[Evaluation of the hypophyseal-hypothalamo-adrenal axis in patients undergoing chronic corticotherapy at suppressive doses]. / Valoración del eje hipófisis-hipotálamo-adrenal en pacientes con corticoterapia crónica a dosis supresivas.

A cortisol curve was practiced on 32 healthy persons with an average age of 38.7 years, being the morning amount at 8 o'clock of 10 mg/100 ml o higher. Later we practiced the same study in 42 patients with an average age of 41.4 years, that were under a corticosteroid therapy higher than 10 mg per day of prednisone during more than three months of an uninterrupted prescription and said treatment was stopped 48 previous hours to the study. We found that 27 of them (64.2%) had lowe morning amount of cortisol to those of the control group, and the patients with rheumatoid arthritis being the lowest. It is concluded that the type of systemic disease could be another factor in the suppression of the axis H-H-A of patients under a higher dosis than 10 mg of prednisone and a durability longer than three continuous months.

[Electrocardiographic changes with the use of aminophylline and salbutamol in adult patients with chronic bronchial asthma]. / Cambios electrocardiográficos con el uso de aminofilina y salbutamol en pacientes adultos con asma bronquial crónica.

Fifteen patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma were examined to evaluate the cardiotoxicity caused by the combined intravenous treatment using methylxanthine-aminophylline 250 mg and a beta agonist: salbutamol 0.5 mg. The following observations were made: four patients had sinus tachycardia and another suffered from ventricular extrasystoles as seen in the electrocardiographic register; another two patients had sinus tachycardia when the bronchial dilator dosage was doubled. From a clinical and electrocardiographic standpoint, arrhythmias do not seem to be a grave problem among the population studied.