Functional Quadriplegia as an Initial Presentation of Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition with many manifestations primarily presenting in older female patients with joint stiffness. Quadriplegia associated with rheumatoid arthritis is common and can occur secondary to spinal cord compression from atlantoaxial dislocation. In contrast, functional quadriplegia is rare and has not been previously reported as an initial manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. We report the case of a 56-year-old male with a past medical history of carotid artery stenosis, hypertension, and tobacco and alcohol misuse who presented to the emergency department with a five-month history of progressive bilateral shoulder pain and weakness resulting in functional quadriplegia. The patient required inpatient hospital admission for further evaluation of his functional quadriplegia and associated symptoms. His workup was significant for rheumatoid arthritis, and he was successfully treated with high-dose steroids and received physical and occupational therapy during admission. Prior to discharge, the patient was initiated on methotrexate therapy and appointed a follow-up with primary care and rheumatology. The purpose of this study is to facilitate early clinical recognition of a common disease with unique and underreported symptomatology.

Case Report: Potential Applications of Using a 3D-Ring CZT SPECT for Lymphoscintigraphic Exploration of Lower Limb Edema

Lymphoscintigraphy is still considered the gold standard imaging modality for diagnosing lymphedema, due to ineffective lymphatic transport resulting in edema and skin damage. However, protocol variability and poor image resolution can make the interpretation challenging. Up to now, 99 mTc-labeled colloid lymphatic travel is monitored with dual-head cameras, but single-photon emission CT (SPECT) has proved its interest. Here, we present the case of a 59-year-old-man with bilateral asymmetric lower limb edema which was explored using dual-head and new 3D-ring cadmium -zinc-telluride (CZT) SPECT cameras, confirming bilateral lower limb lymphatic dysfunction. In line with other recently published reports, this case report promotes the use of SPECT/CT in the lymphoscintigraphic exploration of lower limb edema. The recognition of the clinicopathologic features of lower limb edema is required to prevent missed diagnoses, such as compressive disease, tumors, etc., as well as to better influence the management of patients.

Limb edema in critically ill patients: Comparing intermittent compression and elevation

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at high risk for limb edema, which caused complications such as pain, joint contracture, limited range of motion and atrophy of the limbs. Thus, this study was conducted to compare ICU patients' upper limb edema between two groups with the intervention of limb elevation and intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC). In this quasi‐experimental before and after study, 40 patients were recruited. One upper limb was randomly assigned to the upper limb elevation (ULE) group and the other one was assigned to the IPC group. The circumference of the wrist and the middle of the arm were compared between and within groups. Results showed that in both groups of IPC and ULE and all five sessions (unless the second session of ULE), participants' arm and wrist edema were reduced significantly after the interventions (arm: P < .01; wrist: P < .0001). The differences between the two groups of ULE and IPC in regards to limb edema reduction were not significant. Although there was no significant difference between IPC and ULE intervention in the removal of edema, ULE seems to be more feasible and practical, which should be assessed in future studies.

Diffuse edema suggestive of cytokine release syndrome in a metastatic lung carcinoma patient treated with pembrolizumab

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are actually being indicated more commonly in the management of chemoresistant cancer patients in view of their favorable toxicity profile in comparison to cytotoxic chemotherapy. In this paper, we report, to our knowledge, the first case suggestive of cytokine release syndrome secondary to pembrolizumab in a patient with metastatic lung squamous cell carcinoma. In view of the quick approvals of ICI and the absence of sufficient knowledge of the corresponding toxicity profile, the occurrence of any clinical or biological sign or symptom in patients receiving ICI requires further investigation.