Internal Medicine Commons^™

Erythema Annulare Centrifugum: A Rare Skin Manifestation Of Hashimoto Thyroiditis, Palwasha Jalil, Sadia Masood, Saira Fatima

Section of Internal Medicine

Erythema annulare centrifugum (EAC) is an unusual skin condition appearing as recurrent erythematous annular eruptions associated with autoimmune disorders, infections, and various neoplastic conditions. We present a very rarely reported association of EAC with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) in a young male. A 26-year-old male recently diagnosed as case of HT presented in the dermatology clinic with nine-month history of non-itchy persistent annular lesions on the body. The morphology and biopsy of lesions confirmed the diagnosis of EAC. HT is a part of the spectrum of autoimmune thyroid diseases with its own specific cutaneous manifestations. Our case also depicts the impact …

Hamman-Rich Syndrome: A Diagnosis Of Exclusion In The Covid-19 Pandemic., Qian Zhang, Ahmad Raza, Vincent Chan, Artem Minalyan, John Madara, Md

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

Hamman-Rich syndrome is a rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease with acute respiratory distress syndrome physiology. It carries a grave prognosis and a high early mortality rate. It is often distinguished from other similar pulmonary pathologies based on the clinical course, laboratory findings, bronchoalveolar lavage testing, and pathology report. We detail a 77-year-old lady with no prior pulmonary disease, smoking history, or occupational and environmental exposures present to the emergency department found to be in acute hypoxic respiratory failure with impressive progressive radiographic findings. The presumptive diagnosis of Hamman-Rich syndrome was made based on a combination of factors after ruling out …

Serum Ammonia And Folate Levels: Opportunities For High Value Care, R. Benson Jones Jr., Md, Sean Dikdan, Md, Bracken Babula, Md

The Medicine Forum

High value care encompasses a variety of principles including ordering tests with high diagnostic yield, while reducing low value practice.

Refusing To Be Labeled, Jennifer Perugini

The Medicine Forum

Refusing to be Labeled

Case Report Of E-Cigarette Associated Lung Injury In A Health Female, Mario Fonseca-Paricio, Md, Alan Gandler, Md, Boyd Hehn, Md

The Medicine Forum

This is a case of a woman presenting with four days of diarrhea and dyspenea found to have E-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI)

A Case Report Of Bullous Subconjunctival Hemorrhag In Adenoviral Conjunctivitis, Sean Haynie, Jesse Johnson, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 78-year-old female with a past medical history of optic neuropathy and atrial fibrillation on warfarin presented with two weeks of progressive bilateral eye redness, swelling, pain, and blurry vision.

A Case Report Of Tragaxofusp Causing Severe Tumor Lysis Syndrome In A Patient With Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, Shuwen Lin, Md, Alice Wang, Md

The Medicine Forum

The patient was an 83-year-old male without significant past medical hsitory who presented to his primary care physician with several days of generalized malaise

Exploring The Adverse Effects Of Car-T Therapy: A Cases Report Of Potential Minoca In Car-T, Danielle Verghese, Pgy-1, Adam Binder, Md, Colin Thomas, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 48-year-old man with a history of Stage IV Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma refractory to R-CHOP alternating with high-dose methotrexate and cytarbine, craniospinal irradiation, and haploidentical stem cell transplant, underwent CD 19-directed CAR-T.

A Case Report Of Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Secondary To Disseminated Tuberculosis, Shuwen Lin, Md, Christoher Terry

The Medicine Forum

A 72-year-old woman with past medical history of hypertention and type 2 diabsetes presented to the emergency department for one day history of fevers, poor oral intake, and fatigue.

From The Desk Of The Residency Program Director, Emily Stewart, Md, Facp

The Medicine Forum

It has been a historic year for the Nation, City of Philadelphia and teh Jefferson Internal Medicine Residency Program. We have eperienced many health care crises starting with the closure of the historic Philadelphia hospital, Hahnemann. We welcomed residents form this program as part of the Jefferson Family and integrated many patients into our practices.

From The Editors, Eitan Frankel, Md, Guy Katz, Rachel Redfield, Navdeep Sangha, Michael Weintraub, Randi Zukas

The Medicine Forum

We are delighted to present you with the 21st annual edition of The Medicine Forum.Here in the birthplace of our nation, we like to think of The Medicine Forum as being of the housestaff, by the housestaff and for the housestaff. Undeniably, this publication would not be possible without the countless hours dedicated by our residents, students, fellows and faculty.

Table Of Contents: The Medicine Forum Volume 21, 2019-2020

The Medicine Forum

Table of Contents: The Medicine Forum Volume 21, 2019-2020

An Unusual Treatment For Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia, Eric Warner, Msiii, Neil Palmisiano, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 76-year-old female with a past medical history of an extraosseous chondrasrcoma status-post-resection thirty years prior, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidsimm presented to her primary care physicial with fatigue, two weeks of dyspnea on exertion, lightheadedness, and nausea.

