High precision measurement of silicon in naphthas by ICP-OES using isooctane as diluent.

An analytical protocol for the accurate and precise determination of Si in naphthas is presented by using ICP-OES, optimizing from the sample preparation to the measurement conditions, in order to be able to analyze for the first time silicon contents below 100µgkg-1 in a relatively short time thus being used as a control method. In the petrochemical industry, silicon can be present as a contaminant in different petroleum products such as gasoline, ethanol, or naphthas, forming different silicon compounds during the treatment of these products that are irreversibly adsorbed onto catalyst surfaces decreasing its time life. The complex nature of the organic naphtha sample together with the low detection limits needed make the analysis of silicon quite difficult. The aim of this work is to optimize the measurement of silicon in naphthas by ICP-OES introducing as an improvement the use of isooctane as diluent. The set up was carried out by optimizing the measurement conditions (power, nebulizer flow, pump rate, read time, and viewing mode) and the sample preparation (type of diluent, cleaning process, blanks, and studying various dilution ratios depending on the sample characteristics).

Las posibilidades del Consejo Genético en Atención Primaria / The possibilities of genetic counselling in primary healthcare

El Consejo genético ayuda a los pacientes en la toma de decisiones en aspectos relacionados con la posibilidad de padecer o transmitir una enfermedad determinada genéticamente. El conocimiento del mapa del genoma humano y los desarrollos tecnológicos hacen posible detectar alteraciones cromosómicas, enfermedades con transmisión mendeliana, defectos metabólicos, marcadores de múltiples enfermedades, que nos permiten adoptar medidas preventivas para mejorar nuestro estado de salud o el de nuestros descendientes. En las consultas de Atención Primaria disponemos de múltiples oportunidades para poder detectar e incluso prevenir enfermedades con componente hereditario, no obstante, en la mayoría de las ocasiones será necesario derivar al escalón especializado para la realización de las pruebas necesarias y la aplicación del consejo genético. Además de los componentes técnicos y metodológicos, existen múltiples aspectos personales que obligan a ser especialmente cuidadosos con los aspectos éticos en la aplicación del consejo genético: confidencialidad, derecho a la información propia o de terceros, consecuencias legales, psicológicas, sociales o laborales, etc. Pretendemos con el presente artículo colaborar a que los profesionales de Atención Primaria conozcan mejor las posibilidades del consejo genético y, en consecuencia, puedan informar y orientar adecuadamente a sus pacientes potencialmente afectos de alguna enfermedad con componente genético o hereditario (AU)

Genetic counselling helps patients to take decisions in matters related to the possibility of suffering from or transmitting a certain disease genetically. Knowledge of the map of the human genome and technological developments make it possible to detect chromosomal alterations, Mendelian disease transmission, metabolic defects, markers of multiple diseases, which allow us to adopt preventive measures in order to improve our state of health, or of our descendants. In primary care consultations, we have at our disposal manifold opportunities to detect and even prevent diseases with a hereditary component although, on most occasions, referral to a specialized level will be necessary in order to carry out necessary tests and apply genetic counselling. In addition to technical and methodological components, there are multiple personal aspects which oblige us to be take special care of ethical issues involved in genetic counselling; confidentiality, right to proprietary or third party information, legal, psychological, social or work- related consequences, etc. In this article, it is our aim to collaborate so that primary care professionals are made more aware of the possibilities of genetic counselling and thus be able to inform and give proper guidance to their patients who are potentially affected by a disease with a genetic or hereditary component (AU)

Autorización para usar imágenes fotográficas en el modelo educativo de atención primaria / Authorisation for use of photographic images in the educational model of primary care

No disponible

Tratamiento del osteoma osteoide mediante radiofrecuencia guiada por TAC / CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency coagulation of osteoid osteoma

