[Scintimammography with 99mTC-MIBI in the clinical practice: repercussion on the clinical management of the patient]. / Gammagrafía de mama con 99mTc-MIBI en la práctica clínica. Repercusión en el manejo clínico del paciente.

OBJECTIVE: Establish the usefulness of scintimammography (SM) in day-to-day clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have evaluated 308 SM consecutively performed in our Department. The diagnosis was established by way of biopsy or clinical and mammography follow-up (minimum 18 months). In all cases we evaluated the kind of lesions (palpable or non-palpable) and their degree of suspicion of malignancy in the mammography (BIRADS). We determined the number of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) or biopsies performed in dependence of kind of lesions, mammography and SM results. RESULTS: Final diagnosis was cancer in 18 % of the patients, and 71 % of the lesions were non palpable. Negative predictive value (NPV) of SM was 96 %. Pathological diagnosis was performed in 100 % of lesions with SM+ and 16 % of lesions with SM-. According to the kind of lesion, FNAC and/or biopsy was performed in 62 % of palpable lesions and in 20 % of non-palpable lesions; and according to the mammography in 21 % of lesions BIRADS I-II, 14 % in BIRADS III, 70 % in BIRADS IV and 100 % in BIRADS V. The number of FNAC and/or biopsies performed is significantly higher in all cases when SM is positive (p > 0,001), excepting in BIRADS V lesions. CONCLUSIONS: In day-to-day clinical practice SM is generally performed in low prevalence of breast cancer population, in the evaluation of non-palpable lesions with a low suspicion of malignancy. SM has a high NPV, increase the diagnostic accuracy of the mammography and has repercussion on patient management, except in BIRADS V lesions.

[Diffuse pulmonary calcification in a patient with renal insufficiency]. / Calcinosis pulmonar difusa en paciente con insuficiencia renal.

We report the case of a 37-year-old man with chronic renal insufficiency, on hemodialysis, with no respiratory symptoms but whose chest radiograph showed parenchymal consolidation in the middle and upper lung fields. High resolution computed tomography showed a high-attenuating diffuse alveolar pattern that indicated calcium deposits. Bronchoscopy revealed metastatic calcification on the interalveolar septa and bronchiolar and arteriolar. The present report, based on radiologic and bronchoscopic findings, describes the pathogenesis and anatomical distribution of the patient's diffuse pulmonary calcification.

[Heart pathology of extracardiac origin (I). Cardiac involvement in AIDS]. / Patología del corazón de origen extracardíaco (I). Afectación cardíaca en el sida.

A great variety of cardiac disorders have been reported in HIV-infected patients: pericarditis, myocarditis, cardiomyopathies, endocarditis, cardiac involvement through malignancies, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias and thromboembolic disease. In general, these disorders are asymptomatic and often diagnosed in echocardiographic studies or autopsies. Pericardial involvement is the most common disorder. Pericardial effusions are asymptomatic and non-specific in a great proportion, but in some instances opportunistic infections or malignancies may lead to cardiac tamponade and are associated with an increased risk of mortality. The etiopathogenesis of myocarditis and cardiomyopathies is uncertain. There is controversy about the role of HIV as the primary etiologic agent. Opportunistic infections, cardiotoxic substances, nutritional deficiencies and autoimmune reactions have also been implicated as etiologic agents of myocardial damage. Short-term prognosis worsens as clinical manifestations of heart failure appear. Valvular involvement usually presents as marantic or infectious endocarditis, the latter most frequently in IVDU. This article reviews the main cardiovascular manifestations in AIDS.

Ganglion cysts associated with cruciate ligaments of the knee: a possible cause of recurrent knee pain.

Intraarticular ganglia of the knee are uncommon; however, these ganglion cysts may produce knee discomfort without a clear etiology. We present the cases of 10 patients with ganglion cysts arising from cruciate ligaments of the knee joint who underwent arthroscopic excision after MR examination. The MR findings, clinical features and arthroscopic findings were evaluated comparatively. Diagnoses were confirmed by means of a histological study after arthroscopic excision. The cysts were fluid-filled, with low T1-weighted signal intensity and high T2-weighted signal intensity. Except for two patients with recent accidents, the remaining eight presented chronic pain without any history of trauma. Pain was the most frequent clinical sign. It was associated with knee extension in 3 cases and with flexion in 3 cases. In 7 cases, cysts were exclusively associated with the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Only in one case was a cyst associated with an ACL rupture. Four patients presented meniscal lesions. All ganglia appeared solitary in each knee. Postarthroscopy evolution was painless in 8 patients. Histologic diagnoses corresponded to ganglion cysts. The tissues from the patient with the ACL rupture presented a fibrous reaction with myxoid degeneration forming intraligamentary ganglion cysts.

Chronic proliferative rhinitis associated with Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae serovar 61:k:1, 5, (7) in sheep in Spain.

A chronic proliferative rhinitis in sheep associated with Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae serovar 61:k:1, 5, (7) is described. Ten adult sheep from eight traditionally managed Rasa Aragonesa flocks located in Aragon (Spain) were studied. Clinical signs began with bilateral thick mucus nasal discharge, wheezing and snoring and progressed to partial or complete obstruction of the nostrils. Necropsy examination revealed swollen ventral nasal turbinates with a roughened mucosal surface partially covered by small polyps. Histopathology revealed chronic proliferative rhinitis with a predominant population of neutrophils that infiltrated the mucosal epithelium. Plasma cells and macrophages were present in the lamina propria. Organisms expressing Salmonella antigen immunohistochemically were detected within epithelial cells. Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae serovar 61:k:1, 5, (7) was isolated as a sole microorganism from nasal swabs taken from five animals. The implication of finding this bacterium in various diseases in sheep and its role as a potential zoonosis are discussed.

[Tako-Tsubo syndrome in a patient with exacerbated bronchial asthma]. / Síndrome Tako-Tsubo en una paciente con exacerbación de asma bronquial.

Transient apical ballooning syndrome without coronary stenosis or Tako-Tsubo syndrome was described a few years ago in a Japanese population. Although new cases and series have been gradually defining its physiopathology, there is much doubt about its etiology. We describe the case of a 74-year-old Caucasian woman, with a background of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism with tracheal compression, intrinsic asthma and depression syndrome. She had an acute attack of bronchospasm and chest pain. The electrocardiogram on admission showed Q-waves and ST segment elevation in precordial leads and elevated serum cardiac markers. The coronariography found no evidence of significant lesions in the vascular tree. Ventriculography showed an apical ballooning that was also found in the echocardiography. The evolution of the clinical picture with disappearance of the symptoms and normalization of the electrocardiogram and echocardiogram lead to the diagnosis of Tako-Tsubo syndrome. We believe that this new clinical entity may have a catecholamine-mediated neurogenic mechanism as the etiopathogenic substrate and that our clinical case could support this hypothesis.