Free conjunctival grafts in the repair of leaking filtering blebs

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of free conjunctival grafting for leaking conjunctival blebs following trabeculectomy. METHODS: Retrospective study of seven patients with leaking conjunctival blebs that were repaired by free conjunctival grafting. The effectiveness of this procedure in stopping the bleb leak, maintaining satisfactory intraocular pressure (IOP), maintaining satisfactory anterior chamber depth, and preserving vision was evaluated. RESULTS: Free conjunctival grafting appeared to have stopped the bleb leak in 6 patients (85.7 percent), maintained satisfactory IOP in 5 patients (71.4 percent), maintained satisfactory anterior chamber depth in all patients, and preserved pretreatment vision in 3 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Free conjunctival grafting appears to be an effective method to treat leaking blebs, without loss of IOP control.

Comparaçäo do efeito de dois inibidores da HMG CoA redutase sobre a suscetibilidade da LDL à oxidaçäo / Comparison of the effect of two HMG CoA reductase inhibitors on LDL susceptibility to oxidation

OBJECTIVE: To study the differences between fluvastatin and pravastatin regarding LDL susceptibility to oxidation, plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides (TG) in hypercholesterolemic patients with established coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: A double-blind randomized parallel study was conducted that included 41 hypercholesterolemic outpatients with CHD treated at the Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul. The inclusion criteria were LDL-C above 100 mg/dL and triglycerides below 400 mg/dL based on 2 measures. After 4 weeks on a low cholesterol diet, those patients that fullfilled the inclusion criteria were randomized into 2 groups: the fluvastatin group (fluvastatin 40 mg/day) and the pravastatin group (pravastatin 20 mg/day), for 24 weeks of treatment. LDL susceptibility to oxidation was analyzed with copper-induced production of conjugated dienes (Cu2+) and water-soluble free radical initiator azo-bis (2'-2'amidinopropanil) HCl (AAPH). Spectroscopy nuclear magnetic resonance was used for determination of lipids. RESULTS: After 24 weeks of drug therapy, fluvastatin and pravastatin significantly reduced LDL susceptibility to oxidation as demonstrated by the reduced rate of oxidation (azo and Cu) and by prolonged azo-induced lag time (azo lag). The TC, LDL-C, and TG reduced significantly and HDL-C increased significantly. No differences between the drugs were observed. CONCLUSION: In hypercholesterolemic patients with CHD, both fluvastatin and pravastatin reduced LDL susceptibility to oxidation

Ssssobrevida hospitalar dos pacientes cirroticos com bacterioascite / Hospital survival of cirrhotic patients with bacterial ascites

No presente estudo os autores avaliam retrospectivamente a sobrevida hospitalar dos pacientes cirroticos com bacterioascite (BA), sem a utilizacao de antibioticoterapia, comparando-a com a de pacientes com ascite esteril(AE). Para tanto analisaram-se 20 pacientes com BA e 55 com AE, com comprometimento semelhante da funcao hepatocelular. O numero medio de polimorfonucleares no liquido de ascite nos grupos com Ba e Ae foi respectivamente, de 127.88 ñ 58.65 e 104.34 ñ 69.3 (p>0,05). A E. coli foi a bacteria mais prevalente nos pacientes com BA. Sendo a sobrevida dos pacientes semelhante (80por cento nos comBA e 92,7por cento nos com AE), nao esta indicada a utilizacao rotineira de antibioticos nesta populacao de pacientes