Abdulrahman Yousef Alhabeeb

Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated, inflammatory, non-caseating-granulomatous disease that can virtually infiltrate any organ. Cardiac sarcoidosis is a leading cause of death in patients with sarcoidosis. Its clinical presentation is highly heterogenous and unpredictable, ranging from asymptomatic to life-threatening conduction disturbances, such as ventricular arrhythmias, and heart failure. Herein, we report a case of isolated cardiac sarcoidosis presenting as sinus bradycardia with first-degree atrioventricular block and an episode of non-sustained polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in a 42-year-old male with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. He was diagnosed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose and treated with oral prednisone.

Endocarditis is an extremely rare complication of Salmonellosis with an incidence of 0.2–0.4%. It is a destructive and invasive infection that follows a highly complicated course and carries a high mortality rate that exceeds 45%. Multiple predisposing factors for Salmonella endocarditis have been described in the literature, including human immunodeficiency virus infection, congenital heart diseases, and the presence of a prosthetic valve. Herein, we report a case of Salmonella prosthetic valve endocarditis complicated by splenic infarction and aortic pseudoaneurysm presenting as a month-long history of fluctuating fever, chills, and rigors, accompanied by occasional cough and shortness of breath in a 55-year-old female with aortic and mitral valves replacement and multiple comorbidities. She was diagnosed by multiple radiographic studies and successfully treated with the Commando procedure and a long course of IV antibiotics.

Similar to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the pathogenesis of inflammatory rheumatic diseases includes cytokines dysregulation and increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Although current data from international studies suggest that rheumatic diseases are associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and worse outcomes, there is limited literature in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes and length of hospital stay of COVID-19 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases in Saudi Arabia. This was a single-center retrospective cohort study that included 122 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and documented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection from 2019 to 2021. Patients with suspected COVID-19 infection, non-inflammatory diseases, such as osteoarthritis, or inflammatory diseases but without or with weak systemic involvement, such as gout, were excluded. The vast majority (81.1%) of the patients were females. Rheumatoid arthritis was the most common primary rheumatological diagnosis. The admission rate was 34.5% with an overall mortality rate of 11.5%. Number of episodes of COVID-19 infection, mechanical ventilation, cytokine storm syndrome, secondary bacterial infection, number of comorbidities, rituximab, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure were significantly associated with a longer hospital stay. Additionally, hypertension, heart failure, rituximab, mechanical ventilation, cytokine storm syndrome, and secondary bacterial infection were significantly associated with higher mortality. Predictors of longer hospitalization were obesity, number of episodes of COVID-19 infection, mechanical ventilation, number of comorbidities, and chronic kidney disease, whereas, hypertension was the only predictor of mortality. Obesity, number of episodes of COVID-19 infection, mechanical ventilation, number of comorbidities, and chronic kidney disease were significantly associated with higher odds of longer hospitalization, whereas, hypertension was significantly associated with higher odds of mortality. We recommend that these patients should be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, and rituximab should be avoided unless its benefit clearly outweighs its risk.