The "Viral" Form of Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN)-A Distinct Entity: A Case Based Review.

Classic polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a vasculitis with systemic manifestations that is characterized by inflammatory and necrotizing lesions affecting medium and small muscular arteries, most frequently at the bifurcation of the vessels. These lesions lead to the formation of microaneurysms, hemorrhaging ruptured aneurysms, thrombosis, and, consequently, ischemia or organ infarction. Background and Objectives: We present a complex clinical case of a patient with a late diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa with multiorgan involvement. Materials and Methods: The 44-year-old patient, in an urban environment, presented on her own in the emergency room for acute ischemia phenomena and forearm and right-hand compartment syndrome, requiring surgical decompression in the Plastic Surgery Clinic. Results: Significant inflammatory syndrome is noted, alongside severe normocytic hypochromic iron deficiency anemia, nitrogen retention syndrome, hyperkalemia, hepatic syndrome, and immunological disturbances: absence of cANCA, pANCA, anti Scl 70 Ac, antinuclear Ac, and anti dDNA Ac, as well as a low C3 fraction of the plasmatic complement system. The morphological aspect described in the right-hand skin biopsy correlated with the clinical data supports the diagnosis of PAN. Conclusions: The viral form of PAN seems to be individualized as a distinct entity, requiring early, aggressive medication.

Epidemiology of B/C virus infection hepatitis in the Northern Moldavian correctional facilities risk factors.

AIM: To identify the specific risk factors for chronic hepatitis B/C virus infections in the correctional system in Moldova (Romania). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 533 subjects imprisoned in three correctional facilities located in the Northern region of Moldova. The subjects were divided into 2 groups: HBV/HBC group--108; Control group--425. RESULTS: The risk factor for transfusion-contracted HBV/HCV was 3.73; the empirical treatment of the HBV/HBC group resulted in a relative infection risk of 2.62; syringe sharing in the HBV/HBC group accounted for a risk factor of over 4 (OR = 4.33); tattooing induced a relative risk factor of 1.25, and piercing was a risk factor of approximately 2 (OR = 1.97); sharing personal care items represented a risk factor of over 2 (OR = 2.02). Injection drugs induced a relative risk of over 4 (OR = 4.33). In the HBV/HCV group, self-aggression represented a risk factor of 1.65. CONCLUSIONS: Prison environment, by its specific and nonspecific contamination modalities (shared with the rest of the population but more common) causes that inmates to be 2-4 times more exposed to hepatitis B/C infection.