Hypertension and diabetes are frequent early complications of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT); however, their long-term outcomes are not well known. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to describe the risk factors and natural history of post-HCT hypertension and diabetes in 180 consecutive adult (n = 106) and pediatric (n = 74) allogeneic HCT recipients from 2003-2005 who had survived for 1 year post-HCT. The pediatric patients were less likely than the adult patients to have pre-HCT hypertension and diabetes, smoking history, or high-risk disease and more likely to receive myeloablative (MA) conditioning. All patients were followed until at least 2 years post-HCT; of these 1-year survivors, 156 (87%) were alive at 2 years. Acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD, cGVHD) occurred in 118 (66%) patients; of these, 24% received cyclosporine (CsA) for >12 months and 47% received prednisone for >12 months. Within 2 years post-HCT, 126 (70%) had hypertension and 54 (30%) had diabetes. Rates were similar for the adult recipients (hypertension, 68%; diabetes, 30%) and the pediatric recipients (hypertension, 73%; diabetes, 30%). At 2 years post-HCT, in the patients with hypertension, hypertension had not resolved in 34%, and among patients with diabetes, diabetes had not resolved in 32%. On multivariate analyses, exposure to CsA increased the risk of developing hypertension post-HCT (relative risk, 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-2.5; P = .03), but did not affect its persistence at 2 years. Exposure to high-dose corticosteroids (cumulative prednisone dose of > 0.25 mg/kg/day) increased the likelihood of developing diabetes (relative risk, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.7-7.5; P < .01) and for having persistent diabetes at 2 years post-HCT (relative risk, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.0-18.2; P = .05). Hypertension and diabetes are frequent early complications of allogeneic HCT, but subsequently resolve in a large proportion of recipients in the first 2 years after transplantation. Continued monitoring and treatment of hypertension and diabetes is necessary in allogeneic HCT survivors, especially in those exposed to high doses of corticosteroids.

Coagulase negative Staphylococci often grow in cultures and form one of the most abundant flora among skin microbiome. It is important and challenging to identify and treat clinically significant infections caused by these organisms. Prosthetic devices, catheters and conditions causing immunocompromised states are the risk factors for such infections. We describe a case of clinically significant and symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) in a 65-year-old man with liver cirrhosis caused by Staphylococcus warneri which forms <1% of Staphylococcal skin flora. He was treated successfully with fluoroquinolone antibiotic based on culture results. It is important to understand potential of this organism to cause serious infections which warrant culture-directed antibiotic therapy.

Central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT), is a severe form of TB, which presents as meningitis, cerebritis, abscesses, spinal tuberculous arachnoiditis, and rarely tuberculomas. CNS TB is prevalent in the underdeveloped or developing world and is common in malnourished, alcoholics, children, young adults, immunocompromised, and cancer patients. Intracranial tuberculomas (ICT) can present with symptoms and signs of focal neurological deficits with or without systemic manifestations. ICT is the least common presentation of CNS TB. Medical management with anti-TB drugs and steroids is the mainstay of treatment, while surgical intervention is usually reserved for refractory cases. Here, we present the case of a 10-year-old Indian American girl with headaches, diplopia, fever, and neck pain diagnosed with ICT and intramedullary spinal cord tuberculoma.

Calciphylaxis is a rare and serious disorder seen most in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis. It is associated with the calcium deposits in small and medium blood vessels of the skin and subcutaneous tissues resulting in painful skin lesions, plaques, ulcerations, gangrene, and secondary infections. The aim of our present report is to create awareness and encourage providers to consider calciphylaxis in the differential diagnosis of cellulitis in the appropriate clinical setting.

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Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a disease of central nervous system, characterized by demyelination and axonal damage mostly involving optic nerves and spinal cord. Usually these patients present with symptoms related to optic neuritis or myelitis with a typical relapsing course. Some patients present with less common symptoms involving brain stem like nausea and vomiting, especially those involving area postrema (AP) located in dorsal medulla. International panel for NMO diagnosis revised criteria in 2015 and came up with a unifying term NMO spectrum disorders (NMOSD) instead of NMO. Patients with NMO having AP involvement are grouped under area postrema syndrome (APS). Usually patients with AP symptoms also have neurological symptoms upon presentation. Here we present a rare case of an NMO who presented with isolated APS with no other neurological symptoms.

Lung cancer remains the number one cause of malignancy-related mortality in the United States. Identifying risk factors that are predictive of short-term mortality among patients with non-small cell lung cancer will allow the patients, their families and health care providers to be better prepared emotionally for the fatal outcome and may attenuate the cost and distress associated with often futile measures. The objective of this study was to measure the 3-month mortality among patients with non-small cell lung cancer who developed respiratory failure. This retrospective study reviewed the outcome of all patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer who were admitted to our hospital with respiratory failure. Respiratory failure was defined as need for mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation, or at least 50% fraction of inspired oxygen. Short-term mortality was defined as death in the hospital or within 3 months of discharge, as well as discharge to hospice; shortterm mortality was found to be 94.4% in the study population. The prognosis of patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer and respiratory failure is grave. Short-term mortality among this patient population is close to 100%.

Chorea is a disorder characterized by irregular, involuntary, hyperkinetic movements and has various causes. One unusual cause is hyperglycemia. This case involves a 76-year-old diabetic Caucasian female who developed gait disturbances, hemichorea of the face and limbs, and slurred speech over two to three weeks. She was found to have glucose level of 690 mg/dL with HbA1c of 14.7%. Head CT demonstrated hyperdensity in the left basal ganglia and mild involvement of right basal ganglia. Treatment with insulin alleviated her symptoms. The exact pathophysiology is unknown; however, many theories exist.