Acute pancreatitis and subdural haematoma in a patient with severe falciparum malaria: Case report and review of literature

Plasmodium falciparum infection is known to be associated with a spectrum of systemic complications ranging from mild and self-limiting to life-threatening. This case report illustrates a patient who had a protracted course in hospital due to several rare complications of falciparum malaria. A 21-year old man presented with a five-day history of high-grade fever, jaundice and abdominal pain and a two-day history of altered conscious state. A diagnosis of severe falciparum malaria was made based on the clinical presentation and a positive blood smear with parasitaemia of 45%. Despite adequate anti-malarial therapy with artesunate, the patient had persistent and worsening abdominal pain. Investigations suggested a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, a rare association with falciparum malaria. However, in spite of supportive therapy for acute pancreatitis and a 10-day course of intravenous artesunate and oral doxycycline at recommended doses, he continued to be febrile with peripheral blood smear showing persistence of ring forms. Antimalarial therapy was, therefore, changed to quinine on the suspicion of possible artesunate resistance. On the 17th day of stay in hospital, the patient developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Computerized tomography of the brain showed bilateral fronto-parietal subdural haematomas that were surgically drained. His fever persisted beyond 30-days despite broad-spectrum antibiotics, quinine therapy and negative malarial smears. A possibility of drug fever was considered and all drugs were ceased. He subsequently became afebrile and was discharged on the 38th hospital admission day. Recognition of complications and appropriate management at each stage facilitated successful outcome. This report has been presented to highlight the occurrence of several rare complications of falciparum malaria in the same patient

Validity of tuberculous pleuritis diagnosed in a resource-constrained setting in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu

Context: Majority of the Indians live in rural areas where resource constrained settings depend on cheaper and less invasive tests to diagnose extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The decline in prevalence of TB in the country could affect the validity of the diagnosis. The aim was to measure validity of the pleural fluid study of proteins, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cell counts in diagnosis of tuberculous pleuritis. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a 300 bedded secondary care hospital in rural Tamil Nadu. Exhaustive sampling was performed during April 2013 to March 2014. Pleural fluid study of 54 patients with exudative pleural effusion was conducted. Diagnosis was established by closed needle pleural biopsy. Receiver operator curves were plotted and area under curve (AUC) was calculated for various parameters. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for different cut-off values of the parameter with significant AUC. Results: Prevalence of tuberculous pleural effusion was 56% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] - 42.5-69.5%). Lymphocyte predominance in pleural fluid was the only valid test, and cut-off >80% had sensitivity of 70.0% (95% CI - 53.3-86.7%) and specificity of 70.8% (95% CI - 52.2-89.4%). Pleural fluid pH, protein or its ratio with serum protein, sugar, total leukocyte count, LDH or its ratio with serum LDH; erythrocyte sedimentation rate were not valid screening tests. Conclusions: Lymphocyte predominance > 80% can be used as a marker of tuberculous pleuritis. Since the prevalence of tuberculous pleuritis in India has come down considerably, newer tests need to be included to make a valid diagnosis

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo