Fatty Liver Disease-Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic: Similar but Different.

In alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) and in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there are abnormal accumulations of fat in the liver. This phenomenon may be related to excessive alcohol consumption, as well as the combination of alcohol consumption and medications. There is an evolution from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Treating the Metabolic Syndrome by Fecal Transplantation-Current Status.

The intestinal microbiome (IM) is important for normal gastrointestinal (GI) and other organ systems' functioning. An alteration in the normal IM, dysbiosis, and changes in intestinal motility result in microorganisms' overgrowth and an alteration in intestinal permeability. The gut-brain axis is also of importance in the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and associated bowel overgrowth.

Routine chest X-ray on hospital admission: does it contribute to diagnosis or treatment?

Background: In many hospitals a routine chest X-ray is performed on admission. There are, however, scant data regarding its usefulness in contemporary patient populations.

Methods: We studied consecutive patients admitted during a 2 month period to a single department of medicine, where hospital policy mandates performing an admission CXR.

Perimyocarditis following streptococcal group A infection: from clinical cases to bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Streptococcal infection is known to be associated with non-suppurative complications, including rheumatic fever. A less well recognized complication is perimyocarditis.

Methods: We report 4 cases of myocarditis in young males associated with acute streptoccal infection.

Strongyloides hyperinfection in Ethiopian immigrants in Israel.

We report four cases of Strongyloides hyperinfection among Ethiopian immigrants, of which three were fatal. Many immigrants from countries in which Strongyloides is endemic settle in developed countries. A high index of suspicion will lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Splenic embolus: 13 cases from a single medical department.

Background: Despite the spleen having a very rich blood supply, there is a paucity of reports of splenic emboli.

Objectives: To investigate the incidence of splenic emboli treated in a single general internal medicine department over the last 3 years.

Methods: We examined the records of a 35 bed internal medicine department in a hospital in the center of Israel.

A cost-effective method for reducing the volume of laboratory tests in a university-associated teaching hospital.

Background: Laboratory tests comprise a significant portion of hospital expenditure. Attempts to reduce their use have had mixed results.

Objective: To investigate the effect of an intervention based on a simple form-based system for ordering laboratory tests by physicians, on both use of laboratory resources and diagnostic accuracy.

Fatal ventricular arrhythmia as a complication of transesophageal echocardiography.

Aim: To report a case of serious ventricular arrhythmia during transesophageal echocardiography.

Methods And Results: A 58-year-old woman with previous mitral and tricuspid valve replacement and permanent pacemaker implantation suffered from recurrent fever and Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Transesophageal echocardiography was performed as part of the assessment for infective endocarditis.

Acute renal embolism. Forty-four cases of renal infarction in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Acute renal embolus is rarely reported in the medical literature; thus, accurate data regarding presentation, laboratory tests, diagnostic techniques, and treatment are lacking. To better define this condition, we examined the medical records of all patients admitted to Kaplan Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center in central Israel from 1984 to 2002 who had a diagnosis of renal infarction and atrial fibrillation. We noted demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters; method of diagnosis; treatment received; and patient outcome.