Síndrome antifosfolípido catastrófico y falla cardíaca aguda. Caso clínico / Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome and acute heart failure. Report of a case

A 33 years old woman was admitted to the hospital after four days with cough, dyspnea, orthopnea and hemoptysis. Blood pressure was 170/90 mmHg, pulse was 112 and temperature was normal. She had cyanosis and a left ventricular gallop, without heart murmurs. A chest radiograph revealed pulmonary edema and echocardiogram showed a global left ventricular systolic disfunction. Oxygen and furosemide were started, but cardiopulmonary collapse ensued. The patient was supported with mechanical ventilation and treated with inotropic drugs. A right sided cardiac catheterization showed pulmonary wedge pressure of 18 mmHg and a cardiac index of 3 l/min/m2. The levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen were elevated and a urine protein was 97 mg/dl. Coagulation tests were normal except by a positive lupic anticoagulant. Markers of connective tissue diseases or vasculitis were negatives. The clinical evolution suggested that a catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome was ongoing. Intravenous corticoids, gammaglobulin and cyclophosphamide were administered with transient improvement. On her fourth day of treatment, the patient presented sudden pulmonary bleeding and embolism. A plasmapheresis was performed with improvement of renal, cardiac and pulmonary function. After this episode, the patient has been treated with prednisone and oral anticoagulants treatment for the last two years, without further clinical events.

[Visceral larval migrans (Human toxocariasis) cause of hypereosinophilia and visceral granulomas in adults]. / Larva migrante visceral (toxocariasis humana) causa de hipereosinofilia y granulomas viscerales en el adulto.

A 24-year-old woman 2-3 months after a normal parturation presented geophagy. Due to hypermenorrhea she consulted a gynecologist and in a hemogram a 57% (6,893 x mm3) hypereosinophilia was detected. A chest TAC showed bilateral pulmonary nodules. The following tests resulted positive: ELISA IgG for toxocariasis 1:1000, isohemagglutinins anti A 1:2048 and anti B 1:512. The patient was treated with albendazole and prednisone during 10 days. One month after treatment eosinophilia decreased to 2.590 x mm3 and ELISA IgG for toxocariasis descended to 1:128. Different aspects of human toxocariasis are commented. When hypereosinophia is observed in adult patients, toxocariasis must be checked.

[Changes in coagulation in patients with sepsis]. / Alteraciones de la coagulación en pacientes con sepsis.

Aiming to know the coagulation disorders that occur in patients with sepsis, a retrospective study of 75 such patients hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit was performed. The coagulation profile requested by the attending physician, that included platelet count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, protamine sulphate test, fibrinogen and euglobin lysis time, was analyzed. Fourteen patients that were receiving prophylactic subcutaneous heparin were excluded from further analysis. Of the 61 remaining patients, 23 had hemorrhagic manifestations and 94.4% of these had multiple alterations in coagulation parameters. Eighty one percent of patients had abnormal prothrombin time and 73% thrombocytopenia. Isolated alterations were infrequent and consisted in thrombocytopenia (3.7%) and fibrinogen elevation (1.9%). Fifty two percent of patients had shock and they had significantly lower platelet counts and higher prothrombin and thrombin times than patients without hemodynamic disturbances. Global mortality was 63.9%. No relation between coagulation disturbances and mortality was observed. Likewise, no differences in mortality between patients with or without shock was observed. It is concluded that coagulation is frequently disturbed in patients with sepsis, even without clinical hemorrhagic symptoms, that these abnormalities are more marked in patients in shock and that 53% of these are consistent with intravascular coagulation.

Comparative efficacy and safety of roxithromycin and clarithromycin in upper respiratory tract infections.

Roxithromycin 300 mg once daily was compared with clarithromycin 250 mg b.i.d. in an open randomized trial in 200 patients with upper respiratory tract infection: sinusitis, pharyngotonsillitis, and otitis media. Average treatment duration was 9 days. Roxithromycin was more effective (p less than 0.01) particularly in otitis media and pharyngotonsillitis, and better tolerated (only 4% side effects, p less than 0.05).

[The successful prolongation of a twin preterm pregnancy complicated by a dead fetus and disseminated intravascular coagulation]. / Prolongación exitosa de gestación gemelar de pretérmino complicada con un feto muerto y coagulación intravascular diseminada.

A clinical case of twin pregnancy with one in utero death fetus, at 24 weeks of gestation is presented, accompanied by disseminated intravascular coagulation. The successful treatment with heparin its described.

[Plasma calcium levels in critical patients with and without sepsis]. / Niveles de calcio plasmático en pacientes críticos con y sin sepsis.

We determined total plasma calcium levels in 44 critically ill patients without evidence of renal or hepatic failure, 25 of them with active systemic infection. Plasma Ca was 7.49 +/- 0.1 mg/dl in the septic group compared to 8.46 +/- 0.2 in non septic patients (p < 0.01). Corresponding levels of serum albumin were 2.26 +/- 0.1 and 3.05 +/- 0.2 milligrams, respectively (p < 0.01). Corresponding corrected plasma Ca levels were 9.19 +/- 0.1 and 9.39 +/- 0.1 mg/dl (NS). No correlation of lactate and plasma Ca levels was found. Mortality was 56% for septic and 16% for non septic patients. Patients with hypocalcemia had 53% mortality rate compared to only 16% in normocalcemic patients. PTH levels were normal in all but one patients, thus ruling out a rapid installation secondary hyperparathyroidism. Hypoperfusion does not appear related to ionic Ca levels given the lack of correlation of Ca and lactate levels. Mortality is related to sepsis and hypoalbuminemia but not to corrected Ca plasma levels.