Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women attending antenatal care in southern Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and possible risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii (toxoplasmosis) infection in pregnant women attending antenatal care at Gambo General Rural Hospital, southern Ethiopia. METHODS: Hospital-based, prospective cross-sectional study. We collected 401 serum samples from September 1 to October 30, 2015, along with sociodemographic data and data on potential risk factors, using a simple random sampling technique. RESULTS: The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in pregnant women (mean age 23.1 years) was 23.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 20.0, 28.3). We did not find any significant risk factors associated with seropositivity in relation with participants' level of education; occupation; contact with cats; consumption of raw or uncooked meat, vegetables, or milk; or type of flooring (soil versus cement) at home. The women who were aware of the risk of toxoplasma infection on the fetus had fewer T. gondii antibodies. Drinking unsafe water was as-sociated with a higher risk of toxoplasmosis (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among pregnant women was relatively lower.

Rhabdomyolysis in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The objective of this paper is to report 5 cases of rhabdomyolysis (RML) in patients with acute leukemia (AL). This occurred consecutively after the administration of chemotherapy, during the ensuing period of myelosuppression. Thirty-six patients with AL received, in a three-month period, 51 cycles of combined chemotherapy which included, in all of them, cytosine arabinoside (ARA-C); among them, along with myelosuppression, five experienced fever, infectious complications, gastrointestinal tract symptoms and severe myalgias. Serum creatine kinase (CK), liver function tests and a light microscopy muscle biopsy were performed on all of them. Ten-17 days after receiving chemotherapy, five patients (4 males and 1 female) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed incapacitating myalgias in neck, thighs and arms. CK and/or alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were increased 5-24 times above the normal range in four of these patients, and the muscle biopsy showed focal RML in all five. Myalgias were self-limited and lasted 4-10 days. In addition to the chemotherapy, other factors known to be capable of producing RML, such as sepsis, other medications, and dehydration were found. In conclusion, myalgias were due to focal RML produced probably by a combination of factors, particularly the chemotherapy along with dehydration due to gastrointestinal complications, infection, and the use of diverse antibiotics. The endemic nature of the finding in such a short period of time is outstanding.

[Multiple intestinal perforation in Crohn's disease]. / Perforación intestinal múltiple en enfermedad de Crohn.

Free perforation of the small bowel in Crohn's disease is a rare event. The reported incidence is between 1 to 2 per cent, and only in 25 per cent of the cases it appears as the first manifestation of the disease. A case is reported, which we consider is unique, due to the fact that within one year there had been three independent episodes of perforation as her first manifestation of the disease.

[Squamous cell carcinoma of the liver]. / Carcinoma escamoso primario de hígado.

A case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver in a 38-year-old male patient is informed. We could only find 13 cases reported in the literature, all of them in male patients; in the Mexican literature this histologic type of hepatic neoplasia has not been reported. The prognosis of these lesions are extremely poor, and no case has survived over six months.

Adriamycin and splenectomy in the treatment of histiocytic medullary reticulosis.

Histiocytic medullary reticulosis (HMR) is a rare, malignant disorder with unsatisfactory response to various chemotherapeutic agents that have been used up to the present time. The purpose of this communication is to describe the first patient with this disease in whom an immediate, complete remission was obtained using only adriamycin. Four months after institution of this treatment, a staging laparotomy and splenectomy revealed residual disease in the spleen only. Adriamycin was continued as the sole agent, to the full calculated dose, followed by maintenance therapy consisting of cyclophosphamide. The patient continues to be in complete remission 35 months after diagnosis was established.

[Immunoblastic lymphadenopathy and toxacariasis. Report of a case]. / Linfadenopatia inmunoblástica y toxocariásis Presentacion de un caso

This is a report of a case a larval granulomatosis associated with immunoblastic lymphadenopathy, corroborated by laboratory and histologic studies compatible with that. The etiopathogenesis, clinical picture and diagnosis of both diseases are commented, and the possible relationship between them is stressed.