Approach to Occupational Contact Dermatitis in an Industrialized Region of Spain

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Delayed hypersensitivity reaction to liraglutide: a case report

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Successful desensitization to oxaliplatin after a single initial dose of omalizumab in a patient with elevated IgE levels

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Acute renal failure as a complication of hypertonic saline abortion in a kidney allograft recipient.

Acute renal failure following abortion by intra-amniotic hypertonic saline administration has been described only occasionally. This report concerns a patient with end-stage renal failure who was successfully treated with a kidney allograft and developed reversible acute renal failure following the termination of her pregnancy by intra-amniotic infusion of saline. We suspect that the combination of hemoglobinuria and low grade intravascular coagulation might have been a contributing factor in the development of renal insufficiency in this patient. To our knowledge this modality of abortion has not been used previously in pregnant women with transplanted kidneys. From our experience with one patient it seems wise to express a word of caution on the use of this technique in patients with a functioning kidney allograft.

PIP: A case of acute renal failure subsequent to hypertonic saline abortion is reported. A 26-year-old woman who had received a kidney allograft 7 months earlier was admitted to hospital for midtrimester abortion. Shortly after saline installation she developed a fever. Fetus and placenta were passed the following day but her temperature continued to rise. Urine output rose sharply; urinalysis showed a specific gravity of 1.005, 1+ proteinuria, moderate hemoglobinuria, 5-10 leukocytes, and a few granular casts. Her medications were 125 mg/day azathioprine, 25 mg/day prednisone, aluminum hydroxide gel, calcium carbonate, dihydrotachysterol and multivitamins. Her condition improved to the point of discharge 1 week postabortion. It is hypothesized that a combination of hemoglobinuria and mild intravascular coagulation contributed to the condition. Caution is advised when considering saline abortion for patients with transplanted kidneys.

Successful renal transplantation in polyarteritis nodosa.

Hemodialysis and renal transplantation were performed in a patient with end stage renal disease caused by polyarteritis nodosa. Severe peripheral neuropathy developed during hemodialysis. Five years after transplantation, marked improvement of the neuropathy associated with adequate function of the allograft has been noted. There has been no detectable clinical or pathologic signs of recurrent disease. These observations favor the consideration of renal transplantation in patients with polyarteritis nodosa and renal failure, particularly in the absence of extensive organ involvement.

Hipertensión de la arteria pulmonar y enfermedades autoinmunes del tejido conectivo: revisión de la literatura / Pulmonary arterial hypertension and autoimmune connective tissue diseases: literature review

La hipertensión de la arteria pulmonar es una grave complicación que pueden presentar los pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes del tejido conectivo Exis-ten distintas prevalencias reportadas según cada país. Por otro lado, la sobrevida de estos pacientes reportada al año y a los tres años, va desde 70-82% y 47-53% respectivamente dependiendo de cual es la enfermedad del tejido conectivo aso-ciada. En los últimos años se ha avanzado en la precocidad del diagnóstico y han aparecido nuevas terapias que han demostrado mejores resultados. Sin embargo, la respuesta al tratamiento sigue siendo mejor en pacientes con hipertensión pul-monar idiopática que en aquellas asociadas a enfermedad de tejido conectivo.

Pulmonary artery hypertension is a serious complication that may occur in pa-tients with autoimmune diseases of the connective tissue. There are different prevalence reported by country. On the other hand, the survival of these patients reported at one year and three years, going from 70-82% and 47-53% respec-tively, depending on which is the associated connective tissue disease. In recent years it has made progress in the precocity of diagnosis and new therapies have appearedthat have shown better results. However, the response to treatment is still better in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension than in those associated with connective tissue disease.

