Pseudomyxoma peritonei--case report.

The syndrome pseudomyxoma peritonei is rare, present in only 2/10,000 laparotomies. We report the case of a 58-year-old woman with a primary tumor of the appendix, and secondary involvement of other structures and organs of the abdominal cavity. In our case, we performed maximal surgical reduction of the tumor, with remaining implants on diaphragmatic domes and liver, as we did not have technical conditions to safely perform prolonged surgery which would have included a surgical procedure on the liver and administration of intraoperative chemotherapy. The patient underwent six series of parenteral chemotherapy, but refused the second-look surgery. Even though our patient did not receive intraperitoneal chemotherapy, maximal surgical tumor reduction, and refused second-look surgery, she is still alive and without any major complaints two years after the surgery.

[Importance of immunoregulation and erythropoiesis estimation in disorders with activated immune system]. / Znacaj ispitivanja imunoregulacije i eritropoeze u oboljenjima s aktivisanim imunskim sistemom.

Complicated immunoregulatory events in different disorders depend on the pathologic process itself and the phase of disease. Immune parameters aberrations in advanced phase of disease, compared to initial ones, may be significant, making hard the understanding of basic immunoregulatory process of the disease. Intending to explain immune mechanisms in different disorders with activation of the immune system as basic pathogenic event (infections, autoimmune diseases), particularly in advanced phase of the disease, on a parallel with standard laboratory investigations of erythropoiesis (hemoglobin, red blood cell count, hematocrit) the following examinations of the immune system were done: white blood cell count, immunophenotyping of lymphocytes, ability of the phagocytes to reduce NBT, chemiluminescent response after stimulation with opsonized and nonopsonized particles. Analysis of erythropoietic parameters in order to see the consequences of the regulatory mechanisms of the immune system (cytokines, interleukins) on hemopoiesis may enable us to understand the mechanisms of disease with the initial activation of the immune system. Finding anemia might be useful in defining the immunoregulatory mechanisms involved in particular pathologic process important for therapeutic approach.