Objetivo. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es exponer la técnica realizada y presentar los resultados obtenidos en el tratamiento del osteoma osteoide mediante radiofrecuencia guiada por tomografía axial computarizada (TAC).Material y método. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de 12 pacientes que presentaban un osteoma osteoide localizado a nivel del fémur (7 casos), tercio proximal del húmero (dos casos), glenoides (un caso) ilíaco (un caso) y tercio distal de radio (un caso). La técnica se realizó en la sala del escáner mediante anestesia y consistió en introducir un electrodo de punta fría guiado por TAC a nivel de la tumoración, que se conecta a un generador de radiofrecuencia. La duración del procedimiento fue de 8 minutos debiendo obtenerse una temperatura mínima de 50º al finalizar el mismo. Los pacientes permanecieron ingresados 24 horas y retornaron a su actividad habitual de forma inmediata. Resultados. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la desaparición completa de la sintomatología en 9 casos y de los tres restantes dos mejoraron al realizar un segundo procedimiento. Sólo en un caso persistía el cuadro álgico, por lo que se optó realizar una resección quirúrgica con fresa de alta velocidad una vez localizada la lesión. Conclusiones. Es una técnica fácil y mínimamente invasiva que precisa para su realización de la colaboración de diferentes servicios hospitalarios. Está indicada en todas las localizaciones, a excepción de las lesiones situadas cerca de estructuras neurovasculares, y en especial, en regiones de difícil abordaje quirúrgico. No se han descrito complicaciones importantes y proporciona resultados satisfactorios (AU)

Involvement of the liver by multiple myeloma as nodular lesions: a case diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration and immunocytochemistry.

Liver involvement by multiple myeloma as space-occupying lesions is a rare condition with only a few cases reported in the literature. We present a case of a 68-year-old man with a prostatic adenocarcinoma who developed a multiple myeloma as a second primary malignancy. Hepatic nodules were discovered in the tomographic study. Fine-needle aspiration of one of the hepatic lesions showed a pleomorphic plasmacytoid tumor. Immunocytochemistry using p63 and kappa-chain antibodies was useful in determining the plasmacytic nature of the cells.

[Seroprevalence of three types of hepatotropic virus in a population of adolescents of the province of Guadalajara]. / Seroprevalencia de tres tipos de virus hepatotropos en población adolescente de la provincia de Guadalajara.

BACKGROUND: Viral forms of hepatitis are one of the most infectious disease groups most often encountered in human pathology, and although most are benign, some can evolve into chronic forms. The purpose of this study is that of ascertaining the prevalence of hepatitis C, Epstein-Barr and human herpesvirus-6 infections among eighth-graders (13-14 years of age) and to related the same to variables regarding the gender and environment (rural or urban) in which they were living. METHODS: Descriptive, transversal study of a representative sample of the eighth-grade population in the province of Guadalajara during the 1998-1999 period. Systematic random sampling layered by gender and school (multi-stage sample format). The rate of specific IgG antibodies was determined using the ELISA technique. RESULTS: A study was conducted of 268 school-age children (46.6% males). The prevalence of Epstein-Barr antibodies was of 73.5% (CI: 67.9%-78.5%); 72% (CI: 64%-80%) among the males and of 74.8% (CI: 67.7%-81.9%) among the females (NS); 65.6% (CI: 57.4%-73.8%) residing in an urban environment and 80.7% in a rural environment (p < 0.05). The prevalence of those who tested positive for the hepatitis virus was that of 0.7%--two individuals, both females, one of whom resided in an urban environment and the other in a rural environment. For herpesvirus-6, the prevalence was of 82.4% (CI: 77.9%-86.9%); 81.5% (CI: 74.7%-88.3%) among the males and of 83.2% (CI: 77.1%-89.3%) among the females (NS), 86.7% (CI: 80.4%-92.2%) residing in an urban environment and 78.5% (CI: 73.1%-86.5%) in a rural environment (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of Epstein-Barr and human herpesvirus-6 and low degree as regards VHC is high, which tallies with the characteristics of the environment and age of the individuals under study.

Comparative in-vitro activity of levofloxacin against isolates of bacteria from adult patients with community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.

