Sultan Mahmood

Clinical use of anti-TNF therapy and increased risk of infections

Biologics such as antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs have emerged as important agents in the treatment of many chronic inflammatory diseases, especially in cases refractory to conventional treatment modalities. However, opportunistic infections have become a major safety concern in patients on anti-TNF therapy, and physicians who utilize these agents must understand the increased risks of infection. A literature review of the published data on the risk of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections associated with anti-TNF therapy was performed and the clinical presentation, diagnostic tests, management, and prevention of opportunistic infections in patients receiving anti-TNF therapy were reviewed. Awareness of the therapeutic potential and associated adverse events is necessary for maximizing therapeutic benefits while minimizing adverse effects from anti-TNF treatments. Patients should be adequately vaccinated when possible and closely monitored for early signs of infection. When serious infections occur, withdrawal of anti-TNF therapy may be necessary until the infection has been identified and properly treated.

Updates in vaccination: recommendations for adult inflammatory bowel disease patients

Treatment regimens for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incorporate the use of a variety of immunosuppressive agents that increase the risk of infections. Prevention of many of these infections can be achieved by the timely and judicious use of vaccinations. IBD patients tend to be under-immunized. Some of the contributing factors are lack of awareness regarding the significance of vaccinating IBD patients, misperception about safety of vaccinations in immunocompromised patients, ambiguity about the perceived role of the gastroenterologist in contrast to the primary care physician and unavailability of vaccination guidelines focused on IBD population. In general, immunocompetent IBD patients can be vaccinated using standard vaccination recommendations. However there are special considerations for IBD patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy, IBD travelers and pregnant women with IBD. This review discusses current vaccination recommendations with updates for adult IBD patients. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013 vaccination guidelines with 2014 updates and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations have been highlighted as a primary source of recommendations.

Risk of Nocardial Infections With Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy is beneficial in the management of many chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. However, its use is associated with increased risk of bacterial, fungal and viral infections. We present a case of cutaneous nocardiosis that occurred in a 61-year-old man, whose Crohns disease was treated for nearly 1.5 years with infliximab. Prompt therapy with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole led to complete resolution. Only few cases of nocardiosis complicating anti-TNF therapy are reported in the literature. We present the case report and summary of the available literature with updates on the management and the treatment of the disease.

Congenital complete absence of pericardium masquerading as pulmonary embolism.

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare cardiac condition, which can be either isolated or associated with other cardiac and extracardiac anomalies. There are six different types, depending on the severity of the involvement. Most of the patients with this defect are asymptomatic, especially the ones with complete absence of the pericardium. However, some patients are symptomatic, reporting symptoms that include chest pain, palpitations, dyspnea, and syncope. Diagnosis is established by the characteristic features on chest X-ray, echocardiogram, chest computed tomography (CT), and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imging (MRI). We present here a case of a 23 year-old-male, who presented to our hospital with complaints of pleuritic chest pain and exertional dyspnea, of a two-week duration. He was physically active and his past history was otherwise insignificant. His chest CT with contrast was interpreted as showing evidence of multiple emboli, predominantly in the left lung, and he was started on a heparin and warfarin therapy. A repeat chest CT with contrast three weeks later showed no significant change from the previous CT scan. Both scans showed that the heart was abnormally rotated to the left side of the chest. An echocardiogram raised the suspicion of congenital absence of the pericardium, with a posteriorly displaced heart. In retrospect, motion artifact on the left lung, attributed to cardiac pulsations and the lack of pericardium, resulted in a CT chest appearance, mimicking findings of pulmonary embolism. The misdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism was attributed to the artifact caused by excessive cardiac motion artifact on the chest CT scan. In non-gated CT angiograms, excessive motion causes an artifact that blurs the pulmonary vessels, reminiscent of a ′seagull′ or a ′boomerang′. Physicians need to be aware of this phenomenon, as well as the characteristic radiological features of this congenital anomaly, to enable them to make a correct diagnosis.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Occurrence and Recurrence in Hepatitis C-infected Patients Treated with Direct-acting Antivirals