Poliartritis agudas virales / Viral acute polyarthritis

Las poliartritis agudas son cuadros de menos seis semanas de duración, cuyas causas pueden o no ser infecciosas. Entre las primeras, destacan las virales, con gran varie-dad de agentes causales. Entre ellos se distinguen por su frecuencia: virus hepatitis B,virus hepatitis C, parvovirus B19, virus rubéola y la fiebre Chicungunya. Tienen elementos comunes, como su expresión poliarticular, generalmente simétrica, con predilección por las pequeñas articulaciones de las manos, siendo habitualmente autolimitadas. A su vez, poseen elementos propios, clínicos y de laboratorio, que permiten diferenciarlos, teniendo algunos una evolución más agresiva con morbilidad más significativa. A su vez, por sus características clínicas y de laboratorio, plantean el diagnóstico diferencial con enfermedades inmunoreumatológicas, como la artritis reumatoidea y el lupus eritematoso sistémico, entre otras.Se realiza una revisión del cuadro clínico y de laboratorio de las poliartritis causadas por los virus señalados, su diagnóstico diferencial y posibilidades terapéuticas.

The acute polyarthritis are pictures of less six weeks duration, whose causes can be or not to be infectious. Among the first, the viral ones stand out with a variety of causal agents. Among there distinguished by their frequency: virus hepatitis B, hepatitis C virus, parvovirus B19, rubella virus and the fever Chicungunya. They have common elements, such as his expression polyarticular, usually symmetrical, with a predilection for the small joints of the hands, being usually self-limiting. At the same time, they have own laboratory and clinical elements that allow differentiation, some having a more aggressive evolution with more significant morbidity. At the same time, for its clinical and laboratory characteristics, raise the differential diagnosis of immunohematological diseases, such as arthritis rheumatoid and systemic lupus erythematosus among others.Is done a review of clinical and laboratory of the polyarthritis caused by the mentioned viruses, differential diagnosis and therapeutic possibilities.

Caracterización de pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes del tejido conectivo e hipertensión de arteria pulmonar atendidos en Hospital San Juan de Dios / Patients characterization with autoimmune diseases of the connective tissue and high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery seen in hospital San Juan de Dios

La hipertensión de la arteria pulmonar (HAP) es una grave complicación que pue-den presentar los pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes del tejido conectivo de prevalencia variable según cada país. Habitualmente su diagnóstico es tardío lo que influye negativamente en su pronóstico y respuesta terapéutica. En el pre-sente trabajo se ha iniciado una revisión en conjunto entre la Unidad de Hemodi-namia y de Reumatología del Hospital San Juan de Dios, con el propósito de tener una caracterización de los pacientes con HAP y enfermedades autoinmunes del tejido conectivo y poder así elaborar planes de manejo de acuerdo a las caracte-rísticas clínicas de estos pacientes e intentar obtener un diagnostico precoz, para mejorar la sobrevida de los portadores de estas enfermedades.

High blood pressure in the pulmonary artery (HAP) is a serious complication that may occur in patients with autoimmune diseases of the connective tissue of vari-able prevalence according to each country. Diagnosis is usually late which affects negatively their prognosis and therapeutic response. In the present work has been initiated a review in conjunction between the unit of Hemodynamic and Rheumatology of the Hospital San Juan de Dios, with the purpose of having a characterization of patients with PAH and autoimmune diseases of the connective tissue and can thus develop management plans according to the clinical features of these patients and try to get an early diagnosis, to improve the survival of the carriers of these diseases.

[Ethical reflections on errors in medicine]. / Consideraciones éticas sobre el error en medicina.

It is usually inevitable to save the physician-patient relationship from the effects of medical errors. It is so because either the professional responsibility, the patients trust and the principles that govern the medical action are compromised by such events. The possibility to learn from it, prevent its appearance, improve the procedures and curtail its consequences, is linked to developing ethical attitudes to overcome these circumstances without further legal accountability.

[Systemic lupus erythematosus and pregnancy. Clinical experience in 57 patients]. / Lupus eritematoso sistémico y embarazo. Experiencia clínica en 57 pacientes.

