[Significance of organ donor characteristics in renal function at 1 month: reflection on the allocation of renal transplant].

In a series of 731 kidneys taken from brain-dead donors for renal transplantation, 652 were grafted, and the renal function at 1 month is known for 490 of them. The results show that some donor-related factors influence the outcome of the transplant. In particular, haemodynamic instability refractory to medical treatment is responsible for a 50 mumol increase of serum creatinine one month after transplantation and the use of UW solution during organ collection is responsible for an improvement of serum creatinine compared to other preservation solutions.

Left ventricular function during weaning of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Determine the evolution of left ventricular ejection fraction during weaning.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Intensive care unit of a university teaching hospital.

[Alcohol withdrawal syndrome and delirium tremens. Their treatment].

The clinical picture of alcohol withdrawal syndrome lies somewhere on a continuum that ranges from slight morning tremor to genuine delirium tremens. The diagnosis, usually easy, may be beset with several traps: alcoholism may be unrecognized, or a diagnosis other than withdrawal syndrome may be wrongly made, or again a complication may be either overlooked or erroneously suspected. An acute withdrawal syndrome normally regresses in less than one week, but a subacute withdrawal syndrome, which presents as signs of residual hyperexcitability of the central nervous system, must be recognized, as it may persist for several months.