A training course for the Israeli phase I written board examination in internal medicine increases the success rate of foreign graduate physicians.

BACKGROUND: Foreign graduate residents in internal medicine perform poorly on the Israeli phase I written board examination as compared to local graduates from Israeli medical schools. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a preparatory course, aimed at foreign graduates, on their success rate in the Israeli phase I written board examination in internal medicine. METHODS: The preparatory course consisted of seven 4-h weekly meetings that took place 3 months before the board examination.

Waldenström's macroglobulinemia associated with AA amyloidosis.

It is widely accepted that amyloidosis in Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) is exclusively due to amyloid light-chain deposition. However, only a small number of previous reports have actually characterized the type of amyloid in WM. We now report the third patient with WM and amyloid A protein (AA) amyloidosis.

The incidence of pseudothrombocytopenia in automatic blood analyzers.

Unlabelled: The aim of the present work was to undertake an assessment of the incidence of pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP) in patients referred for evaluation of thrombocytopenia in an outpatient hematology clinic.

Methods: Prospective assessment of 60 consecutive cases with platelet count < 100 x 10(9)/l in a hematology clinic during a 2-year period.

Results: PTCP was the second most common cause for low platelet count, with an incidence of 17%.

Severe tumor lysis syndrome following splenic irradiation.

A 72-year-old man suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is described. After failing to respond to chlorambucil-prednisone regimen for three months, he was treated by splenic irradiation (total dose 500 cGY) in 10 consecutive daily doses. Two days after the last irradiation, the patient developed acute tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) with extreme blood levels of uric acid (33.