[Reactive arthritis caused by Giardia lamblia in a patient with secretory IgA deficiency]. / Artrite reactiva por Giardia lamblia num doente com défice de IgA secretora.

The authors report a case of seronegative polyarthritis resistant to the anti-inflammatory therapy in a 16-year-old male with intermittent diarrhea. A stool examination showed the presence of cysts of Giardia lamblia and an immunological study detected a partial serum IgA deficiency, including its secretory fraction. Based on clinical, analytical and radiological findings and the clinical improvement after treatment with metronidazole, a diagnosis of reactive arthritis associated to chronic giardiasis was made. Authors make a brief review of the literature the regarding this case.

[Drug surveillance: concepts, objectives, and methods]. / Farmacovigilância: conceitos, objectivos e métodos.

Adverse reactions to drugs, by their frequency and morbidity, constitute a very important problem in clinical practice today. However, it is not always possible to establish the definitive causal relationship between the drug and the clinico-laboratory situation. This is not only due to the variability of these findings and the inherent difficulties of the methodology used, but also the fact that most doctors show little sensitivity to such an important subject. In this paper we present a short review of the drug surveillance programme: basic concepts, objectives and the most important methodology, as well as the current situation in the EEC countries.