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A Right Adrenal SerpentA large right adrenal mass was noted incidentally on an MRI scan of the lumbar spine, which had been performed for other reasons in a 55-year-old non-obese woman. The bright heterogeneous mass (T2-weighted image) measured 6.2 3 6.2 3 4.1 cm and sat like the head of a serpent on the superior pole of the right kidney. Its margins were smooth, but signal intensity was increased on T2 weighting because of high water content. The left adrenal gland was normal.
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Aliskiren Plus Losartan Equals Lower Urine Protein Levels in Type 2 PatientsAdding aliskiren to antihypertension regimens that already include losartan reduced blood protein levels from 19% to 22% in hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy.
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Back Extension Exercises for Patients With OsteoporosisExercises that help strengthen themuscles that support the spinemay be especially helpful duringthe postmenopausal years. Theback extension series illustratedin Figures 1 through 5 is anexample of progressively moredifficult exercises that can beperformed several times perweek. These exercises can alsobe performed individually inconjunction with resistance andweight-bearing routines.
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Herpes ZosterApproximately 1 million cases of herpes zoster are diagnosed in the United States every year. Here, a refresher on the virus and a good look at the rash.
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A man with cough and dyspneaThe case presented here illustratesthe diagnostic challengesand potential severity of a fungalinfection.
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Prophylactic Oseltamivir for Prevention of Nosocomial Influenza A Virus InfectionThe effectiveness of oseltamivir in preventing nosocomialinfluenza (influenza Avirus infection) during an influenzaepidemic was carried out in several wards of a universityhospital. Asurvey conducted during the 2005 influenza seasonidentified 30 staff members (nurses and doctors) and 3hospitalized patients who met the case definition for influenza.Adefinitive influenza diagnosis was made in 17 staff members(57%) and in 2 inpatients (66%) based on the results of a rapiddiagnostic test. Most of the 30 symptomatic staff membershad been vaccinated for influenza. Symptomatic staff memberswere sent home for 1 week, and the infected inpatients wereisolated. Oseltamivir (75 mg/d for 5 days) was administered to99 staff members and 2 inpatients who had close contact withthe infected patients. Although a relatively large number of thestaff had an influenza virus infection, the use of oseltamivirmay have effectively prevented a nosocomial outbreak.[Infect Med. 2008;25:49-50a]
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Prophylactic Oseltamivir for Prevention of Nosocomial Influenza A Virus InfectionThe effectiveness of oseltamivir in preventing nosocomialinfluenza (influenza Avirus infection) during an influenzaepidemic was carried out in several wards of a universityhospital. Asurvey conducted during the 2005 influenza seasonidentified 30 staff members (nurses and doctors) and 3hospitalized patients who met the case definition for influenza.Adefinitive influenza diagnosis was made in 17 staff members(57%) and in 2 inpatients (66%) based on the results of a rapiddiagnostic test. Most of the 30 symptomatic staff membershad been vaccinated for influenza. Symptomatic staff memberswere sent home for 1 week, and the infected inpatients wereisolated. Oseltamivir (75 mg/d for 5 days) was administered to99 staff members and 2 inpatients who had close contact withthe infected patients. Although a relatively large number of thestaff had an influenza virus infection, the use of oseltamivirmay have effectively prevented a nosocomial outbreak.[Infect Med. 2008;25:49-50a]
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Medical Marijuana: Regulations Surrounding Its UseDisparate means of accessing marijuana complicates the evaluation of the quality, purity, and potency of cannabis.
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Worsening Neurological Symptoms in an Older Man With History of Rectal CancerA 65-year-old man, who was lost to follow-up after abdominal-perineal resection for rectal adenocarcinoma 9 months earlier, presents with progressively worsening neurological symptoms, including bilateral hearing loss, dizziness, gait disturbance, ataxia, and blindness in the right eye.
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What is causing this woman’s dry cough?A 39-year-old woman presented with dry cough, which she had had for 3 months. She had mild intermittent asthma and a 5 pack-year smoking history. Her symptoms started after an upper respiratory tract infection and persisted despite multiple courses of antibiotics, decongestants, and corticosteroids.
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A rare complication of empyema: Thoracic aorta perforationThis case represents an unusualcomplication of cellulitiscaused by methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus.
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Melanoma of the ScalpA 60-year-old African American woman presented with an asymptomatic, nonpruritic lesion on the left temporal scalp that bled intermittently. She had noticed the lesion after she used a hair relaxant 5 to 6 months earlier. Since then, the lesion had slowly enlarged. She had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. She denied alcohol consumption and tobacco use.
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Erythema Multiforme MinorErythromycin had been prescribed for a 15-year-old boy who complained of flulike symptoms. Twenty-four hours after starting the medication, he awakened with painful ulceration of his mouth and lips. The erythromycin was discontinued, and hydroxyzine (25 mg, three times daily) was started for possible macrolide sensitivity. His condition worsened over the next 3 days, however, and he was hospitalized when the severe oral pain made it impossible for him to tolerate food or drink. At no point had he any nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or chills.
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Herpes Encephalitis in Monoclonal GammopathyNinety percent of adult cases of encephalitis are caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1, and HSV type 2 encephalitis is clinically indistinguishable from HSV-1 encephalitis.
