An Unusual Case of Heart Failure: Sometimes When You Hear Hoof Beats You Should Think of Zebras.

This case describes a 74-year-old male who was hospitalized with hyponatremia and worsening systolic and new diastolic heart failure. Workup showed low voltage QRS complexes on electrocardiogram and new diastolic dysfunction on echocardiogram. Because of this clinical scenario amyloidosis was suspected.

A Curious Case of Encephalopathy in a Hospitalized Patient: Round Up the Unusual Suspects.

This case describes a 52-year-old female who developed encephalopathy after being hospitalized with sepsis from a recently placed Permcath. A grade two decubitus ulcer was also a potential source of infection. Cefepime and Vancomycin were empirically begun, and the patient improved hemodynamically and clinically.

Medical qualification of a commercial spaceflight participant: not your average astronaut.

Background: Candidates for commercial spaceflight may be older than the typical astronaut and more likely to have medical problems that place them at risk during flight. Since the effects of microgravity on many medical conditions are unknown, physicians have little guidance when evaluating and certifying commercial spaceflight participants. This dynamic new era in space exploration may provide important data for evaluating medical conditions, creating appropriate medical standards, and optimizing treatment alternatives for long-duration spaceflight.

Pathologic features of Mycobacterium kansasii infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Context: Mycobacterium kansasii is a slow-growing photochromogenic mycobacterium that may infect patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) late in the course of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The clinical features of pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections have been described in the literature; however, the pathology of infection has not been adequately addressed.

Objective: This report describes the pathologic features of 12 cases of M kansasii infection in patients with AIDS.