Pneumocystis pneumonia with respiratory failure in a HIV-negative patient following short course of low-dose to moderate-dose prednisolone for a dermatological condition.

A woman in her 80s was admitted with 5 days of progressive dyspnoea and hypoxic respiratory failure, in the setting of receiving a 3-week course of low-dose to moderate-dose prednisolone for a pruritic skin rash. Her medical history was not significant for major medical comorbidities or any other clear risk factors for secondary immunosuppression apart from advanced age. CT revealed widespread small-airway and parenchymal disease with ground-glass opacities consistent with atypical respiratory infection.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) following recent Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination.

This report describes the clinical context and autopsy findings in the first reported fatal case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), developed after being vaccinated using the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. ADEM is a rare autoimmune disease, causing demyelination in the brain and spinal cord. A wide variety of precipitating factors can trigger ADEM, and it has long been known to be a rare adverse event following some types of vaccinations.

Early space-occupying cerebellar oedema requiring decompressive craniectomy following a clinically minor stroke.

We describe a patient presented with clinically a small cerebellar ischaemic stroke but required emergency decompression within 24 hours of symptoms onset after incidental finding of severe mass effect on imaging without any change in her mild clinical symptoms. Her initial multimodal acute stroke imaging, non-contrast CT of the brain and CT angiography from aortic arch to vertex were normal. CT perfusion showed a very small deficit only.

Liver failure from delayed hepatitis B reactivation in anti-HBc-positive patient following rituximab for B-cell lymphoma.

A 93-year-old man was admitted with 1 week of frank jaundice and abdominal pain. His medical history included diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with rituximab and cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunomycin, oncovin and prednisolone (R-CHOP) chemotherapy 10 months prior. His investigations revealed marked hyperbilirubinemia with a total bilirubin of 355 μmol/L, along with a 17-fold elevation in alanine transaminase and impaired hepatic synthetic function.