CME EDITORIAL

A variety of conditions

This month's CME is comprised of a series of case reports, covering a variety of conditions, including entities such as the little-known Kounis syndrome.

The wonderful thing about case reports is that they can be about just about anything. While they are seldom peer reviewed and are certainly not regarded as research, they are very useful. Simple reporting is one of their functions -alerting clinicians to potential problems of well-known diseases that may not have surfaced in someone else's experience. They can also be used to alert people to unexpected drug side-effects, such as ataxia in children taking efavirenz. There is even a Journal of Medical Case Reports, which I find fascinating reading. If you have a broad interest in all things medical, this is for you.

Case reports should highlight clinical concerns, such as the importance of taking a good history, the pitfalls of assumptions, and descriptions of rare or even novel clinical entities.

The current edition of CME brings you a case of bacillary angiomatosis in an HIV-positive man;^[1] a case of paraplegia that was not what it seemed to be;^[2] an unusual presentation of cryptococcal laryngitis;^[3] a report of ataxia as a side-effect of efavirenz use in children;^[4] the value of endobronchial ultrasound;^[5] the problem with a false-negative polymerase chain reaction test for HIV;^[6] a case of metatstatic hepatocellular carcinoma in a pregant woman;^[7] and Kounis syndrome.^[8]

Bridget Farham

Editor, CME ugqirha@iafrica.com

References

1. Madua MC. Bacillary angiomatosis: A rare finding in the setting of antiretroviral drugs. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):874. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8766]        [ Links ]

2. Smith L, Kemp T, van der Meyden CH, Schutte C-M. Basedow paraplegia: A possible misnomer. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):875. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8768]        [ Links ]

3. Atiya Y, Masege SD. Cryptococcal laryngitis: An ucommon presentation of a common pathogen. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):875. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8779]        [ Links ]

4. Hauptfleisch MPK, Moore DP, Rodda JL. Efavirenz as a cause of ataxia in children. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):876. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8780]        [ Links ]

5. Vorster MJ, Schubert PT, Koegelenberg CFN. The real value of endobronchial ultrasound. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):876. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8788]        [ Links ]

6. Oladokun R, Korsman S, Ndabambi N, et al. False-negative HIV-1 polymerase chain reaction in a 15-month-old boy with HIV-1 subtype C infection. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):877. [http://dx.doLorg/10.7196/SAMJnew.8787]        [ Links ]

7. Mnyani CN, Hull JC, Mbakaza MB, Krim AOA, Nicolaou E. Delayed presentation and diagnosis of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma in pregnancy. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):877. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8781]        [ Links ]

8. Ntuli PM, Makambwa E. Kounis syndrome. S Afr Med J 2015;105(10):878. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJnew.8767]        [ Links ]