Each week, Live Science highlights an interesting case report from the medical literature, where we explore unusual symptoms, rare diagnoses, and innovative treatments. Through this”Diagnostic dilemma“, we describe how doctors work to ultimately discover the cause of a patient’s illness. In complex cases, this diagnostic process can be quite daunting. This is part of the reason doctors share case reports: to help other medical professionals who may be facing the same conundrum.
Here are 12 of our most interesting diagnostic dilemmas from the past year. (If the description of symptoms and medical procedures makes you squeamish, proceed with caution.)
1. The boy spoke a foreign language after surgery
A Dutch teenager underwent knee surgery to treat a football injury, and when he woke up from anesthesia, he spoke only English – a language he had previously spoken only in language lessons at school. He kept insisting that he was in the United States, did not recognize his parents, and was unable to speak or understand spoken Dutch, his native language. The examinations did not show any neurological abnormalities, and the doctors did not begin any specific treatment to address the language problem. Within 18 hours of surgery, the boy was able to understand some Dutch but could not speak it without struggling. But then suddenly, he could understand it and speak it as normal. Doctors described the event as: A strange case of “foreign language syndrome.”“.
2. A woman who does not have a vaginal opening becomes pregnant through oral sex
A teenager reported to the hospital due to abdominal pain, and tests will soon be performed She revealed that she is in her ninth month of pregnancy And she was having contractions. When doctors examined the patient’s reproductive system, they found she lacked a vaginal opening — a rare condition called distal vaginal atresia. For this reason, the medical team had to deliver the baby – a healthy boy weighing 6.2 pounds (2.8 kg) – via caesarean section. The teenager was seen in the same hospital about nine months ago, when her ex-boyfriend stabbed her after he found her sleeping with her new boyfriend. The stabbing wounds she sustained likely allowed sperm to escape her digestive system and make their way into her reproductive system, resulting in an unlikely pregnancy, her doctors theorized.
3. A man was stabbed by a huge fish
A man was taken to hospital by boat and helicopter after sustaining an injury while fishing. He caught a white marlin (Kagekia Alpida) – a large fish with a long, pointed “beak” – and when he leaned over the edge of his boat to release his hook from the fish, it jumped and hit him. At the hospital, doctors found A Part of the fish bill lodged in the man’s throatThe spinal canal and the base of his skull. With emergency surgery and antibiotics to prevent infection, the man survived the encounter without any long-term symptoms.
4. Acupuncture led to joint injury
A woman with knee osteoarthritis started getting regular acupuncture when her pain medications started causing bad stomach problems. But her knees became very painful, so she went to the hospital to be examined. X-rays revealed areas in her joints and leg bones where bone tissue had thickened and ridges had formed. In addition, hundreds of small spots can be seen around the knee joints. It turns out that the woman’s acupuncturists did just that She intentionally left golden threads inside her knees As part of her treatment. In other cases, these threads have caused cysts and tissue damage, which can happen when they travel through the body.
5. A man suffers from a rare meat allergy
A man in Michigan went to the emergency room with swollen eyelids and an itchy rash, and noted that he had also had cramps, nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting over the previous days. When doctors examined the patient, they discovered signs of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, and his condition quickly developed into shock. The medical team succeeded in stabilizing the patient’s condition, but after a few days his condition worsened again. At that point, doctors noticed a pattern: Symptoms appeared when the man ate red meat. An allergy to meat, a condition called alpha-gal syndrome, can be caused by the bite of certain types of ticks. It turns out that The man was an avid deer hunter and likely encountered an adult tick Or tick larvae while hunting, his doctors concluded.
6. A woman has XY chromosomes in her blood
A woman’s chromosomes are examined after a pregnancy loss to see if there is an underlying genetic cause for the miscarriage. The test revealed that, at least in the woman’s blood, her chromosomal profile (or karyotype) was 46,XY — the typical karyotype among males. Further tests revealed that across the rest of her tissues, her karyotype was 46.XX, the typical female chromosome pattern. The woman had a fraternal twin. So in this case of “chimerism”.“, doctors concluded that the
7. A woman injects herself with black widow poison
A woman visited the emergency room with a headache, severe cramps, and muscle pain, in addition to an increase in pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. She told the doctors she tried it Get high by injecting black widow spiders (thief) in her veins in a suspension of distilled water. Doctors suspected that the injected dose of black widow venom was likely much higher than what one would get from a bite, and its effects may have been exacerbated by the patient’s allergic reaction to the proteins in the venom. After the patient underwent treatment for several days in the intensive care unit, her symptoms disappeared and she was discharged from the hospital.
8. Nut allergy caused by ejaculation
A woman developed hives, swelling under her skin and difficulty breathing after having sex with her partner. While receiving treatment at the hospital, she reported that she had a known allergy to Brazil nuts. She said her partner ate it a few hours before sex, but he showered and washed his hands well before having sex. When doctors conducted a skin prick allergy test, using samples of a partner’s semen, before and after eating Brazil nuts, they found that Allergens can pass through semen and cause a woman to become allergic.
9. The rash has mysteriously migrated
After cancer treatment, a man developed a red rash that started near his anus and then quickly spread to the trunk and extremities. A rash that appeared as wavy lines all over the patient’s body, They seem to migrate, with the lines starting in one place and later moving across the skin. Stool test detection Strongyloides stercoralisa parasite that can cause an infection called strongyloidiasis in humans. These worms were migrating under the man’s skin, and the infection likely arose because the patient’s immune system was suppressed by glucocorticoids used to treat cancer.
10. Performing a rare surgery on a tooth in the eye
A rare autoimmune disorder has damaged a man’s cornea and severely impaired his vision. Doctors tried to restore vision in one eye Orthopedic, dental and corneal surgery, or “ocular tooth surgery”.“The procedure involves removing one of the patient’s teeth and implanting it in his eye socket, where it serves as a platform for a clear plastic lens. The lens represents the affected cornea and enables light to enter the eye. The man’s successful procedure was the first of its kind in Canada.”
11. Injections that inflate muscles cause an increase in calcium levels
A man went to the hospital because he was experiencing weakness and vomiting. There, tests revealed that his kidneys were failing and that the calcium level in his blood was very high. Physical exams and scans revealed abnormalities in the muscles of his upper arm and chest, i.e. areas of severe calcification. It turns out that the man had preceded He received injections of an oily, silicone-like substance to “fill out” the appearance of his muscles. In this case, the injections provoked a sustained reaction with a foreign body, leading to extensive scarring and calcification in the muscles that leaked calcium into the bloodstream.
12. Scientists catch the plague from deformed bacteria
A laboratory worker developed an infection that ended in death, despite medical treatment. His doctors were informed that the patient was suffering from a weak strain of… I washed Yersinias, the bacteria that causes plague. This weak form of The bacteria were thought to be non-contagious, but the man nevertheless contracted it. Further tests revealed that the man had unusually high levels of iron in his blood. One way the plague bacteria were weakened was by removing a key gene for iron absorption, but the man’s blood, which was full of iron, may have enabled the bacteria to overcome this weakness and develop a deadly infection.
For more interesting medical cases, check out our website Archives of the Diagnostic Dilemma.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.