[Prevalence of antimitochondrial antibodies in women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis]. / Prévalence des anticorps anti-mitochondries chez les femmes atteintes de thyroïdite de Hashimoto.

OBJECTIVES: Thyroid antibodies are present in more than 15% of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Inversely, the prevalence of antimitochondrial antibodies in patients with thyroid antibodies is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of antimitochondrial antibodies in women positive for thyroid microsomal antibodies. METHODS: Anti-thyroid microsomal positive sera were collected from 351 selected female patients (age range 40-70 years) then stored at -20 degrees C from September 91 to September 92. Anti-mitochondrial auto-antibodies were determined in all sera with enzyme-linked sorbent assay (ELISA) using purified antigen. RESULTS: M2 antimitochondrial antibodies were found positive in 7 cases (2%). On immunoblots, the pattern of antimitochondrial reactivity visualized for the 7 sera was similar to pattern of classical primary biliary cirrhosis sera. Six of the 7 patients were asymptomatic and 4 had normal liver function tests. Liver biopsy was carried out in 2 patients and fulfilled diagnosis criteria for primary biliary cirrhosis. Six out of the 7 patients had Hashimoto's thyroiditis (2 biopsy proven, 4 clinical and biological diagnosis). CONCLUSION: Patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis would be a population at high risk of primary biliary cirrhosis. It would be interesting to screen these patients in order to ascertain the signification of antimitochondrial antibody positivity, especially when there is no apparent liver disease.

[Major pancytopenia in Biermer disease. 5 cases]. / Grandes pancytopénies de la maladie de Biermer. Cinq cas.

Five cases of Biermer's disease presenting as pancytopenia were observed over a 17-year period. In all cases, haemorrhagic and/or infectious complications occurred. The myelogram revealed qualitative medullary deficiency and laboratory data led to diagnosis. The importance of prompt substitutive therapy is underlined.

[A complication of peritoneojugular shunt for ascites: peritoneal migration of the shunt tubing]. / Une complication de la dérivation péritonéo-jugulaire pour ascite: la migration intrapéritonéale de la prothèse.

A peritoneojugular shunt operation was done in a cirrhotic patient with ascites. The Le Veen valve functioned correctly for six months. The patient then experienced recurrence of ascites following an uncommon complication: migration of the shunt tubing into the peritoneal cavity. The tubing could no longer be felt in the cervical or thoracic regions. Plain roentgenograms of the abdomen showed that the shunt tubing was in the peritoneal cavity.

[Multiple hydatidosis: hepatic, splenic, peritoneal and gynaecologic locations (author's transl)]. / Hydatidose multiple: hépatosplénique, Péritonéale et génitale.

We report the case of a young Algerian female with a voluminous abdominal tumour suggestive of a hydatic cyst of the liver. Complementary examinations (radiography of adjacent organs, ultrasonography, coelio-mesenteric arteriography, hepatic scanning) revealed two additional abdominal cysts. Furthermore, gynaecologic examination and ultrasonography revealed one intra-uterine hydatic cyst. At laparotomy however, the surgeon removed sixteen abdominal and five pelvic cysts, all of them containing brood capsules. It should be noted that one eleven centimeters-diameter splenic cyst was discovered only at operation. The authors point out the rarity of the uterine location of hydatidosis and stress the difficulty of the preoperative localization of all the cysts. In these widespread forms of the disease, complementary flubendazole treatment could be useful.