[Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia. The first reported case at the "Santo Tomás" Hospital]. / Linfadenopatiá angioinmunoblástica con disproteinemia. Primer caso reportado en el Hospital "Santo Tomás".

Description of the first case of angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia diagnosed in a male patient 64 years old and which preceded the development of a lymphoma. The importance of this study is the association that may exist between certain drugs and the development of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy, which occurred in our patient with the use of diphenylhydantoin. This disease can present itself up to 22 years after exposure to the agent.

[Thymoma of fusiform cells. Report of a case]. / Timoma de células fusiformes. Informe de un caso.

A 63 yo female was hospitalized with a 2 week history of vomiting, epigastric pain, anorexia and weight loss. She had an incidental finding of left anterior upper mediastinal mass on Chest Xray and TSP of 2.2 gm% and globulins of 1.2 gm% along with endobronchial larvae of Ascaris lumbricoides and malignant cells and Strongyloides stercoralis in the gastric mucosa. She died after a progressively deteriorating course and at autopsy a thymoma predominantly composed of spindle shaped cells was found. This rare variant of thymoma has been associated with red cell agenesis and with immunodeficiency (Good's syndrome).

Systemic bacterial infections in neonatal deaths.

Bacterial were identified in 126 blood and CSF cultures obtained in 311 consecutive neonatal deaths (41%). These postmortem cultures were of diagnostic value, providing the sole means for definitive bacteriologic diagnosis in 82 (65%) of the 126 infected infants. Similarity of organisms found in specimens before and after death (identical in 25 of 26), similar identity of organisms identified by histologic Gram's stain and culture (the same in 48 of 49), and the identical nature of organisms identified from blood and CSF sites (the same in 43 of 43) support the validity of these cultures. Bacterial infection remains a serious problem in neonatal intensive care. The scope of this problem may be underestimated if postmortem cultures are not obtained.

Effects of gas temperature and particulate water on rabbit lungs during ventilation.

Anesthetized young rabbits were ventilated for 6 hr at 20 cm H2O peak airway pressure using air nebulized with water at 22 degrees C (cold nebulized group, n = 11), at 36 degrees C (warm nebulized group, n = 11) and humidified air at 36 degrees C (warm humidified group, n = 10). Their biochemical status during ventilation and pulmonary morphology at autopsy were compared to those of ten control rabbits. Both nebulized groups had particulate water in the inspired air and water of condensation in the endotracheal tube. The rabbits ventilated with warm humidified air and the control group breathing spontaneously maintained their blood pressure and pHa within physiologic range. Rabbits ventilated with air nebulized with water at 22 and 36 degrees C had a significant decline in mean blood pressure (96 mm Hg leads to 61 mm Hg in cold nebulized and 91 mm Hg leads to 61 mm Hg in warm nebulized) and mean pHa (7.43 leads to 7.23 in cold nebulized and 7.42 leads to 7.31 in warm nebulized). All rabbits in the control and warm humidified groups survived the study whereas 9 of 22 in the nebulized groups died before completion of study (P < 0.005). Morphometric analysis revealed a significant increase in the mean vascular wall thickness in both nebulized groups of rabbits when compared to that in the control and warm humidified groups (P < 0.05). The cold nebulized group also had significantly less air space and correspondingly more interstitial thickness and intraalveolar edema (P < 0.05) compared to control and warm humidified groups. These findings of pulmonary parenchymal damage in rabbits ventilated with air containing particulate water and the greater degree of both physiologic and anatomic change evident in the cold nebulized animals suggest that particulate water and low inspired air temperature may contribute to the genesis of pulmonary damage during intermittent positive pressure ventilation.

Effects of intermittent positive-pressure ventilation on lungs of normal rabbits.

We ventilated 10 healthy young rabbits with warm moist air at 20 cm H2O peak airway pressure and compared their pulmonary histology to that of 10 controls. The histological changes were analysed using the Leitz Texture Analysis System. Four hundred high-power fields (240 micrometers X 240 micrometers) were scanned from each section and the mean proportions of air space, interstitium and oedema determined. Calculated bicarbonate decreased significantly in both groups (P < 0.05); this was accompanied by a modest decrease in pHa in the ventilated group. The PaO2 and PaCO2 were maintained within the normal range. The blood pressure decreased in both groups. Seven of 10 ventilated rabbits had interstitial widening while only 1 of 10 controls had a similar lesion (chi 2 = 5.21, P = < 0.05). The area occupied by interstitium ranged from 26 to 46% (mean 37.6%) in controls and 18 to 81% (mean 45.4%) in ventilated rabbits. There was a lack of correlation between clinical and histopathological findings. While 6 of 10 ventilated rabbits had intra-alveolar oedema and a decrease in air space to less than 50% of total area, none developed hypoxaemia. Two of these 6 rabbits also had pHa less than 7.35 by the end of the study, yet all were clinically stable. These data indicate that intermittent partial-pressure ventilation with warm moist air may result in pulmonary parenchymal damage within 6 h in healthy rabbits.

Papillary muscle necrosis in a neonatal autopsy population: incidence and associated clinical manifestations.

Papillary muscle necrosis was found in 24 of 84 neonates without congenital heart disease who died and were autopsied during a 17-month study period. The lesion was most prevalent in infants greater than or equal to 3,000 gm birth weight (59%), but papillary muscle necrosis was also noted in 25% of the infants of medium birth weight (1,500 to 2,999 gm) and in 19% of the very low-birth-weight infants (less than 1,500 gm). Papillary muscle necrosis in the highest birth-weight group correlated with five-minute Apgar scores of 6 or less, meconium aspiration syndrome, seizures, congestive heart failure, increased cardiothoracic ratio (greater than or equal to 0.60), and ischemic changes on electrocardiogram. In the medium- and very low-birth-weight groups, however, patients with papillary muscle necrosis could seldom be differentiated clinically from their birth-weight peers without the lesion, even in retrospect.