A phase II study of azacitidine in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as maintenance treatment, after allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation in patients with poor-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Relapse is the most common cause of treatment failure following allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (alloBMT) for AML or MDS. Post-transplant maintenance therapies may prevent relapse. We conducted a phase II trial combining azacitidine (AZA) with GM-CSF in non-relapsed, post-transplant patients with AML or MDS.

Blast phase myeloproliferative neoplasm: Mayo-AGIMM study of 410 patients from two separate cohorts.

A total of 410 patients with blast phase myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN-BP) were retrospectively reviewed: 248 from the Mayo Clinic and 162 from Italy. Median survival was 3.6 months, with no improvement over the last 15 years.

A concise review of BCL-2 inhibition in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by clonal proliferation of myeloid precursors with impaired ability to differentiate to mature cells causing accumulation of leukemic blasts in bone marrow, peripheral blood, and extramedullary tissue. Our understanding of the genomic landscape of AML has improved prognostic accuracy and lead to the development of targeted therapies. In 2017 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved midostaurin, gemtuzumab ozogamicin, CPX-351 and enasidenib for the treatment of AML.

Leukemic Transformation in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: A Literature Review on Risk, Characteristics, and Outcome.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) operationally include essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and prefibrotic PMF. All 4 MPN variants might progress into blast-phase disease (MPN-BP). For essential thrombocythemia, reported risk factors for leukemic transformation include advanced age, extreme thrombocytosis, anemia, leukocytosis, and sequence variants/mutations involving TP53 and EZH2 (for expansion of gene symbols, see www.

Gallbladder adenocarcinoma and paraneoplastic parathyroid hormone mediated hypercalcemia.

Parathyroid hormone mediated hypercalcemia is not always exclusively primary hyperparathyroidism and rarely could be due to ectopic parathyroid hormone secretion from tumor cells. We present a case of 86-year-old female with metastatic gall bladder adenocarcinoma diagnosed eight months back who presented with generalized fatigue and poor oral intake and was found to be hypercalcemic with elevated parathyroid hormone levels. Imaging with technetium 99 m sestamibi scintigraphy with dual phase, subtraction thyroid scan (dual isotope scintigraphy), magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography did not demonstrate any parathyroid lesion in normal or ectopic sites.

HbSC Disease and Spontaneous Epidural Hematoma with Kernohan's Notch Phenomena.

Spontaneous (nontraumatic) acute epidural hematoma is a rare and poorly understood complication of sickle cell disease. A 19-year-old African American male with hemoglobin SC disease (HbSC) presented with generalized body aches and was managed for acute painful crisis. During his hospital stay he developed rapid deterioration of his mental status and computed topography revealed a spontaneous massive epidural hematoma with mass effect and midline shift with Kernohan's notch phenomena for which urgent craniotomy and evacuation was done.

Acute Portomesenteric Venous Thrombosis following Laparoscopic Small Bowel Resection and Ventral Hernia Repair.

Acute portomesenteric venous thrombosis is a rare but life-threatening complication of laparoscopic surgery that has been described in literature. Prompt diagnosis and early initiation of treatment are vital to prevent life-threatening complications such as mesenteric ischemia and infarction. A 51-year-old lady had laparoscopic small bowel resection and primary anastomosis with ventral hernia repair 4 weeks earlier for partial small bowel obstruction.

Cocaine-induced delayed recurrent vasculitis: a 4-year follow-up.

Background: Cocaine is a highly abused substance in United States with almost 70 % of cocaine adulterated with levamisole. It is known to cause vasculitis involving multiple organs due to its direct toxic effect and by the contribution of levamisole or a combined effect of both.

Case Report: A 51-year-old woman complained of painful erythematous rash in her hands and lower extremities that started few hours after smoking cocaine and progressed to blistering dark lesions in her lower extremities.

Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus associated with esophagitis dissecans superficialis.

Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus is one of the rare autoantibody mediated skin manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) demonstrating subepidermal blistering with neutrophilic infiltrate histologically. We present a case of a 40-year-old Hispanic female who presented with a several months' history of multiple blistering pruritic skin lesions involving the face and trunk, a photosensitive rash over the face and neck, swelling of the right neck lymph node, and joint pain involving her elbows and wrist. Her malady was diagnosed as bullous systemic lupus erythematosus based on the immunological workup and biopsy of her skin lesions.

Spontaneous iliopsoas haematoma: a complication of hypertensive urgency.

Iliopsoas haematoma is a rare clinical entity which can be life threatening in extreme cases. We are reporting a case of iliopsoas haematoma as a complication of hypertensive urgency. A 67-year old woman presented to emergency room with hypertensive urgency and hip pain.

Legionnaires disease presenting as acute kidney injury in the absence of pneumonia.

Legionnaires disease is a pneumonic illness with multisystem involvement. In 1987, Haines et al reported the only reported case of isolated renal disease of legionellosis without concurrent respiratory disease. A 62-year-old man presented with generalised weakness and malaise and watery diarrhoea, and was found to have acute kidney injury on admission.

Kikuchi-fujimoto disease associated with symptomatic CD4 lymphocytopenia.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare benign condition of necrotising histiocytic lymphadenitis with unknown aetiology. We describe here a 30-year-old African American female who presented with fever, generalized rash, cervical lymphadenopathy, and oral candidiasis and was found to have Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease on lymph node biopsy with low CD4 count. The initial presentation was concerning for acute retroviral infection.