Severe lupus with infectious thyroiditis and lethal cardiomyopathy.

Clinical cardiomyopathy is an uncommon complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and intracavitary thrombosis is rare. We describe a patient with active SLE who developed rapidly progressive cardiomyopathy, the fatal course of which was complicated by an intracavitary thrombus. Repeat cardiac echography studies and the endomyocardial biopsy proved to be helpful in diagnosing the lupus myocarditis and aided the regulation of therapy.

Virus recovery from stools of patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

Diarrhea in marrow transplant recipients is a frequent complication attributable to non-infectious events such as acute GVHD or infectious events such as viral gastroenteritis. Rotavirus and enteric adenovirus are the most frequent viral pathogens. To determine the frequency of these infections, we prospectively examined the stool specimens of 94 patients who underwent autologous BMT (34 cases) or allogeneic BMT (60 cases).

[Extrapulmonary and disseminated pneumocystosis in HIV infection].

Three cases of extrapulmonary disseminated Pneumocystis carinii infection are reported. All 3 patients had HIV infection with less than 50 CD4 lymphocytes per cubic millimeter and were having aerosols of pentamidine as prophylactic treatment of pneumocystosis. P.

[Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. A case diagnosed by MRI].

A 67-years old woman developed sudden headache and transient vertigo. One week later, left arm paresis appeared and the patient became comatose. Investigations showed thrombocytopenia with hemolytic anemia and the presence of numerous irregularly contracted red cells (schizocytes).

Primary malignant lymphoma of the liver. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

We present two cases of primary malignant lymphoma of the liver, a very unusual localization of primary malignant lymphoma since only 31 similar cases were reported in the literature. The main symptoms included: hepatomegaly, fever, slight cholestasis and non specific alteration of the liver appearance on ultrasonography or computed tomodensitometry examination. Diagnosis was established in both cases by histopathological demonstration of infiltration by large lymphoid cells.

[Detection of nosocomial infections: a proposal of a protocol for a prospective study].

If meant to be effective, the detection of nosocomial infections demands considering the means that should be used for a daily gathering of necessary complete information. An experiment led in a medical intensive care unit have suggested the elements of such a gathering work. This must be prospective and aimed to relate the frequency, more that the importance of nosocomial infections.

[The cost of hospital acquired infections].

Two complementary studies were carried out. a) A three months study on nosocomial infection frequency, with a simultaneous assessment of the nosocomial infection risk factors (infected or non infected body on entry in the department, the kind of pathology, simplified scores of seriousness) and of the length of the hospital stays to compare the average length of stay for overinfected patients and for nosocomial infection non contaminated patients, after checking those factors through adjustment, themselves responsible for a prolongation of the stays. b) An evaluation of the cost of the sole antibiotics used in the treatment of a Serratia nosocomial infection epidemic which developed in the department.