Pleurodesis using autologous blood: a new concept in the management of persistent air leak in acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objective: Pneumothorax is present as a frequent complication in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Persistent air leak (PAL) prolongs pneumothorax in 2% of cases of ARDS, increasing the rate of mortality by 26%. Pleurodesis using autologous blood (PAB) is an effective method in cases of oncological pulmonary surgery.

[Sports requiring stressful physical exertion cause abnormalities in plasma lipid profile].

Objectives: To study the effect of different types of sports on plasma lipid profile. Subjects and method. Fasting plasma levels of total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol (TC, LDLc, HDLc), triglycerides, phospholipids, apo A-I, apo B-100, and Lp(a) were measured in 28 swimmers, 17 volleyball players and 23 soccer players, and in a control group.

[A prospective, controlled, non-randomized study of three cohorts to test the effectiveness of two antibiotics levofloxacin and cotrimoxazol on antibacterial prophylaxis in neutropenic patients].

Background And Objective: At present, there is strong concern about the efficacy of current antimicrobial prophylaxis for the management of neutropenic patients. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of levofloxacin, a new quinolone with expanded activity against grampositive bacteria, versus cotrimoxazol as a prophylactic treatment for granulocytopenic patients.

Patients And Method: In this prospective and controlled study, we included 249 consecutive episodes of neutropenia, such as those resulting from lymphoma and leukemia treatment, during 28 months (from November 1999 to February 2002).

[Urinary glycosaminoglycans after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in patients with kidney lithiasis].

Objective: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a technique that is not free of adverse effects. Renal changes detected during complementary exploratory procedures have been described, although these are minimal, resolve within a few days, do not present clinical manifestations and are not detected on ultrasound in most of the cases. For this reason, we studied a marker for renal injury, the urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in patients with renal calculi, before, immediately after and 30 days following ESWL.