Preservation of renal function by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in ischaemic renal disease.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) on preservation of renal function in patients with bilateral renal artery stenoses or stenosis of the artery of one functioning kidney.

Methods: A total of 227 PTRAs of 223 stenoses in 135 patients were performed from 1982 to 1993 in a single centre and retrospectively reviewed. The number of PTRAs per patient was 1.

[Arteriovenous fistula as a complication of percutaneous renal biopsy].

Arteriovenous fistulae is a well known but rarely diagnosed complication of percutaneous biopsy of kidney allografts. In most cases the fistula are clinically occult. Most of the remaining fistulas disappear spontaneously.

[Treatment of paracetamol poisoning. An indication for liver transplantation?].

Development of metabolic acidosis (pH < 7.30) or the combination of encephalopathy grade III-IV, coagulopathy (PT > 100s) and oliguric renal failure are associated with a poor prognosis in paracetamol-induced fulminant liver failure. It is important to administer N-acetylcysteine as soon as possible after the overdose, but N-acetyl-cysteine also seems to improve survival when given 36-80h following ingestion.

A comparison of lisinopril and nifedipine in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension. A multicentre study.

Lisinopril has been compared with slow-release nifedipine in a 16-week double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study involving 102 patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced 6 and 5 mmHg more by lisinopril than by nifedipine over 12 weeks monotherapy. After 12 weeks a greater proportion of patients taking lisinopril was controlled (sitting diastolic blood pressure below 95 mm Hg) than in those taking nifedipine.

Clostridium perfringens septicemia with massive hemolysis.

Massive hemolysis and renal failure are rare complications of infection with Clostridium perfringens, resulting in a very high mortality rate (70-100%). The severity of the infection depends on the presence of underlying conditions such as malignancies and diabetes mellitus. In patients without underlying disorders, massive hemolysis and anuria have been observed in only eight cases, according to recent reports.