One-year quality of life among post-hospitalization COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: The long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 are unclear, as are the factors influencing the evolution. Objective: to assess health-related quality of life 1 year after a hospital admission due to COVID-19 and to identify factors that may influence it. Materials and methods: Retrospective observational study in a tertiary hospital from March 2021 to February 2022. Inclusion criteria: ≥18 years old and admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Exclusion criteria: death, not located, refusal to participate, cognitive impairment, and language barrier. Variables: demographic data, medical history, clinical and analytical outcomes during hospital admission, treatment received, and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 following admission. Participants were interviewed by phone 1 year after admission, using the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Results: There were 486 included patients. The domains yielding the lowest scores were general health (median 65%, interquartile range [IQR] 45-80), vitality (median 65%, IQR 45-80), and mental health (median 73.5%, IQR 60-100). Multivariable analysis showed that female sex and fibromyalgia/fatigue had a negative influence on all domains. Obesity was associated with worse outcomes in physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, and vitality. Other factors associated with worse scores were an older age in physical functioning and high age-adjusted Charslon comorbidity in physical functioning and general health. Age was associated with better results in emotional role and High C-reactive protein at admission on vitality. Conclusion: One year after admission for COVID-19, quality of life remains affected, especially the domains of general health, vitality, and mental health. Factors associated with worse outcomes are female sex, fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue, and obesity.

Corticosteroids for COVID-19 symptoms and quality of life at 1 year from admission.

The long-term evolution of COVID-19 is unknown, making it necessary to study the persistence of symptoms over time and their impact on quality of life in people who have had the disease. We analyzed these aspects 1 year after admission for COVID-19 and explored the influence of treatment with systemic corticosteroids during the acute phase of the illness. This observational cohort study took place in a tertiary hospital in March and April 2021 and included people admitted due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 in March, April, or May 2020. We excluded patients who had died, were unreachable or had substantial cognitive impairment. A telephone survey was undertaken to assess the presence of symptoms related to COVID-19 and to administer the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Other variables collected were demographic and clinical data along with the treatment received and the evolution over time. We analyzed 76 patients, including 44 who did not receive corticosteroids and 32 who did. Most symptoms were less frequent in the group that received corticosteroids, with statistically significant differences for headache, dysphagia, chest pain, and depression. These patients also showed significantly better outcomes in the SF-36 domains for "bodily pain" and "mental health." Corticosteroids administered in the acute phase of COVID-19 could attenuate the presence of long-term symptoms and improve patients' quality of life.

Artritis séptica de la sacroilíaca secundaria a piomiositis supurativa / Septic sacroiliac arthritis secondary to suppurative pyomyositis

La piomiositis es una infección bacteriana supurativa subaguda del músculo estriado, ocasionada por una diseminación hematógena y acompañada, en ocasiones, de la formación de abscesos. Si bien se trata de una enfermedad clásicamente observada en zonas tropicales, en los últimos años se ha descrito un aumento de su incidencia en los países templados, en especial en personas inmunodeprimidas. Su agente etiológico más frecuente es el Staphylococcus aureus. Las localizaciones más habituales son cuádriceps, glúteos e iliopsoas, siendo excepcional la asociación con artritis séptica y osteomielitis. En la población pediátrica suele afectar a personas sanas y deportistas, y su aparición se relaciona con el ejercicio físico intenso o con peque˜nos traumatismos. La presentación clínica de la piomiositis aguda suele ser insidiosa, pudiendo cursar sin fiebre, pero con síntomas locales como dolor, aumento del volumen y limitación funcional. El drenaje del absceso, seguido de la administración de antibióticos conduce a la completa recuperación. La piomiositis primaria es rara, y el diagnóstico se retrasa por la profunda localización del musculo y porque los síntomas pueden confundir el diagnóstico con una artritis séptica de cadera. Presentamos este caso por la dificultad de su diagnóstico y las complicaciones que se derivan del retraso en su diagnóstico.

Pyomyositis is a subacute suppurative bacterial infection of the muscle. striatum, caused by hematogenous dissemination and sometimes accompanied by the formation of abscesses. Although it is a disease classically observed in tropical areas, in recent years an increase in its incidence has been described in temperate countries, especially in immunosuppressed people. Its most common etiological agent is Staphylococcus aureus. The most common locations are the quadriceps, glutes and iliopsoas, with the association with septic arthritis and osteomyelitis being exceptional. In the pediatric population it usually affects healthy and athletic people, and its appearance is related to intense physical exercise or minor trauma. The clinical presentation of acute pyomyositis is usually insidious, and may occur without fever, but with local symptoms such as pain, increased volume and functional limitation. Drainage of the abscess followed by administration of antibiotics leads to complete recovery. Primary pyomyositis is rare, and the diagnosis is delayed due to the deep location of the muscle and because the symptoms can confuse the diagnosis with septic arthritis of the hip. We present this case due to the difficulty of its diagnosis and the complications that arise from the delay in its diagnosis.

