[Desmoid cervical tumour following the placing of an internal jugular catheter]. / Tumeur desmoïde cervicale après pose d'un cathéter jugulaire interne.

INTRODUCTION: A desmoid tumour is a rare fibroblastic tumour and generally located in the abdomen. However, it can also develop on surgical scars. OBSERVATION: A 36 year-old woman on chronic dialysis consulted for a cervical mass on the left side that was progressively increasing in volume, on the site of a scar of an internal jugular catheter placed 7 months earlier. Histological analysis of a sample of this mass concluded in a benign fibroblastic proliferation and led to the diagnosis of a desmoid tumour. Study of the patient's history revealed that a left jugular catheter had been placed on two occasions to be used for the hemodialysis approach, the lesion provoked by the latter would explain the development of the desmoid tumour. COMMENTS: The potential severity of this tumour is related to its proximity with the carotid, trachea and base of the skull. In general, desmoid tumours, rare benign tumours of the connective tissue, exhibit a complex multifactor etiopathogenesis. A surgical trauma can often trigger-off such tumours.

The predictors of early mortality in patients starting chronic hemodialysis.

To evaluate the predictors of early mortality in patients on chronic hemodialysis, we reviewed the records of 192 patients starting chronic hemodialysis at our centre between January 1996 and September 1999. The overall incident mortality within 90 days was 32 (16.7%) patients. The cardiovascular causes accounted for 50% of all the causes of mortality. By using multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis, early mortality rate was not significantly increased in the comparison of age or gender groups but increased in patients with diabetes mellitus, as well as those with reduced dialysis frequency. The most powerful predictor of survival was serum albumin level of less than 30 g/l. Thus, the survival rates in patients with serum albumin less than 30 g/l and those with serum albumin equal to or greater than 30 g/l were 67.8% and 90.2%, respectively, (p< 0.001). The odds ratio was 4.68. We conclude that these findings suggest that the important predictors of early mortality in the first 90 days of starting hemodialysis include the presence of diabetes mellitus, the decreased frequency of dialysis sessions and the presence of low serum albumin. The low serum albumin below 30 g/l was the strongest predictor of early mortality.

[Adrenocortical insufficiency in renal amyloidosis]. / L'insuffisance surrénale au cours de l'amylose rénale.

Renal involvement in amyloidosis leads to chronic renal failure. Prognosis is poor. Although amyloid deposits are frequent in adrenal glands, symptomatic adrenal dysfunction is uncommon. We report the case of a 63-year-old man with chronic renal failure (serum creatinine: 202 micromol/L) subsequent to amyloidosis who was referred to our unit for vomiting, dehydration despite a persistent nephrotic syndrome, acidosis, hyponatremia (121 mmol/l) and hyperkaliemia (7.1 mmol/l). A synacthen test was performed and disclosed adrenal insufficiency. Despite the initiation of substitution therapy, the patient died one month later from Addisonian crisis. Features of adrenal insufficiency may be masked by those of chronic renal failure, emphasizing the importance of adrenal explorations in patients with chronic renal failure due to amyloidosis.