Introduction Multiple studies have shown the efficacy of the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) with a cure rate of over 90% in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. Some recently published studies have suggested an increased incidence of de novo and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients in sustained virological response (SVR) after completing therapy. A possible mechanism is the breakdown of immune surveillance after starting DAAs. We report a retrospective analysis on a population of chronic HCV infected patients, with and without a prior history of HCC, who developed HCC after receiving DAAs in the hope of adding to existing literature and in pursuit of greater clarity into this emerging concern with DAAs. Methods We analyzed 497 HCV-infected patients who were treated with DAAs, or a combination of DAA with interferon, from January 2014 to April 2017 at the Veterans Medical Center, Oklahoma City. Descriptive analysis, including the mean and standard deviation for different variables, was used. The cohort was divided into two groups: cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic. The analysis was run in the cirrhotic group between the subgroups who developed HCC and who did not. Results Data from a total of 233 cirrhotic patients were analyzed. We further subdivided these patients into those who eventually were diagnosed with HCC (group 1) and those who were not (group 2). These subgroups were comparable in regards to race, gender, baseline serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), platelets, sodium, HCV genotypes, and pretreatment viral load. All patients completed therapy. The rate of SVR was much lower in group 1 compared to group 2 (62.5% vs 88.94%, p = 0.002), respectively. Model End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were higher in the group that developed HCC. The average time period (weeks) from DAA therapy to HCC diagnosis was 48.2 weeks. The remaining 264 non-cirrhotic patients had no reported cases of HCC. Conclusion From a total of 497 treated HCV-infected patients, 233 (46.88 %) had cirrhosis, out of which 16 (6.86%) were reported to develop HCC during or after DAA therapy was initiated. The remaining 217 (93.1%) cirrhotic patients did not develop HCC. As per our comparison, achieving SVR in cirrhotic patients should not preclude HCC screening, and more studies are needed to assess the risk of HCC in patients who achieve SVR but have a high FIB-4 score. In fact, patients who do not achieve SVR may be at a higher risk of eventually developing HCC and may be candidates for closer surveillance.

Chilaiditi's Sign Associated with Acute Colonic Pseudo-obstruction: A Radiological Diagnosis

Chilaiditi’s sign is a rare radiological anomaly of hepato-diaphragmatic interposition of the bowel. We report a case of Chilaiditi’s sign associated with acute colonic pseudo-obstruction. A 90-year-old male was admitted for hypertensive emergency. His physical examination showed a distended abdomen, decreased bowel sounds, and right upper quadrant tenderness. A chest radiograph demonstrated marked elevation of the right diaphragm and interposition of the hepatic flexure of the colon between the diaphragm and the liver, along with marked gaseous distension up to 9 cm in the ascending colon without any small bowel distension. The patient was managed conservatively with bowel rest, stool softeners, enemas, and intravenous (IV) hydration. The patient improved clinically with resolution of colonic distension. Chilaiditis sign and Chilaiditi syndrome are rare entities and therefore are often misdiagnosed and mismanaged. Awareness of the radiological sign, the syndrome itself, and the association with acute colonic pseudo-obstruction is important for all care providers so that they can opt for more conservative management strategies instead of unnecessary interventions including surgeries.

A rare case of hyperplastic proximal esophageal polyps with foveolar dysplasia

A 62-year-old male with long-standing esophageal reflux underwent endoscopy at an outside institution that reported multiple polypoid lesions in upper esophagus and a small focal area of nodular mucosa at the gastroesophageal junction(GEJ). Biopsies of the proximal esophageal polyps demonstrated hyperplastic mucosa with ulceration, reactive epithelial changes, and focal intestinal metaplasia. Biopsies from the nodular GEJ mucosa were described as Barretts esophagus with low grade dysplasia. An upper endoscopy performed at our medical center found multiple semi-pedunculated esophageal polyps between 18-24 cm from the incisors (Figure A).Endosonographically the polypoid lesions were confined to the mucosa with normal underlying wall layers (Figure B). Patient underwent endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) using a multi-band mucosectomy technique. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of the EMR specimens showed gastric and intestinal metaplasia, featuring cubital to columnar cells with pale clear to light eosinophilic cytoplasm and round to oval nuclei (Figure C). MUC5AC (a marker of gastric foveolar mucin) was positive in the specimen (Figure D); whereas intestinal markers MUC2, CDX-2 and Villin, were negative. The impression of the gastrointestinal pathologists was hyperplastic polyp with foveolar dysplasia. At a follow-up endoscopy 3 months later, smooth mucosal scarring was noted with no residual polypoid tissue or gastric heterotopia.

