[Quality of life evaluation in the patient with allergic rhinits]. / Evaluación de la calidad de vida del paciente con rinitis alérgica.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the evaluation tools, such as the quality of life-questionnaires, allows to assess how functional alterations due to an illness affect the patient's life. OBJECTIVE: To know the emotional, social and occupational state of allergic rhinitis patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Quality of life questionnaires were applied once to a group of 50 patients with allergic rhinitis diagnosis from the clinic immunology and allergy service, from May to August 2002. RESULTS: Female sex was the predominant (64%), with ages from 8 to 74 years (average of 36.9 years). In women severe rhinitis was observed in 37.5%, and in men mild rhinitis was found in 61%. The main occupations were: student (20%), administrative (20%) and teacher (18%). Nasal symptoms appeared when doing the following activities: housework in 18 cases (36%), reading in 10 cases (20%) and house maintenance in 5 cases (10%). In the analysis done to know the usefulness of the questionnaire a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 85% were found. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of life was found to be altered, affected and closely related to the presentation of nasal symptoms when doing different daily-life activities, which produces dissatisfaction in patients.

[Preeclampsia-eclampsia: a change in utero-placental microcirculation. Immunologic, histologic, and biochemical features]. / Preeclampsia-eclampsia: una alteración en la microcirculación útero-placentaria. Aspectos inmunológicos, histológicos y bioquímicos.

BACKGROUND: To know the alterations in the microcirculation of the placenta, umbilical cord, as well as the immune and hemorrheologic disorders in preeclampsia-eclampsia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two groups were conformed, 30 patients each, all of them with pregnancy of more than 24-week gestation. Group A included patients with preeclampsia-eclampsia and group B (control group) included women with normal pregnancy. In all patients determinations of levels of platelets, fibrinogen, antinuclear antibodies, IgG and IgM anticardiolipin, VDRL were made; clotting times were determined, and histopathologic analyses (placenta, umbilical cord and uterus-placenta membranes) were performed. RESULTS: Platelet levels in the group A were normal in 40% and low in 60%. In group B they were normal in 83.3% and low in 16.7%. with p < 0.05. In group A fibrinogen was normal in 10% and high in 90%; in the group B it was normal in 62.1% and high 37.9%, with p < 0.05. In group A prothrombin time (PT) was normal in 40% and high in 60%; in group B it was normal in 76.7% and low in 23.3%, with p < 0.05. in group TPT was normal in 36.7% and high in 62.1%, with p > 0.05. VDRL was negative in the 100% of the women of group A and positive in the 3.3% of the controls with p > 0.05. The antinuclear antibodies were positive in 6.7% in group A, and in 23.3% in group B, p < 0.05. IgG anticardiolipin antibodies were negatives in the 100% in both groups and IgM antibodies were negative in 96.7% in the group B and 3.3% in group A, p > 0.05. Analysis of histopathologic and immune changes did not show statistic significance when comparing both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical and clinical significance was observed only in the hemorrheologic changes (PT, TPT, fibrinogen and platelets) and in the newborn weight.