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Biomedical subjects

M Soubrier

Publications and source records attributed to M Soubrier.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

[Spondylodiscitis caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum. Apropos of a case].

Spondylodiscitis is rarely caused by anaerobic germs and occurs mainly in patients weakened by another infection. We report a case of Fusobacterium nucleatum spondylodiscitis in a 63-year-old man. This is the third such report and the second in a non-immunodepressed patient. The clinical presentation and laboratory findings in this type of spondylodiscitis vary little from those produced by other germs. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most useful diagnostic tool for spondylodiscitis. The germ is isolated from a discal puncture aspirate in 66% of the cases but can also be obtained from blood cultures. Anaerobic germs are usually sensitive to penicillin or cephalosporins.

Discitis↗
PubMed1995

Shrinking lung syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus. A report of three cases.

Shrinking lung syndrome of systemic lupus erythematosus is characterized by dyspnea, diaphragmatic elevation with decreased mobility, and a restrictive defect. We report three cases in females with systemic lupus erythematosus aged 25, 29, and 42 years. Dyspnea and chest pain were present in all three patients. Elevation of the diaphragm was bilateral in two patients and unilateral in one. Two patients had a very severe restrictive defect. Onset of the pulmonary manifestations occurred in the absence of a flare of the connective tissue disease in two patients. Corticosteroid therapy consistently produced a clinical improvement with a decrease in the restrictive defect. Evidence suggesting diaphragmatic dysfunction is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Cervical epidural infection. Four case-reports.

The authors report four cases of cervical epidural infection, in two females (aged 58 and 82 years) and two males (aged 41 and 51 years). Risk factors were noninsulindependent diabetes mellitus in one patient and multiple myeloma treated by chemotherapy in another. Duration of cervical pain at evaluation was five to 15 days. Three patients had a fever and a neurologic deficit: one had brachial diplegia; the myeloma patient developed brachial diplegia after a lumbar puncture and the diabetic patient developed quadriplegia with respiratory disorders also after a lumbar puncture. Cerebrospinal fluid studies showed elevated protein levels with approximately 20 cells per mm3 and no pathogens in smears or cultures. Roentgenograms were normal at admission. The diagnosis was established by myelography (n = 2) and/or computed tomography (n = 2) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (n = 2). The infected area was anterior in three cases and posterolateral in one. Two to seven vertebral levels were affected. A Staphylococcus aureus was recovered from the blood cultures in all four cases and from a local specimen in one of the two patients who had a laminectomy. Of the two patients who did not have surgery, one had a normal neurologic evaluation and the other was an elderly patient with myeloma. In both, antimicrobial and corticosteroid therapy ensured complete resolution of the infection, and the myeloma patient recovered normal neurologic function. Residual neurologic loss was seen in one of the two surgically-treated patients. Two patients developed discitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Longitudinal insufficiency fractures of the femoral shaft.

Most insufficiency fractures of the femur are transverse fractures of the femoral neck. We report two 77-year-old female patients with longitudinal fractures of the femoral shaft; one had a vertical fracture line in the proximal part of the shaft and the other a spiroid line in the middle third of the shaft. Both patients experienced apparently spontaneous onset of incapacitating mechanical pain in the hip or thigh; duration of the pain at evaluation was ten days in one case and six months in the other. Potential risk factors were osteoarthritis of the hip and the presence of metalwork in the knee. Increased radionuclide activity at the fracture site was seen on the bone scans. In one patient, roentgenographic and computed tomography findings were normal and the diagnosis was established by magnetic resonance imaging. In the other, the fracture line was seen clearly on computed tomography sections. Longitudinal fractures often escape diagnosis initially because roentgenographic changes are delayed. Hyperactivity on the bone scan is suggestive but sometimes so extensive as to mislead the diagnosis. The callus and, less frequently, the fracture line are sometimes seen on computed tomography sections. The role of magnetic resonance imaging remains to be determined.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Aortic occlusion in a patient with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus.

