A case of concomitant connective tissue disorder and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in an Indian middle aged female

Thrombotic thrombocytopenia (TTP) is a rare disease which is rarely present in adults. Adults usually have an acquired version of disease, associated with some underlying autoimmune disease. There has been paucity of literature about reports which shows the coexistence of connective tissue disorder in patients of acquired TTP. This is a case report of a female who presented with vague symptoms of breathlessness, abdominal pain and petechial rashes and was diagnosed as TTP, developed neurological complications but was stabilized by timely management through plasma exchanges and steroids. 

Escherichia coli mono articular septic arthritis of shoulder joint in an elderly female

Septic arthritis of the shoulder joint is a very rare entity to encounter in clinical practice. Escherichia coli (E. coli) pathogen isolation is only seen to occur in individuals with multiple comorbidities. We report a similar case of gram-negative E. coli urosepsis in a veteran female that transmitted hematogenously to the shoulder joint and how a prompt diagnosis and treatment prevented extension and damage of the joint space.

Lupus with myositis in an adult Indian male

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves various organs and has a vast spectrum of multi system involvement. SLE is an autoimmune illness which is rarely found in males but when present holds a poor prognosis with a predisposition to develop various manifestations. This case involves a 50-year-old male who developed myositis as a complication of lupus despite adequate immunosuppressive therapy.

How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries?

This is an open access book. The book provides an overview of the state of research in developing countries – Africa, Latin America, and Asia (especially India) and why research and publications are important in these regions. It addresses budding but struggling academics in low and middle-income countries. It is written mainly by senior colleagues who have experienced and recognized the challenges with design, documentation, and publication of health research in the developing world. The book includes short chapters providing insight into planning research at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, issues related to research ethics, and conduct of clinical trials. It also serves as a guide towards establishing a research question and research methodology. It covers important concepts such as writing a paper, the submission process, dealing with rejection and revisions, and covers additional topics such as planning lectures and presentations. The book will be useful for graduates, postgraduates, teachers as well as physicians and practitioners all over the developing world who are interested in academic medicine and wish to do medical research

Persistent Marked Peripheral Eosinophilia due to Tuberculosis: A Case Report

We report a case of a 68-year-old female who was a known case of diabetes mellitus and chronic liver disease and presented with complaints of dry cough and other constitutional symptoms since one month. During initial investigations, the patient was found to have peripheral blood eosinophilia. Upon investigating further,the patient was found to have mediastinal lymphadenopathy and fine-needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes showed features of tuberculosis. The patient was started on anti-tubercular treatment and her eosinophil counts returned to normal levels. Correlation between eosinophilia and tuberculosis has not been established in classical literature. This case highlights the same association and raises awareness on this crucial finding. Coexistence of eosinophilia and tuberculosis in our patient is suggested since peripheral blood eosinophilia improved with anti-tubercular treatment. The exact pathogenesis of coexistence of tuberculosis and peripheral blood eosinophilia yet remains to be deciphered, but tissue pathology is mainly associated with the discharge of toxic eosinophil products

An interesting case of characteristic methanol toxicity through inhalational exposure

Methanol poisoning is rare but carries high risk of morbidity and mortality. Most of the cases witnessed in emergency are due to consumption of adulterated alcohol. Here we are reporting a very rare case of methanol poisoning through inhalational exposure leading to putamen necrosis and decreased visual acuity. He had dyselectrolytemia and metabolic acidosis which was successfully managed with early intervention. Its importance lies in the fact that inhalational methanol poisoning is an entity which if picked up early can prevent long-term neurological sequelae

Low backache in adults as an initial presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Low backache as an initial manifestation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults has been rarely reported. In this hematological disorder, although bone marrow is replaced by malignant cells, not many cases of low backache as an initial presentation of ALL are reported. We present a series of clinical cases with low backache, which on evaluation found to have ALL

Acute pancreatic injury induced by COVID-19

We report a patient with COVID-19 infection presenting with acute pancreatitis. The diagnosis of pancreatitis was based on laboratory as well as radiological evidence, and all the usual etiologies were ruled out. The temporal association with COVID-19 is strongly suggestive of novel coronavirus induced pancreatic injury

Tubercular aortoiliac aneurysm with challenging management

A 38-year-old male was diagnosed with aortoiliac aneurysm while evaluating for new-onset hypertension. On further workup, the cause was identified as tubercular aortoiliac aneurysm. His aneurysm had stormy course and disseminated further while ongoing antitubercular therapy with multiple episodes of aneurysmal rupture and endovascular interventions. Management of this case was complicated with several other rarer entities, such as haemophagocytosis and thrombotic microangiopathy with disseminated intravascular coagulation resistant to steroids and plasmapheresis, within a span of few weeks. Moreover, first-line antitubercular therapy had to be regularly modified in view of emerging complications. While case reports for each individual entity exists in literature, this is the first case to the best of our knowledge where such varied complications were present in a patient of tubercular mycotic aneurysm