[Chronic hepatitis E in an immunocompetent patient]. / Hepatitis crónica E en paciente inmunocompetente.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a Herpesvirus, with four different genotypes. Genotypes 1 and 2 often cause acute hepatitis, which presents as outbreaks in endemic regions of Asia and Africa. Genotypes 3 and 4 cause sporadic cases of acute hepatitis in Europe and North America, where it is considered a zoonosis. Symptoms usually resolve spontaneously, but in recent years cases have been detected that progress to chronic liver disease mainly in immunocompromised patients (patients with solid organ transplants, lymphoma, human immunodeficiency virus, primary immunodeficiencies, and those under treatment with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents..). We report the case of a healthy, immunocompetent man who developed an episode of acute HEV hepatitis, which progressed to chronic liver disease with fibrosis grade III/IV in the liver biopsy within a year and half.

[Environmental scanning electron microscopy for biofilm detection in tonsils]. / Microscopia electrónica de barrido ambiental para la detección de biopelículas en las amígdalas.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: To describe an environmental scanning electron microscopic method for the study of biofilms in clinical samples. A comparison with standard scanning electron microscopy is performed. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Nine patients with a past history of recurrent tonsillitis underwent tonsillectomy. Samples from each patient were obtained for both conventional and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The tonsils removed from 2 patients with sleep apnoea syndrome were used as controls. RESULTS: Eight of nine tonsils had biofilms on their surface. Scanning electron microscopy showed accumulations of bacteria covered by fibrillar structures resulting from the sample dehydration process. Environmental scanning electron microscopy provided a view of bacteria embedded in a homogeneous, amorphous substance that was preserved during the examination. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental scanning electron microscopy permits the imaging of wet systems at different degrees of dehydration. It therefore allows researchers to observe biofilms in their natural hydrated state.

Hematemesis With Gastric Laceration After Tattooing a Polyp With Purified Carbon: A Review of the Literature.

Endoscopic tattooing is a simple and effective technique for marking small lesions, so they can be localized during surgery or in later endoscopies. Various agents can be used such as India ink or a solution of purified carbon particles. The number of complications from tattooing is relatively small, but not rare. The majority of the literature on the subject refers to complications in the colon. We present a case of gastric bleeding secondary to a laceration following tattooing with purified carbon, and a literature review.

Colonic Metastases From Lung Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer death in the world. Although about 50% of lung cancers have distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, gastrointestinal metastasis has rarely been described. The most common metastatic site is the small bowel, whereas, colonic metastases are very rare. This report presents a clinical case of a 68-year-old male with a previous diagnosis of non-microcytic lung carcinoma (T4, N2, M1), stage IV, who presented rectorrhagia at the emergency. Colonoscopy showed many ulcerated tumors along the colon and histology proved that these lesions were metastases of primitive lung carcinoma. Gut metastasis from the lung is uncommon but we have to be aware of it in patients who present gastrointestinal symptoms.

[Chronic hepatitis E]. / Hepatitis crónica E.

The hepatitis E virus is an RNA virus with 4 genotypes. Genotypes 1 and 2 only affect humans and produce epidemic acute hepatitis in endemic regions (Asia and Africa). Genotypes 3 and 4 are considered a zoonosis and produce episodic acute hepatitis in non-endemic areas (America and Europe). However, in the last 3 years there have been cases of chronic HEV hepatitis, mainly in immunosuppressed patients. Here we review the known data of chronic hepatitis E in terms of evolution and treatment.