1/69. Necrotizing otitis externa caused by staphylococcus epidermidis.We present a case of malignant necrotizing otitis externa (MNOE) caused by staphylococcus epidermidis, which is usually a non-pathogenic microorganism. The patient is an otherwise healthy, nondiabetic 58-year-old white man. Contributory history began in 1994 after surgery for bilateral exostoses of the external auditory canals. Between April 1994 and May 1998 persistent otalgia occurred, with progressive mixed hearing losses, purulent discharge from both ears, spontaneous perforations of the tympanic membranes and ulceration of canal wall skin. From the beginning, Staph. epidermidis was isolated in all but one culture, but was not recognized as the pathological agent because of the presence of other more frequently involved bacteria and fungi. After multiple intravenous and oral antibiotics and antifungal treatments failed, further management involved frequent debridement of both external auditory canals and tympanic membranes, right tympanoplasty, bilateral mastoidectomy, revision tympanomastoidectomies and left modified radical mastoidectomy. Antistaphylococcal therapy including ceftazidime, vancomycin, teicoplanin, clindamycin and rifampicin was tried. Following the modified radical radical mastoidectomy, normalization of the status of his ears took approximately 2 months and has since remained stable to date. His left ear is deaf because of vancomycin administration, while magnetic resonance imaging and gallium scintigraphy have shown persistent inflammation of the skull base.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/69. oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis after ganciclovir intraocular implant.PURPOSE: To describe a patient who developed oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis after insertion of a ganciclovir intraocular implant. METHOD: Case report. RESULTS: A 42-year-old man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and a history of cytomegalovirus retinitis was admitted with right-sided eye pain and decreased visual acuity 10 days after receiving a second ganciclovir intraocular implant in the right eye. A therapeutic vitrectomy, right eye, was performed on the day of admission. A vitreal tap produced frank pus and white, fluffy debris. Cultures of the vitreal fluid grew oxacillin-resistant S aureus, sensitive only to vancomycin, rifampin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The patient was successfully treated with removal of both ganciclovir implants in the right eye and a 4-week course of vancomycin and rifampin. However, the infection left the patient blind in the infected eye. CONCLUSION: Bacterial endophthalmitis is an infrequent but serious complication of the ganciclovir intraocular implant.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/69. A child with spider bite and glomerulonephritis: a diagnostic challenge.A previously healthy 7-year-old white boy presented to St. Louis Children's Hospital with a 1-day history of headache, malaise, temperature of 38.7 degrees C, and a progressively erythematous, tender calf with central dusky purpura. On the morning of admission, his mother noticed a 2-mm crust on the patient's right calf with a 3-cm x 3-cm area of surrounding erythema. No history of recent trauma or bite was obtained. He had suffered two episodes of nonbloody, nonbilious emesis during the last day. In addition, over the previous 12 h, he presented brown urine without dysuria. His mother and brother had suffered from gastroenteritis over the previous week without bloody diarrhea. On initial physical examination, there was a 6-cm x 11-cm macular tender purpuric plaque with a central punctum on the right inner calf, which was warm and tender to the touch, with erythematous streaking towards the popliteal fossa (Fig. 1). The inguinal area was also erythematous with tender lymphadenopathy and induration, but without fluctuance. Laboratory studies included an elevated white blood cell count of 20, 800/microL with 6% bands, 86% segs, and 7% lymphocytes, hemoglobin of 12.5 g/dL, hematocrit of 35.1%, and platelets of 282,000/microL. The prothrombin time/activated partial tissue thromboplastin was 10. 