May, 2003

Case 107:
A 37-year-old woman experienced fever, weight loss, and weakness for several months after traveling to Dubrovnik (Croatia).  Physical examination by her physician revealed a slightly enlarged liver and spleen.  Figure A is an image from her bone marrow smears.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A

Click here for the answer to Case 107.

Acknowledgement: This case kindly provided by Dr. Eva Ban and Dr. Rossitza Todorova of the Microbiology Lab of St. Laszlo Hospital (Central Hospital of Infectious Diseases), Budapest.

Case 108:
A local laboratory received a fecal specimen for ova and parasites (O & P) as part of an investigation to identify clusters of cyclosporiasis cases.  The specimen was concentrated using the formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) method.  The lab responsible for the diagnostic tests did not have all reagents to perform acid-fast staining.  In addition, the light bulb of their microscope had recently burned out, so they could not perform any bright-field-based microscopic examination.  Nevertheless, the lab did have a microscope equipped with UV light to perform fluorescence microscopy, which allowed them to examine the concentrate.  Figure A shows an object observed in the specimen, which was present in very low numbers.

A

Click here for the answer to Case 108.

Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving.  On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.