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Abstract Introduction Scedosporium apiospermum is increasingly recognized as a cause of localized and disseminated mycotic infections in near-drowning victims. Case presentation We report the case of a 59-year-old Japanese woman who was a survivor of a tsunami in northeastern Japan and who had lung and brain abscesses caused by S. apiospermum. Initially, an aspergillus infection was suspected, so she was treated with micafungin. However, computed tomography scans of her chest revealed lung abscesses, and magnetic resonance images demonstrated multiple abscesses in her brain. S. apiospermum was cultured from her bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and antimycotic therapy with voriconazole was initiated. Since she developed an increase in the frequency of premature ventricular contractions, an adverse drug reaction to the voriconazole was suspected. She was started on a treatment of a combination of low-dose voriconazole and liposomal amphotericin B. After combination therapy, further computed tomography scans of the chest and magnetic resonance images of her brain showed a demarcation of abscesses. Conclusions Voriconazole appeared to have a successful record in treating scedosporiosis after a near drowning but, owing to several adverse effects, may possibly not be recommended. Thus, a combination treatment of low-dose voriconazole and liposomal amphotericin B may be a safe and effective treatment for an S. apiospermum infection. Even though a diagnosis of scedosporiosis may be difficult, a fast and correct etiological diagnosis could improve the patient's chance of recovery in any case.

A study published in Modern Rheumatology explores the use of leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein (LRG) as a biomarker for evaluating disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study found that LRG levels correlated well with C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), traditional biomarkers for RA. Importantly, LRG levels remained elevated in patients receiving IL-6-inhibiting biologics, unlike CRP levels. The study suggests that LRG may be a more reliable biomarker for assessing disease activity in RA and could have potential applications in other inflammatory diseases as well. [Extracted from the article]

We investigated the presence of radiographic thymus variants using a scoring system and examined their association with clinical and immunological features in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) patients. Cases of 72 patients with pSS and 47 with PM/DM were randomly selected from all visitors to our department who received chest CT scanning, excluding those with thymoma or thymic cyst, or age <30 years. We quantitatively interpreted and assessed thymus size and attenuation score in axial CT images. Thymic enlargement was identified in 16 (22.2%) pSS and 14 (29.8%) PM/DM patients. A thymus attenuation score ≥ 2 was seen in 11 (15.3%) pSS and 9 (19.1%) PM/DM patients. Thymic enlargement showed a significant association with the titre of rheumatoid factor in PM/DM patients. Thymic enlargement and score showed a significant association with body weight in pSS patients. Radiographic thymus variants are often observed in pSS and PM/DM patients, particularly in cases of PM/DM, and may suggest the role of an abnormal immune response in their pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents case study of a 55-year-old man who had a medical history of Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) with asthma, and marked eosinophilia, and visited the hospital because of epigastralgia. It states that the biopsy specimens of the patient showed eosinophilic infiltration in the muscularis mucosae, and mentions that the abdominal computed tomographic scan reports revealed thickened wall of the small bowel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To identify the incidence and baseline characteristics of relapse and exacerbation in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis over a long-term period., Methods: We enrolled 103 patients. The incidence and characteristics of relapse or exacerbation were retrospectively recorded and statistically analysed., Results: Of 103 patients, 79% were women. Mean age at diagnosis was 50.1 ± 16.4 y. Mean observation period was 9.8 ± 8.6 y. Overall relapse or exacerbation was 22.3% (n = 23) and mean time from diagnosis (including diagnosis of ocular disease at another facility) to relapse or exacerbation was 8.7 ± 8.3 y. We analysed the data of 69 -patients who were observed for > 5 y and identified relapse or exacerbation within 5 y in 9 patients. -Comparison of characteristics at diagnosis between the relapse/exacerbation group and the improved/stable group showed that the relapse/exacerbation group had a significantly higher frequency of bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, longer disease duration, ocular involvement, cardiac involvement, and oral glucocorticoid use at diagnosis ( P = 0.014, 0.027, 0.019, 0.035, and 0.0043, respectively). The number of risk factors was positively and significantly associated with the cumulative rate of relapse/exacerbation ( P = 0.048)., Conclusion: Our long-term observational cohort study newly identified the incidence and baseline risk factors for relapse or exacerbation in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis over a long-term period. Scoring the number of factors at baseline may facilitate the prediction of relapse or exacerbation., Competing Interests: We thank Libby Cone, MD, MA, from DMC Corp. (www.dmed.co.jp ) for editing drafts of this manuscript.The authors declare no conflicts of interest on this study.All procedures were approved by the medical ethics committee of Hachinohe Red Cross Hospital and followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki., (Copyright: © 2021 SARCOIDOSIS VASCULITIS AND DIFFUSE LUNG DISEASES.)