[Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and associated diseases]. / Anticorps anticytoplasme des polynucléaires neutrophiles et pathologies associées.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are classical serological markers of small-vessels vasculitis. However, they have been described in many other pathological situations. The aim of this study was to determine through our experience, the main antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated diseases and to investigate antigen targets of these antibodies. Forty complete observations of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) positive patients either by indirect immunofluorescence or by enzyme immunoassay were analysed. Only five (12.5%) patients have small-vessels vasculitis. Among these, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were detected only by Elisa in one patient and they were exclusively directed against bactericidal permeability increasing protein in another one. Our study confirms the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in different diseases. It demonstrates that antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies should be investigated by Elisa when indirect immunofluorescence is negative. In small-vessels vasculitis, Proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase are mainly but not exclusively the antigenic targets of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies.

[Desmoid cervical tumour following the placing of an internal jugular catheter]. / Tumeur desmoïde cervicale après pose d'un cathéter jugulaire interne.

INTRODUCTION: A desmoid tumour is a rare fibroblastic tumour and generally located in the abdomen. However, it can also develop on surgical scars. OBSERVATION: A 36 year-old woman on chronic dialysis consulted for a cervical mass on the left side that was progressively increasing in volume, on the site of a scar of an internal jugular catheter placed 7 months earlier. Histological analysis of a sample of this mass concluded in a benign fibroblastic proliferation and led to the diagnosis of a desmoid tumour. Study of the patient's history revealed that a left jugular catheter had been placed on two occasions to be used for the hemodialysis approach, the lesion provoked by the latter would explain the development of the desmoid tumour. COMMENTS: The potential severity of this tumour is related to its proximity with the carotid, trachea and base of the skull. In general, desmoid tumours, rare benign tumours of the connective tissue, exhibit a complex multifactor etiopathogenesis. A surgical trauma can often trigger-off such tumours.

[Acute renal insufficiency in Boutonneuse Mediterranean fever: description of three cases]. / Insuffisance rénale aiguë au cours de la fièvre boutonneuse méditerranéenne: description de trois observations.

Boutonneuse fever is a bacterial infection caused by Rickettsia conorii. It occurs mainly in countries around the Mediterranean basin. Most cases are benign. However severe forms with major morbidity and a high mortality risk have been described. Severe forms often involve altered mental status, hepatic cytolysis, hemostatic disturbances, pneumopathy, and kidney failure. The causes of renal complications are unclear. The purpose of this report is to describe three cases of boutonneuse fever associated with acute kidney failure due to different underlying mechanisms, i.e., acute renal function failure, acute tubular necrosis, and extracapillary glomerulonephritis. While the first two mechanisms of kidney failure have been reported frequently in association with Boutonneuse fever, extracapillary glomerulonephritis has, to our knowledge, been mentioned only once. This case supports speculation that Rickettsia conorii has a toxic effect on glomeruli.