[Bacterial endocarditis and its relationships with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hepatic cirrhosis (author's transl)]. / La endocarditis bacteriana y sus relaciones con la miocardiopatía hipertrófica obstructiva y la cirrosis hepática.

Although in the last few years several cases of bacterial endocarditis have been reported in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, such as association is still infrequent and only in rare instances has pathologic examination of the cardiac lesions been possible. In this work a brief comment is made on the different forms of clinical presentation of the disease. The type of endocarditis, the relative incidence of responsible germs, and the prognosis are similar to those of other endocarditis. The clinical and autopsy findings of a female patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis and symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy who developed a bacterial endocarditis of the mitral valve due to Staphylococcus aureus are reported. The patient died of an infected ascites. Some recent reports point to a higher incidence of bacterial endocarditis in cirrhotic patients, and this fact is felt to be an argument in favour of the hematogenous origin of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

[Perinephritic abscesses: a review of 50 cases (author's transl)]. / Abscesos perinefríticos: revisión de 50 casos.

Accumulation of pus in the perinephritic cavity often gives rise to doubtful clinical manifestations, which hinder and delay prompt diagnosis of this severe process. The clinical, biological, radiological and therapeutic characteristics of 50 cases are reviewed; all were confirmed by either surgery or necropsy. The most frequent clinical manifestations were fever, lumbar pain and signs of localized inflammation. Biological data showed ESR elevation and left shift of leukocytes as the most constant finding. Pyelograms were abnormal in 90% with blurring of the psoas and contour of the kidney the most frequent finding. Gram-negative organisms were frequently isolated, with staphylococci accounting for 10%. Only surgical treatment had a definite effect on evolution. The mortality rate was high, due to incorrect or delayed diagnosis.

[Listeriosis in the adult: report of 7 cases]. / Listeriosis del adulto: presentación de siete casos.

Human beings are frequently exposed to Listeria monocytogenes, but these microorganisms are rarely pathogenic for healthy subjects. In recent years an increase in the frequency of listeriosis has been reported, especially in patients with severe underlying diseases. In the present work the clinical, microbiological, therapeutic and prognostic characteristics of seven adult cases of listeriosis are reviewed. L. monocytogenes was isolated from blood, cerebrospinal fluid or both. Most patients had an underlying illness (one alcoholic, one diabetic, one lymphoma, and two aplastic anemia), and three of them had received immunosuppressive treatment. The disease can have different clinical presentations; the commonest forms were septicemia and acute meningitis. All patients with an underlying disease succumbed to listeriosis. A comment is made on the possibility of confusion between L. monocytogenes and other germs, and some aspects of the epidemiology of listeriosis are analyzed.