Rectal Mucosal Schwann-Cell Hamartoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Background: Mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma is a newly recognized disease entity that describes lesions which share some features but are distinct from schwannomas and neurofibromas. This mesenchymal lesion, consisting of a proliferation of Schwann cells in the lamina propria and a strong positivity for the S-100 protein, should be differentiated from other similar lesions because it exists solely in the intestines as a polypoid lesion. Here, we report on a case of Schwann cell hamartoma diagnosed on pathology of rectal polyp removed during colonoscopy Case presentation: Our patient is a 60 y/o male who presented for an outpatient colonoscopy to evaluate weight loss and intermittent hematochezia. Colonoscopy revealed sigmoid diverticulosis and a small 5 mm rectal polyp. The polyp was sessile and removed with a cold biopsy forceps. On pathology, the rectal polyp showed S-100 positivity and had benign bland spindle cell proliferation in the lamina propria, findings that were consistent with a diagnosis of Mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma. A follow up colonoscopy was recommended in 3 years. Conclusion: Mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma is considered a benign lesion and no reports of malignant transformation have been described. However, further follow up data is needed before making final recommendations. Our case report emphasizes this emerging disease and we propose close follow ups for possible malignant transformation. Key-words: Schwann Cell; Neuroma; Polyp; Hamartoma; Neurofibroma

Big Sister Big Brother Pilot Program: A Novel Resident Mentorship Project

Introduction: Transition from medical school into residency is difficult, particularly for foreignmedical graduates (FMGs). Early career mentoring is known to be beneficial. Although mentorshipis encouraged, formal programs are seldom in place and are often ineffective. Objective: To studythe impact of resident driven mentorship program (Big Sister Big Brother Program) in improvingmedicine residency experience of new interns. Methods: The study was conducted in the InternalMedicine Residency Program in University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre between September2012 and October 2013. Residents were assigned with incoming interns on 1:1 basis to act astheir mentors. Residents were to meet with the interns every month and address their concerns inan informal atmosphere. We developed a 17-item questionnaire to assess participants’ perceptions,satisfaction and experience with mentorship. Results: Overall 61% respondents were males and 43%were Caucasian. Majority (61%) were categorical internal medicine and 45% were FMGs. Only 57%interns reported satisfaction with mentorship and 60.5% said the transition was easy with respectto personal life. After introduction of mentorship program, interns reported improvement in ease oftransition with respect to personal life (OR 4.5, CI 1.1–18.4), which was more pronounced in FMGs(OR 10.5, CI 1.1–98.9). Intern class also reported improvement in ease of approaching mentor (OR4.5, CI 1.1–18.1). Conclusion: In traditional faculty driven mentorship, accessibility to faculty is thebiggest hindrance. Our study showed resident mentors have a positive impact on quality of life, ease ofapproaching mentors, and improve comfort level of new interns. This is especially beneficial for FMGswho have to adapt to new culture, and workplace. We have formally incorporated this program into ourorientation curriculum.

Assessment of work-life balance of resident physicians

BACKGROUND AND SETTINGS W ork–life balance can be defined as a concept of proper prioritization between “work” (career and ambition) and “personal life” (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation). A healthy work–life balance has consistently been associated with improved job satisfaction, performance, decreased burnout and potential results of imbalance include deleterious effects on health, interpersonal relationships, sexual relationships and increased stress levels.