[Accidental punctures: ten years of experience with our protocol]. / Punturas accidentales: Diez años de experiencia con nuestro protocolo.

OBJECTIVE: We report our experience during the past 10 years in the management of accidental punctures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A study was made of all hypodermic needle punctures recorded in children aged 0-14 years in our center since 1987. A clinical protocol consisting of 5 visits and duration of 6-7 months was used in all cases. RESULTS: A total of 150 punctures were recorded during the study period with a decrease in prevalence over time. All cases the clinical protocol was accepted and correct follow-up procedures were performed. In no case was post-puncture sero-conversion detected for HCV, HBV, or HIV among correctly immunized children. CONCLUSIONS: The protocol employed is useful and well accepted with the risk of infection caused by accidental puncture being remote provided initial patient care was adequate.

[Adoption of HIV positive children. A rarely discussed subject requiring immediate solution]. / La adopción de los niños VIH(+). Un tema escasamente tratado que requiere soluciones inmediatas.

After programme a inquiry-type this carry out itself amongst the families that adopted children with antibodies from the human immunodeficiency virus (AcVIH) in, they communicate the facts collected about the problematic that raise their adoption. They provide some conclusions.

[Kaposi's sarcoma associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection: a clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, serological and development review]. / Sarcoma de Kaposi asociado a infección por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana: revisión clínica, histológica, inmunohistoquímica, serológica y evolutiva.

BACKGROUND: A clinical, histologic, immunohistochemical, serological and evolutive review was carried out in 12 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma, representing 5.5% (12/217) of the HIV positive patients consecutively seen during an 18 month period. METHODS: The patients were clinically examined and staging was assessed. Skin biopsy was performed in all cases, and of healthy perilesional skin in eight, with HE and Perls stains. Immunohistochemical study of the skin lesions was carried out with monoclonal anti-collagen, anti-laminin, anti-HLA-DR, OKM5 and UEA-I antibodies. Statistical analysis was carried out with chi-square and Student's tests. RESULTS: There were 11 homosexual males and a prostitute parenteral drugs addicted female. The clinical presentation spectrum ranged from a single longitudinal lesion to multiple disseminated lesions in the whole skin and mucosae. Visceral or lymph node involvement was shown in three cases. Histological study also showed a spectrum of lesions from initial endothelial proliferation in perilesional healthy skin areas to mixed fusocellular and endothelial proliferation in nodular lesions. The immunohistochemical study with the appropriate monoclonal antibodies demonstrated the endothelial origin of cellular components. Some laboratory parameters (beta-2-microglobulin, total lymphocytes/mm3, total CD4 cells/mm3) were useful for prognostic evaluation at the time of diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: KS associated with HIV infection is a vascular hyperplasia of endothelial origin virtually exclusive of homosexual males. Although the diagnose of KS does not determine by itself the vital prognosis of these patients, some laboratory parameters at the time of diagnosis are useful for the prognosis of HIV infection.

[The usefulness of HIV serology in the follow up of vertical transmission of AIDS]. / Utilidad de la serología del virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana tipo 1 en el seguimiento de la transmisión vertical del SIDA.

We study 37 children with mothers infected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) at birth and over the following three years. HIV-1 serology of these patients is reported, i.e., HIV-1 antigen p24 and antibodies using two commercially available enzymatic methods and Western blot. Throughout follow-up, IgG antibodies to HIV-1 showed a statistically significant tendency to decrease (p less than 0.001). After 12 months, 70% of the children lacked HIV-1 antibody banding by Western blot; this was taken to constitute a definitive criterion of lack of antibodies to HIV-1. Five children presented p24 antigenemia during the study, four persistently so. Of the patients over 18 months of age, 8 presented HIV-1 infection symptoms (30.7%), and three suffered AIDS (11.5%).

[Socio-familial characteristics of children carriers of HIV antibodies. A disturbing factor of the clinical course of the disease to be recognized and controlled]. / Características socio-familiares de los niños con Ac.VIH. Un factor perturbador de la evolución clínica de la enfermedad que debe ser conocido y controlado.

A social study is made of 60 families with offspring presenting antibodies to HIV and monitored in our Service. Their data are compared with those obtained from an HIV antibody-negative control population randomly extracted from our Center.