Thymoma and myotonic dystrophy: successful treatment with chemotherapy and radiation: case report and review of the literature

We present the case of a 42-year-old woman with myotonic dystrophy and thymoma. She was treated with combination chemotherapy followed by external beam radiation, and remains in remission 19 months after thymoma was diagnosed. The myotonic dystrophy is unchanged. Only six cases of this nature have been reported in the literature, and this patient is the first to be successfully treated with combined modality therapy.     

Capnocytophaga infection involving a portal-systemic vascular shunt

Capnocytophaga sp., a microaerophilic gram-negative isolate of the human oral cavity, has previously been reported to cause sinusitis, empyema, wound infections, conjunctivitis, subphrenic abscess, osteomyelitis, bacteremia, cervical abscess, and endocarditis. We report the unusual case of infection with this organism at the anastamotic site of a splenorenal portosystemic vascular shunt. In this case, the pathogenesis is presumed to be bacteremia related to mucosal trauma from endoscopic injection sclerotherapy or bacteremia secondary to dental infection. The characteristics and antibiotic sensitivities of Capnocytophaga are reviewed.