Anand Kumar Rai

Immeasurable glycosylated haemoglobin: a marker for severe haemolysis

Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is a measurement commonly performed in patients with diabetes. Factors causing a change in the life span of the red blood cell (RBC) can affect the measurement of HbA1c. Thus haemolysis is an important factor that may affect the HbA1c level determination. Haemolysis has been shown to cause a falsely low HbA1c. A 62-year-old man with a history of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia was admitted for severe haemolytic anaemia and an Hb of 2.9 g/dL. HbA1c tested during hospitalisation was unrecordable due to the extremely low Hb. The patient was treated with intravenous steroids, immunoglobulin, fluids and RBC transfusions but continued to haemolyse and eventually expired. We emphasise that an extremely low HbA1c level can serve as a marker of haemolysis and an unrecordable HbA1c level may point towards fatal haemolysis.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Rare Cause of Pathological Fracture of the Femur

The incidence rate of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the United States is approximately 0.005%; men are at slightly higher risk than women. Bony involvement or pathological fracture rarely occurs in CLL, and it may be the initial presentation. An 85-year-old woman presented with acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia. Symptomatology included dyspnea. She was found to have pathological fracture of the femur caused by CLL. The diagnosis of CLL had been made 6 years previously, but the patient had refused therapy. On admission, the patient required endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, and admission to the medical intensive care unit. Endotracheal intubation extubation was successful after 48 hours. The patient then complained of severe left knee pain. Bone radiograph and femoral computed tomography scan revealed acute pathological fracture of the left distal femur. There was no history of trauma. The fracture was stabilized with extension lock splint. Pathological fracture in patients with CLL is associated with hypercalcemia, Richter’s transformation, or multiple myeloma. This patient exemplifies the fact that pathological fracture can be caused by CLL in the absence of hypercalcemia, Richter’s transformation, or multiple myeloma and can be the initial presentation of CLL.

Enterovirus-Human Rhinovirus: A Rare Cause of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome:

A 22-year-old Asian woman presented with respiratory distress, cough, and wheezing for 1 week. Prior history included asthma and Turner syndrome. On presentation to the emergency department, the patient was hypotensive, tachycardic, tachypneic, with an oxyhemoglobin saturation in the mid 80% range while breathing ambient air. Chest radiograph revealed pulmonary vascular congestion and a left lower lobe infiltrate. Endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, and vasopressors were initiated. Empiric therapy for community-acquired pneumonia was administered utilizing broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics. Routine sputum culture was negative for pathogens. Nasopharyngeal swab submitted for multiplex amplified nucleic acid testing yielded enterovirus-human rhinovirus (EV-HRV). Thus, the diagnosis of EV-HRV pneumonia complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was established. Multiple attempts to wean from the ventilator were unsuccessful, and a tracheostomy was performed. This report highlights EV-HRV as a cause of severe ARDS and prolonged respiratory failure in adults.