scholarly journals Tuberculous spondylitis presenting as severe chest pain

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Martha A. Kaeser ◽  
Norman W. Kettner ◽  
Usama Albastaki ◽  
Hossam Ahmed Kotb ◽  
Ibrahim M.A. Eldesouky ◽  
...  

This case report describes a 32-year-old male who presented to an emergency department with severe chest pain and a history of cough, fever, night sweats, loss of appetite and weight. Chest radiography revealed a left upper lobe consolidation and multiple compression deformities in the thoracic spine. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated significant kyphosis and vertebral plana at two thoracic levels. Anterior compression of the spinal cord and adjacent soft tissue masses were also noted.

Author(s):  
Nupur Thombare ◽  
Madhumita Yadav ◽  
Pratik Phansopkar

Background: Bronchial asthma is a common disease characterized by the generalized narrowing of intrapulmonary airways accompanied by breathlessness and wheezing, which differs in severity spontaneously or as a result of treatment. Asthma is caused by bronchial wall inflammation and constriction due to the hyper-reactivity of their smooth muscle, resulting in a series of spasmodic wheezing attacks and shortness of breath (SOB). Case description: The patient was a 35 year old female presented with a complaint of dry cough with mucoid expectoration and chest pain since 3 weeks. The cough was progressive and aggravating while walking or while doing any sort of activity and it use to relieve at rest. She also complained of Modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) grade 2 breathlessness along with palpitation while doing household work. She had chest pain while coughing on left side over the 2nd intercostal space which was gradually progressive and 7/10 on VAS. She also had low grade fever, cold with chills and night sweats. The patient had a history of seasonal variation, dust allergies and biomass exposure. She was given medications but was not relieved so she was referred for physiotherapy. Physiotherapy treatment was started. Patients sleep was disturbed. The patient had no past history. Family history is not present. Diagnosis: The patient was diagnosed with bronchial asthma. Outcomes & conclusion: This case study showed that breathing exercise, postural drainage and proper relaxation of the patient may reduce the symptoms associated with bronchial asthma also the peak flow values may increase with breathing retraining. Pain reduces with reduction in cough and episodes of dyspnoea. Also educating the patient about prevention of asthmatic episodes help the patient in many ways. Along with bronchodilators physiotherapy plays an integral part in treating the patient with bronchial asthma.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-27
Author(s):  
Mustafa Abu Rabia ◽  
◽  
P Sullivan ◽  
Stavros M Stivaros. ◽  
◽  
...  

An 18-year-old male with no previous medical history presented to hospital with sudden onset of acute epigastric pain radiating to the anterior chest wall and both shoulders. There was no history of recent trauma and he had not been vomiting.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-46
Author(s):  
Frank YH Lin ◽  
Coleman Rotstein

A and asbestos exposure (in the 1970s) presented to the emergency department with a one-month history of progressive dyspnea, right-sided pleuritic chest pain, cough productive of white-coloured sputum and malaise. His health problems had commenced four months before presentation while he was vacationing at a northern Ontario resort. At that time, he had felt unwell and had developed a fever with rightsided pleuritic chest pain that radiated to his right shoulder. The diagnosis was an upper respiratory tract infection, made by the local physician; the patient was treated with a 10-day course of cephalexin. Although his condition had initially improved after the antibiotic therapy, during the month before presentation he had experienced increasing fatigue, cough with clear sputum production and a loss of appetite. He also developed worsening right-sided pleuritic chest pain that radiated to the right shoulder, dyspnea and orthopnea. He had no nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or hemoptysis. However, he had lost 4 kg and had drenching night sweats over the previous three and a half months. Further history revealed that he had drunk well water during his vacation in northern Ontario and that several families who were with him at that time also became ill, although he was not aware of the nature of their symptoms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihong Wang ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Yi Liu ◽  
Lei Xu ◽  
Dingmei Shi

