Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with lung involvement in a psoriatic arthritis patient treated with methotrexate.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) occurs in the setting of methotrexate (MTX) therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. However, it has been very rarely reported in subjects with psoriatic arthritis treated with MTX. We report here a case of a 70-year-old woman with psoriatic arthritis who presented with bilateral lung infiltrates, pleural effusion, splenomegaly, and inguinal lymphadenopathy during treatment with MTX.

Valvular perforation in left-sided native valve infective endocarditis.

Background: Left-sided native valve infective endocarditis (LNVIE) can result in mitral (MP) and aortic (AP) valve perforation, the prognostic significance of which remains poorly defined.

Hypothesis: Valvular perforation is associated with worse outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective review of patients with LNVIE during 1998-2005 was performed to examine characteristics and outcome predictors of LNVIE complicated by valve perforation.

Cocaine-induced chest pain and beta-blockade: an inner city experience.

Background: Cocaine is the most common illicit drug used in patients presenting with chest pain to emergency departments. Data on beta-blockers in cocaine-related chest pain syndrome are sparse. We sought out to study the causal and detrimental effects of beta-blockers in cocaine-related chest pain in a large inner city cohort of patients.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: pathogenetic insights and myocardial perfusion kinetics using myocardial contrast echocardiography.

Transient apical ballooning syndrome or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is a novel acute cardiac syndrome, characterized by regional systolic dysfunction involving the apex and mid-ventricular segments, with hyperkinesis of the basal segments. Mid-ventricular ballooning cardiomyopathy (MVBC) is a recently recognized variant of TC. Both disorders share the same precipitating factors, clinical features and course; however, unlike TC, MVBC is characterized by ballooning and akinesis of the mid-ventricular segments with hypercontractility of the basal and apical segments.