Pulmonary haemosiderosis in Saudi children: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Two children with idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis are reported. These are the first cases of this disease from Saudi Arabia and highlight the diagnostic problem caused by their presentation as cases of iron deficiency anaemia. The aetiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management are discussed. The attention of paediatricians is drawn to this relatively rare cause of iron deficiency anaemia.

Two cases of intestinal obstruction caused by tuberculosis--the role of frozen section diagnosis.

Upper intestinal obstruction caused by tuberculosis is relatively rare, and the diagnosis is often missed. Two cases are described that were diagnosed by frozen section during laparotomy. It might be thought that endoscopy would have eliminated these difficulties, but this is not in fact the case. Many laboratory safety codes forbid the use of frozen sections on tuberculous material, but in endemic areas this restriction is not practical. Special facilities are required so that all frozen sections can be handled safely.

Recurrent allograft antiglomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis in a patient with Alport's syndrome.

A patient with Alport's syndrome and chronic renal failure received a cadaver kidney graft. Four months after the transplantation, he developed glomerulonephritis induced by anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody. The graft failed, and the patient returned to haemodialysis. Twenty-two months later the patient received a second cadaver kidney graft. Ten months after the second transplant, he developed a recurrent anti-GBM glomerulonephritis. This observation suggests that anti-GBM disease can recur in a second transplanted kidney in a patient with Alport's syndrome.

Renal granuloma and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in leprosy.

A 17-year-old, Yemeni male patient with borderline lepromatous leprosy and erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) developed a nephritic range proteinuria. A renal biopsy revealed mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and epithelioid granulomas in the interstitium. The presence of granular immunofluorescence for C3 and electron-dense deposits in the glomeruli indicated an immune complex glomerulonephritis. Clinical signs of ENL subsided rapidly under steroid treatment. The unusual combination of proliferative glomerulonephritis and epithelioid granulomas in leprosy is presented and discussed.

Histiocytosis X of the thyroid masquerading as thyroid carcinoma.

The case of a 28-year-old woman with histiocytosis X confined to the thyroid is described. A partial thyroidectomy specimen from this patient was at first interpreted as showing poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Subsequent investigations, including electron microscopy, revealed the true nature of the lesion. Even on retrospective examination, the two conditions can simulate each other very closely and may be easily confused.

Oesophageal pemphigus vulgaris.

Symptomatic involvement of the oesophageal mucosa by pemphigus vulgaris is rare. We describe 1 patient who was treated with oral steroids during a blistering phase, when epigastric pain developed. Endoscopy revealed multiple ulcerations all over the oesophagus, but gastroduodenal mucosa was normal. The symptoms disappeared following cimetidine for gastro-oesophageal reflux and increase of steroid dosage. When painful symptoms appear from the upper digestive tract during corticosteroid treatment of pemphigus, the possibility of acantholytic involvement of oesophageal mucosa must be kept in mind. Its implication for the dosage of steroids is opposite that in steroid-induced peptic ulcers. Carefully performed upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy is helpful in these patients.

Nasal glioma and encephalocele: two separate entities. Report of two cases.

The term "nasal glioma" is a confusing misnomer as it implies a neoplastic condition with malignant potential, which it is not. Nasal glioma is a rare development abnormality and should be differentiated from glioma, which is a malignant tumor of the brain, and from a primary encephalocele, which is herniation of the cranial contents through a bone defect in the skull, through which it retains an intact connection with the central nervous system. Two cases of nasal glioma, one with and one without intracranial connections, are described and the literature is reviewed.

Polyps and diverticula of the large intestine: a necropsy survey in Hong Kong.

The study is based on a prospective survey of 200 necropsies, to determine the prevalence of colonic polyps and diverticula in Hong Kong. Adenomatous polyps were found in 34% of men and 19% of women. The corresponding figures for hyperplastic polyps were 22% and 15%. When compared with European countries having similar rates for colorectal cancer, the polyp pattern by type, prevalence, and distribution is very similar. For diverticula the prevalence rate in this study was only 5%; most of these were situated in the caecum. This is at marked variance to the European pattern.