Abrupt development of cardiac enlargement and respiratory distress in a 31-year-old man with AIDS
Article Abstract:
A 31-year-old homosexual man with AIDS died after sudden enlargement of his heart. The patient was admitted to the hospital with intermittent fever, chronic diarrhea, increasing weakness and multiple HIV-associated illnesses. He had developed pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma 20 months before admission. An HIV test had been positive, and treatment with zidovudine (AZT) had been started 16 months before admission. The second day in the hospital, his temperature increased, and he developed rapid breathing and heart beat. A chest X-ray revealed fluid in his lungs and an enlarged heart. He died of cardiac arrest later the same day. An autopsy revealed infection the heart and the large intestine by Toxoplasma gondii, the bacterium that cause toxoplasmosis. He had also been suffering from a cytomegalovirus infection and bronchial pneumonia.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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A 60-year-old man with HIV infection, persistent diarrhea, and intractable respiratory failure
Article Abstract:
A 60-year-old man infected with HIV was diagnosed with myocarditis caused by an infiltration of lymphocytes, or white blood cells into his heart. Myocarditis is inflammation of the muscle of the heart. The patient was admitted to the hospital with diarrhea and progressive weakness. He had tested positive for HIV infection after developing diarrhea eight months before being admitted to the hospital. A month later, he tested positive for hepatis B and cytomegalovirus infection. Several chest X-rays taken after his hospitalization showed fluid in his lungs and possible pneumonia. A electrocardiogram showed a rapid heart beat with changes in the electrical properties of his heart. He died 21 days after being admitted to the hospital from respiratory failure. An autopsy revealed the patient had been suffering from myocarditis and atherosclerosis.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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A 55-year-old man with recurrent pericardial and pleural effusions after aortic-valve replacement
Article Abstract:
A 55 year-old man was diagnosed with pericarditis caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium acnes. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. The patient was admitted to the hospital with recurrent fluid in the membranes encasing his heart and lungs following replacement of the aortic valve of his heart. A chest X-ray revealed enlargement of the left ventricle and a moderate amount of fluid in the membrane around the left lung. An echocardiogram found that function of the left ventricle was normal, but a mass was present. Exploratory surgery revealed pericarditis caused by bacterial growth. The patient was treated intravenously with high doses of penicillin for four weeks, followed by oral penicillin.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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