Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L R Alvarez.
An unexpected case of leiomyoma (LM) of the rectum in a 10-month-old female patient. The patient presented with a palpable mass and symptoms of intestinal obstruction, constipation and rectal discomfort. Rectal examination revealed a clearly visible mass. The treatment consisted of a surgical resection with wide margins. Pathology reported a leiomyoma. The patient was submitted to a careful clinical evaluation and a continuous follow up.
The amebic liver abscess in newborns is an uncommon disease. There are few cases reported in the literature. This is a case of a 20 day-old female newborn who presented an abdominal mass, yellowish diarrheic depositions and jaundice. An abdominal CT scan showed a cystic mass located in the right hepatic lobe. The laboratory exams confirmed the amebic etiology. The clinical treatment failed and the surgery was decided. The pathologic results confirmed the diagnosis of an amebic liver abscess. Eight days after the resection the patient died because of a necrotizing enterocolitis.
OBJECTIVES: Identify the present of biliary sludge (BS) in our patients, since different authors have concluded that this entity may be an etiologic agent of biliary colic, gallbladder stones and some complications such as acute pancreatitis and acalculous cholecystitis. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the abdominal sonographic reports of 2802 patients of our gastroenterologic unit, with an average age of 40.5 years. The variables of the protocol were: gallbladder stones, BS and acute and chronic gallbladder inflammation. RESULTS: Considering the mentioned criteria, we entered to the study 2682 patients, 17.8% (n = 479) had lithiasis, 13.2% (n = 356) had BS, 2% (n = 54) had acute gallbladder inflammation and 2.3% (n = 64) had chronic gallbladder inflammation. Of the group of patients with BS 42.7% (n = 152) were female and 57.3% (n = 204) were males. 52% of the patients with BS were between the ages of 26 to 45 years. CONCLUSIONS: In our study we found an important prevalence of BS that was over 13% which is higher than the results reported by additional series. Its early sonographic detection, follow-up, removal of precipitating factors and treatment are all adequate measures in order to achieve its elimination.