Showing papers by "Fahimeh Abdollahimajd published in 2017"
DOI•
19 Mar 2017
TL;DR: Dyspnea descriptors along with other findings from history and physical examination could be helpful in differentiating the causes of the symptom in patients presenting to ED suffering from dyspnea.
Abstract: Introduction: History taking and physical examination help clinicians identify the patient’s problem and effectively treat it. This study aimed to evaluate the descriptors of dyspnea in patients presenting to emergency department (ED) with asthma, congestive heart failure (CHF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all patients presenting to ED with chief complaint of dyspnea, during 2 years. The patients were asked to describe their dyspnea by choosing three items from the valid and reliable questionnaire or articulating their sensation. The relationship between dyspnea descriptors and underlying cause of symptom was evaluated using SPSS version 16. Results: 312 patients with the mean age of 60.96±17.01 years were evaluated (53.2% male). Most of the patients were > 65 years old (48.7%) and had basic level of education (76.9%). "My breath doesn’t go out all the way" with 83.1%, “My chest feels tight " with 45.8%, and "I feel that my airway is obstructed" with 40.7%, were the most frequent dyspnea descriptors in asthma patients. "My breathing requires work" with 46.3%, "I feel that I am suffocating" with 31.5%, and "My breath doesn’t go out all the way" with 29.6%, were the most frequent dyspnea descriptors in COPD patients. "My breathing is heavy" with 74.4%, "A hunger for more air” with 24.4%, and "I cannot get enough air" with 23.2%, were the most frequent dyspnea descriptors in CHF patients. Except for “My breath does not go in all the way”, there was significant correlation between studied dyspnea descriptors and underlying disease (p = 0.001 for all analyses). Conclusion: It seems that dyspnea descriptors along with other findings from history and physical examination could be helpful in differentiating the causes of the symptom in patients presenting to ED suffering from dyspnea.
5 citations
TL;DR: The occurrence of paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP)-associated with an extensive retroperitoneal IMT is notable; early detection and treatment are crucial for this tumor-associated autoimmune disease.
Abstract: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a peculiar low-grade neoplasm of spindle cell fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in an inflammatory background. The lung is the most common site of involvement. Here, we report a case of paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP)-associated with an extensive retroperitoneal IMT. The patient had a favourable response following treatment with a low dose of systemic steroid, mycophenolate mofetil, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). He subsequently underwent surgery for resection of the tumor with nephrectomy and five courses of IVIG were administered after surgery due to a minor relapse. He was in remission in her last follow-up visit 16 months after surgery. The occurrence of PNP with IMT is notable; early detection and treatment are crucial for this tumor-associated autoimmune disease.
3 citations
TL;DR: A case with a history of blistering since infancy followed by intensely pruritic papulonodules, predominantly on the shins, nail dystrophy, and milia formation, which had an excellent response to systemic cyclosporine treatment.
Abstract: Introduction: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) pruriginosa is a rare distinct clinical subtype of dystrophic EB, in which skin fragility, blistering, and scar formation are associated with intense pruritus, nodular prurigo like lichenified lesions, nail dystrophy, and variable presence of papuloid lesions. Case Presentation: Herein, we report a case with a history of blistering since infancy followed by intensely pruritic papulonodules, predominantly on the shins, nail dystrophy, and milia formation. Conclusions: Our patient had an excellent response to systemic cyclosporine treatment.
1 citations
TL;DR: Sir, Bowen’s disease is an in situ squamous cell carcinoma confined to the epidermis, which has several etiological factors viz., irradiation, carcinogens, immunosuppression and viral infections such as human papillomavirus.
Abstract: Sir, Bowen’s disease is an in situ squamous cell carcinoma confined to the epidermis, which has several etiological factors viz., irradiation, carcinogens, immunosuppression and viral infections such as human papillomavirus.1 The role of human herpesvirus‐8 and human cytomegalovirus in its etiopathogenesis is still unclear. Human herpesvirus‐8, a gamma herpesvirus, is implicated in almost all cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma.2 Other related neoplasms include multicentric Castleman’s disease and primary effusion lymphoma. Lytic replication plays a pivotal role in human herpesvirus‐8 tumorigenesis, but the precise mechanism of this association is unclear.3 Some studies have proposed that human herpesvirus‐8 infection increases the risk of proliferative cutaneous disorders like actinic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and seborrheic keratosis,4 but the results are contradictory. Nishimoto et al (1997) detected human herpesvirus‐8 sequences in 61.9% of Bowen’s disease samples from immunocompetent patients.4 In contrast, Mitsuishi et al., depicted that human herpesvirus‐8 DNA is not involved in the pathogenesis of Bowen’s disease in such patients.5