[Dermatomyositis: a paraneoplastic symptom]. / Dermatomiositis, un síntoma paraneoplásico.

Paraneoplastic syndromes are a group of signs and symptoms caused by a malignancy, which are not due to direct invasion or metastasis of this malignancy. Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic myopathy mainly consisting of proximal muscle weakness, associated with skin lesions. There is a well known association between dermatomyositis and malignancy.

[An uncommon cause of persistent cough]. / Causa infrecuente de tos persistente.

Chronic cough is defined as one that lasts more than three weeks. It is quite a usual reason for consultation in Primary Care. There is no consensus regarding the best strategy to diagnose it. The empirical treatment, additional tests, or both of them, are used to confirm the diagnosis. Furthermore, cough may have different causes as its origin can be in many Locations. In some cases, it may be hard to find the cause. In this article, an unusual case of persistent cough is presented, which turned out to be due to an aneurysm of the ascending aorta.

[Vaccine coverage after integration of a vaccination program in a health center]. / Estudio de la cobertura vacunal tras la integración de un programa de vacunaciones en un centro de salud.

OBJECTIVE: To find the variation in the vaccinal coverage of two-year old children after incorporating the vaccination programme into the Health Centre's activities. DESIGN: An analytical observation study of cases and check-ups. SETTING: Primary Care. An urban Health Centre in Badajoz. PATIENTS: Two random samples of 150 children. The Study Group (SG) was composed of children who began their vaccinations at the Health Centre after the incorporation of the vaccination programme. The Control Group (CG) was made up of children who were over 18 months old at the start of the vaccinal programme (October 1990) and therefore received their vaccinations outside the Health Centre. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 84.8% of the CG childrens correctly completed the vaccination programme as against 98.7% of the SG (p < 0.01). 99.3% of the SG children had the triple viral vaccination as against 95.2% of the CG (p < 0.05). 99.3% of the SG completed three DTP-Polio vaccinations as against 93.1% CG (p < 0.01). And 98.7% SG had four DT-Polio as against 86.9% CG (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The level of vaccinal coverage of the under-two population improved after the vaccination programme was incorporated into the Health Centre's activities, data which supports the usefulness and appropriateness of such a programme.