4/28.0 s (normal PT, 9.3-12.3 s; normal PTT, 21.3-33.7 s) and fibrinogen was 558 mg/dL (normal, 192-379 mg/dL). urinalysis showed 1 protein, 8-10 white blood cells, too numerous to count red blood cells, and no hemoglobinuria. His electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatine were normal. The urine culture was negative. Blood culture after 24 h showed one out of two bottles of coagulase negative staphylococcus epidermidis. The patient's physical examination was highly suggestive of a brown recluse spider bite with surrounding purpura. Over the next 2 days, the surrounding rim of erythema expanded. The skin within the plaque cleared and peeled at the periphery. The coagulase negative staphylococci in the blood culture were considered to be a contaminant. cefotaxime and oxacillin were given intravenously. His leg was elevated and cooled with ice packs. The patient's fever resolved within 24 h. The lesion became less erythematous and nontender with decreased warmth and lymphadenopathy. The child was discharged on Duricef for 10 days. Because the patient experienced hematuria rather than hemoglobinuria, nephritis was suggested. In this case, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis was the most likely cause. His anti-streptolysin-O titer was elevated at 400 U (normal, <200 U) and C3 was 21.4 mg/dL (normal, 83-177 mg/dL). His urine lightened to yellow-brown in color. His blood pressure was normal. Renal ultrasound showed severe left hydronephrosis with cortical atrophy, probably secondary to chronic/congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction. His right kidney was normal.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 254.3099181154keywords = white blood cell, white blood, blood cell, white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/69. corneal perforation in nontuberculous (staphylococcal) phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis.An 18-year-old white man with severe staphylococcal blepharokeratoconjunctivitis of several years' duration developed phylctenules intermittently. At age 22 an active corneal phlyctenule caused perforation of the cornea. Seven days after this occurrence, the perforation closed spontaneously but perforated again ten days later. This occurrence may have been caused by an increase in the patient's hypersensitivity to the Staphylococcus as a result of concurrent viral infection, or it may have been due to the patient's failure to return for treatment at the scheduled time. The area of perforation appeared to be healed 10 and one half months later.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/69. retinal vasculitis and posterior pole "hypopyons" as early signs of acute bacterial endophthalmitis.PURPOSE: To report a case of acute postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis presenting with retinal vasculitis and posterior pole "hypopyons." DESIGN: Observational case report. methods: Observational case report. RESULTS: In a 73-year-old woman, acute postoperative endophthalmitis presented with retinal vasculitis, diffuse retinal hemorrhages, and several posterior pole "hypopyons" that were collections of yellow-white inflammatory debris. The inflammation was located primarily in the posterior one third of the vitreous, and except for severely impaired visual acuity, the classic signs of acute postoperative endophthalmitis were not present until the next day. An immediate pars plana vitrectomy with intravitreal injection of vancomycin, amikacin, and dexamethasone was performed. Vitreous and aqueous cultures grew coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species. After intravenous and topical therapy for endophthalmitis, the inflammation subsided. Eight weeks after the initial cataract surgery, the best corrected visual acuity of the patient was 20/25. CONCLUSION: Acute postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis may present with atypical clinical signs and inflammation located primarily in the retina and posterior vitreous.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/69. Iatrogenic bladder stone formation on absorbable suture 3-years after radical prostatectomy.Vesical calculi formation on absorbable sutures is rare. The case of a 68-year-old white man, who had formed a large bladder stone on absorbable suture 3 years after radical prostatectomy, is reported. Endoscopic lithotripsy of the bladder calculi was performed and the suture was removed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/69. Mechanisms for linezolid-induced anemia and thrombocytopenia.BACKGROUND: Linezolid has been associated with anemia and thrombocytopenia. Mechanisms for neither have been elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To propose mechanisms for linezolid-induced anemia and thrombocytopenia. CASE SUMMARY: A 78-year-old white woman with staphylococcus epidermidis endocarditis was treated with linezolid after developing resistance to multiple antibiotic regimens. After 7 days of linezolid therapy, she developed thrombocytopenia, while an anemia present since admission remained unchanged. A bone marrow biopsy was performed, primarily looking for a mechanism for the thrombocytopenia. Histopathology revealed adequate megakaryocytes, ringed sideroblasts, and vacuolated pronormoblasts. A course of immune globulin (IVIG) was administered, with slowing in the rate of decline in platelets. She died 24 hours after her last dose of IVIG of congestive heart failure. DISCUSSION: The presence of ringed sideroblasts and vacuolated pronormoblasts suggests that linezolid-induced anemia is secondary to a chloramphenicol-like suppression of erythropoiesis. The presence