This episode aired on September 19th and the two conditions featured were Acute Intermittent Porphyria and recurring episodes of bacterial meningitis due to a small crack in the skull.
The patient with Acute Intermittent Porphyria presented with complaints of intense abdominal pain and a few other vague and common complaints. As all of his test results continued to be normal, doctors didn’t feel it was anything serious. Meanwhile, the gentleman’s health continues to decline and it was nealy four years and multiple misdiagnoses before he met one doctor who took a stab in the dark… asking for a urine sample and placing it in direct sunlight. As expected, the patient’s urine turned purple when exposed to sunlight, confirming the doctor’s suspicion of AIP.
The other story was about a young girl who was diagnosed with bacterial meningits. The story became more mysterious when the child was subsequently stricken with a second episode of bacterial meningitis. Two episodes is extremely rare and doctors attempted to find a cause, but nothing that would explain it was found. A few years passed and the little girl was struck with a third attack. Now, there was no denying something was wrong. Finally, a physician asked if she had ever fallen or been hit in the head and it was learned that she had a sledding accident several years prior. An MRI revealed a small, hairline crack in the area of skull just behind the sinus cavity that was allowing bacteria from sinus infections to pass directly to the brain. The girl underwent surgery to correct the broken bone and subsequent sinus infections with no meningitis proved the surgery to be successful.
