Fulminant lupus pneumonitis is a rare complication of SLE. We report a case of 75 years‐old male patient with SLE who developed pneumonia and severe respiratory failure requiring mechanical ...ventilation. Refractory respiratory distress complicating noninfectious fulminant lupus pneumonitis did not respond to methylprednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment.
FLP in SLE of the elderly is a rare and severe condition. Each practitioner has to focus on respiratory failure, which is severe and life‐threatening.
Tuberculous tenosynovitis of the hand is a very rare condition. Herein, we report the case of tuberculous tenosynovitis of the hand in a 32‐year‐old woman. We highlight the success of anti ...tuberculosis drugs alone without resort to surgical treatment.
T1 weighted MRI images showed thickening of flexor sheaths (A), intensely enhanced after injection of gadolinium (B), conforming with flexor tenosynovitis of the left hand.
Objective
To describe presenting symptoms, clinical outcomes, and therapeutic management of concurrent Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infections in patients with a pre‐existing myasthenia gravis ...(MG).
Methods
We conducted a retrospective study in patients with preexisting MG presenting with concurrent COVID‐19 between September 21st and November 4th, 2020 when attending the emergency department or routine neurology consultation at the National Institute Mongi Ben Hamida of Neurology of Tunis, Tunisia.
Results
Five patients were identified. The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America scores (MGFA) prior to COVID‐19 infection were class I in one patient, class II (IIa, IIb) in two patients, and class IIIb in one patient.
Four patients had mild to moderate courses of COVID‐19 infection. One patient presented a critical infection with acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS) requiring mechanical ventilation. Two of them also demonstrated signs of MG exacerbation requiring the use of intravenous immunoglobulin in one case.
We maintained immunosuppressant therapy to MG in all our patients. All our patients received Azithromycin (AZM) as a part of specific drug treatment of COVID‐19 infection. Outcome was favorable in 4 patients and rapidly fatal evolution was observed in the patient with ADRS.
Discussions and conclusion
The results from our study suggest that prior MG activity could partially influence the subsequent clinical outcomes. It emerged also that ongoing long‐term immunosuppressive immunotherapy to MG should be maintained during the COVID‐19 pandemic and that AZM can be used safely in MG patients and concurrent COVID‐19 infection.
The first step of the diagnostic process of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is initiated by veterinarians and relies on their assessment of a high number of clinical signs common to other infectious ...diseases. We investigated herein the relationship between the clinical profile of 64 domestic dogs living in Tunisian endemic areas and their serological immune status with the aim to identify leishmanial serological markers of diagnosis and disease staging. Seven clinical signs were examined and a total clinical score that describes the number (TCS1) and the number plus the intensity of the clinical signs (TCS2) were determined. Laboratory tests consisted of parasitological examination (PE) of Giemsa-stained popliteal lymph node smears, indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), IgG-, IgG1-, IgG2-Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbent-Assay (ELISA), and IgG1-, IgG2- Western blotting (WB). Dogs’ categorization according to the results of routine diagnostic tests, the TCS1 and TCS2, and the relative IgG1 and IgG2 specific reactivity allowed us to show that active CanL is characterized by an increased reactivity of the IgG2 specific antibodies. Interestingly, the IgG1 levels increased in parallel with the TCS1 and especially with the TCS2, indicating that this isotype is a better marker of dogs’ health deterioration. PE & IFAT positive dogs which presented the highest TCS2 and IgG1 reactivity demonstrated significantly more severe weight loss and paleness of the mucosal membranes, suggesting that these signs characterize the latest stages of the disease. WB analysis showed that threeleishmanial polypeptides merit attention and further investigations. The antigens with MWs 32kDa reacting with IgG1 and 37kDa reacting withIgG2 antibodies were found associated with the results of diagnostic tests and late CanL stages, whereas the 24kDa antigen reacting with the IgG2 isotype and associated with low TCS2 seems to be a marker of the early stages.
Variation of the levels of specific IgG1 (1/100 serum dilution) and IgG2 (1/2500 serum dilution) antibodies according to the number and severity of CanL clinical signs. Display omitted
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