An 18-year-old, HIV-negative, male patient was admitted to the hospital complaining of nonquantified weight loss and abdominal pain over a 3 month period. Physical findings included disseminated cutaneous lesions and paraparesis of the lower extremities. Diagnosis of acute paracoccidioidomycosis was confirmed through KOH (potassium hydroxide) direct visualization of typical yeast structures of Paracoccidioides spp. in samples from the skin biopsy (). Abdominal ultrasound revealed extensive peritoneal lymph node involvement, and computerized tomography (CT) with intravenous contrast of the brain revealed a pontomesencephalic lesion (2.3 cm) with ring-enhancement (, white arrow). Chest radiography was normal ().\nLiposomal amphotericin B was administered for 90 days, followed by sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. The patient responded well to therapy, but after approximately 1 year of drug therapy, he developed painful abdominal bloating and umbilical protrusion (). Abdominal CT with oral and intravenous contrast revealed a 11.1 by 6.5 cm ovoid lesion in the anterior abdominal wall (, white arrow) that was previously reported as a similar cystic image by ultrasound a month before.\nWhat is your diagnosis?
Female patient aged 75 years who had no history of chronic disease apart from depression presented at outpatient clinic with complaints of lassitude, loss of appetite, exertional dyspnea for 4 months, and dry coughing for 2 months. Her examination revealed marked decrease in respiratory sounds at basal segments of the right lung. Hematological values, sedimentation, glucose, urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, total protein, and albumin levels were within normal limits. Levels of alanine aminotransferase (189 U/L), aspartate aminotransferase (113 U/L), cholesterol (251 mg/ dL), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (193 U/L) were also measured. X-ray graphy revealed a dark shadow, consistent with pleural fluid masking the demarcation line between mediastinum and pleura at the inferior zone of the right lung (). Thoracic computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple sites of lymphadenopathy, the largest containing dense calcification 22 mm in size, and marked pleural effusion on the right side (). Milky fluid with high density sampled from pleural effusion did not precipitate after centrifugation, and contained TG (1072 mg/dL), cholesterol (173 mg/dL), LDH (148 U/L), and albumin (2.7 g/ dL) at indicated concentrations. Sudan staining disclosed presence of fat globules. Lymphocyte dominancy was also detected in pleural fluid. Sputum ARB -negativity was detected 3 times, and bronchoscopy of the patient did not reveal any endobronchial pathology. Pleural biopsy was performed. Bronchial lavage and bronchoscopic biopsy results indicated benign condition of chronic pleuritis. Positron emission tomography-CT was obtained to rule out mediastinal tumor. During lymphatic scanning performed to detect etiology of chylothorax, images taken at second, fourth, and sixth hours demonstrated passage of radiographic contrast substance through bilateral inguinal, parailiac, paracaval, and paraaortic lymph nodes, and accumulation of radioactivity in these lymph nodes at popliteal, femoral, and pelvic regions, respectively. On delayed thoracic images, no uptake of radioactivity apart from background activity was observed. Images suggested possible thoracic duct obstruction. Mediastinal lymph node biopsy performed at external center revealed presence of granulomas demonstrating caseous necrosis. Abdominal ultrasound was normal. Antituberculosis treatment was initiated. Symptoms regressed with treatment, and level of liver enzymes decreased. At sixth month, marked regression in pleural effusion was observed ().