A 41-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus anticoagulant developed aortic thrombosis. The patient was receiving low dose aspirin. Aortography showed a complete obliteration of the infrarenal aorta. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed no evidence of aortitis. The patient improved with medical treatment. Six other published cases are reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Uncompacted myelin lamellae in polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes syndrome. Ultrastructural study of peripheral nerve biopsy from 22 patients.

Mechanisms of peripheral neuropathies in polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome are poorly understood. A peripheral nerve biopsy was performed in 22 patients. Of these 9 had histological features of Castleman's disease on lymph node biopsies, and 19 had a monoclonal lambda light chain in their serum. Certain nerve fragments were paraffin embedded, others were frozen and studied by direct immunofluorescence, and others were fixed for ultrastructural examination. Paraffin-embedded fragments did not show any amyloid deposits, and at direct immunofluorescence there was no immunoglobulin fixation. At ultrastructural examination, features of uncompacted myelin lamellae (UML) were present in 19 patients, and their frequency varied from 1% to 16% of myelinated fibres. Up to now UML have been reported only in 7 patients with POEMS syndrome in the literature. UML have also been noticed in a few cases of inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuritis and inherited tendency to pressure palsy.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[From sedimentation rate to inflammation profile].

The main biological sign of inflammation is an increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). However it can be falsely normal (polyglobulia, cryoglobulinemia, hemoglobinopathy) or spuriously high in the absence of inflammation (anemia, hypergammaglobulinemia). In cases of doubt, the acute phase reactants (APR) should be measured: C reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, haptoglobin, alpha 1 acid glycoprotein. They have different kinetics of variation and various degrees of increase (some--the so called "negative" proteins--actually decrease). Several pitfalls can be avoided if it is remembered that the APR themselves can be modified by causes other than inflammation: low fibrinogen in intravascular coagulation, very low haptoglobin in hemolysis, raised orosomucoide in renal insufficiency and elevated transferrin in iron deficiency. Furthermore liver insufficiency or leakage through the kidney or gut lesions can lower them. In some patients, the observed levels of APR are thus the result of opposite trends. In complex cases, these pathological mechanisms are more apparent on profiles which express the concomitant blood levels of several APR in a normalized or comparative manner. In medical practice, ESR serves first and foremost to detect an inflammatory syndrome. CRP is prominent among the APR because its changes show a great sensitivity, are independant of those of ESR and have a time course fitting closely that of the inflammatory processes. Profiles yield detailed information but rarely provide major evidence in the quest of a diagnosis or the choice of a treatment. Because of their cost they are to be used only in difficult cases.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1994

[Multiple complications of monoclonal IgM].

A 64 year old woman with monoclonal IgM Kappa cryoglobulinemia had developed neurologic, vascular and bone involvements. If each features were previously reported, their association appears to be rare. The polyneuropathy was consistent with an IgM anti MAG neuropathy rather than a cryoglobulinemic neuropathy. The vascular occlusion is well known in dysglobulinemia. The diffuse osteosclerosis without medullary fibrosis or myeloproliferative disorder was as like as a Schnitzler's syndrome (chronic urticaria, osteosclerosis, monoclonal IgM Kappa gammopathy.

Cryoglobulinemia↗
PubMed1994

[Primary antiphospholipid syndrome of fatal course and osteoarticular cytosteatonecrosis].

The antiphospholipid syndrome produces acute occlusions of arteries and veins. This syndrome can cause a multiple organ systems failure whose outcome is often fatal. The authors report a case of the primary, antiphospholipid syndrome characterized by this fatal outcome, a so-called "devastating" syndrome following pulse steroids. In this patient, the antiphospholipid antibodies had been found after presenting bone-marrow fat necrosis, which led to extensive lesions of knees, hips and shoulders. Damage to the cell membranes in necrotic lesions might have promoted the immune response against phospholipids. The potential risks of pulse doses of steroids in the antiphospholipid syndrome are documented by the present observation, which also suggests that antiphospholipid antibodies should be determined in cases of fat necrosis of all origins.

Antiphospholipid Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

[Renal manifestation in POEMS syndrome].

