HomeCase Report
Case Report
Incorrect diagnoses delayed SA man's mpox treatment
Accurate diagnosis of mpox is imperative so that treatment can begin as fast as possible, write experts in the SA Medical Journal, in a...
Weight loss tied to man’s heart problems after meds clash
The case of a 62-year-old American man is a classic example of why it’s important to keep a close eye on rapid weight loss...
Auto-brewery syndrome turns carbs to booze
A rare gut condition known as auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), or gut fermentation syndrome, causes the body to create ethanol through the endogenous fermentation of...
US man dies after living in iron lung for 70 years
A man who lived in an iron lung for seven decades after contracting polio as a child has died, succumbing to Covid on Monday.
Paul...
Can a common diabetes drug turn patients' urine into alcohol?
In an interesting case report, a patient in the United States had multiple false positive toxicology tests after taking a popular diabetes drug –...
Seven-year search for cause of dizziness
Cathy Haft's problems started in 2014 with difficulty in reading, and then bladder and impaired balance problems, followed by intermittent dizziness and then unexplained...
Uterine cancer diagnosis for Northern Cape girl (11)
Not only has an 11-year-old girl been diagnosed with uterine cancer, but she and her family were also told the only way to stop...
Woman with double uterus pregnant in both
When US mother-of-three Kelsey Hatcher visited her obstetrician for an ultrasound this year, she saw an image of a healthy foetus appear on the...
Spider found inside Chinese patient’s ear
A small spider was extracted from the ear of a woman in Taiwan recently, along with its discarded exoskeleton in a rare, but not...
Rare Diseases SA helps toddler with Gaucher’s
A Cape Town toddler has been thrown a lifeline by the NPO Rare Diseases South Africa after a diagnosis – three years ago –...
Colour change in baby’s eyes after Covid medicine
Experts have called for close monitoring of infants treated with an antiviral Covid drug after the corneas of a six-month-old baby in Thailand –...
Teen's rare heart tumour undetected for months
In an unusual case, a teenage athlete in America who had collapsed at a trampoline park was diagnosed with a rarely seen heart tumour,...
Rare shingles complication can cause blindness if missed
Cavernous sinus thrombosis, a rare and potentially lethal complication of herpes zoster ophthalmicus, can easily be missed, with devastating consequences, says a local expert.
Herpes...
'Popeye' sign in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis
A recent Japanese medical team report describes a 63-year-old man who developed dysesthesia in his feet and was misdiagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.
He...
‘Suicide disease’ victim lives in permanent agony
A young British woman has been condemned to a life of endless pain after being afflicted with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) – commonly...
Liver toxicity after Ivermectin use – SA study
During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ivermectin was widely touted as being both preventive and curative for infection, but the evidence to...
Patients who defied Alzheimer's gene may help with therapies
Scientists believe there may be a "pathway for prevention and cure" after a Columbian man, who died in 2019, became only the second patient...
First SA patient with epilepsy has life-altering brain surgery
A Johannesburg man has become the first South African with epilepsy to undergo life-altering deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, after being diagnosed as a...
Teenager’s lungs collapse four times from vaping
The teenage vaping trend is causing global concern, with authorities warning of a looming health crisis, and in Britain, a prediction that the country...
Foetus removed from brain of one-year-old girl
An extremely rare congenital anomaly, intraventricular foetus-in-fetu, was recently surgically removed from the brain of a 12-month-old girl with motor delay and an enlarged...
Baby dies after misdiagnosis of cow’s milk allergy
A two-month-old British infant died after doctors mistook symptoms of a suspected perforated bowel for a cow’s milk intolerance, the post-mortem finding that Nailah...
US man diagnosed with prostate cancer develops Irish accent
A man who had prostate cancer developed an “uncontrollable” Irish accent, the first known case of foreign accent syndrome being linked to this kind...
Lessons learnt from fibroids diagnosis
Black women run three times the risk of fibroids than white women, and are twice as likely to undergo hysterectomies for the condition than...
Turmeric supplements linked to jaundice, liver damage
Turmeric supplements and teas have been linked with liver injuries that cause people’s skin to turn yellow, and, in some cases, result in patients...
A patient with palpitations: exceptions prove the rule
A patient in their 40s had presented with complaints of intermittent episodes of palpitations for the past year.
The patient described the palpitations as sudden...
Man tests positive for trio of monkeypox, HIV and COVID-19 on one day
In a world first, an Italian man was diagnosed with COVID-19, HIV and monkeypox all in a single day – his case showing how...
New therapy cures haemophilia B, corrects gene defect – UK trial
A “transformational” therapy has effectively cured people with the bleeding disorder haemophilia B, say British doctors, adding that this has the potential to “revolutionise”...
Doctors warn about dangers of vitamin D overdose after man hospitalised
Overdosing on vitamin D is possible, doctors have warned, after a British man was hospitalised for taking megadoses of supplements, including vitamin D.
The case...
Innovative cancer therapy by Portland doctors shrinks tumour by nearly 80%
In a new experimental form of immunotherapy, Portland doctors used an infusion of 16bn reprogrammed T cells to target a woman's cancerous cells.
Her tumour...
Homeopathic remedy failed to prevent flesh-eating infection, breast cancer
A rare and deadly flesh-eating infection as well as invasive breast cancer was diagnosed in a woman who went to hospital with severe pain...
Neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 in SA – Wits
The first case studies series describing neuropsychiatric manifestations of patients in South Africa, provides evidence of links between psychiatric presentations – from delirium and...
Paxlovid as a treatment for long COVID
Reports of two patients who found relief from long COVID after taking Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid, including a researcher who tested it on herself, provide...
Toddler’s nosebleeds and coughs caused by leech in throat
A three-year-old child who presented at a Kenyan hospital suffering from nosebleeds and a cough for several months, was found to have 7.5cm leech...
Novel brain implant may lift treatment-resistant depression
An electrical implant that sits in the skull and is wired to the brain can detect and treat severe depression, scientists believe after promising...
Donor to recipient transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 by lung transplant
A US woman contracted COVID-19 and died two months after receiving a tainted double-lung transplant from a donor who turned out to harbour the...
US team 'jump-starts' two people's brains after long-term coma
The US team that five-years ago "maybe got lucky" in its ultrasound treatment of a man recovering from coma, reports that two patients with...
Man dies of an overdose of black liquorice — NEJM
A US construction worker's love of black liquorice cost him his life after eating a bag and a half every day for a few...
Skin-lightening cream puts woman in a coma
A woman's skin-lightening face cream put her in a coma because it was contaminated with mercury, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention...
US man becomes a chimera after bone marrow transplant
Three months after his bone marrow transplant, Chris Long of Reno, Nevada, learned that the DNA in his blood had changed. According to a...
AI-driven exoskeleton lets quadriplegic man walk again
A French quadriplegic man has walked again thanks to an artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough. The Daily Telegraph reports that the man, who has been...