Browsing by Author "Martin, Sarah E."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A 2-year-old boy with hemolytic uremic syndrome and pneumocephalus
    (Wiley, 2012-01) Martin, Sarah E.; Allen, Steven D.; Faught, Phillip; Hawley, Dean A.; Bonnin, Jose M.; Hattab, Eyas M.; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Clostridium septicum infection following hemolytic uremic syndrome is rare and carries a poor prognosis, especially when the brain is involved. We report a case of a previously healthy 2-year-old boy who presented with two days of anuria and bloody diarrhea. He was admitted to the local children's hospital with a diagnosis of hemolytic uremic syndrome, presumably secondary to E. coli O157. He soon required intubation and was noted to have fixed and dilated pupils. Head CT revealed left frontal subcortical white matter vasogenic edema and scattered pockets of pneumocephalus. The patient expired 14 hours after admission. Antemortem blood cultures grew C. septicum. Gross pathologic examination of the brain revealed a large intraparenchymal cerebral hemorrhage in the left frontal and parietal lobes. There was extensive cystic changes as well. Microscopic examination revealed vacuolization and diffuse colonization with rod-shaped bacteria, but without the expected tissue response. There have been only six previously reported cases of C. septicum infection following hemolytic uremic syndrome, four of which had brain involvement. Mortality rate is high, with the only known survivor among those with brain involvement having a brain abscess rather than diffuse pneumocephalus.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A 41-year-old woman with von Hippel-Lindau and a cerebellar lesion
    (Wiley, 2010-03) Martin, Sarah E.; Al-Khatib, Sohaib M.; Turner, Michael S.; Douglas-Akinwande, Annette C.; Hattab, Eyas M.; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    A 41-year-old woman with a 12-year history of von Hippel-Lindau disease presented with progressive quadriparesis and difficulty swallowing. MRI revealed a well-circumscribed, partially cystic cerebellar neoplasm, consistent with hemangioblastoma. The tumor was resected and the diagnosis of hemangioblastoma confirmed. Embedded within the hemangioblastoma was a small focus of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC metastatic to a CNS hemangioblastoma is the second most common type of tumor-to-tumor metastasis, which may be due to a number of factors. Proper immunostaining panels are required to clearly identify these cases since both tumor may have similar histology.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A 61-year-old woman with osteomalacia and a thoracic spine lesion
    (Wiley, 2010-03) Marshall, Ann E.; Martin, Sarah E.; Agaram, Narasimhan P.; Chen, Jey-Hsin; Horn, Eric M.; Douglas-Akinwande, Annette C.; Hattab, Eyas M.; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor, mixed connective tissue variant (PMT-MCT) is a rare, largely benign, mesenchymal neoplasm almost invariably associated with oncogenic osteomalacia. It is generally found in the soft tissue and bone of the extremities. We report a case of a 61-year-old female with long-standing osteomalacia who was found to have PMT-MCT of the thoracic spine. There have been very few previously reported cases of PMT involving the spinal vertebrae and neuropathologists should be aware of this lesion. Recognition of PMT-MCT is critical for optimal patient care since complete surgical resection without additional therapy is curative.