Internal Medicine最新文献

A 74-year-old woman developed acute severe colitis after receiving her sixth mRNA vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). On the day after vaccination, she experienced bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, and high-grade fever. Laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis and increased C-reactive protein. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed bowel wall thickening with a reduced contrast effect within the colon, in addition to ascites. Sigmoidoscopy revealed extensive sloughing of the mucosa. Her symptoms and laboratory findings improved immediately after the initiation of prednisolone therapy. Pre-discharge total colonoscopy revealed mucosal repair in most of the colon. Clinicians should acknowledge that severe acute colitis can occur after COVID-19 vaccination.

A 79-year-old woman developed herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) with a vesicular rash on the nasal root, which developed soon after intravenous acyclovir therapy. Although varicella zoster virus DNA was undetectable in the cerebrospinal fluid, she presented with ophthalmoplegia without optic nerve dysfunction 32 days after the onset of HZO. We diagnosed the patient with superior orbital fissure syndrome and administered intravenous immunoglobulin and systemic corticosteroids. Ophthalmoplegia did not immediately respond to these therapies but resolved 4 months later. We should be aware that ophthalmoplegia can occur, even after HZO and meningitis are completely treated.

A 51-year-old woman with persistent proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells in her peripheral blood was diagnosed with NK-large granular lymphocytic leukemia (NK-LGLL). During follow-up, computed tomography revealed multiple infiltrative pulmonary lesions. A flow cytometric analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed infiltration of NK cells, resulting in a diagnosis of pulmonary infiltration by NK-LGLL. A histological examination of thoracoscopic lung biopsy specimens supported this diagnosis. She was started on 1 mg/kg prednisolone, which resulted in a durable reduction in these lesions. This is the first report of a NK-LGLL patient with pulmonary infiltration who received medication. Furthermore, treatment with prednisolone alone was successful.

An 11-year-old boy developed cardioembolic stroke (CES) and cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). He originally developed Ewing sarcoma and was treated with high-dose chemotherapy including doxorubicin. On admission, he had severe aphasia, and magnetic resonance imaging showed occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery M3 segment. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe left ventricular dysfunction and a mobile thrombus at the left ventricular apex. Intravenous thrombolysis was administered, and effective recanalization was achieved. The patient did not exhibit any neurological deficits during discharge. Reperfusion therapy for pediatric patients has not yet been established; however, it may be effective for CES secondary to CTRCD.

A 68-year-old Japanese man developed a fever, headache, hiccups, and altered consciousness. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a hemorrhagic lesion in the right temporal lobe and multiple high-intensity white matter lesions. A brain biopsy showed pathological findings consistent with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), suggesting a diagnosis of acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (AHLE), an aggressive ADEM variant. The patient also developed myodesopsia and was diagnosed with retinal vasculitis, likely due to a hyperimmune state caused by AHLE. Corticosteroids enabled full recovery. Although AHLE is uncommon in elderly individuals, clinicians should be aware of its occurrence in this patient subgroup and recognize potential retinal manifestations associated with AHLE.

We herein present the case of a 21-year-old male Japanese diabetic patient with Temple syndrome, caused by maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 14. The patient was overweight and had type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and microalbuminuria. He had an increased fat mass in the truncal region and a decreased lean mass throughout the body. This may lead to insulin resistance due to the absence of delta-like homolog 1 (DLK1) and retrotransposon gag-like 1 (RTL1). The patient had experienced social withdrawal at home (hikikomori in Japanese), had poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, and was overweight despite receiving diet therapy and oral hypoglycemic agents.

The Japanese Circulation Society guidelines recommend a class I vasoreactivity test to diagnose patients with vasospastic angina (VSA). However, the acetylcholine or ergonovine test has been established as the gold standard for variant angina (VA). The sensitivity and specificity of intracoronary vasoreactivity testing in patients with VA were acceptable. Cardiologists have employed these vasoreactivity tests to conveniently diagnose the presence of coronary spasms in patients with all VSA. The majority of VSAs may have lower disease activity than VA cases. We have summarized the usefulness of spasm provocation tests in patients with VA and VSA. A positive-provoked spasm diagnosed by standard vasoreactivity testing may indicate a disease state similar to that of VA, whereas a negative-provoked spasm after standard vasoreactivity testing may indicate a lower disease state than that of VA. Cardiologists should reconsider the limited usefulness of vasoreactivity testing when diagnosing the presence of coronary spasms in all VSAs, but not VA.

Recently, transmural naso-cyst continuous irrigation (TNCCI) has been reported as an effective and safe treatment for walled-off necrosis (WON). We herein report a case of bilocular WON that was successfully treated with TNCCI. The patient was a 60-year-old man. The patient underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided cyst drainage of the main cavity and subcavity using a single transluminal gateway transcystic multiple drainage technique, which was ineffective. Subsequently, a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) was placed in the main cavity and TNCCI was successfully performed in the subcavity. TNCCI with LAMS was effective in treating bilocular WON.