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Identifying drug-induced lung injury in a patient with rheumatoid arthritisWe describe a case of sulfasalazine-induced pneumonitis ina complex medical patient.This case illustrates the potentialfor drug-induced pulmonarydisease and the vigilanceneeded in evaluating patientswith subacute respiratory decompensation.Proper recognitionand treatment mostlikely prevented the progressionof acute respiratory failureand, possibly, irreversiblelung injury or death.
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Hyperpigmented Macules and Soft, Flesh-Colored MassesGeneralized weakness and malaise have bothered a 44-year-old woman for a few days. The patient has several large, flat facial lesions that have been present for years; she has never consulted a physician about them.
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Progressive DyspneaA 37-year-old woman presented with progressive dyspnea of 2 weeks' duration, a low-grade fever, and night sweats. She had been a healthy marathon runner until her exercise tolerance recently declined.
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Pneumatosis Intestinalis Triggers PneumoperitoneumPneumatosis cystoides intestinalisa rare condition, is characterized by gaseous cysts within the submucosal and subserosal spaces of the bowel wal
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Bochdalek HerniaA 48-year-old woman with hypertension, HIV infection, anemia, and chronic kidney disease presented with generalized body weakness and diarrhea of several months’ duration.
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Prophylactic Oseltamivir for Prevention of Nosocomial Influenza A Virus InfectionThe effectiveness of oseltamivir in preventing nosocomialinfluenza (influenza Avirus infection) during an influenzaepidemic was carried out in several wards of a universityhospital. Asurvey conducted during the 2005 influenza seasonidentified 30 staff members (nurses and doctors) and 3hospitalized patients who met the case definition for influenza.Adefinitive influenza diagnosis was made in 17 staff members(57%) and in 2 inpatients (66%) based on the results of a rapiddiagnostic test. Most of the 30 symptomatic staff membershad been vaccinated for influenza. Symptomatic staff memberswere sent home for 1 week, and the infected inpatients wereisolated. Oseltamivir (75 mg/d for 5 days) was administered to99 staff members and 2 inpatients who had close contact withthe infected patients. Although a relatively large number of thestaff had an influenza virus infection, the use of oseltamivirmay have effectively prevented a nosocomial outbreak.[Infect Med. 2008;25:49-50a]
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Top 10 Common Medication Errors-Drug #10: VaccineThe nurse went to get the product from the refrigerator and mixed it with both NaCl 0.9% and the other diluent that was in the product’s box. What is the problem here?
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Complications of Diabetes Mellitus: Right-Sided Endocarditis in a Diabetic PatientHigh-grade fever, chills, fatigue, malaise, and anorexia developed in a 35-year-old man following subclavian catheterization because of chronic renal failure of unknown cause. The patient, who had long-standing diabetes mellitus, was admitted to the ICU with the diagnosis of possible sepsis. The next day, he was found to have a grade 2/6 systolic murmur compatible with tricuspid regurgitation. This was confirmed when a 4-chamber echocardiogram (A) revealed a large single piece of vegetation (2 arrows) lying on the tricuspid valve, flapping in and out of the right ventricle. In a 2-dimensional echocardiogram of the right atrium and right ventricle (B), 3 arrows point to the vegetation. (RV, right ventricle; LV, left ventricle; RA, right atrium; LA, left atrium; TV, tricuspid valve.)
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A Man With Transient Dyspnea After Taking TadalafilA 26-year-old man presented with sudden onset of palpitations and shortness of breath after incidentally taking tadalafil. He had no other symptoms and no history of illnesses during childhood. He drank socially but denied smoking and use of illicit drugs.
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Enoxaparin DermatosisThis is a very distinct, rare, and remarkable hemorrhagic rash, first recognized in 2006, with 7 known cases reported in the literature.
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Reviewing the effects of hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus on COPDDiabetes mellitus is a group of disorders characterized by hyperglycemia and the resulting macrovascular and microvascular complications.
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STEMI With Underlying Paced RhythmAccording to the Sgarbossa criteria, the patient had an acute MI: ECG revealed a greater than 1-mm ST-segment depression in lead V2 and about 5-mm discordant ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, and aVF.
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Early Renal Disease:Until recently, practitioners focused on the timing of initiation of renal replacement therapy (dialysis) and transplantation once advanced kidney disease had developed. However, a new CKD classification system now provides an action plan for the earlier stages of the disease.
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Pneumatosis IntestinalisA 70-year-old woman with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (hemoglobin A1c, 12.5%) and hypertension was brought to the emergency department for evaluation of abdominal pain and loose bowel movements.
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Young Man With a History of Vague Headaches Ascribed to SinusitisA 37-year-old man found unresponsiveat home with erratic respiration andurinary incontinence was brought tothe emergency department (ED). Accordingto his family, the patient hadbeen complaining of headaches, vertigo,and mild neck pain for 2 months.During that time, a CT scan of thesinuses revealed chronic sinusitis; thepatient had completed a course ofprednisone, naproxen, and meclizinewithout symptomatic improvement.The day before he was brought to theED, he had presented to a differenthospital with the same complaints andwas given a prescription for antibioticsfor a presumed sinus infection. He haddiet-controlled hypercholesterolemiaand did not smoke.
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Traumatic HemothoraxTraumatic hemothorax usually results from penetrating or contused thoracic injuries that lead to rib fracture and damage of intercostal or pulmonary vessels. Hemorrhagic shock can occur with massive blood loss into the pleural space. The shock state may be exacerbated by decreased venous return.
