Infectious Diseases
- Revisiting the ‘great masquerader’
An HIV patient presents with scaly brown lesions on the palms and soles, mildly painful oral erosions, and a buzzing sound in the right ear for the past 20 days.
- Fungus among us: A poster child for diagnostic stewardship
When interpreting the significance of Aspergillus species in respiratory culture, first ask if the culture was clinically indicated, or if this was an incidental finding.
- Is Aspergillus isolated from respiratory cultures clinically significant?
Aspergillus is ubiquitous, so the significance of the finding depends on the patient’s symptoms, underlying lung condition, immune status, and radiologic fi ndings.
- Risk-based guidelines: Redefining management of abnormal cervical cancer screening results
A shift from results-based to risk-based management, based on the patient’s immediate and 5-year risks of grade 3 or higher cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
- Rapid cognitive decline and myoclonus in a 52-year-old woman
Symptoms also included confusion, blank staring, blurred vision, incoordination of the extremities, decreased verbal communication, and holding her left hand in a fist.
- The initial viral infection may be only part of the story
We clearly see that the coronavirus elicits syndromes far afield from respiratory tissues. But a virus eliciting effects seemingly distinct from the primary infection is nothing new.
- Abdominal pseudohernia due to herpes zoster
A 66-year-old man presents with bulging and persistent burning pain in the right abdominal side for 4 days.
- Dermatomyositis-related interstitial lung disease mimicking COVID-19 pneumonia
A subtype of myositis with characteristic skin rashes and ulcers, amyopathic or hypomyopathic symptoms, and rapidly progressive ILD.
- An 86-year-old man with unexplained right-sided headache and vision loss
Steroid treatment for suspected giant cell arteritis brought no improvement in vision or headache severity.
- Shedding light on subungual digital mucous cysts
Transillumination is a quick and easy way to diagnose digital mucous cysts and rule out other subungual masses.