BACKGROUND Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection can increase the risk of cerebrovascular disease, involving small and large arteries, especially in immunosuppressed patients with ophthalmic ...division of the trigeminal nerve involvement. We present the case of a patient with intracerebral VZV vasculopathy without overt clinical manifestation but with abnormal imaging findings in the brain magnetic resonance (MR). CASE REPORT A 59-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), without other traditional cardiovascular risk factors, presented to the hospital due to headache, vertical diplopia, decreased of visual acuity of right eye, and disseminated varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection with predominant skin lesions distributed along the ophthalmic division of the right trigeminal nerve. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing revealed meningitis and positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for VZV, and a brain MRI scan showed a right occipital hemorrhagic lesion; thus, she was diagnosed with disseminated VZV infection with neurological involvement. She received intravenous acyclovir for 10 days. One month later, a physical examination was unremarkable and she was asymptomatic, but control brain MR angiography showed stenosis of the right internal carotid and the right middle cerebral artery, compatible with VZV vasculopathy. The PCR for VZV turned negative in CSF but the titers of anti-VZV IgG antibodies in CSF were high, and no increase of plasma autoimmune biomarkers were detected at any time in the course of the clinical evolution. CONCLUSIONS Discordance between imaging findings and clinical manifestations can appear in intracerebral VZV vasculopathy. A differential diagnosis is mandatory, especially if there is underlying immunosuppression.
Intra-host evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported in cases with persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we describe a ...severely immunosuppressed individual with HIV-1/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection with a long-term course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A 28-year-old man was diagnosed with HIV-1 infection (CD4+ count: 3 cells/µL nd 563000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) and simultaneous
pneumonia, disseminated
infection and SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positivity from nasopharyngeal samples was prolonged for 15 weeks. SARS-CoV-2 was identified as variant Alpha (PANGO lineage B.1.1.7) with mutation S:E484K. Spike-specific T-cell response was similar to HIV-negative controls although enriched in IL-2, and showed disproportionately increased immunological exhaustion marker levels. Despite persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection, adaptive intra-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution, was not identified. Spike-specific T-cell response protected against a severe COVID-19 outcome and the increased immunological exhaustion marker levels might have favoured SARS-CoV-2 persistence.
Intra-host evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported in cases with persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we describe a ...severely immunosuppressed individual with HIV-1/SARS-CoV-2 coinfection with a long-term course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A 28-year-old man was diagnosed with HIV-1 infection (CD4+ count: 3 cells/µL nd 563000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) and simultaneous Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection and SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positivity from nasopharyngeal samples was prolonged for 15 weeks. SARS-CoV-2 was identified as variant Alpha (PANGO lineage B.1.1.7) with mutation S:E484K. Spike-specific T-cell response was similar to HIV-negative controls although enriched in IL-2, and showed disproportionately increased immunological exhaustion marker levels. Despite persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection, adaptive intra-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution, was not identified. Spike-specific T-cell response protected against a severe COVID-19 outcome and the increased immunological exhaustion marker levels might have favoured SARS-CoV-2 persistence.
Insufficient data exist about the clinical presentation, short-term, and long-term outcomes of patients with isolated distal deep vein thrombosis (IDDVT), that is, thrombosis in infrapopliteal veins ...without proximal extension or pulmonary embolism (PE).
To determine the clinical characteristics, short-term, and 1-year outcomes in patients with IDDVT and to compare the outcomes in unadjusted and multivariable adjusted analyses with patients who had proximal DVT.
This was a multicenter, international cohort study in participating sites of the Registro Informatizado Enfermedad Tromboembólica (RIETE) registry conducted from March 1, 2001, through February 28, 2021. Patients included in this study had IDDVT. Patients with proximal DVT were identified for comparison. Patients were excluded if they had a history of asymptomatic DVT, upper-extremity DVT, coexisting PE, or COVID-19 infection.
Primary outcomes were 90-day and 1-year mortality, 1-year major bleeding, and 1-year venous thromboembolism (VTE) deterioration, which was defined as subsequent development of proximal DVT or PE.
A total of 33 897 patients were identified with isolated DVT (without concomitant PE); 5938 (17.5%) had IDDVT (mean SD age, 61 17 years; 2975 male patients 50.1%), and 27 959 (82.5%) had proximal DVT (mean SD age, 65 18 years; 14 315 male patients 51.2%). Compared with individuals with proximal DVT, those with IDDVT had a lower comorbidity burden but were more likely to have had recent surgery or to have received hormonal therapy. Patients with IDDVT had lower risk of 90-day mortality compared with those with proximal DVT (odds ratio OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.40-0.55). Findings were similar in 1-year unadjusted analyses (hazard ratio HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.46-0.59) and adjusted analyses (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.64-0.82). Patients with IDDVT had a lower 1-year hazard of VTE deterioration (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.69-0.99). In 1-year adjusted analyses of patients without an adverse event within the first 3 months, IDDVT was associated with lower risk of VTE deterioration (adjusted HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.24-0.97). By 1-year follow-up, symptoms or signs of postthrombotic syndrome were less common in patients with IDDVT (47.6% vs 60.5%).
Results of this cohort study suggest that patients with IDDVT had a less ominous prognosis compared with patients with proximal DVT. Such differences were likely multifactorial, including the differences in demographics, risk factors, comorbidities, particularly for all-cause mortality, and a potential association of thrombus location with VTE deterioration and postthrombotic syndrome. Randomized clinical trials are needed to assess the optimal long-term management of IDDVT.
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