Neutropenia secondary to tuberculosis treatment / Neutropenia secundaria al tratamiento de la tuberculosis

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[Prognostic utility of the qSOFA scale in patients admitted to an Internal Medicine service due to infectious diseases]. / Utilidad pronóstica de la escala qSOFA en pacientes ingresados en un servicio de Medicina Interna por enfermedades infecciosas.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a serious entity. Diagnosis and early treatment is important for the prognosis. AIM: To analyze the prognostic utility of the qSOFA scale as a predictor of mortality in patients admitted by infection in an Internal Medicine Service and describe its demographic characteristics and possible association with mortalilty. METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study of patients admitted with diagnosis of acute infection at the General Hospital of Castellon (Spain) from November 2017 to February 2018. INCLUSION CRITERIA: patients admitted on suspicion of an infectious process. Main dependent variable: mortality. Independent main variable: qSOFA scale. Secondary variables: time until the first medical evaluation and the start of empirical antibiotic therapy, demographic characteristics of the patient, analytics and evolutional. RESULTS: A total of 311 patients were analyzed, 145 men with an average age of 78 (DE 16,23). Seventy five presented qSOFA ≥ 2. Higher mortality was observed in those patients with qSOFA ≥ 2 (36% vs 11%, p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: In patients admitted with infectious diseases, a qSOFA value > = 2 was associated with higher mortality. Future studies are required to verify its potential diagnostic utility.

Utilidad pronóstica de la escala qSOFA en pacientes ingresados en un servicio de Medicina Interna por enfermedades infecciosas / Prognostic utility of the qSOFA scale in patients admitted to an Internal Medicine service due to infectious diseases

INTRODUCCIÓN: La sepsis es una entidad grave siendo su sospecha y tratamiento precoces claves para el pronóstico. OBJETIVO: Analizar la utilidad pronóstica de la escala qSOFA en pacientes que ingresan por infección en un servicio de Medicina Interna. PACIENTES Y MÉTODOS: Estudio descriptivo, tranversal, de los pacientes ingresados con infección en el Hospital General de Castellón (España) de noviembre de 2017 a febrero de 2018. Criterio de inclusión: pacientes admitidos por la sospecha de un proceso infeccioso. Variable principal dependiente: mortalidad. Variable principal independiente: qSOFA. Variables secundarias: tiempo hasta primera valoración médica y hasta inicio de antibioterapia empírica en Urgencias (minutos), características demográficas del paciente, analíticas y evolutivas. RESULTADOS: Se analizó un total de 311 pacientes, 145 varones, edad media 78 años (DE 16,23). Setenta y cinco (24%) presentaron qSOFA ≥ 2. Se observó una mayor mortalidad en aquellos pacientes con qSOFA ≥ 2 (36 vs 11%, p = 0,00). CONCLUSIÓN: En pacientes admitidos con enfermedades infecciosas, un valor de qSOFA > = 2 se asoció a mayor mortalidad. Se requieren futuros estudios para comprobar su potencial utilidad diagnóstica.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a serious entity. Diagnosis and early treatment is important for the prognosis. AIM: To analyze the prognostic utility of the qSOFA scale as a predictor of mortality in patients admitted by infection in an Internal Medicine Service and describe its demographic characteristics and possible association with mortalilty. METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study of patients admitted with diagnosis of acute infection at the General Hospital of Castellon (Spain) from November 2017 to February 2018. Inclusion criteria: patients admitted on suspicion of an infectious process. Main dependent variable: mortality. Independent main variable: qSOFA scale. Secondary variables: time until the first medical evaluation and the start of empirical antibiotic therapy, demographic characteristics of the patient, analytics and evolutional. RESULTS: A total of 311 patients were analyzed, 145 men with an average age of 78 (DE 16,23). Seventy five presented qSOFA ≥ 2. Higher mortality was observed in those patients with qSOFA ≥ 2 (36% vs 11%, p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: In patients admitted with infectious diseases, a qSOFA value > = 2 was associated with higher mortality. Future studies are required to verify its potential diagnostic utility.

