Late effects of radiations on the esophagus

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical course of oculoglandular tularemia with acute glaucoma and corneal oedema. METHODS: Clinical course, results of laboratory assays and treatment of oculoglandular tularemia in a 58-year-old woman. RESULTS: The patient had acute glaucoma and corneal oedema in connection with acute tularemia. At the onset of the disease she had a fever (39 degrees C), pains in her muscles and in her right eye. The intraocular pressure, which was 68 mmHg at the beginning was lowered with intravenous and per oral acetatcolamide together with timolol and pilocarpine eyedrops, and because of a narrow anterior chamber, with subsequent laser iridotomies. The tularemia was treated with ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily for ten days. Vision was finger counting at the beginning of the disease. The corneal oedema gradually subsided and vision normalized during the two-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Oculoglandular tularemia was connected with acute glaucoma and corneal oedema.     

Acute painful and red eyes

Pain or redness of the eye are frequent symptoms of out patient ophthalmological visit. Diagnosis is based both on the patient symptoms and a careful eyeball examination. After an eye trauma, it is necessary to check the absence of corneal or subpalpebral foreign body, and the absence of an eyeball laceration or an intraocular foreign body. Without traumatism, pain or redness of the eye suggest an anterior segment pathology with various diagnosis: keratitis is mostly due to bacterial infection, a significant intraocular pressure elevation is frequently due to angle closure glaucoma or inflammation of the anterior uvea in case of iridocyclitis. When pain and redness of the eye are associated with visual impairment, it is mostly due to a severe ocular pathology. In that case an ophthalmological referral is mandatory.     

Necrotic malignant melanoma of the choroid and concurrent intraocular manifestation of malignant non-Hodgkin's B cell lymphoma

An 80-year-old white female developed clinical signs of a large choroidal malignant melanoma in her left eye. There were no signs of metastatic disease, but an asymptomatic chronic lymphatic leukemia was discovered. Histopathologic examination of the enucleated left eye showed a mostly necrotic malignant melanoma of the choroid with areas of spindle B cell differentiation, episcleral extension and secondary angle-closure glaucoma with necrosis of the anterior segment of the eye. On the basis of immunocytochemical studies of the lymphocytic infiltrates in the iridal blood vessels, retinal blood vessels and the choroid, the leukemic disease was classified as B cell lymphoma of low malignancy (lymphoplasmacytoid immunocytoma). A reactive T lymphocytic infiltration of the conjunctival stroma was also noted. Patients with malignant melanomas of the uvea require exclusion of a second malignancy.     

Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis. Clinico-histopathologic findings of nodular iritis

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that in 1906 Fuchs described the first case of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis histopathologic reports of this disease are still rare. PATIENT AND METHODS: A clinicopathologic correlation of findings in Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis is presented. In a patient with a history of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis for 15 years a secondary open-angle glaucoma developed. Several operations were performed including intracapsular cataract extraction, goniotrephanation (Elliot) and repeated cyclocryotherapy. The eye finally had to be enucleated because of a painful absolute glaucoma. RESULTS: Clinical hallmarks of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis in this patient include cataract formation and secondary open-angle glaucoma. Histology revealed accumulations of mononuclear cells on the surface of the iris and the corneal endothelium, as well as sparse inflammatory cells within the anterior chamber. The trabecular meshwork showed an infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, chiefly lymphocytes and plasma cells. DISCUSSION: Accumulations of mononuclear cells on the surface of the iris, which histopathologically have not been described before, could represent the clinicopathologic correlate of Koeppe and Busacca nodules. Histologically, the cell deposits on the iris were similar to those in the anterior chamber and to larger corneal precipitates. It is supposed that the cells, which originally emigrated from the iris vessels, may form primary cell deposits on the iris surface or endothelium. Such iris precipitates may also be secondarily attracted by the endothelium in whole. An autoimmune-reaction against the corneal endothelium may be the underlying reason.     

