Rapidly progressive case of type I Madelung disease with bilateral parotid and minor salivary glands involvement.

Context: Madelung disease has been literally classified as a rare disease, more common in Mediterranean population. It is characterized by the presence of multiple symmetrical, non-capsulated storages of adipose tissue.Case description: We present a 56 year old woman with a sudden unexplained progression of swelling in the neck and upper thorax region associated with severe dyspnea. She was admitted with angioedema in the Allergology Department. Radiology images identified a bilateral adipose degeneration of the parotid and minor salivary glands.Conclusions: The diefinitive diagnosis concluded was Type 1 Madelung Disease. The decision was to keep the patient under periodic observation and if any deterioration takes place, surgical intervention will be taken under consideration. Despite non previous findings of Madelung disease in our population this case presented a challenge of emergency diagnosis.

Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence in selected groups of Albanian volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Albania is a Mediterranean, South-East European developing country where epidemiological data on infectious diseases are scarce. In this study, the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in 1,088 Albanian healthy volunteers (472 females followed-up to a prenatal clinic, 173 recruits, 443 health care workers) was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sera were tested for immunoglobulin-G (IgG) antibodies against H. pylori using a quantitative enzyme immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The overall H. pylori seroprevalence was 70.7%. The H. pylori seroprevalence increased by age, from 60.4% in individuals younger than 20 years to 81% among those > or = 50 years of age with a significant trend of increase by age. The overall seroprevalence was 73.9% for females and 59.5% for males. In addition the seroprevalence was 55.3% for people living in rural areas and 72.3% for people living in urban areas. No significant differences were found according to level of education except for individuals with elementary level of education. Nurses and hospital auxiliaries have significantly higher H. pylori seroprevalence when compared to other health care workers (physicians and office workers). When each variable (age, gender, area of residence, occupation, and education level) was adjusted for the confounding effect of the other variables by stepwise logistic analysis, we observed that age greater than 40 years and female gender remain the only variables independently associated with the presence of H. pylori IgG antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori is highly prevalent among the Albanian population. Improving living conditions, education in hygiene, and the supply of running water are measures to prevent the transmission of H. pylori infection and other infections spread by the fecal-oral route in Albania.

Hepatitis B virus infection in health care workers in Albania: a country still highly endemic for HBV infection.

BACKGROUND: Health care workers (HCW) have an elevated risk of acquiring and transmitting parenteral infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) markers with the final goal to encourage HBV vaccination of the non-immune Albanian HCW. METHODS: Among 480 HCW enrolled, 92 were physicians, 246 were nurses/techniques, 120 were auxiliary workers and 22 were office workers. RESULTS: The HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV prevalence were 8.1%, 70% and 0.6%, respectively. The highest (11.4%) HBsAg prevalence was observed in the youngest age group (20-30 years of age). High HBsAg prevalence (7.2-7.5%) was detected also in age groups above 30 years. The highest HBsAg prevalence (12.6%) was found in the auxiliaries. The anti-HBc prevalence increased significantly with age from 59% in HCWs younger than 39 years to 87% among those older than 50 years. After adjustments for different job categories, age older than 40 years remained independently associated with anti-HBc positivity (OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.9-4.6) and inversely associated with the lack of HBV immunity or infection markers (OR = 0.4; 95% CI 0.2-0.7). Of 142 HBsAg negative and/or anti-HBc Ab negative sera, 28 (20%) tested positive for anti-HBs. The 114 remaining individuals with no HBV infection or immunity markers were vaccinated against HBV infection. CONCLUSIONS: A high HBV infection rate and low HBV vaccination coverage were found in Albanian HCW. Albania is a Mediterranean country still highly endemic for HBV infection and new strategies to promote HBV vaccination are to be adopted.