Síndrome cerebeloso secundario a metronidazol / Cerebellar syndrome caused by metronidazole

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Concordancia entre la prueba de la tuberculina y el Interferon Gamma Release Assay-IGRA en pacientes con enfermedades inflamatorias mediadas por la inmunidad / Concordance between the test of the tuberculin and Interferon Gamma Release Assay-IGRA in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las terapias inmunosupresoras en el tratamiento de las enfermedades inflamatorias mediadas por la inmunidad (EIMI) predisponen a la tuberculosis, por lo que el cribado de infección tuberculosa latente (ITL) y su tratamiento reduce la probabilidad de progresión a tuberculosis activa. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la concordancia entre la prueba de la tuberculina (PT) e "Interferon Gamma Release Assay-IGRA" en relación con el tipo de EIMI y tratamiento inmunosupresor (IS). MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Estudio transversal en pacientes con EIMI candidatos o en tratamiento IS remitidos para cribado de ITL, de Abril del 2017 hasta Mayo del 2018. Variables resultado fueron PT e IGRA. Variables explicativas: EIMI, IS, edad, sexo, vacunación BCG previa y factores de riesgo de tuberculosis. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 146 pacientes (33 [22,6%] vacunados con BCG, 1 [0,7%] con diagnóstico previo de tuberculosis y 22 [15,1%] originarios de país endémico). Índice de Kappa (k) fue de 0,338 entre PT e IGRA para la totalidad de la muestra. Menor concordancia en pacientes con enfermedad de Crohn (k=0,125), en los tratados con corticoides (k=0,222), vacunados con BCG (k=0,122) y en pacientes procedentes de países endémicos de tuberculosis (k=0,128). CONCLUSIONES: La concordancia entre la PT y el IGRA se ve afectada en pacientes con EIMI y en mayor medida en la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal, con la corticoterapia, con la vacunación con BCG o en los procedentes de países endémicos

INTRODUCTION: The immunosuppressive therapies in the treatment of the immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (EIMI) predispose individuals to the tuberculosis, so the screening of latent tuberculosis infection (ITL) and the treatment reduces the likelihood of a progression to an active tuberculosis. The aim of the study was to analyze the concordance between the test of the tuberculin (PT) and "Interferon Gamma Release Assay-IGRA" in relation to the type of EIMI and the immunosuppressive treatment (IS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Transversal study of patients with EIMI candidates or in treatment IS forwarded to the ITL screening, from April 2017 until May 2018. The outcome variables were PT and IGRA. The explicative variables were: EIMI, IS, age, gender, prior BCG vaccination and tuberculosis risk factors. RESULTS: A total of 146 patients were analyzed (33[22.6%] vaccinated with BCG, 1 [0.7%] with a pre-diagnosis of tuberculosis, and 22 [15.1%] from an endemic country). Kappa index (k) was 0,338 between PT and IGRA for the whole sample. A lower concordance was found in patients with the Crohn's disease (k=0.125), in the ones treated with corticosteroids (k=0.222), vaccinated with BCG (k=0.122) and in patients from tuberculosis endemic countries (k=0.128). CONCLUSION: The concordance between PT and IGRA is affected in patients with EIMI, and to a greater extent to patients with the inflammatory bowel disease, with the corticotherapy, with the BCG vaccination, or in the ones from endemic countries

In-hospital care, complications, and 4-month mortality following a hip or proximal femur fracture: the Spanish registry of osteoporotic femur fractures prospective cohort study.

