BACKGROUND: The aim of the present was to study the long term sequelae of osteoporotic fracture of the femur in a general hospital of 300 beds in Barcelona, analyzing 1) mortality; 2) degree of functional capacity; 3) care requirements; 4) familial repercussion, and 5) psychic repercussion. METHODS: Structured telephone interviews were carried out between 1990-1991 with the patients attended for osteoporotic fracture of the femur in our center from 1988-1989. Of a total of 145 patients, 12 died within 1 month. Among the remaining patients the interview was performed with 100 patients--25 of whom were males of 78 +/- 8 years of age and 75 females of 82 +/- 10 years of age. The degree of functional capacity was evaluated by the index of independence in daily activities (DA). RESULTS: Mortality within one month was 8.3%; at one year 30% and at 2 years 38%. Factors associated with the highest mortality were: age of over 80 years (p less than 0.004), deterioration of post fracture functional capacity (p less than 0.0004) and pre-fracture dementia (p less than 0.01). Important deterioration in post fracture functional capacity was seen in 45% of the cases. Seventeen percent of the patients required transfer to a center for chronic care and 34% resided in a center for chronic care prior to the fracture. Familial repercussion was observed in 43% of the cases and post fracture psychologic repercussion was seen in 28%. CONCLUSIONS: Osteoporotic fracture of the femur presents the following sequelae: mortality, intense deterioration of functional capacity and important health care requirements in addition to considerable familial and psychological repercussion.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1992

[Carcinoembryonic antigen in pleural effusion. Adenocarcinoma versus mesothelioma].

One hundred and thirty six patients presenting pleural effusion and whose diagnosis was obtained by clinical, biochemical, bacteriological, cytological and histological methods have been studied and classified into seven groups: 20 transudates, 29 inflammatory, 25 tuberculosis, 25 non adenocarcinoid neoplasias, 24 adenocarcinomas, 10 mesotheliomas and 3 miscellaneous. Carcinoembryonic antigen was determined in all of them, evaluating as positives those values above 10 ng/ml, value which we consider discriminatory in our series and which agrees with the literature, finding positive values in 21 out of 24 adenocarcinomas and 3 out of 25 non adenocarcinomas. All benign pleural effusions and mesotheliomas had values lower than 10 ng/ml. The specificity to determine adenocarcinomas in neoplastic effusions was 91.48% and the sensibility was 87.5%. We consider that the CEA determination is useful to differentiate adenocarcinomas from other neoplasias and that a positive value rules out mesothelioma.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of smoking and smoking cessation on bone mass, bone remodeling, vitamin D, PTH and sex hormones.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of smoking and smoking cessation on bone density, bone remodeling markers, sex hormones, and vitamin D-PTH axis in healthy young subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 74 healthy people (31 men, 43 women; mean age 32.2 (7) years) divided into 52 never smokers and 22 smokers, 15 of which stopped smoking for one month. RESULTS: Male smokers compared with never smokers showed lower BMD (0.971 (0.11) g/cm(2) vs. 1.069 (0.09) g/cm(2), P=0.042); higher plasma estrone levels (32.37 (10.13) pg/mL vs. 20.91 (5.46) pg/mL, P=0.001); and lower serum iPTH levels (16.2 (3.5) pg/mL vs. 28.8 (2.0) pg/mL, P=0.008). In women, BMD values were similar in smokers than in never smokers, but 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were lower in smokers (31.9 (15.1) ng/mL vs. 16.8 (9.9) ng/mL, P=0.002). After adjusting by age and coffee consumption, female smokers had higher urinary-NTX levels than never smokers. After smoking cessation, statistically significant decreases of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and SHBG plasma levels were observed in men and women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco increases bone resorption and affects bone mass by some alterations in sex hormone metabolism, but also importantly by alterations on the vitamin D-PTH axis.

Adult↗