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Biomedical subjects

R Alvarez-Sala

Publications and source records attributed to R Alvarez-Sala.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Amyloid goitre and hypothyroidism secondary to cystic fibrosis.

Although cystic fibrosis (CF) is still the most frequently fatal childhood disease, many adults now survive into their third and fourth decades. Uncommon complications of chronic diseases, such as amyloidosis, while infrequent, may now appear during the course of CF in adulthood. We present a case of a patient with CF who was diagnosed with hypothyroidism due to amyloid deposits in the thyroid.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Congestive cardiomyopathy and endobronchial granulomas as manifestations of Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a systemic vasculitis. Its most frequent complications are heart diseases and asthma. Usually, cardiological manifestations are pericarditis, cardiac failure and myocardial infarction. Endobronchial granulomas identified by bronchoscopy are unusual. We present the case of a man with congestive cardiomyopathy and endobronchial granulomas macroscopically visible at bronchoscopy. After a review of medical literature, we found one case of congestive cardiomyopathy and no cases of endobronchial granulomas observed by bronchoscopy associated with Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Cytologic and biochemical component in 203 bronchoalveolar lavages. Reference values].

The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is considered a basic technique as a diagnostic aid in Pneumology. However, one of the main problems faced by the clinician is the lack of standardization of the technique. This has been resolved through the drafting of international standards. The other problem is the lack of what might be called a "reference" BAL. In order to establish a reference BAL, we analyzed 203 BAL divided in two groups: a control group and a pathologic group, make up by extrinsic asthma, intrinsic asthma, pulmonary infections, diffuse interstitial pneumopathies, bronchopulmonary tumors and chronic bronchitis. We have studied both the cytologic and the biochemical component of the BAL. Among the biochemical markers, we have considered; carcinoembrionary antigen (CEA), tissular polypeptidic antigen (TPA), neuronal specific enolase (NSE), ferritin (FER), calcitonin (CT), ACTH, histamin (HIS) and prostaglandin (PGE2). In order to establish the reference values, we have used the modified Baye's theorema. The BAL that we obtained was the following: volume 20 ml, cells 35 x 10(5) cells/ml, macrophages 77%, lymphocytes 22%, neutrophils 4%, eosinophils 2%, CEA 14 ng/mg, TPA 84 U/g PT, NSE 5 ng/mg PT, FER 42 ng/mg PT, CT 15 pg/mg PT, ACTH 51 pg/mg PT, HIS 1.22 ng/mg PT, PGE2 35 pg/mg PT.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Six cases of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: presentation of unusual associations.

We report the cases of six patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Four of the patients were adults, two males and two females (mean age 39 +/- 19 yrs). The other two patients were children, both females, one aged 6 years and one 3 days old. The diagnosis was made by thoracotomy-lung biopsy in two subjects, autopsy in two, transbronchoscopic biopsy in one and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in one. Some of our cases presented unusual associations that have not been described previously in the medical literature: renal tubular acidosis, Fanconi's disease, glioblastoma multiforme and atrioventricular septal defect. In two patients, treatment with acetylcysteine and ambroxol was unsuccessful. Therapeutic BAL improved the clinical, analytical, functional and radiological aspects of two cases. In one subject, three months after the diagnosis of PAP, pulmonary tuberculosis appeared. Both diseases disappeared with antituberculous treatment.

Acetylcysteine↗
PubMed1995

Long-term survival in a surgically treated non-encapsulated mediastinal primary liposarcoma. Diagnostic utility of core-needle biopsy for mediastinal tumors.

Primary liposarcomas of the mediastinum are uncommon tumors. Only six cases of mediastinal liposarcomas with survival after surgery longer than five years have been reported and only one of these was a non-encapsulated tumor. We report a new case of non-encapsulated primary liposarcoma of the mediastinum with long-term survival. The diagnosis was carried out using a CT-guided core-needle biopsy. We emphasize the utility of this technique to diagnose this kind of mediastinal tumors. A non-encapsulated primary liposarcoma of the mediastinum surgically treated with long-term survival is reported. We emphasize the diagnostic utility of CT-guided core-needle biopsy for the tumors.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1995

An infrequent complication of Swan-Ganz catheters.

The Swan-Ganz catheter complications are infrequent, the most typical one being cardiac arrhythmias. The breaking and embolization of a catheter fragment into the pulmonary vascular system are exceptional and, in any case, benign. We present a patient with severe pulmonary hypertension to the embolization of a Swan-Ganz catheter fragment into the right pulmonary artery which disappeared with the movements of the fragment to the lung periphery.

Catheterization, Swan-Ganz↗
PubMed1994

The clinical value of neuron-specific enolase as a tumor marker in bronchoalveolar lavage.

BACKGROUND: Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is used in the staging and monitoring of responses to therapy and the detection of recurrences in lung cancer. The diagnostic value of NSE has been under discussion. This may be because NSE usually has been studied in the sera of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and not in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). METHODS: The NSE levels in the BAL of three groups--control subjects, patients with chronic bronchitis, and patients with tumors--were analyzed. The fluid obtained was centrifuged. The NSE was analyzed in the supernatant of the BAL (NSE, Pharmacia, Columbia, MD). Its concentrations were calculated in relation to milligrams of total protein. RESULTS: A significant difference was noted in the level of NSE in the BAL of the tumor group compared with those of the other two groups. No differences were observed between the other two groups or between healthy smokers and nonsmokers. No correlation was found with the histologic type of pulmonary carcinoma and NSE levels in BAL. The NSE levels were higher in the lavages of patients with primary pulmonary carcinomas than in those with metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Neuron-specific enolase could be of aid in the early diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules and lung cancer. More studies would be required to identify a correlation between NSE levels in BAL and those in serum, or between NSE levels in BAL and tumor size and location and disease stage of lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