Coccidioidomycosis where you least expect it.

An elderly man without history of travel presented with complaints of intermittent fever for 2 months, cough with scanty expectoration for 15 days and history of weight loss of 5 kg in 1 year. The chest X-ray and CT scan of the thorax showed dispersed centrilobular nodules and patchy subpleural consolidation in both lungs with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. He underwent bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage culture grew He was prescribed antibiotics based on culture sensitivity; however, patient continued to have symptoms.

Pitfalls of AHI system of severity grading in obstructive sleep apnoea.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is the major underlying co-morbidity in many of the non-communicable diseases (NCD) due to obesity as a common risk factor. Incidence and prevalence of OSA is on the constant rise ever since this entity came to forefront three decades ago. Precise treatment of underlying OSA is extremely important in major NCDs like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, endocrine disorders and vascular diseases.

Comparative evaluation of serum cotinine levels in chronic periodontitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Context: Periodontitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic progressive inflammatory conditions. Smoking has been associated with both chronic periodontitis and COPD. Hence, the present study was designed to correlate serum levels of cotinine with the severity of periodontal disease with or without COPD.

Cardiac tamponade and massive pleural effusion in a young COVID-19-positive adult.

COVID-19 has a broad spectrum of cardiac manifestations, and cardiac tamponade leading to cardiogenic shock is a rare presentation. A 30-year-old man with a history of COVID-19-positive, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) done 1 week ago and who was home-quarantined, came to the emergency department with palpitations, breathlessness and orthopnoea. His ECG showed sinus tachycardia with low-voltage complexes, chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly and left pleural effusion and two-dimensional echocardiography showed large pericardial effusion with features suggestive of cardiac tamponade.

Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and MTB: how not to miss the wood for the trees.

Scarce data exist about the coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and (MTB). A young woman who was undergoing treatment for multiple sclerosis was brought to our hospital with a COVID-19 positive status. On further evaluation, her chest X-ray showed right upper and mid-zone opacity, which lead to the suspicion of MTB.

Quantitative analysis of cell-free DNA by droplet digital PCR reveals the presence of EGFR mutations in non-malignant lung pathologies.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are effectively used in treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Mutation profile of tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR determines the eligibility of the patients for tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. Liquid biopsy, which relies on circulating tumor-derived nucleic acids, has emerged as an effective tool in lung cancer management with proven diagnostic, prognostic and predictive applications.

Recurrent pleural effusion secondary to endometriosis: a rare malady.

Thoracic endometriosis is a rare entity, wherein thoracic endometrial tissue deposition occurs. Recurrent pleural effusion is one of its manifestations. Diagnosis and treatment are often challenging, owing to the rarity of the condition and recurrences.

Non-invasive detection of EGFR mutations by cell-free loop-mediated isothermal amplification (CF-LAMP).

Targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) through tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is a successful therapeutic strategy in non-small cell lung cancer. However, the response to TKI therapy depends on specific activating and acquired mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of the EGFR gene. Therefore, confirming the EGFR status of patients is crucial, not only for determining the eligibility, but also for monitoring the emergence of mutations in patients under TKI therapy.

A study to estimate prevalence and risk factors of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome in a semi-urban Indian population.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) has been recognised as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries like India. There is still a paucity of Indian studies regarding the prevalence of OSAS. The current single centre prospective cross-sectional study was undertaken to know prevalence estimates for key symptoms and features that can indicate the presence of OSAS in an Indian population.

Frequency of adverse events observed with second-line drugs among patients treated for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is considered to be a worldwide problem with notoriously difficult and challenging treatment. Adverse events associated with second-line drugs (SLDs) can have severe impact on efficient management.

Objective: To know the frequency of adverse events due to SLDs in patients of MDR-TB.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis with severe pulmonary hemorrhage treated with rituximab.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is characterized by systemic vasculitis, asthma and eosinophilia. Severe pulmonary hemorrhage is rare. Renal involvement is seen in approximately 25% and can vary from isolated urinary abnormality to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis.

Drug susceptibility pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from patients of category-II failure of pulmonary tuberculosis under directly observed treatment short-course from north India.

The major contributing factors for the causation of treatment failure in cases of pulmonary tuberculosis under Category-II directly observed treatment short-course treatment (DOTS) are treatment after default, poor treatment compliance, and development of multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. The objective of the present study is to find out the demographic profile and drug susceptibility pattern in Category-II failure patients of pulmonary tuberculosis under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) of India. Two hundred and twenty four patients with Category-II treatment failure of pulmonary tuberculosis were enrolled from Department of Pulmonary Medicine, at Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University, UP, Lucknow, India, from August 2003 to July 2008.

Concomittant pulmonary tuberculosis and borderline leprosy with type-II lepra reaction in single patient.

The concommitant occurrence of both tuberculosis and leprosy in a single individual are not an uncommon clinical condition but is being reported infrequently in literature. We report a case of leprosy, diagnosed previously and also diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis.