[Scombroid syndrome with severe and prolonged cardiovascular involvement]. / Sindrome sgombroide con grave e prolungata compromissione cardiovascolare.

Scombroid poisoning is a form of ichthyosarcotoxism caused by eating spoiled fish, mainly of the scombroid family. Inappropriate storage of these fish can lead to the decarboxylation of histidine in the flesh to histamine by enterobacteria. The symptoms of histamine poisoning mimic those of an IgE-mediated food allergy, as well as flushing, headache, diarrhea and palpitations. However, in some cases, the scombroid poisoning can be characterized by very serious symptoms, as well as cardiovascular compromission. We describe two cases of scombroid poisoning with severe hypotension requiring continuous intravenous dopamine with resolution of symptoms only several hours later.

[Pancytopenia caused by ticlopidine treated with filgrastim. Description of a case]. / Pancitopenia da ticlopidina trattata con filgrastim. Descrizione di un caso.

Ticlopidine is an antiplatelet agent that is used to reduce the occurrence of atherothrombotic arterial events, but it can sometime cause severe haematological side-effects. We describe the case of a 79-year old woman suffering from ischaemic cardiopathy and chronic cerebral vasculopathy treated with ticlopidine, who developed a rare pancytopenia on the 26th day of ticlopidine treatment. The patient was successful treated with intravenous antibiotics and with filgrastim, with complete reversion of the pancytopenia.

[Clinical and etiological aspects of goat ear mite infestations in Tuscany]. / Aspetti clinici ed eziologici della rogna auricolare delle capre in Toscana.

Parasitic otitis associated with Psoroptes sp. mites was diagnosed for the first time in two flocks of goats located in Tuscany, Italy. Some animals presented clinical signs of ear mite infection, but the parasites were also isolated from the ears of two clinically silent goats. A morphometric study was conducted to establish whether there are significant morphological differences between mites collected from the ears of goats and Psoroptes cuniculi collected from the ears of rabbits. Three rabbits were experimentally infected with mites isolated from the auditory canal of goats, while nine goats were infected with mites isolated from rabbits. After three to five months all rabbits and five of the nine goats contained reproducing mite populations in their ears; also the morphometric analysis revealed no difference between rabbit and goat ear mites. It follows that Psoroptes cuniculi represents the etiologic agent of parasitic otitis in both these two animal species.