Renal transplant patients on immunosuppression are at risk for malignancy. One form of malignancy that commonly affects this population is Kaposi-sarcoma. Kaposi-sarcoma is a human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-driven process classically associated with skin lesions in immunocompromised patients. The pulmonary system may be involved in disseminated disease. In this case, a renal transplant patient was re-admitted with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and hemoptysis of an unclear etiology. Following a broad workup, HHV-8 PCR and a lymph node biopsy confirmed pulmonary Kaposi-sarcoma. Workup for multicentric Castleman disease was negative. The patient was treated with liposomal doxorubicin, ganciclovir, and prednisone. Her immunosuppression was changed to sirolimus and she is scheduled to complete six cycles of liposomal doxorubicin.

Chronic mesenteric ischaemia is a severe disease that is often missed due to its non-specific presentation. Immunosuppressed patients are at risk for infectious gastrointestinal disease, which may further obscure the diagnosis of chronic mesenteric ischaemia. In this case, a patient’s symptoms and diagnostic workup were consistent with candida esophagitis. Worsening leukocytosis despite treatment, however, prompted re-evaluation ultimately revealing a superior mesenteric artery thrombus causing mesenteric ischaemia. The patient required urgent surgical intervention for the management of his disease.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to assess if a neurological disorder ultrasound workshop for the first-year medical students significantly enhanced the students' ability to retain and apply concepts related to neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective study to evaluate student performance before and after an optional ultrasound workshop. Data were collected through a within-population pretest-posttest design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit first-year medical students for this study. The six stations were transcranial doppler ultrasound, ocular ultrasound, ultrasound-guided external ventricular drain placement, high-intensity focused ultrasound for brain lesions, carotid artery scan with ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided central line placement. We used a pre-post workshop survey to identify opinions and perceptions about ultrasound and a pre-post workshop test to assess knowledge about neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and related ultrasound topics. RESULTS: Twenty-two 22 first-year medical students consented to participate in this study. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistically significant difference in pre-and posttest scores, suggesting that participants demonstrated higher levels of medical knowledge related to neurological physiology, anatomy, and ultrasound after participating in the workshop. The analysis of the pre-post survey showed participants attributed greater value to ultrasound as a useful tool for their future medical practice after participation in the event (Z = −2.45, P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: There is value in integrating experiences with ultrasound into the neurological disorder block of medical school. Future studies, with a larger sample size, are needed to further explore the efficacy of this workshop in enhancing knowledge retention.