A case report of 4-year-old child with biliary ascariasis successfully treated with single dose of albendazole

Most cases of biliary ascariasis require endoscopic management or surgical intervention. When the procedure is difficult to perform due to many reasons and the case is without complication, conservative treatment can be an option. We report a case of biliary ascariasis in 4-year-old girl who complained of abdominal pain and subfebrile fever. The diagnosis was made using ultrasonography. The patient was successfully treated with a single dose of 400 mg albendazole. We found one dead adult female Ascaris lumbricoides from the feces after treatment. Repeated ultrasonography was made to evaluate the treatment.     

Hyperinfection strongyloidiasis in a liver transplant recipient treated with parenteral ivermectin

Abstract: Severe strongyloidiasis, including hyperinfection and dissemination, is a recognized complication of solid organ transplantation. However, the development of strongyloidiasis in a liver transplant recipient has not been previously described. We present a case of severe strongyloidiasis occurring in a patient 4 months after liver transplantation and 1 month after receiving treatment for acute rejection. We assess the management challenges in this patient who remained symptomatic despite oral treatment with ivermectin and albendazole and eventual successful treatment with parenteral ivermectin. We review the published experience with alternative methods of ivermectin administration. We also investigate the possible source of infection, as the patient was not from an endemic area.     

Disseminated strongyloidiasis: report of two fatal cases

Strongyloides infection is usually asymptomatic but disseminated infection is a cause of morbidity and mortality in immunodeficient patients. Two fatal cases of strongyloidiasis are reported here, with rare manifestations of gastric ulcers with hematemesis and acute renal failure respectively.     

Hypoplastic leukemia successfully treated with low-dose aclarubicin: a case report

Low-dose aclarubicin (LDACR) therapy is one of the differentiation induction therapy, such as low-dose cytosine arabinoside therapy, 1 alpha, 25 dihydroxy-vitamin D3 or retinoic acid therapy, for myelodysplastic syndrome and atypical leukemias. A 36-year-old female with hypoplastic acute myelogenous leukemia was treated with this atypical leukemias. A 36-year-old female with hypoplastic acute myelogenous leukemia was treated with this LDACR therapy. On admission, she was suffered from general fatigue and her peripheral blood smear showed pancytopenia with 23% of myeloblasts. Bone marrow examination revealed a moderately hypoplastic marrow with 35.4% of myeloblasts. She was diagnosed as having hypoplastic acute myelogenous leukemia. Thereafter, 20 mg of aclarubicin was given daily by one-shot intravenous injection for 10 days. After this LDACR therapy, myeloblasts disappeared from her peripheral blood and pancytopenia improved. Bone marrow examination showed increase in nuclear cell counts and she achieved complete remission. In this article, we report the clinical course of this patient and discuss the effect of LDACR therapy as useful chemotherapy for this patient.     

Refractory AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma treated successfully with paclitaxel: a case report

We report a case of a 45-year-old Japanese man with AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) involving skin, liver, and lungs. Antiretroviral therapy was started in conjunction with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). A clinical response was observed initially, but symptoms recurred following cessation of medication. The chemotherapeutic agent was changed to paclitaxel (PTX), since the therapeutic response to PLD was reduced and the total dose reached the maximum dose of 500 mg/m2. The patient had a good response to PTX and tolerated the medication well. Symptoms did not recur after completing 8 courses of chemotherapy. PTX should be considered as an alternative agent in treating KS when there are problems with the use of PLD.     

Purulent meningitis caused by Actinomyces successfully treated with rifampicin: a case report

A 64-year-old woman presented with fever and headache. Lumbar puncture revealed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that contained 67,386 /mm(3) of WBC; CSF culture revealed Actinomyces species. She was diagnosed with purulent meningitis caused by actinomyces, and treated with intravenous ampicillin 12 g/day. The administration of ampicillin was effective, but not sufficient to control the inflammation in CSF. CSF inflammation persisted and a gradual increase in granulation tissue was found in the subdural space on lumbar MRI. After administration of rifampicin 450 mg/day, the CSF was normalized and the enhancement of granulation tissue decreased. The patient completely recovered 5 months after the therapy was initiated. We suggest that rifampicin may be an option for the treatment of meningitis caused by actinomyces.     

