Protease inhibitor-associated hyperglycemia in Mexican patients with HIV infection.

BACKGROUND: The use of protease inhibitors has revolutionized the treatment of HIV infection. These agents are well tolerated, although the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has warned U.S. doctors that protease inhibitors may precipitate hyperglycemia and diabetes (DM), based on isolated reports from physicians. METHODS: Sixty-one patients with HIV infection with criterion of non-DM from the onset of the protease inhibitor therapy participated in the study. Plasma glucose levels were obtained every month during a 6-month period, with a basal determination prior to protease inhibitor therapy. RESULTS: All Mexican patients enrolled in this study had the same Hispanic-American ethnic origin. Four patients (6.55%) developed hyperglycemia related with saquinavir. One had family history of DM type II. These patients were controlled with diet. CONCLUSIONS: Based on present data, we believe the benefits of these drugs to patients suffering from HIV infection outweigh the various risks of taking protease inhibitors. However, physicians who use these drugs have to be on the alert for hyperglycemia in the Mexican population, while patients should know the warning symptoms of hyperglycemia and diabetes.

Effect of chemotherapy on thyroid hormone concentration in patients with malignant hematologic diseases.

Malignant hematologic diseases are severe illnesses for which complex forms of treatment are used and to which a great variety of metabolic changes are anticipated. Both lymphomas and leukemias, as well as chemotherapy, can induce abnormalities in thyroid hormone metabolism without overt disease, thus leading to what is known as euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS). In the present report, 25 patients with lymphomas and leukemias were studied to evaluate the effect of chemotherapy on thyroid hormone concentration. After chemotherapy, the most frequent and significant alteration was a decrease in serum triiodothyronine concentration.

Thyroid function and abdominal surgery. A longitudinal study.

Surgical trauma produces complex metabolic changes and may be an excellent model for studying the effects of an acute insult on the circulating thyroid hormone concentrations. Abnormalities in thyroid function tests in patients with nonthyroidal illness can be divided into a low T3 syndrome, low T3 and T4 syndrome in more severe cases and elevated T4 syndrome. In this study 30 patients undergoing elective or urgent abdominal surgery were longitudinally evaluated with pre- and postoperative thyroid function tests. Comparing with preoperative values, a significant reduction in total T3 serum values in the immediate postoperative period was seen (p < 0.005). The rest of the variables did not show significant statistical differences between the three periods. Over half of the patients undergoing urgent surgery had a low T3 syndrome, whereas only a sixth of the patients scheduled for elective surgery suffered from this syndrome. In the late postoperative period half the patients submitted to urgent surgery persisted with alterations in thyroid function tests, whereas most of the patients scheduled for elective surgery showed an improvement in their thyroid hormone level in the same period of time. Abnormalities in thyroid hormone metabolism were more frequent in patients admitted for urgent surgery, reflecting the severity of their illness and favoring the concept that these syndromes can be used as prognostic markers.

Familial Mediterranean fever and primary antiphospholipid syndrome, a rare association. A case report.

The authors present the case of a twenty-one-year-old woman with familial Mediterranean fever who during her first pregnancy developed a primary antiphospholipid syndrome. This is an association not reported previously.

Pyoderma gangrenosum and extensive caval thrombosis associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome--a case report.

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare cutaneous disorder frequently associated with systemic diseases. The authors report the case of a 28-year-old man with pyoderma gangrenosum and inferior cava vein syndrome due to thrombosis. The search for pyoderma gangrenosum-associated conditions (gastrointestinal, rheumatic, neoplasic, and infectious diseases) was negative. A prolonged partial thromboplastin time and a positive test for circulating anticardiolipin antibodies strongly suggested the diagnosis of the antiphospholipid syndrome. There are reports of at least three other cases of pyoderma gangrenosum associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome. This clinical case adds further evidence to the possible link between these disorders and warrants a search for anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with pyoderma gangrenosum.

[Granulomatous hepatitis caused by Q fever]. / Hepatitis granulomatosa por fiebre Q.

We inform of one case of fever and characteristic hepatic granuloma in which the final diagnosis was Q fever. The interest of this case lies in the fact that the patient did not have the usual epidemiological antecedent and its typical clinical presentation.