Diagnosing Non-Hfe Hereditary Hemochromatosis, Brian Park, Md, Naman Upadhyay, Md, Dina Halegoua-Demarzio, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 63-year-old Caucasian female presented for evaluation of abnormal bile duct appearance on ERCP after being diagnosed with gallstone pancreatitis, duodenal ulcers and gastritis at another hospital.

Pericardial Effusion With Tamponade Physiology In A Patient With Multiple Myeloma, Sairamya Bodempudi, Md, Rukaiya Bashir-Hamidu, Md, Preya Simlote, Md, Shuwen Lin, Md, Philip Margiotta, Md, Tina Boortalary, Md, Gregary D. Marhefka, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 78-yeaer old African American female with a past medical history of IgA Kappa Multiple Myseloma was transfered to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) after being diagnosed with a pericardial effusion with tamponade physiology at an outside hospital.

An Approach To Refractory Hypoxemia, Daniel Garrido, Md, Evan Nardone, Md, Mark Mallozzi, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 74-year-old female with no significant pulmonary history presented as a transfer from an outside hospital for persistent refractory hypoxemia.

Bilateral Intercostal Lung Herniations: A Rare Incidental Finding In A Dyspneic Patient, Jillian Cooper, Md, Christine Kurian, Md

The Medicine Forum

A 63-year-old man with a past medical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stage IV sarcoidosis on 3-4 liters of home oxygen and chronic prednisone, moderate aortic stenosis, and a prior aspergilloma for which he had a left upper lobe lung resection presented to the hospital with two weeks of worsening shortness of breath.

Atypical Reactivation Of Varicella Zoster Virus Associated With Pancreatitis In A Heart Transplant Patient., Christine Shieh, Ashley Barnes, Drew Johnson, Ilya Danelich, Pharmd, Bcps, Bccp, Preethi Pirlamarla, Rene Alvarez, H. Todd Massey, Md, Mahek Shah

Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND Acute pancreatitis is rare following solid organ transplantation but is associated with high mortality. It has been most commonly reported following renal transplant but can occur with other solid organ transplantations. CASE REPORT A 46-year-old male who had an orthotopic heart transplant 6 months ago presented with a 3-week history of abdominal pain. The patient described it as intermittent, sharp, and stabbing, originating in the periumbilical area and radiating to the back. His lipase was elevated at 232 U/L. Given that the patient's symptoms and lipase were elevated to greater than three times the upper limit of normal, he …

Novel Use Of Fresh Frozen Plasma In Treating Hereditary Angioedema: A Success Story From Pakistan, Amber Sabeen Ahmed, Sidra Fayyaz

Section of Internal Medicine

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to a C1-esterase inhibitor(C1-INH) deficiency is a rare and potentially life-threatening disorder. It is characterized by an episodic and self-limiting increase in vascular permeability. The condition manifests itself as recurrent attacks of swelling in any part of the body. The angioedema can cause the involvement of the respiratory tract, skin, and gastrointestinal tract. Laryngeal involvement can make the condition life-threatening. It does not respond well to conventional angioedema therapy of steroids, adrenaline, and antihistamines. The targeted therapy for HAE consists of plasma-derived or recombinant C1-INH, ecallantide, and icatibant or bradykinin receptor antagonist. In the absence of …

Out-Patient Neurological Disorders In Tanzania: Experience From A Private Institution In Dar Es Salaam, Philip Adebayo, Omar Aziz, Rose E. Mwakabatika, Mandela Makakala, Mugisha Clement, Shabbir Adamjee, Noureen Mushi, Ahmed Jusabani, Eric Aris

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background and introduction: Low and middle-income countries (LMIC) have a considerable burden of neurological disorders. Available profile of neurological disorders in our environment is biased towards neurological admissions. There is a paucity of data on out-patient neurological conditions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To determine the frequency and demographic data of neurological illnesses being managed at the adult out-patient neurology clinic of the Aga Khan Hospital, Dar es Salaam (AKHD).

Materials and methods: The electronic medical records of all cases with neurological diseases who presented to the adult neurology clinic of the AKHD between January 2018, and December 2019 were retrospectively …

The Efficacy Of Different Type Of Phototherapy Light Devices For Neonatal Jaundice Treatment, Ismail Mohammad Hanafi

Student Works (2020-2029)

It has been reported that 60% of term neonates and 80% of the pre-terms develop jaundice in the first week of life and the proportion of jaundice in Malaysia is on the rise. As phototherapy light is the primary source of treatment for jaundice, it is crucial for hospital to have the best phototherapy light devices which can help to treat jaundice effectively. This would help to shorten neonate patient hospital stay, reduce staff workload as well as increasing treatment capacity of the hospital. Hospitals in Malaysia are using several type of phototherapy devices in their wards. The most commonly …

Development, Expansion And Role Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells In Post-Sepsis Immune Suppression, Tuqa Alkhateeb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) numbers increase significantly in sepsis and are associated with high mortality rates. These myeloid cell precursors promote immunosuppression, especially in the late (post sepsis) stage. However, the mechanisms that underlie MDSC expansion and programming are not completely understood. To investigate these mechanisms, we used a cecal-ligation and puncture (CLP) mouse model of polymicrobial sepsis that progresses from an early/acute proinflammatory phase to a late/chronic immunosuppressive phase. Previous studies in our laboratory showed that microRNA (miR)-21 and miR-181b elevate levels of the transcription factor nuclear factor 1 (NFI-A) that promotes MDSC expansion. We report here that miR-21 …