Fulminant myocarditis successfully treated with a left ventricular assist device: a case report

A previously healthy 28-year-old woman was admitted under a diagnosis of acute myocarditis. Six hours after admission, circulatory support using intraaortic balloon pumping and percutaneous cardiopulmonary support were introduced, because uncontrollable ventricular arrhythmia appeared unexpectedly. Subsequently, decreased peripheral platelet count appeared, in spite of improved hemodynamics. Therefore, a left ventricular assist device was implanted and she was weaned from the percutaneous cardiopulmonary support. On the fifth postoperative day, she was successfully weaned from the left ventricular assist device with full recovery of myocardial function. Myocardial biopsy demonstrated the appearance of acute viral myocarditis. This case suggests that the left ventricular assist device might offer effective circulatory support for acute fulminant myocarditis.     

Fulminant amoebic colitis with perforation successfully treated by staged surgery: a case report

Radical surgery for fulminant amoebic colitis leads to extremely high mortality; however, resective surgery is mandatory if a patient develops massive fecal peritonitis. We herein report an extremely rare case of fulminant amoebic colitis with multiple perforations, which was successfully treated by staged surgical procedures. A 48-year-old man who had been treated with predonisolone under a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was admitted. Biopsy specimens from the colonic mucosa revealed Entamoeba histolytica. On the day of diagnosis, he developed severe abdominal pain and underwent emergency laparoptomy, showing total colonic gangrene with multiple perforations associated with massive fecal peritonitis. Subtotal colectomy, mucous fistula of the rectosigmoid, and ileostomy were performed. He recovered well although disseminated intravascular coagulopathy developed postoperatively. As the middle and upper part of rectum was found to be severely stenotic 4 months after surgery, we performed proctectomy, ileal pouch anal canal anastomosis, and diverting ileostomy, which was reversed 6 months later. The patient has been well with satisfactory anal function 37 months after the initial surgery. This case suggests that (1) early and accurate diagnosis of amoebiasis is important to avoid surgical intervention, and (2) staged surgery including total colectomy should be considered as one of the treatment choices even in patients with total necrotizing amoebic colitis. Received: July 3, 2001 / Accepted: December 14, 2001 Acknowledgments. We gratefully thank Dr. Takeo Iwama, Director of the Department of Surgery, Kyoundo Hospital, Sasaki Research Institute, for useful advice. Reprint requests to: H. Ishida     

Giant coronary artery aneurysm successfully treated with surgery--a case report

We report a case of a 54-year-old woman presenting with nonspecific chest pain and clinical symptoms of heart failure. Various diagnostic tools, including both noninvasive methods and coronary angiography, revealed the presence of a giant aneurysm of the right coronary artery. The aneurysm formed a mediastinal mass of a huge size, with blood flow in it, and caused cardiac displacement within the thorax cavity. Surgical management of this anomaly was effective. Aetiology, clinical symptoms, diagnostic tools and treatment options of coronary artery aneurysms are discussed.     

A case of Degos disease successfully treated with corticosteroid combined with cyclophosphamide

Degos disease is a rare disorder characterized by systemic vasculitis involving various organs. There is no established, effective treatment for the disorder, and its prognosis is still poor. Combination therapy with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide is considered effective for vasculitides involving the small arteries such as ANCA-associated vasculitis. We present here a 42-year-old man who developed Degos disease over several months, and was successfully treated using combined treatment with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide.     

Advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination successfully treated with paclitaxel and doxifluridine: a case report

A 50-year-old female presenting with severe ascites and anemia and diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer was admitted to our hospital. Endoscopic examination revealed an edematous lesion with redness and a giant fold in the stomach with poor expansion. The histological examination of biopsy specimens from the edematous lesion revealed signet-ring-cell carcinoma. Computed tomography demonstrated a thickening of the gastric wall, severe ascites, and peritoneal dissemination in the Douglas pouch. Paclitaxel (70mg/m2) was administered to the patient on days 1, 8, and 15, with doxifluridine (533mg/m2) for five days per week, on a 28-day cycle. By completion of the first course of treatment, the ascites had disappeared, the tumor in the Douglas pouch had shrunk, and the thickening of the gastric wall had lessened. In addition, the fold in the stomach appeared by endoscopic examination to have resumed its normal thickness, no malignant cells were detected in a biopsy, and the thymidine phosphorylase activity in the tumor tissue was two-fold greater than that before chemotherapy. After three treatment courses, the number of apoptotic cells had apparently increased compared with the prechemotherapy number. The only adverse drug reactions that were observed were grade 2 alopecia and grade 1 myalgia. After thirteen courses of chemotherapy over the past one year, both primary and metastatic lesions seem to be regressing. This case study suggests that paclitaxel plus doxifluridine therapy is effective and well-tolerated in non-resectable gastric cancer patients.     

Cystic tumour of the atrioventricular nodal region: report of a case successfully treated with surgery

A case is reported of a 59 year old woman who presented with palpitations. Electrocardiographic studies revealed atrial fibrillation and atrioventricular block. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a right atrial cystic mass attached to the interatrial septum. The patient underwent surgical excision of the mass. Histopathological findings were of a cystic tumour of the atrioventricular nodal region. This is the second report of this condition diagnosed antemortem and treated successfully with surgical excision.


Keywords: atrioventricular block; cystic tumour; excision     

Pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma with laryngeal and subcutaneous involvement: report of a case successfully treated with glucocorticoids

We report a case of pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma (PHG) with laryngeal and subcutaneous involvement. A 43-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for assessment of hoarseness. Cervical and chest computed tomography, respectively, revealed a laryngeal tumor and two pulmonary masses. Specimens obtained from the pulmonary masses were compatible with PHG. The histopathology of biopsy specimens from both the laryngeal tumor and a subcutaneous tumor resembled that of the resected lung masses. Although there is no established treatment for PHG, the laryngeal tumor was diminished and all other lesions disappeared with glucocorticoid treatment.     

Parenteral administration of ivermectin in a patient with disseminated strongyloidiasis

We report the case of a 23-year-old Caribbean man with disseminated strongyloidiasis (co-infected with human T cell lymphotropic virus I/II)), severe hypoalbuminemia, and a paralytic ileus. Subcutaneous ivermectin (200 microg/kg) was administered daily for 14 days because of the inability to effectively administer oral albendazole and oral ivermectin. Three hours after the third daily dose of oral ivermectin, the serum ivermectin concentration was only 0.8 ng/mL, but it increased several fold to 5.8 ng/mL 16 hours after the first dose of subcutaneous ivermectin. During the course of subcutaneous treatment, ivermectin clearance was higher than expected (46.0 L/hour, normal = 31.8 L/hour). This is likely the result of severe hypoalbuminemia since ivermectin is highly protein bound. The ability to achieve adequate levels of ivermectin after oral administration in patients with disseminated strongyloidiasis may be impaired, highlighting the need for alternative routes of administration of ivermectin in these patients.     

TAFRO syndrome successfully treated with tocilizumab: A case report and systematic review

Thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis, and organomegaly (TAFRO) syndrome is considered as a unique clinicopathologic variant of multicentric Castleman’s disease and is recently reported in Japan. This entity represents a severe inflammatory state leading to organ failures such as severe liver dysfunction seen in our case, and can be treated by immunosuppressive agents, steroids, and cyclosporine shown in several case reports. A systematic review and our case suggest the potential utility of tocilizumab as a treatment for TAFRO syndrome.