Clinical, Laboratory, Cytometry and Cytogenetic Characteristics of a Cohort of Patients Diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma for the First Time in a Third-Level Hospital in Medellín, Colombia, Survival after 8 Years of Follow-Up.

Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematologic malignancy after lymphomas. Few studies have characterized significant and full variables at the time of diagnosis of multiple myeloma in Colombia, and there is no data evaluating patients for follow-up. A retrospective cohort study is presented, describing the clinical, laboratory, cytometric, and cytogenetic characteristics of patients with a diagnosis of multiple myeloma evaluated in a reference hematology laboratory attached to a highly complex hospital in Medellín, Colombia.

How can transition to adult care be best orchestrated for adolescents with epilepsy?

Objective evidence is limited for the value of transition programs for youth with chronic illness moving from pediatric to adult care; however, such programs intuitively "make sense". We describe the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of transition programs from around the world for adolescents with epilepsy. Consequences of poorly organized transition beyond suboptimal seizure control may include an increased risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), poor psychological and social outcome, and inadequate management of comorbidities.

Prebiotics for the prevention of allergies: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Prevalence of allergic diseases in infants is approximately 10% reaching 20 to 30% in those with an allergic first-degree relative. Prebiotics are selectively fermented food ingredients that allow specific changes in composition/activity of the gastrointestinal microflora. They modulate immune responses, and their supplementation has been proposed as an intervention to prevent allergies.

Patient-Specific Orthopaedic Implants.

Patient-specific orthopaedic implants are emerging as a clinically promising treatment option for a growing number of conditions to better match an individual's anatomy. Patient-specific implant (PSI) technology aims to reduce overall procedural costs, minimize surgical time, and maximize patient outcomes by achieving better biomechanical implant fit. With this commercially-available technology, computed tomography or magnetic resonance images can be used in conjunction with specialized computer programs to create preoperative patient-specific surgical plans and to develop custom cutting guides from 3-D reconstructed images of patient anatomy.

Follow-up results of isoniazid chemoprophylaxis during biological therapy in Colombia.

The use of biological therapy has been linked with an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) reactivation. The aim of this study was to present the follow-up results for isoniazid (INH) chemoprophylaxis in patients receiving different biological therapies. In this prospective observational study, patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) were given INH chemoprophylaxis between 2 and 9 months prior to the beginning of biological therapy.

Aspirin-triggered lipoxin prevents antiphospholipid antibody effects on human trophoblast migration and endothelial cell interactions.

Objective: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) interfere with several physiologic functions of human trophoblasts, including reducing their ability to migrate, decreasing their production of angiogenic factors, and inducing an inflammatory response. This may provide the underlying mechanism by which aPL responses lead to recurrent pregnancy loss or preeclampsia in women with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Although treatment with heparin may reduce the rate of recurrent pregnancy loss, the risk of preeclampsia remains high.

H1N1 influenza pandemic and maternal mortality in Antioquia, Colombia.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the H1N1 influenza pandemic on maternal mortality in the province of Antioquia, Colombia, in 2009.

Methods: The present study was a descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study of maternal deaths in Antioquia in 2009 caused by H1N1-related pneumonia. The study formed part of the epidemiologic surveillance process undertaken by the Health and Social Protection Directorate of Antioquia and the particular healthcare institutions involved in the cases.

Fulminant amebic colitis.

Amebiasis is the acute and chronic disease produced by Entamoeba histolytica, an entity which occurs in endemic fashion in many of the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, capable of affecting diverse organs of the body, especially the colon. Amebiasis has different clinical forms of presentation, varying from the asymptomatic carrier state to severe, although not frequent, fulminant or necrotizing colitis, characteristically associated with high morbidity and mortality. We hereby report a series of 50 adult patients with fulminating amebic colitis managed at our institution between January, 1971 and July, 1989, with a global mortality of 60%.