety of clinical manifestations. Early identification is key due to risk of mortality without treatment. In this case, a 31-year-old man presented with pseudogout of the right ankle and COVID-19 infection. Further workup showed blood cultures growing Staphylococcus aureus, and the diagnosis of infective endocarditis was confirmed by echocardiography. Independently, pseudogout and infective endocarditis result in activation of the innate immune system and can manifest with joint inflammation. Their co-occurrence likely resulted in an augmented inflammatory response due to overlap in their pathophysiologic pathways.This case describes an 83-year-old immunocompetent woman who presented to the emergency department with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. She was found to have evidence of embolic stroke secondary to Candida parapsilosis endocarditis. This case emphasizes the challenge of diagnosing fungal endocarditis, as it can be difficult to culture, and the importance of broad differentials even in patients with no obvious risk factors.Actinomyces spp. are filamentous gram-positive bacilli found in humans as a common flora of the oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital tract. Actinobacteria are normally present in the gums and are a common cause of infection in dental procedures and oral abscesses. To date, no cases of A. odontolyticus causing meningitis and cervical abscess have been reported in online databases. Therefore, we report the first case of A. odontolyticus meningitis and recurrent cervical abscess due to translocation from the oral cavity.Bacillus cereus panophthalmitis secondary to intravenous drug use typically leads to an explosive ocular and/or orbital infection. Though several cases of B. cereus panophthalmitis secondary to intravenous drug use have been reported, no clear consensus exists regarding preferred surgical technique and orbital reconstruction. Additionally, no cases describe delayed dermis fat graft placement following enucleation for such cases. Herein, a case of B. cereus panophthalmitis secondary to intravenous methamphetamine use is presented, where delayed dermis fat graft placement following enucleation and orbital washout provided an excellent functional and cosmetic outcome.Parvimonas micra is a bacterium normal to oral and gastrointestinal flora that has been implicated in cases of discitis, osteomyelitis, and prosthetic joint infections, often involving dental procedures or periodontal disease. It is an extremely rare cause of infection outside of these circumstances. We describe a case of septic arthritis of the native hip joint due to P. micra.We report a case of thyroid storm with concomitant acute appendicitis. The patient had clinical findings concerning for an acute abdomen. However, this physical examination finding can occur in some individuals presenting with severe thyrotoxicosis or thyroid storm without an underlying surgical process. In this case, the patient received aggressive treatment perioperatively for her thyroid storm and required continued treatment for her thyroid state after appendectomy. Differentiating medical vs surgical causes for an acute abdomen while simultaneously recognizing the thyrotoxic state is imperative in such a scenario. Clinicians must proceed cautiously to optimize patients' thyroid status before any operative interventions to minimize risks of cardiovascular collapse or death.We describe a 68-year-old man who presented with progressive weakness in proximal muscles of all four limbs and was found to have autoantibody-negative necrotizing autoimmune myopathy (NAM). His myopathy was refractory to corticosteroids and methotrexate, but subsequently demonstrated successful response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). The patient also received rituximab, but the timing of his recovery favored IVIG as the more important factor in terms of efficacy. Treatment guidelines for seronegative necrotizing myopathies are lacking. This case suggests a potential efficacious treatment option for the seronegative subset of NAM.Although patients with COVID-19 can have mild nonspecific myalgia and mild elevation of creatinine kinase levels, severe myalgia along with elevation of creatinine kinase levels >10 times the upper normal limit and dark-colored urine indicate an underlying severe rhabdomyolysis. This report describes a 60-year-old morbidly obese man who was found to have severe rhabdomyolysis, along with acute kidney injury, dark-colored urine, and a positive COVID-19 test. I-191 He had a prolonged hospital course requiring continuous renal replacement therapy, mechanical ventilation, and multiple vasopressors and eventually died of multiorgan failure. The management of severe rhabdomyolysis and COVID-19 is challenging, and fluid resuscitation should be done cautiously, monitoring for early signs of fluid overload.