We report an unusual case of severe chest pain caused by N-acetylcysteine-induced esophagitis. An 81-year-old Chinese man with a history of interstitial lung disease was admitted to our hospital with intermittent arrhythmia that began 5 days ago. The patient presented with complaints of cough, sputum, and shortness of breath. Cefminox injections and N-acetylcysteine tablets were prescribed to improve respiratory symptoms. The patient developed severe chest pain and odynophagia 4 hours after swallowing the N-acetylcysteine tablet while in the decubitus position. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed four discrete areas of ulcerations measuring approximately 1 cm at the midesophageal level. The distance between the foci and the incisors was approximately 24 cm. The patient continued the N-acetylcysteine orally, which was administered in powdered form with more water while in the upright position. Pantoprazole and hydrotalcite were also administered to the patient. The symptoms subsided, and a follow-up endoscopy after 20 days showed that the ulcers healed. This case highlights that seemingly safe drugs such as N-acetylcysteine can lead to severe chest pain if ingested inappropriately.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
Asad Naqvi ◽  
Timothy Ariyanayagam ◽  
Mir Akber Ali ◽  
Akhila Rachakonda ◽  
Hema N. Choudur

Objective: The objective of this study was to outline a novel unique concept of secondary impingement of the muscles, myotendons, and tendons of the rotator cuff from hypertrophy as a result of strength training exercises. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, 58 patients were referred for an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by the orthopedic surgeon to the radiology department over a period of 1½ years. All patients gave a history of strength training exercises and presented with clinical features of rotator cuff impingement. Results: We identified features of hypertrophy of rotator cuff muscles, myotendons, and tendons in 12 of these 58 patients. This was the only abnormality on MRI. The hypertrophy of rotator cuff muscles and tendon bulk completely filling the subacromial space to the point of overfilling and resulting in secondary compressive features. Conclusion: Rotator cuff impingement is a common phenomenon that can occur with various inlet and outlet pathological conditions. However, rotator cuff impingement may also result from muscle and tendon hypertrophy from strength training regimens. Hypertrophy of the rotator cuff can result in overfilling of the subacromial space, leading to secondary impingement, which we have termed as “pseudo-impingement.”


Author(s):  
Hongzhang Zhu ◽  
Shi-Ting Feng ◽  
Xingqi Zhang ◽  
Zunfu Ke ◽  
Ruixi Zeng ◽  
...  

Background: Cutis Verticis Gyrata (CVG) is a rare skin disease caused by overgrowth of the scalp, presenting as cerebriform folds and wrinkles. CVG can be classified into two forms: primary (essential and non-essential) and secondary. The primary non-essential form is often associated with neurological and ophthalmological abnormalities, while the primary essential form occurs without associated comorbidities. Discussion: We report on a rare case of primary essential CVG with a 4-year history of normal-colored scalp skin mass in the parietal-occipital region without symptom in a 34-year-old male patient, retrospectively summarizing his pathological and Computer Tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. The major clinical observations on the CT and MR sectional images include a thickened dermis and excessive growth of the scalp, forming the characteristic scalp folds. With the help of CT and MRI Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques, the characteristic skin changes could be displayed intuitively, providing more evidence for a diagnosis of CVG. At the 5-year followup, there were no obvious changes in the lesion. Conclusion: Based on our observations, we propose that not all patients with primary essential CVG need surgical intervention, and continuous clinical observation should be an appropriate therapy for those in stable condition.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Simona Boroni Grazioli ◽  
Marc-Philip Hitz ◽  
Inga Voges

Abstract A 17-year-old boy with a history of dyspnea attacks and chest pain was referred to our paediatric cardiology department. Electrocardiogram at presentation showed T-wave inversion in the inferior leads. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging revealed the rare diagnosis of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement, missed by echocardiography.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
K Watanabe ◽  
H Yoshino ◽  
T Takahashi ◽  
M Usui ◽  
K Akutsu ◽  
...  