This study was conducted to evaluate the activity of levofloxacin in comparison with a range of antibacterial agents against recent isolates obtained consecutively from patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) during the period 1995 to 1996. Susceptibility testing was carried out by either microdilution or the Etest, and interpreted according to NCCLS breakpoints. The activity of levofloxacin was compared with that of amoxycillin, amoxycillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime, cefixime, erythromycin, roxithromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Clinically significant numbers of bacteria were recovered from 31 CAP and 94 AECB specimens. The predominant bacterial species in the CAP specimens were Streptococcus pneumoniae (21 isolates) and Haemophilus influenzae (four isolates). The AECB isolates mainly consisted of S. pneumoniae (38%), Moraxella catarrhalis (26%), H. influenzae (19%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10%). The overall percentage susceptible of the isolates for each antibiotic was: amoxycillin, 64%; amoxycillin-clavulanate, 89%; cefuroxime, 87%; cefixime, 78%; erythromycin, 85%; roxithromycin, 87%; clarithromycin, 87%; azithromycin, 85%; ofloxacin, 95%; ciprofloxacin, 95%; and levofloxacin, 97%. The activities of levofloxacin and the other agents were also compared against 40 S. pneumoniae isolates, of which 20 were penicillin-non-susceptible, recovered from CAP and AECB specimens during the period 1994 to 1996. These strains were all susceptible to levofloxacin, but only 50% were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and 80% to ofloxacin. Twenty M. catarrhalis, 20 H. influenzae and 20 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates were also all susceptible to levofloxacin. Furthermore, 20 community-acquired P. aeruginosa isolates showed similar percentage susceptible rates to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. These in-vitro results suggest that levofloxacin may be useful in the treatment of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.

Enhancement of resistance in mice treated with Lactobacillus casei: effect on Trichinella spiralis infection.

The ability of viable Lactobacillus casei, administered by an intraperitoneal route, to induce resistance in mice against Trichinella spiralis infection was tested. The percent reduction of adult worms in the intestine 5 days after T. spiralis infection observed in L. casei-treated animals, compared with those of the control group, fluctuated between 70.9 and 88.5%; reductions of larvae per gram of muscle tissue, evaluated at 30 days after infection, varied from 46.6 to 84.4% in L. casei-treated mice compared with controls. At 5 days after infection, intestinal villus height was shorter in T. spiralis-infected animals than in L. casei-treated or uninfected mice. There were fewer mast cells/crypt unit in L. casei-treated and uninfected mice than in T. spiralis-infected animals. Lactobacilli-treated mice showed twice as many mononuclear cells/crypt unit as T. spiralis-infected animals. The IFN-gamma serum level was higher in L. casei-treated animals at the time of worm challenge as compared with T. spiralis-infected or uninfected mice. The results indicate that: (1) L. casei increased resistance that acted against T. spiralis infection in mice, (2) this resistance apparently was directed against adult worms in the intestine.

Transverse divergent dislocation of the elbow in a child. A case report.

The transverse divergent dislocation of the elbow in the child is a rare occurrence. In a ten-year-old boy, divergent dislocation was associated with a fracture of the coronoid process and of the radial epiphysis. After a closed reduction and plaster immobilization, full function of the elbow was recovered within nine months.

[Subcapsular hematoma after ESWL]. / Hematoma subcapsular tras ESWL.

Contribution of 2 cases of post-ESWL subcapsular haematoma in patients with HBP. One of them underwent surgical drainage. In the second case a more conservative attitude was followed. Review of related literature.

Chronic granulomatous disease of childhood. Report of two cases with unusual involvement of the gastric antrum and spleen.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) of childhood is a rare entity. The disease is characterized by recurrent infections with granuloma and abscess formation caused by an inherited defective neutrophil leukocyte function. The most common sites of involvement are the lungs, lymph nodes, skin, liver, spleen and bones. Rarely are other organs affected. Two children with CGD are presented. The children were cousins, the older with bone, lung and splenic involvement. The younger had circumferential thickening of the gastric antrum. Some of the lesions were well delineated with ultrasonography. The unusual gastric antrum wall and focal splenic involvement in this disease are emphasized.