Pericardial actinomycosis.

A man in his 50s, with a history of night sweats and weight loss, presented acutely with dyspnoea and chest pain. Imaging revealed right middle lobe consolidation and a large pericardial effusion. The diagnosis of actinomycosis was made using endobronchial ultrasound-guided sampling from the pericardial effusion.

Isolated cardiac involvement of a primary myeloid sarcoma: a case report of an unusual cause of pulmonary oedema.

Background: Myeloid sarcoma, also known as chloroma, is a pathologic diagnosis for an extramedullary proliferation of blasts of one or more of the myeloid lineages. It is an uncommon manifestation of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), although the diagnosis may occur prior to or after diagnosis of AML. Cardiac infiltration by myeloid sarcoma is extremely rare, and of the few published cases, a diagnosis of leukaemia was almost always already present.

Tuberculosis as a differential for bilateral adrenal masses in the UK.

Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a potentially fatal disease. Adrenal tuberculosis(TB) causing PAI is rare in the developed world. We present a seemingly well, 78-year-old Caucasianwoman in the UK who developed adrenal crisis following elective hip surgery.

Elevated levels of natriuretic peptides in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism.

Background: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) occurs in a wide variety of clinical settings and presents a diagnostic challenge to clinicians, often requiring extensive imaging of the vascular bed. Management increasingly requires accurate risk stratification to rapidly identify those with massive and submassive PTE requiring different therapeutic strategies such as thrombolysis. Provision of a rapid blood test that improves diagnostic certainty and helps stratify risk could therefore bridge the gap between uncertainty and delivery of immediate early life-saving treatment.

Improved lung function and body mass index associated with long-term use of Macrolide antibiotics.

Background: A number of studies have suggested that the non-antimicrobial actions of macrolide antibiotics may be valuable in treating patients with cystic fibrosis. The use of long-term macrolide antibiotics for the management of CF patients colonised by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and progressive pulmonary disease was introduced into our clinic in 1997. A retrospective study was undertaken to assess of the impact of this therapy.