Confirmation of the Department of Transportation criteria for a substituted urine specimen.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether people could naturally produce urine sufficiently dilute to meet the federal criteria for a "substituted" specimen. The United States Department of Transportation Regulations (49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 40) defines a urine specimen as substituted if it has a creatinine concentration of < or = 5 mg/dL and a specific gravity of < or = 1.001 or > or = 1.

[Small cell lung cancer revealed by extramembranous glomerulonephritis].

We describe a case of small-cell lung cancer limited to the thorax but with malignant pleural effusion in a 47-year-old man that was revealed by a nephrotic syndrome due to membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN). Chemotherapy led to a partial tumor response with total resolution of the nephrotic syndrome. Tumor relapse did not provoke proteinuria.

[Retinopathy caused by interferon. Apropos of a case].

Toxic retinopathy due to alpha interferon in a 20-year-old female is reported. This was an unusual case due to its severity in a non diabetic patient. Recovery of visual acuity was incomplete though angiographic tests normalized.

[Homozygote deficiency of thiopurine methyltransferase. A contraindication to the use of azathioprine in kidney transplantation].

Azathioprine-induced myelosuppression is the most important side effect observed in kidney transplantation. We report a case of severe neutropenia after kidney transplantation due to a thiopurine methyltransferase deficiency. This cause of azathioprine-induced myelotoxicity is rare, but its infectious consequences may be severe.