Journal of clinical cases & reports最新文献

Summary: This is a descriptive summary of the case of a patient with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome associated with a congenital malformation of the iris and consequent pupillary morphological alteration of an atypical characteristic reported. This anomaly is unique in scientific literature and exhibits a peculiarity that we have called pseudoacorea: Hidden pupil. Other associated abnormal clinical findings were posterior embryotoxon, astigmatism, amblyopia, and exotropia. Diagnosis was achieved by instilling ocular mydriatics into the cul-de-sac that revealed this peculiarity. It is necessary to make a differential diagnosis with other pupillary pathologies such as corectopia, acorea and microcoria. Early detection of pathology and surgical management is necessary, since it would lead to a better visual prognosis for both amblyopia and strabismus.

Background: Among the malformations of the pupil, we can find polycoria (more than one pupil), dyscoria (abnormal pupil shape), corectopia (abnormal pupil position) and acorea (absence of pupil). In addition, morphologically normal pupils can denote other anomalies such as the microcoria described by Holth in 1923. Acorea is a rare anomaly, congenital or acquired, characterized by an absolute absence of the pupil both at rest and in mydriasis. In our case we prefer to differentiate it and name it pseudoacorea, since although there is a total absence of the pupil at rest thanks to the application of ocular mydriatics, a micropupil with discoric and corectopic characteristics is achieved. It is worth noting that we have not detected in the scientific literature any case described as the one that we will develop here.

Conclusion: The case of a patient with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome associated with a congenital malformation of the iris and consequent atypical pupillary morphological alteration is presented. This anomaly is unique in the scientific literature and presents a peculiarity that we have called pseudoacorea: Hidden pupil. Early detection of pathology and surgical management is necessary, since it would lead to a better visual prognosis for both amblyopia and strabismus.

Objective: Hallucinations is a core characteristic symptom in Lewy Body Dementia (DLB) and Parkinson's Dementia (PDD). It may also appear at the late stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). They are not easily managed, and they are associated with cognitive decline, earlier institutionalization, increased mortality, and increased caregivers' burden.

Design/setting: This is a cross-over RCT. The participants were randomly assigned in 6 different groups of 10 patients each.

Participants: 60 dementia patients (different types and stages of dementia).

Interventions: The three non-pharmacological interventions used are: A) Validation therapy (VT) in a Psycho-educational program, B) Reminiscence therapy (RT) and C) Music therapy (MT). Each intervention lasted for 5 days and there was an interval of two days, as a wash-out period (all the interventions had a duration of 3 weeks).

Measurements: The measurements which were used at baseline were: MMSE, ACE-R, GDS, FRSDD and NPI questionnaire at baseline and after each intervention.

Results: The most effective combination for the reduction of the hallucinations is: VT/Psycho-educational program (p = 0.005), MT (p = 0.007) and RT (p = 0.022). The same combination applies for the caregivers' distress: VT/Psychoeducational program (p = 0.010) - MT (p = 0.023) - RT (p = 0.036).

Conclusion: VT/Psycho-educational program followed by MT, followed by RT is an effective combination of non-pharmacological interventions that can reduce hallucinations in patients with dementia and caregivers' burden. Non-pharmacological interventions should be further examined as an effective alternative for the reduction of the hallucinations in dementia.

Cardiac tumors are rare, with primary tumors much rarer than secondary. They can present with a variety of symptoms, including cardiogenic shock, arrhythmias, tamponade, and systemic embolism. There have been cases reported of patients having cardiac tumors presenting with ST elevations. While the exact pathophysiological mechanism for ST changes in patient with tumors is not known, proposed theories include tumor emboli to coronary artery, external compression of coronary arteries, stretching of cardiac muscle fibers, inflammatory reactions, and electrolyte transfer from necrotic tumor tissue to adjacent myocardium. We present a case in which the patient had no prior history of malignancy that are presented with cough, shortness of breath, lower extremity edema, ST elevation on electrocardiogram, and was found to have epithelioid tumor in his left ventricle. This case raises awareness of wide differential for ST changes on electrocardiogram besides myocardial infarction, especially in patients who do not present with classic ischemic symptoms.