Unemployment and work disability in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a community-based cross-sectional study from Spain.

Background: Few reports have examined the association between unemployment and work disability in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). This study explored the key determinants of work disability in a CFS/ME cohort.

Methods: A community-based prospective study included 1086 CFS/ME patients aged 18-65 years.

Comorbidity in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Previous studies have shown evidence of comorbid conditions in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of comorbidities and assess their associations using a nationwide population-based database of a Spanish CFS/ME cohort.

Method: A nationally representative, retrospective, cross-sectional cohort study (2008-2015) assessed 1757 Spanish subjects who met both the 1994 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Fukuda definition and 2003 Canadian Criteria for CFS/ME.

Intrapleural Fibrinolysis with Urokinase Versus Alteplase in Complicated Parapneumonic Pleural Effusions and Empyemas: A Prospective Randomized Study.

Background: Pleurofibrinolysis has been reported to be potentially beneficial in the management of complicated parapneumonic effusions (CPPE) and empyemas in the adult population.

Methods: Prospective, controlled, randomized, and double-blind study, to evaluate intrapleural alteplase 10 mg (initially 20 mg was considered but bleeding events forced dose reduction) versus 100,000 UI urokinase every 24 h for a maximum of 6 days in patients with CPPE or empyemas. The primary aim was to evaluate the success rate of each fibrinolytic agent at 3 and 6 days.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and personality: a case-control study using the Alternative Five Factor Model.

Neuroticism is the personality dimension most frequently associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Most studies have also shown that CFS patients are less extraverted than non-CFS patients, but results have been inconsistent, possibly because the facets of the extraversion dimension have not been separately analyzed. This study has the following aims: to assess the personality profile of adults with CFS using the Alternative Five-Factor Model (AFFM), which considers Activity and Sociability as two separate factors of Extraversion, and to test the discriminant validity of a measure of the AFFM, the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, in differentiating CFS subjects from normal-range matched controls.

Pleural fluid mesothelin for the differential diagnosis of exudative pleural effusions.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a highly aggressive tumor that can be difficult to diagnose, resulting in a delayed diagnosis in some cases. Recent studies have reported that determination of soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) in pleural fluid may be a promising marker for use in the diagnosis of MM.

Patients And Methods: Pleural fluid SMRP concentration was measured in 68 patients: 47 had malignant pleural effusions (18 MM and 29 metastatic effusion) and 21 had benign pleural effusion (8 infectious disease and 13 idiopathic effusion).

Respiratory pasteurellosis: infection or colonization?

Respiratory infection by Pasteurella multocida is uncommon and usually occurs in patients with an underlying lung disease, advanced age and/or immunodepression. In this study, we describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of a series of 14 patients in whom Pasteurella multocida was isolated from lower respiratory tract samples, over a period of 21 y (1986-2006). Differentiation between colonization and infection allows establishment of early antibiotic treatment.

Herpetic tracheitis and polybacterial pneumonia in an immunocompetent young man is herpes tracheitis involved in the pathogenesis of bacterial pneumonia?

We report a 28-year-old immunocompetent man that after a course of corticoids developed a severe pneumonia in right lower lobe. A fiber-optic bronchoscopy showed a white membrane easily bloody on contact with bronchoscopy tube at trachea level. The tracheal biopsy showed typical cytopathological lesions of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and polymerase chain reaction was positive for type 1 HSV.