Diabetic neuropathic foot without neuropathy: Could it be cancer? - a case report

We present a case of a 64 year-old diabetic male who presented with months of progressively worsening foot pain and swelling, who was initially diagnosed with Charcot joint disease.(CJD) He was ultimately found to have a very rare tumor

A Common Pain in Pregnancy with an Uncommon Cause

Case Diagnosis: We present a case of a patient with hip pain during pregnancy determined to be pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). Case Description: A 41-year-old woman presented with 9-months of persistent atraumatic left hip pain localized to the groin that had started in her second trimester of pregnancy. Five months after delivery at presentation to clinic, her symptoms had progressively worsened to require a cane for ambulation. On exam, hip range of motion was limited: flexion to 90o, external rotation to 20o, and internal rotation to 10o. She had groin pain with internal and external rotation. She was neurovascularly intact without lymphadenopathy. Radiographs showed significant erosion of the left femoral head and acetabulum with mild protrusio. Apple core erosions were visualized at the femoral neck. MRI showed extensive bone edema on both sides of the joint, with erosion of the femoral head and acetabulum. There was joint effusion, synovial hypertrophy, and excessive synovial tissue. Differential diagnoses included PVNS, avascular necrosis, rapidly progressive osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis, septic arthritis, insufficiency fractures, synovial chondromatosis, and transient osteoporosis of the hip. A needle biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of PVNS. She was treated with synovectomy and total hip arthroplasty, and has remained pain free and without evidence of disease for the last 5 years. Discussions: PVNS is a disorder characterized by synovial proliferation. There are only two previous case reports of patients who were diagnosed with PVNS during pregnancy, both of whom had monoarticular involvement of the knee. Conclusions: Synovectomy is the mainstay of surgical treatment of PVNS. Although, in patients with extensive articular involvement, synovectomy and arthroplasty may be required. The current understanding is that cytokines have a trophic influence leading to growth of the tumor. Further studies are needed to establish a definitive connection between PVNS and pregnancy

Don’t call me in the morning: why it might be best to see patients in-person, a case report

Case Diagnosis: Post-irradiation Sarcoma Case Description: A 58-year-old woman with a history of stage IIIB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix who was treated with chemoradiation, considered in remission 5 years prior on PET CT, and was under every 6-months surveillance for recurrence by gynecology. She presented to the Emergency Department for severe back pain, left sided sciatica, and paresthesias. In the absence of fracture or cord compression, she was discharged with recommendations for primary care follow-up. This took place over the telephone with referral to the spine center. One week later, her pain progressed to 10+/10 with dense left leg numbness, and multiple falls. Physiatry ordered a lumbar MRI for focal neurologic findings on exam, which revealed a large destructive lesion of the left ilium and left hemisacrum with soft tissue extension. This was later determined to be undifferentiated sarcoma, likely due to prior radiation. She is currently undergoing palliative chemotherapy. Discussions: Post-irradiation sarcomas (PIS) are a relatively rare event and exhibit dose dependency. Sarcomas can present with bone pain that can be worse at night and signs and symptoms of compression of surrounding structures. The pelvis is a common site for sarcoma development. Cases of PIS have presented in even just a few months post radiation therapy. The prognosis of patients with PIS is poorer than those with primary sarcomas. This patient would require hemipelvectomy to attempt curative treatment. Conclusions: PIS are typically aggressive, have poor prognosis, and can develop within months of high doses of radiation therapies; clinicians index of suspicion for sarcomas in patients with a history of radiation must be high. Evaluation for progressive pain, weakness, and numbness may not be amenable to telemedicine until technology improves. Patients that present with signs and symptoms of progressive nerve compression and bone pain should be re-examined early on

No Woman is an Island -- Access to Care and Extreme Measures for Cancer Pain and Lymphedema: A Case Report

Background: Cancer rehabilitation is a rapidly growing diverse field in physiatry. This case provides an example where rehabilitation physiatrists played a crucial role in the pain management, education, and rehabilitation before and after a palliative amputation. Due to her limited resources, both in her home country and in her local community, she could not access appropriate care that may have prevented the need for amputation. Though amputation is not generally accepted as the first line of treatment for pain, there have been several reports of palliative amputation in metastatic cancer patients. In particular, fore quarter amputations have been reported in metastatic breast cancer patients to manage pain and recurrent fractures