Percutaneous Coil Embolization To Manage Pulmonary Artery Hemorrhage After Distal Endarterectomy, Chirantan Mangukia, Paul Forfia, Anjali Vaidya, Veronica Williams, Dmitry Niman, Parth Rali, Yoshiya Toyoda

Internal Medicine Resident Research

Selective pulmonary artery coil embolization can be a viable treatment option for acute pulmonary hemorrhage after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

Prevalence Of Risk Factors Of Acute Kidney Injury In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Pakistan, Ainan Arshad, Ahmed Ayaz

Section of Internal Medicine

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of preventable risk factors of acute kidney injury in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. All patients admitted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi with diagnosis of acute kidney injury were included out of which 134 were selected via random sampling. Patients with existing CKD were excluded. Data was then collected retrospectively from medical records of these patients. Mean age was 60±11.7 years while mean serum creatinine on admission was 2.4±1.3 (mg/dl). Sepsis played a role in almost half of the patients [60 (45%)]. Other factors included diarrhoea [23 (17%)], …

Enrichment Strategy For Systemic Sclerosis Clinical Trials Targeting Skin Fibrosis: A Prospective, Multiethnic Cohort Study, Carina Mihai, Rucsandra Dobrota, Shervin Assassi, Maureen D Mayes, Oliver Distler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) is often used as a primary outcome measure in systemic sclerosis (SSc) randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Previous cohort studies with predominantly European Caucasian patients showed that setting an upper limit of mRSS as a selection criterion for RCTs leads effectively to enrichment with progressive patients. This study aimed to demonstrate this effect in an ethnically diverse cohort, rich in patients positive for anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies (Pol3).

METHODS: We selected from the Genetics versus Environment in Scleroderma Outcomes Study (GENISOS) cohort patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc), who had mRSS of 7 or …

Qualitative Approach To Understanding Barriers To Delivering Difficult News In Sub Saharan Africa, Karishma Sharma, Jasmit Shah, Sayed Karar

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Communication, especially delivery of difficult news (DDN), remains a key part of clinical practice. Despite its importance, many medical providers lack the skill and ability to effectively DDN to their patients. Due to lack of data specific to sub-Saharan Africa and to help us develop an appropriate training tool for this geographical area, we sought to explore what challenges and barriers residents at our institution faced when they deliver difficult news to their patients.

Invasive Pulmonary Infection By Syncephalastrum Species: Two Case Reports And Review Of Literature, Memoona Irshad, Nosheen Nasir, Urooj Haider Hashmi, Joveria Farooqi, Syed Faisal Mahmood

Section of Internal Medicine

Background: Syncephalastrum species belong to the class Zygomycetes and order Mucorale. These are found in the environment and tropical soil, usually presenting as colonizers and rarely cause human infection. Syncephalastrum racemosum is a species of the genus Syncephalastrum and is the most commonly identified pathogen. Most cases are reported in immunocompromised individuals, such as patients on long term steroids, poorly controlled diabetes, or patients with malignancy.
Case presentation: We are describing two cases of rare fungal infection by Syncephalastrum species causing invasive pulmonary manifestation. Both patients had compromised immune status and presented with worsening dyspnea to the emergency room. Both …

A Fatal Case Of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (Pam) Complicated With Diabetes Insipidus (Di): A Case Report And Review Of The Literature, Zain Mushtaq, Saad Bin Zafar Mahmood, Adil Aziz

Section of Internal Medicine

Naegleria fowleri is a highly infective free-living amoeba usually isolated from soil and fresh water and is primarily found to infect the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). PAM as a cause of meningitis is often overlooked for other, more common causes of meningitis. Despite all the advances in antimicrobial therapy and supportive care systems, the mortality rate of this rare infection remains above 95% with the bulk of the cases being found in developed countries. We are presenting a case of a 44-year-old male with fever, worsening headache, and generalized weakness. Lumbar puncture showed a …

The Medicine Forum: Volume 21

The Medicine Forum

The Journal of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital - Department of Internal Medicine, Volume 21, 2019-2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Clinical Images

Case Reports

• Cardiology
• Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Hematology and Oncology
• Infectious Disease
• Pulmonary Medicine

Literature Review

Editorial

Recurring Pleural Effusion Secondary To Walled-Off Pancreatic Necrosis, Adwait Mehta, Gabriel Aisenberg, Roy Tomas Davee, Eden Henry, Nicole Thomason

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recurring, exudative, lymphocytic-predominant pleural effusions have not been previously reported in association with walled-off pancreatic necrosis. We present a case of chronic pancreatitis complicated by a large pancreatic fluid collection and recurrent pleural effusion. Endoscopic drainage of the walled-off pancreatic necrosis was the definitive treatment for both fluid collections.