We have characterised 997 hip fracture patients from a representative 45 Spanish hospitals, and followed them up prospectively for up to 4 months. Despite suboptimal surgical delays (average 59.1 hours), in-hospital mortality was lower than in Northern European cohorts. The secondary fracture prevention gap is unacceptably high at 85%. PURPOSE: To characterise inpatient care, complications, and 4-month mortality following a hip or proximal femur fracture in Spain. METHODS: Design: prospective cohort study. Consecutive sample of patients ≥ 50 years old admitted in a representative 45 hospitals for a hip or proximal femur fragility fracture, from June 2014 to June 2016 and followed up for 4 months post-fracture. Patient characteristics, site of fracture, in-patient care (including secondary fracture prevention) and complications, and 4-month mortality are described. RESULTS: A total of 997 subjects (765 women) of mean (standard deviation) age 83.6 (8.4) years were included. Previous history of fracture/s (36.9%) and falls (43%) were common, and 10-year FRAX-estimated major and hip fracture risks were 15.2% (9.0%) and 8.5% (7.6%) respectively. Inter-trochanteric (44.6%) and displaced intra-capsular (28.0%) were the most common fracture sites, and fixation with short intramedullary nail (38.6%) with spinal anaesthesia (75.5%) the most common procedures. Surgery and rehabilitation were initiated within a mean 59.1 (56.7) and 61.9 (55.1) hours respectively, and average length of stay was 11.5 (9.3) days. Antithrombotic and antibiotic prophylaxis were given to 99.8% and 98.2% respectively, whilst only 12.4% received secondary fracture prevention at discharge. Common complications included delirium (36.1 %) and kidney failure (14.1%), with in-hospital and 4-month mortality of 2.1% and 11% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite suboptimal surgical delay, post-hip fracture mortality is low in Spanish hospitals. The secondary fracture prevention gap is unacceptably high at > 85%, in spite of virtually universal anti-thrombotic and antibiotic prophylaxis.

On the Feasibility of Low-Cost Wearable Sensors for Multi-Modal Biometric Verification.

Biometric systems designed on wearable technology have substantial differences from traditional biometric systems. Due to their wearable nature, they generally capture noisier signals and can only be trained with signals belonging to the device user (biometric verification). In this article, we assess the feasibility of using low-cost wearable sensors-photoplethysmogram (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG), accelerometer (ACC), and galvanic skin response (GSR)-for biometric verification. We present a prototype, built with low-cost wearable sensors, that was used to capture data from 25 subjects while seated (at resting state), walking, and seated (after a gentle stroll). We used this data to evaluate how the different combinations of signals affected the biometric verification process. Our results showed that the low-cost sensors currently being embedded in many fitness bands and smart-watches can be combined to enable biometric verification. We report and compare the results obtained by all tested configurations. Our best configuration, which uses ECG, PPG and GSR, obtained 0.99 area under the curve and 0.02 equal error rate with only 60 s of training data. We have made our dataset public so that our work can be compared with proposals developed by other researchers.

Tumor odontogénico adenomatoide en la mandíbula de una niña de 11 años de edad / Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor in the jaw of an 11-year-old girl

Presentar un caso de tumor odontogénico adenomatoide y realizar consideraciones relativas a su diagnóstico y prevención. Caso clínico: una paciente de 11 años de edad presentaba intenso dolor y deformación facial a nivel mandibular. El diagnóstico anatomopatológico de certeza fue tumor odontogénico adenomatoide. Conclusiones: el tumor odontogénico adenomatoide es un tumor benigno de los maxilares, frecuentemente asociado a una pieza dentaria retenida. Sus dimensiones pueden ser importantes, lo cual compromete las estructuras vecinas y su funcionalidad. Se enfatiza la importancia del diagnóstico oportuno de parte del médico pediatra, del odontólogo pediatra y del cirujano bucomaxilofacial...

Cambios en las características clínico-epidemiológicas de los nuevos casos de infección por el VIH-1 en Castellón (España) y su repercusión en la presentación tardía (1987-2011) / Changes in clinic-epidemiological characteristics of new cases of HIV-1 infection in Castellón (Spain), and its impact on delayed presentation (1987-2011)

OBJETIVO: Describir la evolución de las características clínico-epidemiológicas en una cohorte de pacientes infectados por el VIH-1 en Castellón (España), y su repercusión en la presentación tardía. MÉTODOS: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo en el que se revisaron datos de la primera visita de pacientes infectados por el VIH-1 que consultaron desde 1987 a 2011. RESULTADOS: Durante el periodo de estudio se produjeron importantes cambios en las características de los 1.001 pacientes que consultaron por primera vez. La edad media pasó de ser de unos 30 años antes de 1996, a situarse alrededor de los 35 tras el periodo 2000-2002. El porcentaje de extranjeros pasó de ser < 2% antes de 1997 a representar el 50% en el periodo 2009-2011, y el de transmisión por drogas parenterales del 92,3% antes de 1988 a < 20% tras el periodo 2003-2005, con un descenso paralelo en la coinfección por VHC. La presentación tardía no experimentó cambios significativos, con una media del 47,1% en el periodo estudiado. Los factores asociados a este retraso en solicitar asistencia fueron: mayor edad, diagnóstico realizado a nivel hospitalario, mayor demora en el tiempo estimado entre infección y diagnóstico serológico, y en el tiempo entre diagnóstico serológico y primera visita. CONCLUSIÓN: En nuestro entorno, la epidemiología del VIH-1 ha cambiado considerablemente desde el inicio de la epidemia. El progresivo retraso en el diagnóstico serológico es una importante causa de la escasa variación en el porcentaje de presentaciones tardías, y evidencia el escaso impacto de las estrategias de diagnóstico precoz

