A 5 year retrospective review of cases of melioidosis was carried out in Sultanah Aminah Hospital, Johor Bahru. There were 44 new cases of melioidosis which was proven by either blood or pus culture growing Burkholderia pseudomallei from the period between January 1999 and December 2003. Of these, 38 (86.4%) were males compared to only 6 (13.6%) females. Thirty-one (70.5%) were Malays, 7 (15.9%) were Chinese, 5 (11.4%) were Indians and 1 (2.2%) was a Sarawakian. The peak age group was between 50 and 59 years (31.8%). Out of these 44 new cases, only 32 medical records could be retrieved and analysed. Twenty-four out of 32 patients (75%) analysed had diabetes mellitus, 4 had chronic or end stage renal failure (CRF/ESRF) and only 1 had Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). One case of "near drowning" was also recorded. Twenty-one out of 44 patients or 47.7% died, of which 8 (38.1%) died within 24 hours of admission. Pulmonary involvement was recorded in 62.6% of the patients but many had signs and symptoms of multiorgan involvement.
Cerebral toxoplasmosis is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). An 18 year old male student, newly diagnosed to have SLE, developed neurological symptoms two days after completing intravenous methylprednisolone. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed features consistent with a diagnosis of probable cerebral toxoplasmosis. He responded dramatically to antitoxoplasma therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature that presents a newly diagnosed SLE patient who rapidly developed cerebral toxoplasmosis following administration of intravenous methylprednisolone. Our case illustrates that this drug is potentially fatal and the importance of differentiating cerebral infection from neuropsychiatric lupus.
A six year retrospective study of the demography, clinical and laboratory features of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) was carried out in Selayang Hospital. There were 61 cases seen between January 2000 and December 2005. Of these, 55 (90.2%) were females and 6 (9.8%) were males. Twenty-eight (45.9%) were Malays, 24 (39.3%) were Chinese and 9 (14.8%) were Indians. The mean age of onset was 38.8 years. Thirty-nine (64.0%) had limited cutaneous SSc, 21 (34.4%) had diffuse cutaneous SSc and one had localized morphoea. Raynaud's phenomenon was present in 82.6%, telangiectasia in 45.9%, calcinosis in 11.5%, sclerodactyly in 83.6%, digital pitting scars in 42.6%, digital infarcts/ulcers/gangrene in 23.0%, arthralgia/arthritis in 49.2% and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in 47.5%. Forty-three (70.5%) patients had interstitial lung disease. Seven patients had associated myositis, 7 systemic lupus erythematosus and 2 rheumatoid arthritis. Three had two other connective tissue diseases. Antinuclear antibodies were positive in 83.6% and anti-Scl 70 antibodies in 34.4%. This study demonstrates that limited cutaneous SSc is more common and there is a high incidence of interstitial lung disease in our population.
Study site: Selayang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia