Background: Panel-based Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are laboratory tools that are used to detect small quantities of RNA or DNA to rapidly identify a multitude of infectious organisms. A systematic review and meta-analysis looking at the diagnostic accuracy of the BioFire® FilmArray® meningitis-encephalitis (ME) panel which is used at our institution showed that it [...]

Case Presentation: We present a case-series of 3 immunocompetent patients who presented with cryptococcal meningitis.Case 1: A 49-year-old HIV-negative male, with a history of treated tuberculosis and Hepatitis B, presented with dizziness. CT chest revealed a cavitary lung lesion, and subsequent bronchoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with lavage and biopsy demonstrated cultures positive for C. [...]

Case Presentation: A 70-year-old man presented with acute on chronic cough, dyspnea, chills, and pleuritic chest pain. The patient had returned from Jerusalem four months prior, where he participated in multiple large religious gatherings. Since his travels, the patient also reported weight loss and decreased appetite, with months of cough and sneezing. Vitals included a [...]

Case Presentation: A previously healthy 50 year old female presented to the emergency department with abrupt onset of an intractable headache with altered mental status. On presentation, symptoms were pertinent for headache, neck pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Temperature was 103.1F, Heart rate 95 beats per minute (bpm), and blood pressure 102/71. Initial labs were [...]

Case Presentation: A 60-year-old female with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, migraines, and HSV-meningitis in 2004 presented with 3 days of progressively worsening bitemporal headache with associated neck stiffness and photophobia. The symptoms were not typical of her usual migraines. A few days prior she had an acute upper respiratory illness with productive cough of [...]

Case Presentation: A 54 year-old African American female with a past medical history of hypertension and sickle cell anemia presented with acute onset of headache, blurry vision and confusion with multiple falls over ten days. On presentation, her vitals were within normal limits. She was lethargic and only able to answer simple questions. Physical examination [...]

Case Presentation: A 62-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypothyroidism presented with a severe headache which was posterior, waxing and waning in nature, and associated with nausea and vomiting. The headache started suddenly five days earlier and had awoken her from sleep. At that time she had presented to the emergency [...]

Case Presentation: A 71 years old female with a history of hypertension presented with nausea, vomiting, and fall. She had non-bloody, non-bilious emesis after eating pork 2 days prior to admission. She worked in a kindergarten with no definitive sick contacts. She did not have abdominal pain or diarrhea but she experienced lightheadedness. She was [...]

Case Presentation: A 25-day old, full term male, presented to the ED with one day of decreased oral intake and a rectal temperature of 39.2ºC.In the ED, the patient was febrile to 38.6 ºC and had mottled skin with an otherwise unremarkable physical examination. Initial workup included CBC with a WBC of 3.6 10^3/uL, ANC [...]