Pyogenic versus amoebic liver abscesses. A comparative clinical study in a series of 58 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) and with amebic liver abscess (AHA) in order to determine the potential factors that may help improve diagnosis and treatment for this disease. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective study of clinical histories of 45 patients with PLA and 13 with ALA, diagnosed between 1985 and 2005 in Donostia Hospital in San Sebastián. RESULTS: Among the 45 patients with PLA (30 men and 15 women, with a mean age of 61 years and 11 months), more than a half were cholangitic (13 cases) or were of unknown origin (15 cases). In 10 patients, diabetes was considered to be a predisposing condition. Increased ESR (> 30), leukocytosis (> 12,000), fever and abdominal pain were observed in 95.5%, 86.7%, 82.8% and 68.9%, respectively. Twenty-five patients had single abscesses. Abscess and blood cultures were positive in 77.1% and 50% of cases, respectively (44.4% with polymicrobial infection). E. coli and S. milleri were the most commonly found germs. A percutaneous drainage was performed on 22 patients. Mean hospital stay was 27 days, and overall mortality, including that related to concomitant conditions, was 7 of 45 cases.Of the 13 cases of ALA (7 men and 6 women, with mean age of 42,9 years), 2 were locally acquired. Increased AF and GGTP (> 2N), fever, leukocytosis and ESR (> 30) were observed in 92.3, 77, 70 and 61.5% of cases, respectively. There were single abscesses in 10 patients and all except one were located in the right lobe. The serological test for E. histolytica (IFF > or = 1/256) was positive in 100% of cases. A percutaneous drainage was carried out on 6 patients. Mean hospital stay was 18 days and two patients died. CONCLUSIONS: In our series, the clinical parameters suggesting pyogenic origin were: age 50 or older, male gender, diabetes, moderately elevated bilirubin and transaminases. In amoebic cases the associated features were being aged 45 or younger, diarrhoea, and presence of a single abscess in the right lobe. Parasitism by E. histolytica must be considered in the differential diagnosis of liver abscesses, even with no epidemiological clinical history of travel and/or immigration.

[The approach to pulmonary ventilation change]. / Aproximación a la alteración ventilatoria pulmonar.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological behaviour of pulmonary diseases with ventilation disorder to assess their development within primary care. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Primary care. Tudela West Health Centre (Navarra). PARTICIPANTS: 166 patients with one of the classic patterns of disorder found by Spirometry were chosen and monitored for a year. RESULTS: 72.3% were male with an average age of 63.2. 7.8% were new cases. 62.0% were smokers/ex-smokers. 80.1% had another associated pathology. An overall decrease in ventilatory function values was noted: this was more pronounced in cases of recurrence. 2.08 medicines were used, with smaller FEV1 [correction of FVE1]-fraction of ventricular ejection-leading to more medicines, of which the beta-adrenergics were the most common. 25.3% showed poor therapeutic compliance, deteriorating with age. 55% used inhalers badly. The number of medicines increased with decompensation. There were on average 3.5 consultations per year at the health centre. CONCLUSIONS: Tudela's findings are similar to those in other areas. There is poor therapeutic compliance among people of geriatric age. The burden of control falls on primary care.

Screening of somatization disorder: validation of the Spanish version of the Othmer and DeSouza test.

The objective of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Othmer and DeSouza Screening Test for Somatization Disorder. We have designed a validity study using the Standardized Polyvalent Psychiatric Interview, an instrument specifically designed to diagnose psychiatric morbidity in medical settings as the 'golden rule'. The control group displayed 'functional' and 'presenting' somatization. The Othmer and DeSouza Screening Test, with a threshold of three symptoms, shows 88% sensitivity, 78% specificity and a misclassification rate of 17%. It is concluded that Othmer and DeSouza's screening test, with a threshold of three symptoms, is a useful tool for the diagnosis of somatization disorder in medical and primary care settings in Spain. Discrepancies with US findings are discussed on a cross-cultural basis.

[Standardized evaluation of obsessive phenomena in patients in general medicine. Prevalence and correlations]. / Evaluation standardisée des phénomènes obsessionnels chez les patients de médecine générale. Prévalence et corrélations.

Clinical experience in general hospital psychiatry and literature reviews supported the conjecture that psychopathological disturbances are frequent among medical patients. Wide discrepancies of prevalence data reported by different authors, however, suggested the importance of undertaking screening studies with standardized methods of assessment. Our initial studies in oncological patients confirmed the hypothesis, but also documented obsessive phenomena, assessed with Present State Examination (PSE) criteria, in more than one third of patients diagnosed of depression Consecutive studies in different medical samples have replicated those preliminary findings in the last one, close to one quarter of first day consecutive patients seen in an internal medicine out-patient clinic, and more than three quarters of the ones diagnosed of either anxiety or depression with Research Diagnostic Criteria, had obsessive symptoms as defined by the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS). Obsessive symptoms, however, have also been observed in individuals considered to be "non-cases" and tend to follow a "continuum" distribution, rather than a categorical one They tend to be more frequent in cases diagnosed as neurotic or reactive, rather than in the endogenous ones and to correlate with neuroticism measured by the EPQ-A. Particularly among out-patients, where the psychopathology seemed to be related to the absence of demonstrable somatic illness and probably to the presence of social distress, the hypothesis could be advanced that obsessive symptoms, among other psychopathological phenomena, are quantitative reactions to environmental situations in predisposed individuals. Nevertheless, in samples such as the endocrine in-patients, correlations have also been demonstrated between obsessive or other psychopathological symptoms and biological deviations such as hormonal levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)