Renal artery stenting using gadodiamide arteriography in patients with baseline renal insufficiency.

Purpose: To investigate whether a contrast agent containing gadodiamide can reduce the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy associated with renal artery stenting in patients with preexisting renal insufficiency.

Methods: Between 1999 and 2002, gadodiamide-based arteriography was used in 20 patients (12 men; mean age 69 years) with significant baseline renal insufficiency (creatinine > or =1.7 mg/dL) undergoing renal artery stenting for > or =70% stenoses in 25 renal arteries.

Constrictive pericarditis caused by candida glabrata in an immunocompetent patient: case report and review of literature.

Candida pericarditis is a rare disease described mostly in patients with recent cardiothoracic surgery or debilitating chronic diseases and is generally considered to be associated with high mortality. To our knowledge, we report the first case of Candida pericarditis in a healthy host who had not undergone thoracic surgery and the first documented case and cure of pericarditis caused by C. glabrata.