Ipsilateral Lower Limb Weakness After Sarcoma Treatment: A Case Report

Case Diagnosis: Our patient experienced worsening left foot neuropathy following chemotherapy and radiation treatment for sarcoma. Case Description: A 24-year-old man underwent local resection of a 12cm x 8cm x 14.5cm rhabdomyosarcoma in the left vastus lateralis. Then, he was treated with vincristine for 40 weeks and radiation to the left lateral thigh with a maximum dose of 50.4 Gy. The sciatic nerve was outside the target area and received a lower dose. While undergoing chemotherapy, the patient experienced bilateral dysesthesias in his fingertips and feet. He had no history of neuropathy prior to treatment. After chemotherapy was completed, these symptoms subsided in all extremities except the left foot, which developed atraumatic plantar flexion and dorsiflexion weakness, great toe extensor and flexor weakness, decreased sensation in the distal left toe to the metatarsal. Electromyography and needle conduction studies demonstrated left worse than right polyneuropathy mainly affecting the tibial and peroneal motor nerves. There was no clear evidence of a single nerve compressive lesion and repeat scans of the thigh showed no new lesion. Given the presence of milder nerve abnormalities on the right in addition to left sided weakness, the cause is likely multifactorial and temporally related to cancer treatments. Discussions: Persistent or worsening features may appear in patients who received vincristine despite termination of treatment. The pattern is typically sensorimotor; however, this patient demonstrates mainly motor abnormalities. The left worse than right pattern could suggest radiation-induced neuropathy, but no myokymic potentials were seen. Myokymic potentials are common in radiation neuropathy, although their absence does not rule it out. Treatment included physical therapy, gabapentin, and an ankle foot orthosis. Conclusions: Fourteen months after completing radiation and seven months after completing chemotherapy (seven months after symptom onset), the patient’s symptoms are markedly improved. This case demonstrates that neuropathy after treatment in sarcoma patients may be multifactorial

Prehabilitation Before Lumpectomy Can Prevent Loss of Range of Motion

Case Diagnosis: On intake exam, patient reported twenty year history of shoulder pain and history of bilateral subacromial bursitis . On the day of the exam, she rated her left shoulder pain (ipsilateral to breast cancer) at 2/10. Physical exam showed tenderness over left subacromial bursa, pain with resisted shoulder abduction and external rotation and ROM limited 120 degrees or less bilaterally.Case Description: Here, we report the case of a 73 year old woman with a 20 year history of bilateral subacromial bursitis and left shoulder pain who began an independent daily shoulder exercise regimen as instructed by a physiatrist 2.5 weeks prior to left sided lumpectomy for breast cancer, and continued the exercises following the operation. One month post-surgery, physical exam revealed no loss in range of motion (ROM) in flexion and abduction of the left and right shoulders. Patient reported intermittent pain, manageable with NSAIDs, which started only after tamoxifen use. Discussion: Decline in physical functioning such as loss of ROM, decreased strength, and pain following surgery for breast cancer is a well-documented phenomenon associated with difficulties in performing activities of daily living (ADL). Studies have shown that rehabilitation interventions during treatment period following breast cancer surgery result in improvements in shoulder and arm function; however, no study to date investigated the effectiveness of interventions initiated before surgery (prehabilitation) for breast cancer.Conclusions: A daily exercise regimen prior to and following lumpectomy for breast cancer may prevent the development of shoulder dysfunction that is often reported in the cancer treatment period

Two Cases of Lyme Arthritis in Winter In New England: A Case Series

Case Diagnosis: Lyme Arthritis Case Description: Patient 1 is a 26 year old male who presented in March with severe right knee pain and swelling for two weeks. He had a similar episode a month prior, but it resolved. The second episode progressed with pain from knee to foot and numbness on top of the foot. He had no known history of tick bites, travel, or trauma, but endorsed contact with a dog. On physical exam, he had a right knee effusion with limited ROM, diffuse joint line tenderness, positive McMurray’s, and pain with ligamentous testing. Synovial fluid of the joint showed WBC count 44,467 and was positive for Lyme. He was treated with doxycycline. MRI findings were limited to ACL laxity and inflammation. Patient 2 is a 24 year old male who presented in December with progressive right knee and calf pain for one week. He had been fishing in the woods a few weeks prior with no trauma. Joint aspiration showed a positive Lyme PCR and WBC count 37,520, and he was treated with doxycycline. Aspiration was repeated for recurrent effusion, and an MRI was done due to persistent pain. MRI showed bone contusion, ACL laxity, and inflammation. Discussions: Lyme disease is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis ticks, which appear in late spring and early summer; however,Lyme arthritis may occur during any season. Ticks infected with the spirochete B. burgdorferi are primarily found in the Northeastern and upper Midwestern US. B. burgdorferi strains of Lyme often disseminate to joints, tendons, or bursae early in infection.Lyme arthritis presents later, with an adaptive immune response that results in spirochetal killing. Conclusions: Lyme arthritis can present at any time of year, and clinical suspicion in endemic regions should remain high even without a known history of tick exposure or erythema migrans rash

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

Pelvic prehabilitation: pelvic exercises assist in minimizing inter-fraction sacral slope variability during radiation therapy

