Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic
<i>Background</i>: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare hematopoietic neoplasm of histiocytic origin characterized by an insidious course. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems worldwide both directly and indirectly, resultin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/10/1001 |
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| author | Georgia Kaiafa Dimitrios Pilalas Triantafyllia Koletsa Stylianos Daios Georgios Arsos Adam Hatzidakis Adonis Protopapas Kostas Stamatopoulos Christos Savopoulos |
| author_facet | Georgia Kaiafa Dimitrios Pilalas Triantafyllia Koletsa Stylianos Daios Georgios Arsos Adam Hatzidakis Adonis Protopapas Kostas Stamatopoulos Christos Savopoulos |
| author_sort | Georgia Kaiafa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background</i>: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare hematopoietic neoplasm of histiocytic origin characterized by an insidious course. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems worldwide both directly and indirectly, resulting in the disruption of healthcare services to prevent, diagnose and manage non-COVID-19 disease. <i>Case Presentation</i>: We describe the case of a 58-year-old male patient with sporadic episodes of self-resolving mild fever and anemia of chronic disease with onset two years before the current presentation. Positron emission/computed tomography scan revealed the presence of moderately hypermetabolic perirenal tissue masses. In order to achieve diagnosis, repeated perirenal tissue biopsies were performed, and the diagnostic evaluation was complicated by the strain put on the healthcare system by the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient contracted SARS-CoV-2 and required hospitalization, but recovered fully. No further ECD target organ involvement was documented. Treatment options were presented, but the patient chose to defer treatment for ECD. <i>Conclusion</i>: A high index of suspicion and multidisciplinary team collaboration is paramount to achieve diagnosis in rare conditions such as ECD. Disruptions in healthcare services in the pandemic milieu may disproportionately affect people with rare diseases and further study and effort is required to better meet their needs in the pandemic setting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:24:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3bf18cc4048d4e108e94987bccee6d19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:24:49Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-3bf18cc4048d4e108e94987bccee6d192023-11-22T19:03:11ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442021-09-015710100110.3390/medicina57101001Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 PandemicGeorgia Kaiafa0Dimitrios Pilalas1Triantafyllia Koletsa2Stylianos Daios3Georgios Arsos4Adam Hatzidakis5Adonis Protopapas6Kostas Stamatopoulos7Christos Savopoulos8First Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceFirst Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Pathology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceFirst Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece3rd Department of Nuclear Medicine, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, GreeceRadiology Department, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceFirst Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceInstitute of Applied Biosciences, Center for Research and Technology Hellas, 57001 Thessaloniki, GreeceFirst Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece<i>Background</i>: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare hematopoietic neoplasm of histiocytic origin characterized by an insidious course. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems worldwide both directly and indirectly, resulting in the disruption of healthcare services to prevent, diagnose and manage non-COVID-19 disease. <i>Case Presentation</i>: We describe the case of a 58-year-old male patient with sporadic episodes of self-resolving mild fever and anemia of chronic disease with onset two years before the current presentation. Positron emission/computed tomography scan revealed the presence of moderately hypermetabolic perirenal tissue masses. In order to achieve diagnosis, repeated perirenal tissue biopsies were performed, and the diagnostic evaluation was complicated by the strain put on the healthcare system by the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient contracted SARS-CoV-2 and required hospitalization, but recovered fully. No further ECD target organ involvement was documented. Treatment options were presented, but the patient chose to defer treatment for ECD. <i>Conclusion</i>: A high index of suspicion and multidisciplinary team collaboration is paramount to achieve diagnosis in rare conditions such as ECD. Disruptions in healthcare services in the pandemic milieu may disproportionately affect people with rare diseases and further study and effort is required to better meet their needs in the pandemic setting.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/10/1001Erdheim-Chester diseaseCOVID-19case report |
| spellingShingle | Georgia Kaiafa Dimitrios Pilalas Triantafyllia Koletsa Stylianos Daios Georgios Arsos Adam Hatzidakis Adonis Protopapas Kostas Stamatopoulos Christos Savopoulos Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic Medicina Erdheim-Chester disease COVID-19 case report |
| title | Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Diagnosing a Patient with Erdheim-Chester Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | diagnosing a patient with erdheim chester disease during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Erdheim-Chester disease COVID-19 case report |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/57/10/1001 |
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