Percentage change rather than plasma level of LDL-cholesterol determines therapeutic response in coronary heart disease

PATIENT: A 35-year-old female patient with Marfan's syndrome presented with fast progressive reduction of visual acuity (hand movements) of her right eye and lens-related glaucoma on both eyes. On examination, subluxation of the lens and nuclear cataract were seen on both eyes. Diurnal pressure curve showed great fluctuations in pressure with normal IOP in the morning and elevated pressure in the evening. Pressure measurement revealed great fluctuations depending on positioning. Because of cataractous lens in the right eye blocking the visual axis and uncontrollable, phacogenic glaucoma removal of the lens by cryoextraction was necessary. Visual acuity increased to 0.5 and IOP was normal after three weeks. To improve safety of topical medication of lens-related glaucoma in Marfan's syndrome regular measurement of IOP at different times of the day is especially important. Measurement of IOP at different positions seems to be an effective provocation test in cases of phacogenic glaucoma in Marfan's syndrome. Examination of all members of a family with Marfan's syndrome should include regular measurement of IOP at different times of the day. In suspected cases, measurement of IOP at different positions that may provoce IOP-increase could be useful in the early detection of lens-related glaucoma.     

Massive adrenal hemorrhage secondary to metastasis of lung cancer

Hemorrhagic adrenal metastasis from lung cancer is extremely rare, although adrenal involvement is common in widely disseminated cancer. We report a case of massive adrenal hemorrhage secondary to metastasis of lung cancer. A 47-year-old female was treated by left upper lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node resection for an adenocarcinoma with intrapulmonary metastasis in the left upper lobe. Eight months later, she presented with right flank and back pain, and abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography showed a right solitary adrenal tumor with massive hemorrhage. The tumor was not resectable and partially responded to chemotherapy. A massive adrenal hemorrhage, secondary to metastasis of lung cancer, presents with nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms. In lung cancer patients with an acute flank or back pain, hemorrhagic adrenal metastasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis.     

Prophylactic Nd:YAG-laser iridotomy versus surgical iridectomy: a randomized, prospective study

Both surgical iridectomy and YAG-laser iridotomy have been shown to prevent angle-closure glaucoma. However, it remains unknown as to which procedure is superior. We therefore conducted a prospective randomized study, which compared the effect of the two methods on visual acuity, intraocular pressure, endothelial cell density, depth of the anterior chamber, and iris configuration as well as acceptance by the patients. A total of 30 patients, who were treated for acute angle-closure glaucoma in one eye, were subjected to either surgical iridectomy or Nd:YAG-laser iridotomy in the other eye according to a randomized protocol. All patients were followed for 12 months by examination at the 1st, 6th, and 12th month post treatment. No significant difference between the two treatments was found regarding visual acuity or intraocular pressure. The peripheral anterior chamber increased in depth following both methods, whereas the central depth of the anterior chamber was unaffected. A better gonioscopic visibility of the trabecular meshwork resulted from the increased width of the chamber angle. Whereas the number of endothelial cells remained constant in the patients treated with laser iridotomy, a small decrease was observed in the group of patients who underwent iridectomy (-7.2% after 12 months; difference not significant). The subjective acceptance by the patients was better in the group treated with laser iridotomy. We conclude that the two methods are equivalent with regard to intraocular pressure and visual acuity. The constant number of endothelial cells and the better acceptance by the patients suggest Nd:YAG-laser iridotomy to be the preferable method for prophylaxis of acute angle-closure glaucoma.     

Physician characteristics associated with the use of bone densitometry

An eighty-year-old woman suffered from acute idiopathic gout of the right sacroiliac joint and tophaceous deposits in two fingers of her right hand. Hyperuricemia and findings consistent with gout detected by histological examination of a biopsy specimen taken from the digital nodules supported the diagnosis. The radiological workup revealed osteolytic changes at the bases of the phalanges in Roentgenograms of the feet. Various aspects of the very rare incidence of sacroiliac gout are discussed.     

Synthesis of a self-gelatinizable grafting copolymer of poly(vinyl alcohol) for construction of an amperometric peroxidase electrode

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical presentation and course of Whipple disease in an adult. METHODS: A 34-year-old man with phthisis bulbi in the right eye secondary to uveitis-induced neovascular glaucoma presented with severe acute posterior uveitis in the left eye. He underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and jejunal biopsy for evaluation of anemia. The posterior uveitis was treated with a subtenon injection of triamcinolone. RESULT: The diagnosis of Whipple disease was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction analysis of the jejunal biopsy that demonstrated Tropheryma whippelii rDNA. CONCLUSION: Although Whipple disease is typically evident with malabsorption, it can also present as uveitis without prominent gastrointestinal symptoms.