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trend of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a cohort of HIV-1 infected patients in Castellón (Spain), and its impact on the delayed presentation. METHODS: Data from HIV-1 infected outpatients presenting for care for the first time between 1987 and 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: There have been significant changes in the characteristics of the 1001 newly presented patients during the period studied. An increase in the mean age was observed (increasing from about 30 years before 1996, to approximately 35 after the 2000-2002 period), as well as an increase in the percentage of immigrants (< 2% before 1997, to 50% in the 2009-2011 period), and a decline in the proportion of intravenous drug use as the main transmission route (changing from being 92.3% before 1988 to below 20% after the 2003-2005 period), together with a decrease in the proportion of hepatitis-C coinfection. The rate of late presentation has not significantly changed, being 47.1% in the period studied. Factors associated with this late presentation were: older age, hospital diagnosis, an increased delay between estimated infection time and diagnosis, and between diagnosis and initial presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in our area has dramatically changed since the beginning of the disease. The increasing delay between estimated infection time and diagnosis is an important cause of the lack of variation in the late presentation rate, and highlights the low impact of early diagnosis strategies

[Changes in clinic-epidemiological characteristics of new cases of HIV-1 infection in Castellón (Spain), and its impact on delayed presentation (1987-2011)]. / Cambios en las características clínico-epidemiológicas de los nuevos casos de infección por el VIH-1 en Castellón (España) y su repercusión en la presentación tardía (1987-2011).

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trend of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a cohort of HIV-1 infected patients in Castellón (Spain), and its impact on the delayed presentation. METHODS: Data from HIV-1 infected outpatients presenting for care for the first time between 1987 and 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: There have been significant changes in the characteristics of the 1001 newly presented patients during the period studied. An increase in the mean age was observed (increasing from about 30 years before 1996, to approximately 35 after the 2000-2002 period), as well as an increase in the percentage of immigrants (<2% before 1997, to 50% in the 2009-2011 period), and a decline in the proportion of intravenous drug use as the main transmission route (changing from being 92.3% before 1988 to below 20% after the 2003-2005 period), together with a decrease in the proportion of hepatitis-C coinfection. The rate of late presentation has not significantly changed, being 47.1% in the period studied. Factors associated with this late presentation were: older age, hospital diagnosis, an increased delay between estimated infection time and diagnosis, and between diagnosis and initial presentation. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in our area has dramatically changed since the beginning of the disease. The increasing delay between estimated infection time and diagnosis is an important cause of the lack of variation in the late presentation rate, and highlights the low impact of early diagnosis strategies.

Vitamin D receptor expression is associated with improved overall survival in human glioblastoma multiforme.

Vitamin D and its analogs have been shown to display anti-proliferative effects in a wide variety of cancer types including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). These anticancer effects are mediated by its active metabolite, 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) acting mainly through vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling. In addition to its involvement in calcitriol action, VDR has also been demonstrated to be useful as a prognostic factor for some types of cancer. However, to our knowledge, there are no studies evaluating the expression of VDR protein and its association with outcome in gliomas. Therefore, we investigated VDR expression by using immunohistochemical analysis in human glioma tissue microarrays, and analyzed the association between VDR expression and clinico-pathological parameters. We further investigated the effects of genetic and pharmacologic modulation of VDR on survival and migration of glioma cell lines. Our data demonstrate that VDR is increased in tumor tissues when compared with VDR in non-malignant brains, and that VDR expression is associated with an improved outcome in patients with GBM. We also show that both genetic and pharmacologic modulation of VDR modulates GBM cellular migration and survival and that VDR is necessary for calcitriol-mediated effects on migration. Altogether these results provide some limited evidence supporting a role for VDR in glioma progression.

Heme oxygenase-1 expression in human gliomas and its correlation with poor prognosis in patients with astrocytoma.