The authors report four cases of POEMS Syndrome with renal involvement. Two had renal failure and mild proteinuria. The two others had hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism with type IV renal tubular acidosis in the first and hyperkalemia alone in the second. In the two cases, renal biopsy showed mesangial proliferation. Evolution was favourable when the plasma cell proliferation could be checked. In POEMS pathophysiology of renal involvement remains unknown. Soluble factor(s) produced by plasma cells may be responsible for most signs and symptoms perhaps as a result of increased vascular permeability.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗
PubMed1994

[Longitudinal stress fractures of the tibia. Apropos of 3 cases].

Longitudinal stress fractures of the tibia are rare: only 16 cases have been published. We report three cases, in two men aged 54 and 70 years and in one women aged 73. The patients had pain when bearing weight on the affected limb. The pain increased over a few weeks. A diagnosis of arthritis of the ankle joint was entertained in 2 cases. Among the three patients, one was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and had had Ender nails due to fracture of the femoral neck of the same limb. The longest delay for diagnosis was six months. Plain radiographs were normal in two cases. A technetium 99m MDP bone scan showed increased uptake of the whole shaft of the tibia in one patient, on the lower end of the tibia in two others. Computed tomography was performed in two cases and showed the stress fracture. Diagnosis was often delayed because clear changes at plain X-ray examination, periostal reaction often being delayed. Technetium 99m bone scan early showed increased uptake. CT scan showed callus formation and sometimes the fracture itself. MRI has been studied little.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[Septic arthritis in rheumatoid polyarthritis. 24 cases and review of the literature].

Twenty-four cases of septic arthritis in rheumatoid arthritis patients were compared with 99 cases of septic arthritis in patients without rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, 238 previously published cases of septic arthritis with rheumatoid arthritis were analyzed. Fifteen percent of our patients with septic arthritis had rheumatoid arthritis, which was typically of long duration (mean 15 years), erosive, and seropositive. Fifty-four per cent (28% in the literature) and 9% of patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis, respectively, had pyarthrosis of multiple joints. The knee represented one-third of infected joints and the elbows and wrists were more often infected in patients with than without rheumatoid arthritis. S. aureus was recovered in 80% versus only 60% of patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. The source of sepsis was often a skin lesion, in particular at the foot, emphasizing the need for early orthopedic treatment of deformities responsible for skin lesions. Monoarticular infection was more likely to be due to an intraarticular injection. Mortality rate was 17% in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (23% in the literature) versus 7% in patients without rheumatoid arthritis. Staphylococcal infection and infection of multiple joints were associated with higher mortality rates (35% and 49%, respectively). The mortality rate in polyarticular infections has failed to decline over the last 35 years. Initial failure to distinguish septic arthritis from an exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to the high mortality rate. The diagnosis of septic arthritis rests on a high index of suspicion. Septic arthritis cannot be ruled out based on absence of local inflammation, fever, or hyperleukocytosis or on presence of inflammation of multiple joints. Joint fluid specimens should routinely be sent to the microbiological laboratory and should be inoculated in blood culture bottles at the least suspicion.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

[Vertebral compression in epilepsy. Analysis of 8 cases].

Epileptic seizures can produce dislocations or fractures of the limbs and vertebral compression fractures. We tried to determine the clinical and radiological features of the latter in 8 patients: 6 men and 2 women including one aged only 41 years. The often multiple compression fractures involved the first thoracic (n = 3) and the intermediate thoracic (n = 3) or lower lumbar (n = 2) vertebrae but, contrary to common osteoporosis, never the thoracolumbar hinge. In 2 cases, the appearance of the fracture and the neurological signs led to surgery. Posterior dislocation of the shoulder was associated with the fractures in 2 cases. Chronic alcoholism (4 cases), anti-epileptic drugs (1 case) or corticosteroids (1 case) might have facilitated a demineralization which was however not obvious on X-ray films. The seizure was a first ever event in 6 cases. In the absence of controls the fracture was considered to be spontaneous. These particularities explain why a metastatic compression fracture was initially suspected in 3 cases, leading to explorations which sometimes were aggressive. In the presence of a suspicious vertebral compression fracture the clinician must consider the possibility of an epileptic seizure, a trauma which is sufficient to explain the fracture, as shown by the complications of electro-convulsive therapy.

Adult↗