We reviewed the obstetric history of 57 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The number and outcome of pregnancies before and after the diagnosis of SLE was recorded. The clinical course of 21 patients who became pregnant during the observation period was noted. Before the diagnosis of SLE, 158 pregnancies resulted in a 20% rate of fetal loss (abortion, pre and neonatal death). This was lower than a 35% rate of fetal loss during pregnancies developed after the diagnosis of SLE. Both rates are significantly higher than the 10% which is considered normal for our reference population (p less than 0.001). A higher rate of fetal loss was observed in active SLE (37%) compared to inactive SLE (19%) and in the presence of SLE nephropathy (34%) than in its absence (17%), (p less than 0,01). A flourishing of SLE was observed in 50% of pregnancies, especially during the first trimester (59%) and after delivery (35%). We conclude that pregnancy occurs frequently in patients with SLE. The fetal risk is high although the clinical course of the disease is usually benign. Results in both terms are unfavourably influenced by the activity of SLE and the presence of nephropathy.

[Juvenile dermatomyositis: clinical manifestations and laboratory tests]. / Dermatomiositis juvenil: manifestaciones clínicas y de laboratorio.

Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a chronic, inflammatory degenerative entity with multisystemic involvement, particularly of skin and striated muscle. This is a description of the clinical features, laboratory findings and treatment results in 10 children with JDM which were under control along a 14 years period (1974-1988) in a general hospital at metropolitan Santiago, Chile. Onset was insidious in 8 cases and acute in the remaining patients. All children had muscle and skin involvement, 90% of them showed heliotrops erythema and 6 cases (among the total 10) had one or more additional skin signs. Ninety percent of patients had risen serum activity of muscle associated enzymes, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) being the most constantly elevated: 7/7 studied cases. All patients showed abnormal electromyographic and histologic findings in muscle biopsy. Treatment was based upon rehabilitation, prednisone (average daily dose: 1.5 mg.kg of body weight) associated or not with cytotoxic drugs, accordingly to each individual case. Clinical course was considered to be favourable in 9 of the 10 cases because all of them showed no evidence of disease activity on last follow up control 26 to 93 months after initial consultation, six had only slight restriction to wider range movements of affected joints and three showed no sequelae. Only one death occurred in this series, to a patient who rejected treatment.

Treatment of digitalis intoxication by charcoal hemoperfusion (CHP).

In the present communication, we demonstrate the removal of digoxin both in vitro and in vivo from digoxin intoxicated dogs by use of hemoperfusion over activated charcoal. In vitro drug removal was 33 ml/min at mean blood flow rates of 160 ml/min. By 30 mins of in vitro perfusion 51% of drug was removed from the reservoir and by 2 1/2 hrs 83%. In vivo clearance in dogs was 55 ml/min at blood flow rates of 150 ml/min. In view of the poor success that has been encountered in the treatment of digoxin intoxication with other modalities, charcoal hemoperfusion may represent an effective method of rapid digoxin removal from blood.

[Rheumatoid arthritis. Therapeutic efficacy of methotrexate and its hepatotoxic effects]. / Artritis reumatoídea. Eficacia terapéutica del metotrexate y sus efectos hepatotoxicos.

The efficacy and toxicity (specially hepatic) of methotrexate in low doses (7.5 mg/week) was prospectively assessed in 21 patients with rheumatoid arthritis refractory to treatment with gold or penicillamine, during two years. Three patients were prematurely withdrawn from the protocol. A fast and significant improvement of RA was observed during the first six months, which tapered thereafter. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased from 51.5 +/- 20.1 to 27.7 +/- 11.5 mm/h (p < 0.05). A rise in serum transaminases, always raising to less than twice the normal value, was observed in 75% of patients in some moment of the follow up. Hepatic scintigraphy did not show significant changes. Hepatic histological alterations were mild and no changes were observed after two years of treatment. The main secondary effects were moderate and transitory gastrointestinal and hematological disturbances. The prednisone dose was decreased from 6.8 +/- 2.6 to 4.8 +/- 1.9 mg/day at twelve months. There were no withdrawals due to drug toxicity. It is concluded that methotrexate proved to be efficacious in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis refractory to conventional treatments. Its secondary effects, although frequent, were discrete and transitory and there were no changes in liver histology.

