A 65-year-old retired male (Fitzpatrick phototype II) previously healthy except for a distant history of basal cell carcinoma presented to our dermatology clinic with a two-day duration of a rash. The lesions were first noticed on his chest, upper extremity and back []. The rash was extremely pruritic resulting in insomnia for the previous 2 nights which went unrelieved despite oral diphenhydramine. Also concerning to him and his wife was the whip like nature of the rash which was somewhat linear and run vertically right down his back in a manner unlikely to be produced by simple excoriation. In addition, he denied reaching for or scratching his back in any manner. Review of systems was negative, and he denied any recent history of travel, similarly sick contacts or recent outdoor contactants or change in body soaps or laundry detergents.\nHe denied any prior history of similar rashes and his past medical history was non-contributory. A detailed exposure history revealed the patient had eaten mushrooms 48 hours ago during dinner at a Chinese cuisine buffet. He admitted to ingesting great quantities of a medley of cooked and raw mushroom including the Shiitake mushroom variety.\nPhysical examination was striking with a truncal dominant but generalized rash in a centripetal distribution (). The lesions consisted of raised, relatively uniform erythematous papulovesicles arranged in linear arrangement. Close-up views [] confirmed the papulo-vesicular nature of the rash with multiple small papules grouped both along the breadth and length of each linear streak within an erythematous background.\nGiven the clinical history and presentation the diagnosis was consistent with a shiitake dermatitis. Flagellate patterns of eruption have also been noted in drug reactions particularly to bleomycin, peplomycin (a bleomycin derivative), docetaxel, adult-onset Still’s disease, and dermatomyositis [].\nThe patient was put on a mid-potency topical steroid (Triamcinolone 0.1% ointment applied to affected areas twice daily). The rash resolved within 1 week. It has been reported that shiitake dermatitis can also resolve spontaneously.
A 53-year-old man presented with unstable angina due to the severe stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery and obtuse marginalis, although the right coronary artery was normal. Laboratory findings, including a complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C reactive protein, were normal. Chest X-ray revealed no abnormal findings, and there was no valvular abnormality on preoperative echocardiography. The patient had no co-morbid disorders, but his left ventricular ejection fraction was reduced (40–45%).\nThe intraoperative course was uneventful. There were no findings of pericarditis. On physical examination, there was no respiratory distress, blood pressure was 130/80 mm Hg, heart rate was 80 beats per minute, respiratory rate was 23 per minute, the neck veins were not distended, and there was no ankle edema. Cardiovascular system examination showed regular first and second heart sounds with no gallop or murmur. The electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated a Q wave in the precordial leads. For temporary coronary artery occlusion, 4/0 Viline sutures and a Bulldog Clamp were used, and warm blood was employed to de air the graft. Temporary coronary artery occlusion was not prolonged, and the electrocardiogram and hemodynamic variables and objective data showed no signs of ischemia or contractile dysfunction. The operation was uneventful. No intra-coronary shunt was utilized.\nThe patient left the operating room without any inotropic support. Six hours later, however, he developed low cardiac output. At exploration, cardiac tamponade was excluded and flowmetry showed that the graft had adequate function. There were no findings as regards pericarditis, and the patient’s postoperative erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and cardiac enzymes were normal. A high dose of adrenalin and dobutamine was administered, and an intra-aortic balloon pump was used.\nIntraoperative transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated a depression in the left ventricular function due to an akinetic lateral left ventricular wall in the region of the obtuse marginalis. After hemodynamic stabilization, the patient left the Intensive Care Unit without an intra-aortic balloon pump and inotropic support. On the fifth postoperative day, a coronary angiogram demonstrated patent grafts and correct anastomotic sites ( & ). On the seventh postoperative day, the akinetic lateral wall of the left ventricle changed to dyskinesia. Finally, after hospital discharge on the thirtieth postoperative day, an echocardiogram showed a normal left ventricular function without regional wall motion abnormalities.