[Usefulness of the ASA scale and thoracic radiography as indicators of perioperative cardiovascular risk]. / La utilidad de la escala de ASA y de la radiografía de tórax como indicadores de riesgo cardiovascular perioperatorio.

This paper evaluates the usefulness of ASA physical status classification and the multifactorial index of cardiac risk in the preoperative assessment, without considering arterial blood gases. With the results of this study we propose to add the ASA physical status classification, the radiologic diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the multifactorial index of cardiac risk. This strategy increases the diagnostic certainty of Goldman's index of cardiac risk, is practical, not expensive and favors a better establishment of the risk of perioperative cardiovascular morbidity.

[Migrant erythema as clinical presentation of cutaneous larva migrans in Mexico City]. / Eritema migratorio como presentación clínica de larva migrans cutánea en la ciudad de México.

Cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) is a ubiquitous self-limited skin eruption, most frequently caused by the larvae of dog and cat hookworms. Although CLM is most frequent in tropical climates, the infection is becoming more common in urban areas. CLM has been frequently misdiagnosed and/or treated inappropriately, and mimics rheumatic, infectious, vascular, or dermatologic diseases. We here in report the clinical presentation and management of 18 cases of CLM.

[Preoperative assessment in adults]. / La valoración preoperatoria en el adulto.

UNLABELLED: The scope of this work is to analyze the usefulness and indications of preoperative evaluation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 791 consecutive patients candidate for surgical treatment, were studied prospectively under the next inclusion criteria: 40 years old or less than 40 years old. Blood count cell, glucose, urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, platelets count, liver function tests, chest x-ray and electrocardiograph made before entry. In the the post liver, lung, bleeding, infectious or metabolic complications was done, while visiting the patients every day until discharge. Relative risk (RR) was calculated for every variable, analyzing differences with X2 and Fisher's Test. Those variables with statistical significance value were analyzed with logistic regression. Only 751 patients were studied, there were 335 male (44%) and 416 female (56%), with mean age of 63.9 years. Metabolic disorders (16.9%) and postoperative infections (7.0%) were the more frequent complications. Hemorrhage during of after surgery occurred in 2.2% of the patients. There were seventeen deaths (2.2%) related directly with surgery, with systemic illness or with postoperative complications. Selection of auxiliary tests for preoperative evaluation must be agree with clinical evaluation. The major objective of clinical evaluation is to estimate risk factors for surgery.

[Thyroid function tests in healthy and ill elderly]. / Pruebas de función tiroidea en ancianos sanos y enfermos.

Thyroid function in the elderly has been a matter of discussion. The universe of the present study includes males and females 36 hospitalized with an average age of 72.97 +/- 8.70 years (group I) and 36 ambulatory asymptomatic elderly with 69.81 +/- 8.55 years of age (group II). Serum levels of T3, T4, T4L and TSH were measured in both groups. Mean values of T3 were significantly lower in the hospitalized patients than in the control group. The difference persisted on both, males and females, analyzed separately. Mean values of T4L were significantly lower in women of group II, while mean values of T3 were significantly lower in men of group I. The comparison of thyroid function tests in male and female showed that serum values of T3 and T4 were significantly lower in men of group I. By dividing results in age categories, serum levels of T4L in group II were significantly lower in the age group of 70 to 79 and 80 to 89. Thyroid function tests in asymptomatic ambulatory elderly tend to be normal, whereas the hospitalized patients showed a high proportion of alterations.

[Thyroid function tests in a sample of hospitalized patients]. / Pruebas de función tiroidea en una muestra de pacientes hospitalizados.

In a sample of hospitalized patients, serum levels of T3, T4 and TSH were measured on the next day after admission. We included 26 patients admitted to Internal Medicine ward (group I) and 27 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (group II), comparing the results with those of 25 normal volunteers (group I). Mean values of T3 and T4 tend to be lower in patients than in healthy subjects, especially in those patients more aggravated, but differences were not statistically significant. In group II there were 5 patients with low T3, 4 with low T4 and two with both alterations. In group III, two patients had low T3, three had low T4 and 10 had both low T3 and low T4. The ratio between normal and abnormal results was significantly different between sick and healthy individuals, and between patient in the intensive care unit and the Internal Medicine ward, suggesting a correlation with gravity. 52.8% of patients hospitalized studied showed almost one alteration in the thyroid function tests.