Sarcoidosis with heart involvement: a rare association of terrible prognosis, a report of two cases

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disorder of unknown etiology which is characterized by the formation of  non-caseating granulomas in involved tissues. Cardiac involvement is one of the least common manifestations and it can occur at any point of time during the course of sarcoidosis. Here we present the case of 2 patients with known sarcoidosis who develop cardiac abnormalities in the absence of known primary cardiac cause. In our report, we would like to draw attention to the importance of considering heart involvement in any case with systemic sarcoidosis especially in young age.Key words: Cardiac sarcoidosis, Sarcoidosis, Ventricular arrhythmia

Dermatomyosite et panniculite: place des immunoglobulines

La panniculite est une maladie inflammatoire du tissu adipeux sous-cutané rarement associée à la dermatomyosite. Elle peut survenir avant, après ou en même temps que l'atteinte musculaire. Dans la plupart des cas, l'évolution de la panniculite et des autres atteintes de la dermatomyosite est favorable sous traitement corticoïde et/ou immunosuppresseur. Nous rapportons le cas d'une patiente âgée de 48 ans ayant présenté des lésions de panniculite précédant de 2 mois les signes musculaires. L'atteinte cutanée était résistante au traitement corticoïde associés aux immunosuppresseurs ce qui a nécessité le recours au traitement par Immunoglobulines polyvalentes permettant ainsi une amélioration à la fois de l'atteinte cutanée et musculaire.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

0391: Cardiac involvement in ankylosing spondylitis

BackgroundCardiac involvement in ankylosing spondylitis is common. We have tried through this study to analyze the cardiovascular events among 50 patients with ankylosing spondylitis.MethodsA retrospective study including 50 patients with ankylosing spondylitis. All patients underwent a complete physical examination with a heart and lung auscultation and an electro-cardiogram (ECG). Transthoracic ultrasound was performed whenever there was an abnormal physical examination and/or ECG.ResultsThe study included 47 men and 3 women, the sex ratio is 15,6. The average age of onset was 26±7 years. The mode of onset is axial in 95% of cases (low back pain and/or buttock). The extra-articular manifestations are present in 54% of cases. Cardiac involvement is present in 9 cases (18% of cases). The reason for consultation is dyspnea in 2 patients. In other cases, cardiac involvement was discovered incidentally. Aortic regurgitation was noted in 4 patients. Mitral insufficiency was found in 3 cases. Two patients have predominantly septal hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and one patient presented an array of pulmonary insufficiency. The average time of onset of cardiac involvement was 8±5 years. All patients were put under special medical treatment of their heart, with good clinical outcome.ConclusionCardiac involvement in ankylosing spondyllitis is seen more frequently in men, especially in the old cases. A close relationship between time to onset of aortic insufficiency and duration of disease progression was found. It would be responsible for one third of deaths of patients. It was significantly more frequent in HLA B27 positive patients (especially complete atrioventricular block and aortic insufficiency)

Neuro-meningeal cryptococcal infection revealing a multiple myeloma

Rare cases of Cryptococcus have been documented in patients living with multiple myeloma. To date there has been no documented evidence of cryptococcosis revealing multiple myeloma. We reported a 63-year-old man who had a 2-months history continuous holocranial headaches, morning vomiting, complaining of blurred vision and fever. The biologic and the imaging showed a Cryptococcus meningoencephalitis. The search for a cause of immunodeficiency revealed a multiple myeloma. The diagnosis for Cryptococcus was confirmed according to an India ink stain, blood and cerebrospinal fluid culture. The patient's treatment for multiple myeloma was initiated with a chemotherapy regimen. The evolution was good without complication. Cryptococcosis, especially in the neuro-meningeal form, is a serious, deadly opportunistic infection. The search of an underlining immunodeficiency must be systematic. In this case, it was associated with early stage multiple myeloma

Cardiac tamponade: an uncommon presenting feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (a case-based review)

Although pericarditis is the most prevalent cardiac involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cardiac tamponade is extremely infrequent notably as the first manifestation of the disease. Here we report the case of a 22-year-old woman presenting with cardiac tamponade as the initial presentation of SLE