Abstract   Both acute aortic dissection (AAD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) present with chest pain and are life-threatening diseases that require early diagnosis and treatment for better clinical outcome. However, two critical diseases in the very acute phase are sometimes difficult to differentiate, especially prior to arrival at the hospital for urgent diagnosis and selection of specific treatment. The aim of our study was to clarify the diagnostic markers acquired from the information gathered from medical history taking and physical examination for discriminating AAD from AMI by using data from the Tokyo Cardiovascular Care Unit (CCU) Network database. We examined the clinical features and laboratory data of patients with AAD and AMI who were admitted to the hospital in Tokyo between January 2013 and December 2015 by using the Tokyo CCU Network database. The Tokyo CCU Network consists of >60 hospitals that fulfil certain clinical criteria and receive patients from ambulance units coordinated by the Tokyo Fire Department. Of 15,061 patients diagnosed as having AAD and AMI, 3,195 with chest pain within 2 hours after symptom onset (537 AAD and 2,658 AMI) were examined. The patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were excluded. We compared the clinical data of the patients with chest pain who were diagnosed as having AAD and AMI. The following indicators were more frequent or had higher values among those with AAD: female sex (38% vs. 20%, P<0.001), systolic blood pressures (SBPs) at the time of first contact by the emergency crew (142 mmHg vs. 127 mmHg), back pain in addition to chest pain (54% vs. 5%, P<0.001), history of hypertension (73% vs. 58%, P<0.001), SBP ≥150 mmHg (39% vs. 22%, P<0.001), back pain combined with SBP ≥150 mmHg (23% vs. 0.8%, P<0.001), and back pain with SBP <90 mmHg (4.5% vs. 0.1%, P<0.001). The following data were less frequently observed among those with AAD: diabetes mellitus (7% vs. 28%, P<0.001), dyslipidaemia (17% vs. 42%, P<0.001), and history of smoking (48% vs. 61%, P<0.001). The multivariate regression analysis suggested that back pain with SBP ≥150 mmHg (odds ratio [OR] 47; 95% confidence interval [CI] 28–77; P<0.001), back pain with SBP <90 mmHg (OR 68, 95% CI 16–297, P<0.001), and history of smoking (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.38–0.63, P<0.001) were the independent markers of AAD. The sensitivity and specificity of back pain with SBPs of ≥150 mmHg and back pain with SBPs <90 mmHg for detecting AAD were 23% and 99%, and 4% and 99%, respectively. In patients with chest pain suspicious of AAD and AMI, “back pain accompanied by chest pain with SBP ≥150 mmHg” or “back pain accompanied by chest pain with SBP <90 mmH” is a reliable diagnostic marker of AAD with high specificity, although the sensitivity was low. The two SBP values with back pain are markers that may be useful for the ambulance crew at their first contact with patients with chest pain. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mishita Goel ◽  
Shubhkarman Dhillon ◽  
Sarwan Kumar ◽  
Vesna Tegeltija

Abstract Background Cardiac stress testing is a validated diagnostic tool to assess symptomatic patients with intermediate pretest probability of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, in some cases, the cardiac stress test may provide inconclusive results and the decision for further workup typically depends on the clinical judgement of the physician. These decisions can greatly affect patient outcomes. Case presentation We present an interesting case of a 54-year-old Caucasian male with history of tobacco use and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who presented with atypical chest pain. He had an asymptomatic electrocardiogram (EKG) stress test with intermediate probability of ischemia. Further workup with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and cardiac catheterization revealed multivessel CAD requiring a bypass surgery. In this case, the patient only had a history of tobacco use but no other significant comorbidities. He was clinically stable during his hospital stay and his testing was anticipated to be negative. However to complete workup, cardiology recommended anatomical testing with CCTA given the indeterminate EKG stress test results but the results of significant stenosis were surprising with the patient eventually requiring coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Conclusion As a result of the availability of multiple noninvasive diagnostic tests with almost similar sensitivities for CAD, physicians often face this dilemma of choosing the right test for optimal evaluation of chest pain in patients with intermediate pretest probability of CAD. Optimal test selection requires an individualized patient approach. Our experience with this case emphasizes the role of history taking, clinical judgement, and the risk/benefit ratio in deciding further workup when faced with inconclusive stress test results. Physicians should have a lower threshold for further workup of patients with inconclusive or even negative stress test results because of the diagnostic limitations of the test. Instead, utilizing a different, anatomical test may be more valuable. Specifically, the case established the usefulness of CCTA in cases such as this where other CAD diagnostic testing is indeterminate.


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