Mycobacterium gordonae is a slow-growing acid-fast bacilli mycobacterium with low pathogenic potential. Patients with this infection are treated with antimycobacterial agents such as ethambutol, clarithromycin, and rifampin. We present a rare side effect of ethambutol causing peripheral neuropathy, along with regression of this upon discontinuation of the inciting medication. A 78-year-old male with a past medical history of lumbar degenerative disc disease and lumbosacral radiculopathy presented to the clinic with three weeks of progressively worsening rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, and productive cough with yellow sputum. After a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and a chest computed tomography (CT) scan, he was diagnosed with an M. gordonae infection. He was started on a 12-month triple regimen of rifampin, clarithromycin, and highdose ethambutol. During the first three months of antibiotic therapy, the patient began to have symptoms of gastrointestinal upset and worsening numbness in bilateral lower extremities, especially at night. Because he was unable to tolerate these adverse effects, the patient stopped taking these medications three months into his 12-month course. Upon stopping the antimycobacterial therapy, the patient's neuropathy began to return to baseline. Based on imaging, electromyography (EMG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), and a literature search of antimycobacterial medicines, we concluded that the high dose of ethambutol is the most likely cause of this patient's peripheral neuropathy. An important takeaway is that while ethambutol is a well-known cause of optic neuritis, it may also lead to peripheral neuropathy, which may regress upon discontinuation of the medication.
Intracranial lipomas are extremely rare fat-containing lesions that comprise 0.1%-0.5% of all primary brain tumors. They are congenital lesions that arise due to persistence and maldifferentiation of the meninx primitive (subarachnoid space precursor). We report a case of a 30-year-old woman who presented with seizures due to an intracranial lipoma and no neurological deficits. CT (computerized tomography) imaging findings demonstrated a large interhemispheric partially calcified lipoma that communicated with a large scalp lipoma and was associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum. Compared to the prior CT imaging, the lipoma increased in size from 3.4 cm to 4.1 cm transversely. A recent CT angiogram done due to suspicion of an aneurysm showed the lipoma now measuring 6 cm by 4.7 cm. Most cases of intracranial lipoma have been reported in the pediatric age group. Here, we report a rare case of interhemispheric intracranial lipoma in the adult age group. This case also demonstrates the importance of imaging modalities for detecting intracranial lipoma without performing invasive brain biopsy.
Acute transverse myelitis is a neurological disorder that leads to acute spinal cord injury due to inflammation caused by autoimmune disorders or by parainfectious etiologies. Among the many different infectious causes of transverse myelitis, one of the rare ones is Lyme disease. Here we describe a case of a 62 year old male who presents with bilateral paresthesia and weakness. MRI imaging of the cervical and thoracic spine led to the initial diagnosis of cervical cord edema leading to the symptoms associated transverse myelitis. However further workup of different infectious causes lead to positive Lyme titers with positive confirmatory ELISA testing. Initiation of Lyme disease treatment with IV ceftriaxone led to the gradual resolution of the symptoms.
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