[Utilization of EPO in CAPD]. / Utilizzo dell'EPO in CAPD.

From January 1988 to September 1990 14 uremic patients in CAPD underwent EPO therapy in the Nephrology and Dialysis Unit of the "E. Agnelli" Hospital in Pinerolo. Intravenous routes were used in 5 patients and subcutaneous routes in the remaining 9 patients, with a unified dose of 4000 IU/three times a week. Both methods were equally efficacious in achieving the set target: partial correction of anemia together with an improvement in the patients' well-being. The most frequent side-effect was increased blood pressure, above all in those patients with pre-existing hypertension. Satisfactory control was achieved by adjusting anti-hypertensive therapy. Low EPO doses, administered via a subcutaneous route once and twice a week (mean dose: 61.6 +/- 35.8 IU/kg/week), allowed hemoglobin values to be maintained at previous levels. On these grounds the method could also be used for patients in hemodialysis.

Pleural plaques and lung asbestos bodies in the general population: an autoptical and clinical-radiological survey.

Of 218 necropsies of male subjects, pleural hyaline plaques were detected in 67 (30%). The prevalence of pleural plaques was found to be related to age at death and to history of previous occupational contact with asbestos. The presence of asbestos bodies in lungs was also associated with pleural plaques; however, the reliability of the presence of ferruginous bodies as an indicator of exposure to asbestos is questioned. The role of environmental exposure will be better demonstrated at the end of an investigation on place of residence, which is still in progress. Chest X-rays showed little sensitivity for use in epidemiological surveys.