A 36-year-old man with right-lower-quadrant pain of two years' duration
Article Abstract:
Crohn's disease restricted to the appendix may require differentiation between actual Crohn's disease and granulomatous appendicitis. The cause of both diseases is unknown and both involve granulomas, or aggregates of inflammatory cells, but the anatomical characteristics of the diseases are different. A 36-year-old man was admitted to a hospital with pain in his lower right abdomen that had been intermittent for two years. X-rays and endoscopic findings showed an enlarged appendix with inflammation of the surrounding intestine. Subsequent removal of the appendix and surrounding portions of the intestine allowed microscopic examination that revealed granulomas in the appendix but no infection. The number of granulomas and the absence of fistulas indicated granulomatous appendicitis but not Crohn's disease. Although the patient remained asymptomatic 9 months after the operation, the appearance of actual Crohn's disease was considered quite possible, especially given his family history.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1996
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A 32-year-old man with IgG antibody and Coombs'-positive hemolytic anemia resistant to corticosteroid therapy
Article Abstract:
A 32-year-old man was admitted to a hospital because his autoimmune hemolytic anemia did not respond to corticosteroid treatment. CT and MRI scans revealed enlarged lymph nodes and a possible tumor in the bone marrow in his right upper arm. Because his anemia did not respond to corticosteroids, his physicians searched for an underlying illness to explain the anemia. His spleen was removed and microscopic examination of a tissue sample revealed that he had Hodgkin's disease. He recovered after receiving chemotherapy.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1997
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A 52-year-old man with back pain, fever, and abnormal imaging studies
Article Abstract:
A 52-year-old man was admitted to a hospital for chronic back pain and fever. Various imaging tests had revealed abnormalities in his spine and the partial destruction of some of his vertebrae. This finding was consistent with some type of lymphoma but his lymph nodes were not enlarged. A biopsy of his lymph nodes revealed that he had Hodgkin's disease. This was unusual because Hodgkin's disease seldom affects bone primarily. He was treated with chemotherapy and went into remission.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1996
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