Characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis-B virus infection in an urban hospital.

Background: In the United States, among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal hypertension from chronic hepatitis-B virus infection, 44% were Hispanic and 28% were African American. Because our institution (Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, NY) predominantly serves these populations, we studied retrospectively the characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis-B virus infection.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all patients aged > 18 years with chronic hepatitis-B virus infection who had been evaluated at our institution between January 1, 2002 and May 31, 2005.

Active use of cocaine: an independent risk factor for recurrent diabetic ketoacidosis in a city hospital.

Objective: To identify the risk factors for recurrent diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in a city hospital.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of sequential adult admissions for DKA at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in New York between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2004. The patients were divided into cohorts, which were compared with use of analysis of variance and X2 tests.

Prevalence of COPD in women compared to men around the time of diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

Purposes: COPD is a well-known independent risk factor that is associated with primary lung cancer. There is, however, a striking paucity of women in studies demonstrating this association. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of COPD as determined by pulmonary function tests (PFTs) between women and men at around the time of lung cancer diagnosis.