Open Access Case Report
E. Lugada, A. Nyanzi, D. Bwayo, H. Musinguzi, J. Akao, C. Wamundu, A. Musinguzi, B. Kikaire, S. Lawoko, N. Kak, H. Almossawi, T. Rwegyema, F. K. Kinuthia, G. Seruwagi
Background: Although tetanus is a life-threatening disease, its occurrence is rare in the post-vaccination era, especially in developed countries. The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has supported scale up of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) to reduce female-to-male HIV transmission in countries with a high prevalence of HIV. VMMC is generally safe, with less than 2% of clients experiencing moderate to severe adverse events. However, in most sub-Saharan countries with a high HIV prevalence and low male circumcision coverage, tetanus vaccination coverage among infants, especially male, remains suboptimal. This is a case report of a 45-year-old male who developed tetanus after pre-circumcision tetanus vaccination in a VMMC HIV/AIDS prevention intervention program in Uganda.
The Case: A healthy 45-year-old male presented for voluntary circumcision at field VMMC centre. He received a standard pre-circumcision tetanus immunization and had no incident immediate post-operative. 14 days later he reported at a local health facility with a history of difficulty in swallowing, difficulty in breathing, loss of speech and was ultimately diagnosed with tetanus after 2 days. The patient was immediately admitted in intensive care unit, treated, improved and eventually discharged.
Conclusions: This report highlights the possibility of tetanus vaccine failure and importance of prompt diagnosis and treatment of tetanus. It also highlights the need for institution of aggressive quality improvement and pre-circumcision tetanus vaccination procedures. Post vaccination surveillance for possible vaccine failure is recommended in addition to a review of existing national immunization medical practice and policies.
Open Access Case Report
Joyce K. N. Azevedo, Sérgio H. G. Carvalho, Dmitry J. S. Sarmento, Gustavo G. Agripino, Sandra A. Marinho
Aims: This study aimed to report a case of multiple inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia in the upper lip, resulting from the association of lip sucking habit and the use of orthodontic appliance, treated with high-powered laser.
Presentation of Case: A 42 years-old male patient, anxious, presented with five lesions in upper lip in close contact with dental appliance. Also, he had a habit of sucking his lip. After the removal of the appliance, it was performed a surgery using a diode laser (Thera Lase Surgery λ=808 nm, P=2.5 W).
Discussion: The removal of the traumatic etiological agent is essential for the treatment of proliferative lesions, such as hyperplasias. After removal, if there is no complete regression of a small hyperplasia, surgical removal will be necessary. Diode surgical laser is a good alternative, due its advantages.
Conclusion: It is very important to advise patients with harmful habits, as lip sucking, that with the persistence of the habit, new lesions will arise again. Monitoring psychological factors is also essential.
Open Access Case Report
Santvana Kohli, Mudit Varshney, Sandeep Mangla, Binita Jaiswal, Priyanka H. Chhabra
The virus SARS-CoV2 and the disease spectrum caused by it have led to a widespread impact on the medical and economic status of all nations of the world. This led to an expedited mission to introduce a vaccine which could attempt to neutralize the pandemic to some extent. Many vaccines have been introduced with an acceptable safety profile, producing only mild adverse effects of soreness at injection site, malaise, fever, diarrhoea, myalgia and uncommonly allergic/anaphylactic reactions and possibility of getting infected with SARS-CoV2. Some isolated reports have also emerged of serious thromboembolic phenomena and neurological complications such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS).
A similar incident was noticed at our institute, where a 71 year old male recipient of COVID-19 vaccine at an immunization centre, presented to us with features of GBS. We hereby report this case, not establishing a direct link between the two, but to raise awareness regarding the ongoing mass immunization world-wide.
Open Access Case Study
Andrea Cuamatzi Castelan Castelan, Virginia Skiba, Luisa Bazan, Kenneth Moss, Meeta Singh, Christopher Drake, Philip Cheng
Aims: Highlight pitolisant as an effective treatment for narcolepsy.
Case Report: We describe two patients treated with pitolisant. Patient A showed decreased daytime sleepiness and improved social functioning. Patient B struggled to find a dose that kept side effects at a minimum.
Discussion: This orphan drug has a unique mechanism of action, that combined with dosing flexibility allows for a treatment option that can better attend to individual differences in patient needs.
Conclusion: The use of pitolisant presents some benefits and challenges, nonetheless offering a promising treatment for narcolepsy.
Open Access Case Study
Selda Ghahramani, Mohammad Babaeian
Background: There are only a few treatment approaches for periapical abscess as a prevalent complication and as the most common type of dental abscess. Drainage and/or antibiotic therapy is the first step to treat this infection, depending on its severity and symptoms.
Case Presentation: Amoxicillin/clavulanate (TID for 3 days), clindamycin (QID for 3 days), and a single local dose of an Iranian home remedy called metmeto, a mixture of toasted flour and ghee covered with a sterile piece of cotton fabric-, were respectively prescribed, for a 32-year-old male patient with a spreading periapical abscess. The first two antibiotics were not able to mitigate the symptoms (pain, inflammation,infection, etc.), while the abscess disappeared remarkably the morning after using a single dose of metmeto “as a dressing” for 6 hours. To eliminate the possible riskof recurrence, the patient underwent an endodontic retreatment after 2 weeks.
Conclusion: Some folk home remedies such as metmeto can be considered for treatment of dental problemsas noninvasive and safe choices. Further studies are necessary to conclude a causal association.