[Acute hepatic failure in a teaching hospital: a review of 20 cases in the past seven years].

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a medical emergency which entails a multisistemic affectation almost always. Twenty cases of ALF have been reviewed in a teaching hospital with active liver transplantation programme. A high percentage of patients with alcohol abuse was observed although these patients did not have previously known hepatic damage.

[Etiologic spectrum of solitary constitutional syndrome].

Objective: To know the spectrum of diseases responsible for the solitary constitutional syndrome in our setting. This syndrome was defined as a clinical picture characterized by the presence of asthenia, anorexia, and weight loss of at least 5% of body weight in the last six months, not associated with any other symptom or sign suggesting the diagnosis of an organ or system disease.

Patients And Methods: All patients diagnosed of the solitary constitutional syndrome (328) in a tertiary-care level teaching hospital between January 1991 and December 1996.

[Binswanger's disease or multi-infarct dementia? Diagnostic keys in vascular dementia].

Objective: To develop a model that assists in the classification of patients with vascular dementia in two of its most relevant subtypes: multi-infarct dementia (cortical involvement) and Binswanger's disease (subcortical involvement).

Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis of 50 consecutive patients with Binswanger's disease and 50 patients with multi-infarct dementia studied throughout a 12-year period (1986-1998) in a tertiary university hospital. The statistical model was obtained by multivariant analysis (logit model) and its accuracy was estimated by means of ROC curve analysis.

[Diagnosis of osteoporosis by lateral chest X-ray].

Background: Lateral chest X-rays may be helpful in the early detection of osteoporotic patients. We studied the proportion of chest X-ray reports in which the radiologist highlighted the presence of vertebral osteoporotic signs, as well as the proportion of patients with such records who were further studied by their physicians in order to confirm the diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Patients And Method: We reviewed both lateral chest X-ray records of 3,500 consecutive patients and their medical records with the ultimate diagnosis.

[Alcohol and stroke: a controversial association].

Objective: Although an increasing quantity of information concerning risk factors for stroke have been developed lately, the relationship between alcohol consumption and cerebral ischemic infarction, unlike at coronary sites, remains unclear. This review highlights the main pathogenic mechanisms of alcohol in the development of ischemic stroke, as it intends to be an update of this possible association.

Development: A critical literature review has been performed regarding this association to study its pathogenic mechanisms and the possible confounding factors present in the current design of epidemiological reports.

[Femoral osteolytic lesions with soft tissue tumors and hypercalcemia as presentation form of a B-cell lymphoma].

Hypercalcemia associated with haematological neoplasms account for 15 to 20% of hipercalcemia in malignancy, and occurs usually in patients with multiple myeloma. However, its incidence in patients with linfoma is low, and it is observed usually in T-cell linfomas. Bone affectation is also uncommon in patients with non-Hodgkin linfoma.

Bacteremia caused by digestive system endoscopy.

Aim: to evaluate bacteremias caused during endoscopic examination of the digestive tract.

Patients And Methods: prospective study of randomly selected patients who underwent digestive system endoscopic examination. Emergency endoscopic examinations were excluded.

[Fever of unknown origin as the clinical presentation of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma].

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare disease. The most frequent initial symptoms are abdominal pain, anorexia, marked weight loss and ascites. Clinical presentation as fever of unknown origin is exceptional.

[Acute acalculous cholecystitis in patients with severe trauma].

Background: The incidence of AAC on patients with traumatic lesions fluctuates between 0.5 to 5%, with mortality which varies between 7 and 75%. These values are determined by case reports or retrospective series.

Pediatric primary gram-negative nosocomial bacteremia: a possible relationship with infusate contamination.

Objective: To evaluate the potential contribution of "extrinsic" contamination of intravenous fluids in hospital bacteremia and infection.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey of infusate contamination, December 1992 to December 1993.

Setting: A pediatric department (1,500 admissions per year) in a general, urban teaching hospital, serving low-income patients.

[Bronchiolitis obliterans with idiopathic organized pneumonia. Apropos of 4 cases].

We report 4 cases of idiopathic bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia. With this motive, we asses the clinical and radiologic features, lung function tests and response to treatment of our cases. Our findings, in general, are coincident with other authors.

Clinical utility of hyaluronic acid values in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as tumor marker for bronchogenic carcinoma.

Various authors have proposed the use of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a tumor marker. In order to analyze its usefulness as a marker in bronchogenic carcinoma, the most common carcinoma in men, we determined the HA values in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL). We performed prospective studies on two groups of patients: 81 diagnosed as having bronchial carcinoma and 34 with benign respiratory diseases.

[Spontaneous pneumothorax as the only initial manifestation of bronchogenic carcinoma].

We present the case of a patient with spontaneous pneumothorax associated to pulmonary epidermoid carcinoma, which was not radiologically visible after pulmonary reexpansion. Neither it was macroscopically detected in the first thoracotomy performed for the treatment of the pneumothorax, being diagnosed after the histological study of the resected blisters. The association between pneumothorax and lung cancer is very rare, especially in the absence of other radiological disorders suggesting neoplasia after the pulmonary reexpansion.

[Pediatric nosocomial bacteremia. Potential usefulness of culturing infusion liquids].

Hospital-acquired bacteremia is a common cause of morbidity and mortality, mainly in pediatric units. In a 25 month retrospective study, we analyzed the blood cultures from the Hospital General Regional of the city of Leon, Guanajuato State, Mexico, in order to establish the causal agents of nosocomial bacteremia and infer some associations with contaminated intravenous infusion fluids. In addition we performed a two month study to culture the flasks and intravenous tubing used in our infusions.