[Adult non-insulin-dependent diabetic: limitation of articular mobility and soft tissue involvement]. / Diabético adulto no insulinodependiente: limitación de la movilidad articular y compromiso de partes blandas.

Periarticular involvement and joint mobility were investigated in 100 non insulin dependent diabetic patients, compared to 100 healthy control subjects of similar age and sex. Periarticular involvement was much more common in diabetics (p < 0.01) including limitation of joint mobility (hands) (40% vs 9%), Dupuytren (29% vs 2%), palmar synovitis (59% vs 7%) and capsulitis (16% vs 1%). Diabetic patients with limitation of joint mobility had more neuropathy (80% vs 56%), retinitis proliferans (35% vs 17%) and alterations of the skin of the hands, compared to diabetics without limitation of joint mobility. Diabetes should be investigated in subjects with periarticular manifestations such as those described in this paper. Also, a more advanced stage of diabetes may be suspected in diabetics with such manifestations.

Tumores del esqueleto: 20 años de experiencia (1984-2003) / Tumors of the skeleton: 20 years of experience (1984-2003)

Se presenta la experiencia del Servicio de Partes Blandas y Tumores Oseos del Hospital Oncológico Padre Machado, de Caracas, en el manejo de los tumores del esqueleto, por un período de 20 años (1984-2003). la evaluación de la experiencia fue retrospectiva, con un análisis objetivo estadístico lineal, presentándose el espectro de la patología atendida, y la diversidad de alternativas terapéuticas quirúrgicas utilizadas. Se reporta una incidencia preferencial de esta patología en los miembros inferiores (58,58 por ciento), particularmente alrededor de la rodilla (fémur distal y tibia proximal). El grupo de tumores más frecuentemente observado fue el de formadores de tejido óseo (20,95 por ciento, seguido de los formadores de tejido cartilaginoso (14,79 por ciento), tumor de células gigantes (9,93 por ciento), y las lesiones pseudotumorales (5,85 por ciento). Entre los tumores formadores de tejido óseo llama la atención la alta incidencia de las variedades malignas (90,52 por ciento); miemtras que en los formadores de tejido cartilaginoso, las variedades benignas fueron las más frecuentes (69,80 por ciento). Entre los tipos de cirugía realizadas, una proporción importante tuvo finalidad diagnóstica (58,41 por ciento), aunque en muchas de ellas la intención fue simultánea o adicionalmente terapéutica (escisión, drenaje, relleno, etc.). Entre las cirugías con finalidad terapéutica, hay una amplia diversidad de opciones, destacándose, la posibilidad de la práctica de una cirugía preservadora, siempre que se respeten los principios oncológicos quirúrgicos. se resalta la importancia del manejo de esta patología en centros espeializados.

The experience of the Service of Solft Tissue and Bone Tumors, of the Oncology Hospital Padre Machado, Caracas, in the management of the tumors affecting the skeleton, for a period of 20 years (1984-2003), is presented. The evaluation of this experience was a retrospective revision, with an objective statistics lineal analysis, showing the spectrum of the pathology, and the therapeutic surgical alternatives utilized. The report shows a higher incidence of this pathology affecting the lower limbs (58,58 per cent), particular..around the knee joint (distal femur and proximal tibia). The most frequent type of tumor was the bone forming tumors group (20.95 per cent), followed by the cartilaginous tissue forming tumors group (14.79 per cent, giant cell tumors (9.93 per cent), and pseudotumoral lesions (5.85 per cent). Among the bone forming tumor group, called our attention the prevalence of the malignant variety (90.52 per cent); whereas in the cartilaginous tissue forming type, the bening options were seen more frequently (69.80 per cent). Looking at the performed surgeries, an important proportion had a diagnostic goal (58.41 per cent), although many of them allowed a therapeutic solution at the same time (resection, drainage, folling defects, etc). Among the surgical options with a therapeutic goal, we performed a very large variety of them, proposing limb presenvation when the surgical oncology principles could be respected. The importance of treating this pathology in specialized centers is underlined.