Multifocal Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in an Adult

Eosinophilic granuloma (EG) is the most common and benign form of the spectrum of disorders referred to as Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). Langerhans cell histiocytosis is primarily regarded as a pediatric disease, with few adult cases of multifocal EG of bone reported. We report a case of multifocal EG in a 48-year-old woman, who presented with right knee pain. Radiographs showed a small lytic lesion in the medial femoral condyle. Diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasound-guided biopsy. She had had a previous EG lesion excised from her skull. Whole-body bone scan demonstrated a new skull lesion in the right diploic space, which was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent curettage, bone grafting, and prophylactic internal fixation of the right distal femur lesion. The skull lesion was treated with repeat craniectomy. Two years later, she developed a new lesion in the right distal femoral metaphysis, which was treated with intralesional corticosteroid injections. Now, more than 1 year later, the patient is pain-free with no evidence of new or recurrent disease. Because multifocal EG is a rare diagnosis in adults, appropriate clinical suspicion, in combination with radiographic findings and histologic examination, is essential for correct diagnosis and treatment

Total Joint Replacement Prehabilitation: A Feasibility Study

Objectives: Pre-operative physical therapy has been shown to reduce post-acute care service utilization. Shifting rehabilitation to the presurgical period, referred to as prehabilitation, could result in reduced recovery time and cost. Limited access to physical therapy may prevent patients from achieving the benefits, and a standard set of independent exercises may be an alternative. We aim to assess the feasibility of an independent exercise program as a pre-surgical intervention for total hip and knee replacement. Design: Participants were taught two exercises for hip or knee arthritis at least one week prior to surgery and instructed to perform them independently at home. Subjects were contacted three days to one month post-operatively and surveyed about discharge, frequency of exercise, and living status of alone or with others. No adverse effects were reported. Additional information was collected from the subjects’chart including age, BMI, and sex. Discharge outcomes were compared with pre-existing independent factors using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 80 subjects were followed with a home discharge rate of 78.75%. Univariate analyses showed that the presence of other people in the home showed a slight, but non-significant, association with differences of discharge destination. 82.1%-83.3% of patients who live with others were discharged home versus 57.1% of patients living alone (LR chi-square: 3.84, p=0.15). Multivariate analyses showed a slight, but non-significant, association between frequency of prehabilitation and discharge destination (OR=1.212; 95% CI, 0.960-1.530). BMI showed no associated difference in discharge destination. Conclusions: Increased frequency of prehabilitation and presence of others at home showed slight associations with increased discharges to home, but were non-significant. Increased exposure to prehabilitation (duration times frequency) trends toward more frequent home discharge. Independently performed prehabilitation may be offered as an alternative pre-surgical intervention with likely little to no adverse effect. Larger numbers are needed to determine likelihood of discharge home

Traumatic thoracic spondyloptosis without neurologic deficit, and treatment with in situ fusion

Thoracic spinal fracture-disassociation (traumatic spondyloptosis) is a rare injury caused by high-energy forces. This injury most often leaves the patient with a severe neurologic deficit. In this article, we report the case of a patient who presented with a complete traumatic thoracic spondyloptosis but no neurologic deficits. He was treated surgically, with posterior instrumented spinal fusion in situ. Given the patient’s spinal canal preservation and overall spinal alignment, reduction was not attempted. The postoperative course was complicated only by a wound infection, at 14 months, when already there was clinical and radiographic evidence of solid fusion. The infection was treated successfully with irrigation and débridement, implant removal, and intravenous (IV) antibiotics. At most recent (30-month) follow-up, the patient was neurologically intact and independently ambulating. Informed consent for publication of this case report and the radiographic images was obtained from the patient

Osteofibrous dysplasia and adamantinoma

Osteofibrous dysplasia (OFD) is a rare, benign, fibro-osseous lesion that typically is seen within the cortex of the tibia in children. Adamantinoma (AD) is a rare, low-grade malignant primary bone tumor that occurs most often in the tibia and/or fibula of adolescent persons and young adults; however, it has been reported in other long bones, as well. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural evidence has shown that the neoplastic cell in AD derives from an epithelial lineage. More recently, published reports have described another clinical entity-differentiated or OFD-like AD-that appears to lie between OFD and AD along a spectrum of disease. Controversy exists as to whether OFD is a precursor lesion to AD or whether OFD may be a residual lesion resulting from a spontaneously regressing AD. Management of OFD varies from observation to surgical intervention, depending on the age of the patient and the extent of the lesion. Management of AD requires surgical resection with wide margins, followed by appropriate reconstruction, to minimize the risk of local recurrence or metastasis

Neuromuscular dysfunction in the cancer patient: Evaluation and treatment

Cancer is a common diagnosis. In conjunction with various anti-neoplastic therapies delivered sequentially or concurrently, it makes oncology patients among the most complex to treat. This review uses a series of case studies to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of cancer-related nerve and muscle disorders. Oncologic treatment interventions such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy, often have predictable side-effects, and sometimes their associated disability can be mitigated, especially if recognized early. Disease progression can mimic other diagnoses. The case studies provide a lens through which to study the presenting symptoms, differential diagnoses, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment interventions. These are all considered within the context of the patient\u27s prognosis and health-related quality of life