Medical Case Reports

On October 13, 2023, the golfing world lost an eleven-time PGA Tour winner Andy Bean. He was 70. His demise came six weeks after undergoing a double-lung transplant to address severe lung damage caused by a battle with COVID-19.  Born on March 13, 1953, Thomas Andrew Bean spent his formative years on the picturesque Jekyll Island, Georgia, before his family relocated to Lakeland, Florida. The move was inspired by his father Tommy's passion for golf, which led to the development of a golf course in Lakeland. Andy Bean's connection to the sport grew stronger as he went on to attend the University of Florida, where he played alongside teammates Gary Koch, Woody Blackburn, and Phil Hancock, helping the Gators secure the 1973 NCAA Championship.  Bean turned professional in 1975, embarking on a journey that would establish him as one of the PGA Tour's most consistent performers. Standing at an impressive 6-foot-4, Bean even gained notoriety for an incident where he "wrestled...

A previously healthy 46-year-old woman who never had COVID-19, developed pleuritic chest pain on the tenth day after receiving the third dose of BNT162b2 and was subsequently admitted to the emergency department.  Physical examination of the chest revealed a unilateral pleural effusion (accumulation of fluid in the pleural space). During the focused lung ultrasound, a small left pleural effusion was detected by placing the transducer in the left posterior axillary line at the lower part of the chest (zone L3).  She was negative to influenza A, A/H1, A/H3, B; Adenovirus; coronavirus HKU1, NL63, 229E, OC43; parainfluenza virus types 1, 2, 3, 4; RSV; human rhinovirus/enterovirus; human metapneumovirus, Middle East respiratory syncytial coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2 as well as bacteria bordetella pertussis, bordetella parapertussis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. She was also negative to antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA), rheumatoid f...

A 75-year-old African American woman presented to the Emergency Department (ED) complaining of shortness of breath, cough and a drop in her oxygen saturation (SpO2) from her baseline of 95%–88%.  She received a Pfizer COVID 19 booster vaccine one day before her symptoms began. The patient had received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine 11 months prior without a notable reaction.    She had a history of  chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)  but was  not on any home oxygen.  Upon admission the patient had an SpO2 of 82% and a heart rate of 101 beats per minute. Notably, she was afebrile, with a temperature of 36.6 °C. On physical exam the patient was noted to be wheezing and breathing with difficulty. She t ested negative for a variety of respiratory viruses including COVID-19.  A chest radiograph (x-ray) demonstrated subtle patchy opacifications consistent  with a COPD exacerbation, and no consolidations or pleural effusions....

COVID-19 vaccine-related pneumonitis (CV-P) should be considered in  patients with atypical lung infiltration, no specific etiologies, and recent  COVID-19  vaccination.  An article posted ahead of print by the Korean Journal of Internal Medicine describes 11 cases with a median age of 80. 10 individuals survived, but one patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an 82-year-old-female, died despite appropriate treatment. Her chest CT displayed diffuse alveolar damage (DAD pattern).  Here are several other cases: An 83-year-old woman who received the second dose of BNT162b2-mRNA vaccine presented with an organizing pneumonia pattern of CV-P. Chest CT revealed multifocal patchy consolidations, ground-glass opacifications (GGOs), and mild interlobar septal thickening in both lungs (14 days after the second dose). BAL fluid analysis revealed neutrophils (Np) 24%, lymphocytes (Lp) 32%, eosinophils (Eo) 32%, and macrophages (Mq) 12%. All microbiolo...