In human glioma tumors, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been shown to be upregulated both when compared with normal brain tissues and also during oligodendroglioma progression. The cell types that express HO-1 have been shown to be mainly macrophages/microglia and T cells. However, many other reports also demonstrated that cell lines derived from glioma tumors and astrocytes express HO-1 after the occurrence of a wide variety of cell injuries and stressors. In addition, the significance of HO-1 upregulation in glioma had not, so far, been addressed. We therefore aimed at investigating the expression and significance of HO-1 in human glial tumors. For this purpose, we performed a wide screening of HO-1 expression in gliomas by using tissue microarrays containing astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, mixed tumors, and normal brain tissues. We subsequently correlated protein expression with patient clinicopathological data. We found differences in HO-1 positivity rates between non-malignant brain (22 %) and gliomas (54%, p = 0.01). HO-1 was expressed by tumor cells and showed cytoplasmic localization, although 19% of tumor samples also depicted nuclear staining. Importantly, a significant decrease in the overall survival time of grade II and III astrocytoma patients with HO-1 expression was observed. This result was validated at the mRNA level in a cohort of 105 samples. However, no association of HO-1 nuclear localization with patient survival was detected. In vitro experiments aimed at investigating the role of HO-1 in glioma progression showed that HO-1 modulates glioma cell proliferation, but has no effects on cellular migration. In conclusion, our results corroborate the higher frequency of HO-1 protein expression in gliomas than in normal brain, demonstrate that HO-1 is expressed by glial malignant cells, and show an association of HO-1 expression with patients' shorter survival time.

Nuclear localization of heme oxygenase-1 is associated with tumor progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

The expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was shown to be increased in multiple tumors compared with their surrounding healthy tissues and was also observed to be up-regulated in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). However, conflicting results were obtained and little information is available regarding HO-1 significance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to perform a wide screening of HO-1 expression in a large collection of human primary HNSCCs and to correlate the results with clinical and pathological parameters. For this purpose, we investigated the expression of this protein by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tissue microarrays (TMAs) of HNSCC and in an independent cohort of paraffin-embedded tumor specimens. HO-1 expression was further validated by real-time qPCR performed on selected laser capture-microdissected (LCM) oral tissue samples. Both the number of HO-1-positive samples and HO-1 immunoreactivity in the cancerous tissues were significantly higher than those in the non-tumor tissues. These results were confirmed at the mRNA level. Interestingly, HO-1 localization was observed in the nucleus, and the rate of nuclear HO-1 in HNSCC was higher than that in non-malignant tissues. Nuclear HO-1 was observed in HNSCC cell lines and increased even further following hemin treatment. Analysis of HO-1 expression and sub-cellular localization in a mouse model of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and in human HNSCC revealed that nuclear HO-1 increases with tumor progression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that HO-1 is up-regulated in HNSCC and that nuclear localization of HO-1 is associated with malignant progression in this tumor type.

Enteropatía grado II. Revisión diagnóstica de 12 años / Grade II Entheropathy. 12 year diagnostic review

Introducción: El diagnóstico de enteropatía grado II presenta amplias discrepancias entre los distintos observadores. Objetivo: Realizar una revisión de las biopsias de mucosa duodeno-yeyunal diagnosticadas como enteropatía grado II en el H.I.G.A. «Dr. José Penna¼ de Bahía Blanca entre 1997 y 2009. Materiales y Métodos: Se reevaluaron 22 casos utilizando los criterios histológicos propuestos por Drut y col. (2004) que clasifican la enteropatía en 4 grados según el compromiso de la relación vellosidad/cripta. Resultados: De los 22 casos reevaluados, concordamos que 13 de ellos eran enteropatía grado II. En los 9 casos restantes surgieron nuevas interpretaciones. Conclusión: Coincidimos con el diagnóstico previo en un 59,1% de los casos. Creemos que la falta de concordancia en el 40,9% restante se debió a la utilización de varios criterios, que al superponerlos generan gran variación interobservador.

Introduction: Grade II entheropathy diagnosis presents marked differences depending on the observers. Objective: This work aims at reviewing the biopsies of duodenal­jejunal mucosa biopsies diagnosed as grade II entheropathy at the Hospital «Dr. José Penna¼ of Bahía Blanca, between the years 1997 and 2009. Materials and Methods: 22 cases of grade II entheropathy were re-assessed using the histological criteria proposed by Drut and collaborators (2004), who classify entheropathy into 4 degrees according to crypt/villus ratio involvement. Results: Out of the 22 re-assessed cases, we agree that 13 corresponded to grade II entheropathy. In the 9 remaining cases there were new interpretations. Conclusions: We agree with the previous diagnosis in 59.1% of the cases. We believe that the lack of agreement in the remaining 40.9% of cases is due to the use of several overlapping criteria that create a great interobserver variation.