Introduction: Prehabilitation for radiation therapy is not well studied. Retrospective data shows variability in set-up positioning of patients during daily pelvic RT. We hypothesize that a brief structured daily exercise regimen is feasible for subjects to perform before RT and may minimize variability in positioning as measured by sacral slope angles (SSA) on lateral views. Determining feasibility and effectiveness of these exercises in decreasing set-up variability has clinical implications, both for targeting treatment sites and preventing adverse effects. Methods: Subjects in the exercise intervention condition (n=8, 8 F) performed a structured daily hip exercise regimen throughout the duration of RT, and subjects in the historical control condition (n=20, 17 F, 3 M) had usual care. For each patient, SSA measurements were compared to SSA measurements from the simulation CT for 5 weeks during RT. The extent of variability of measurements between two conditions was studied using a linear mixed model. For all patients in both conditions, the same two readers independently measured SSA to compare angles on day of simulation against the angles measured from each day of RT. Results: The average variation in SSA for intervention condition was 0.913° (±0.582°), with range among patients 0.57°-1.3°. The average variation for control condition was 2.27° (±1.43°), with range among patients 1.22° - 5.09°. The difference between two conditions was statistically significant (p=0.0019). Comparison of SSA variation between conditions demonstrated a statistically significant difference at each week (wk 1: p = 0.0071, wk 2: p = 0.0077, wk 3: p = 0.011, wk 4: p = 0.005, wk 5: p = 0.0079). The exercise intervention condition had no significant variation between week 1 and later weeks (wk 2: p = 0.876, wk 3: p = 0.741, wk 4: p = 0.971, wk 5: p = 0.397). The control condition showed greater SSA variation between week 1 and later weeks (wk 2: p = 0.868, wk 3: p = 0.915, wk 4: p = 0.015, wk 5: p = 0.224), with significant variation between weeks 1 and 4. No subject reported any adverse effects. Conclusion: We observed a significant decrease in sacral slope variability in our exercise cohort as compared to historical controls. SSA variation for control condition increased over the course of treatment with significant difference noted between week 1 and 4. A larger clinical trial is required to evaluate the potential clinical benefits of a structured daily exercise regimen during pelvic RT. References: Silver JK, Baima J. Cancer prehabilitation: an opportunity to decrease treatment-related morbidity, increase cancer treatment options, and improve physical and psychological health outcomes. American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation. 2013 Aug 1;92(8):715-27. Lukez A, O’Loughlin L, Bodla M, Baima J, Moni J. Positioning of port films for radiation: variability is present. Medical Oncology. 2018 May 1;35(5):77. Kwon JW, Huh SJ, Yoon YC, Choi SH, Jung JY, Oh D, Choe BK. Pelvic bone complications after radiation therapy of uterine cervical cancer: evaluation with MRI. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2008 Oct;191(4):987-94. Stubblefield MD. Radiation fibrosis syndrome: neuromuscular and musculoskeletal complications in cancer survivors. PM&R. 2011 Nov 1;3(11):1041-54

Accidental Prehabilitation: a case of increased exercise frequency before thoracic surgery

Case Diagnosis: 67 year-old man was found down with dysarthria, dysphagia, and right lower limb weakness. He was diagnosed with left anterior cerebral artery ischemic stroke, acute renal failure, atrial fibrillation, and deep venous thrombosis. He remained hospitalized for months as he did not have insurance for inpatient rehabilitation care and could not be safely discharged home. Case Description: During that time, he got physical therapy 5 times per week and then 2 times per week. While hospitalized, he was subsequently diagnosed with left upper lobe nodule from T2aN0M0 lung adenocarcinoma. Physical therapy was increased back to 5 times per week for at least two weeks prior to left upper lobectomy and mediastinal lymphadenectomy by video-assisted thorascopic surgery 2.5 months after admission. Hospital course was complicated by anticoagulation and postoperative hemothorax, which responded to evacuation. He was discharged to subacute care after rate negotiation and then home. Discussions: We present the case of a patient who got physical therapy five times weekly in the 14 days prior to thoracic surgery. Although it is well established that exercise improves aerobic parameters and outcomes, the typical outpatient insurance benefit is under 120 minutes or only twice per week. 150 minutes a week is the current recommended amount of exercise for cancer patients. Since this patient could not be discharged due to lack of insurance for acute rehabilitation or outpatient care, he remained inpatient and received physical therapy five times weekly prior to surgery. Despite risk factors, he was safely discharged and recovered well. Conclusions: Our patient got a greater frequency and higher dose of exercise than most presurgical thoracic patients; this may be why he was able to tolerate thoracic surgery with multiple serious risk factors

Positioning of Patients for Pelvic Radiation: Variability Across Treatment

Objectives: We aimed to determine the variability in position of the pelvis for patients while receiving daily radiation treatments for pelvic malignancies. Design: Therapeutic radiation targets lymph nodes that lie along the curvature of the sacrum. Any change in pelvic tilt could inadvertently move these targets in or out of the radiation field. This variability has clinical significance both to target cancerous lymph nodes and avoid healthy sacrum. To better understand this variability, we observed trends in the change in the sacral slope. This measurement was chosen because it is an objective radiographic finding, there is no significant difference between men and women, and joint replacement does not appear to change this measurement. Twenty subjects were identified from patients receiving whole pelvis radiation for at least four weeks. CT simulator images and lateral radiographs obtained as part of standard radiation care were reviewed. We manually calculated this measurement with sloping lines drawn with computer graphics on the same single lateral view daily for the course of radiation per subject. Results: Compared to the initial imaging, the average sacral slope variation across all 20 subjects was 2.27 degrees, with a standard deviation of 1.43, and average variation among patients ranged from 1.22-5.09 degrees. Variation in sacral slope across all 20 subjects from one treatment day to the next was 2.05 degrees, with a standard deviation of 1.47, and ranged from 0.97-3.21 degrees. Conclusions: Despite the best efforts of the provider, there may be some variability in the daily pelvic position of the patient between fractions. This is clinically important because presacral lymph nodes are part of the radiation target volume and sacral fractures are a potential adverse effect of radiation treatment. Exercises for pelvic relaxation could be explored to potentially reduce this variability