Symptomatic Partial Congenital Absence of the Pericardium Revealed Using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance.

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a very uncommon finding, and its diagnosis poses a challenge because it is rarely suspected in daily clinical practice. Although in most cases it has a benign course, this congenital defect should be identified because of the associated risk of sudden death. We present a symptomatic case of partial congenital absence of the left pericardium suspected as the result of an abnormal response to exercise stress testing, and confirmed using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Hepatitis C virus co-infection and sexual risk behaviour are associated with a high homocysteine serum level in HIV-infected patients.

Background And Aims: A better understanding of the relationship of homocysteine with cardiovascular risk factors is needed. The objectives of this study were to assess the serum level of homocysteine in HIV-infected patients and to analyse the possible association of increased levels of the amino acid with cardiovascular risk factors, demographic and clinical characteristics of participants.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out as a supplementary task to the usual controls necessary in HIV-infected patients in the outpatient clinic of the Hospital General of Castellon, Spain.

[Value of early exercise stress testing in a chest pain unit protocol].

Early exercise testing (first 24 hours) was evaluated in the stratification of patients seen in the emergency room for chest pain. One hundred and forty-two consecutive patients without ischemia in the ECG or troponin I elevation were included. Ninety-two patients were discharged after the exercise testing (group I, 82 negative and 10 inconclusive test results) and 50 patients were hospitalized (group II, 29 positive and 21 inconclusive test results).

Osteocalcin and myoglobin removal in on-line hemodiafiltration versus low- and high-flux hemodialysis.

Background: Removal of medium and large solutes is poor with low-flux (LF-HD) and limited with high-flux hemodialysis (HF-HD) and on-line hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF). In clinical practice, there are few in vivo solute markers. Osteocalcin is a protein with a molecular mass of 5,800 daltons, and myoglobin is a large molecule with a molecular mass of 17,200 daltons.