[Systemic talc granulomatosis in a HIV-negative intravenous drug addict]. / Correlação anátomo-clínica: granulomatose sistêmica por talco em drogadicto HIV negativo.

Anatomo-pathological correlation in a case of systemic talc granulomatosis affecting lungs, pleura, liver, spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes resulting in pulmonary arterial hypertension and cor pulmonale is described. The patient, a 26-year-old male HIV-negative intravenous drug addict had no lymphopenia or any histopathologic findings at necroscopy compatible with AIDS, despite of a chronic high-risk behavior favoring this illness.

Chylothorax in hairy cell leukemia.

A case of postoperative left chylothorax in a 43-year-old black woman with hairy cell leukemia is reported. First submitted to pleural drainage, she was successfully treated with a combination of chemotherapy and elemental enteral diet enriched with medium-chain triglycerides.

[Serum levels of vitamin A, E, C and B2, carotenoid and zinc in hospitalized elderly patients]. / Avaliação dos níveis séricos das vitaminas A, E, C e B2, de carotenóides e zinco, em idosos hospitalizados.

Serum levels of carotenoids, zinc and vitamins A, E, C and B2 were measured in al (n = 202) the elderly patients hospitalized in different wards of the hospital studied from February 1986 to October 1988. The study was conducted on 130 men and 72 women with a mean age of 67.8 years (range: 60 to 88 years). The percentage of nutritional deficiency was 59.5% for zinc, 56.5% for vitamin C, 34.5% for vitamin B2, 25.9% for vitamin E, 13.2% for vitamin A, and 6.8% for carotenoids. Elderly patients with leucoses, megaesophagus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure represent a group with a high prevalence of deficiency both of zinc and of the vitamins under study. These results show the importance of detecting deficiencies of these micronutrients and provide a basis for a more rational approach to the treatment of elderly patients.