of adequate, normal-appearing megakaryocytes suggests immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, not marrow suppression. Although the response to IVIG is difficult to interpret because of the patient's death, there was a slowing in the rate of decline of the platelet count, further supporting immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. An objective causality assessment indicated that the adverse drug event was probably due to linezolid. CONCLUSIONS: There appear to be 2 distinct mechanisms for linezolid-induced cytopenias. While anemia is reversible and manageable with transfusions, thrombocytopenia can be a treatment-limiting toxicity. The ability to treat through an immune-mediated cytopenia with IVIG may be beneficial for critically ill patients with few therapeutic options.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/69. CT and MRI of mycotic aneurysms of the abdominal aorta.In two of three patients with mycotic aneurysms of the abdominal aorta, diagnosis was delayed, with a fatal outcome in one patient. A combination of studies, such as indium white blood cell scanning, and anatomical imaging modalities, such as CT and MRI, may be necessary to arrive at the correct diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 122.67446104017keywords = white blood cell, white blood, blood cell, white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/69. Mycotic pseudoaneurysm of the brachiocephalic artery.A 73-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia presented with a sharp pain ranging from the right shoulder to the upper limb. She had suffered a sharp pain at rest accompanied by general fatigue and nausea for about ten months prior to admission. Her white blood cell count was 12,800/microl, and her serum c-reactive protein was 17.5 mg/dl. A chest computed tomography scan revealed an aneurysmal change of the origin of the brachiocephalic artery. Pseudoaneurysm due to infection and aortic dissection was considered as a preoperative diagnosis. A total arch replacement was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass, deep hypothermia, and selective cerebral perfusion. Postoperatively, a bacteriologic culture of the contents of the aneurysm revealed Staphylococcus aureus. Perioperative administration of antibiotics was effective and the postoperative course was uneventful.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 122.67446104017keywords = white blood cell, white blood, blood cell, white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/69. Cases from the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins University.PRESENTING FEATURES: A 70-year-old African American man was admitted with a history of fever, chills, and malaise of several days' duration. His past medical history was notable for end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis, coronary artery disease, and aortic stenosis requiring a bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement. On the day of admission, the patient was noted to have a shaking chill while undergoing dialysis through his catheter and was admitted to the hospital. He complained of pain at the catheter insertion site, shortness of breath, and dyspnea on exertion, but denied chest pain. On physical examination, the patient had a temperature of 100.4 degrees F, with a heart rate of 64 beats per minute, blood pressure of 127/72 mm Hg, and an oxygen saturation of 97% on room air. He was a mildly obese man in no apparent distress. He had shotty cervical lymphadenopathy and a right subclavian dialysis catheter in place, with erythema and pus at the entry site. His jugular venous pressure was 10 cm H(2)O. lung examination showed bibasilar rales. heart sounds were normal, with no rub or gallop. He had a 2/6 systolic ejection murmur best heart at the left sternal border as well as a 3/6 holosystolic murmur at the apex that radiated to his left axilla. Examination of the abdomen and extremities was unremarkable. The patient's neurological examination was unremarkable, and he was alert and oriented to person, place, and time. Laboratory studies showed an elevated white blood cell count of 16,700 cells/microL. His blood urea nitrogen level was 43 mg/dL and his serum creatinine level was 4.9 mg/dL. Multiple blood cultures grew methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. An admission, chest radiograph showed no infiltrate. An admission electrocardiogram showed normal sinus rhythm with first degree atrioventricular block, left anterior fascicular block, and left ventricular hypertrophy. shows rhythm strips from lead II electrocardiograms 5 months before admission (top), on admission (middle) and 5 days after admission (bottom). What is the diagnosis?- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8.9609960350586keywords = blood cell, white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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