[Massive rectorrhagia and acute intestinal occlusion revealing Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: apropos of 3 cases]. / Rectorragie massive et occlusion intestinale aigueë révélant un syndrome de Peutz-Jeghers: à propos de trois cas.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a rare hereditary disorder involving digestive polyposis with hamartomatous gastrointestinal polyps and mucocutaneous lentiginosis. We report three cases in which this syndrome was detected by complications: a massive rectal hemorrhage requiring a blood transfusion in one case and acute impaction of the bowel requiring emergency surgery in the other two. This work demonstrates the importance of the complications that may indicate that the patient has this syndrome. We also discuss the cancers of the digestive system and other organs that may be associated with PJS and recent progress in genetic research into this disease.

[Liver abscess: diagnosis and treatment. Study of a series of 22 cases]. / Abcès du foie: diagnostic et traitement. Etude d'une série de 22 cas.

Twenty-two cases of abscess of the liver are reported. Eighteen were due to pyogenic organisms and four to amebas. The diagnosis was established based on clinical and laboratory evaluations and, above all, on ultrasonography with aspiration of the lesion. The causative organism was recovered from the aspirate in 33.3% of cases. Seventeen patients were treated by percutaneous aspiration. Two patients required insertion of a drain because of a biliary fistula. The success rate of percutaneous aspiration with or without drainage was 88.2% in our series. The two patients who had surgery had loculated abscesses with thick pus. In conclusion, the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic abscesses have benefited from advances in imaging techniques; in particular, aspiration or drainage can be performed simply under ultrasonographic guidance.

[The pseudo-tumoral form of hepatic tuberculosis. Five case reports]. / La forme pseudo-tumorale de la tuberculose hépatique. A propos de cinq cas.

The authors report 5 cases of pseudotumoral tuberculosis of the liver. They essentially involved young men from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Clinically, poor general condition with massive weight loss was constant, while pyrexia and hepatomegaly were sometimes absent. Hepatobiliary ultrasonography revealed hypoechogenic or even anechogenic lesions between 1.5 and 3.5 cm in diameter. Diagnostic confirmation was histological after needle biopsy. The outcome after antibiotic treatment with or without drainage, was recovery, with ultrasonographic normalization of the liver, in all patients, with a mean follow-up of 22 months.

[Epidemiologic profile of colorectal cancers in a medical service at Rabat]. / Profil épidémiologique des cancers colo-rectaux dans un service de médecine à Rabat.

The authors report their clinical experience concerning carcinomas of the colon and rectum based upon 212 patients hospitalised in a Department of Medicine. The group consisted of 109 men and 101 women. The mean age was 46.4. Almost 50 per cent of the patients had first presented only 6 months after the onset of symptoms. The recto-sigmoid was the commonest site (81.6 per cent). From a histological standpoint, adenocarcinomas were commonest (93.86 per cent of carcinomas).

[Acute viral hepatitis and hepatitis B virus markers in chronic liver disease and primary cancer of the liver]. / Hépatites virales aigües et marqueurs du virus HB dans les maladies chroniques du foie et dans les cancers primitifs du foie.

A clinical and etiological study of 171 cases of acute hepatitis in subjects over 15 years of age showed that 73.7% were of the B type and 25.7% of the non-A, non-B type. A single case of hepatitis A was seen. Hepatitis B and non-A, non-B affect equally young men and women (mean age, 29 and 28, respectively), and infection occurs, for both types of hepatitis, by the parenteral route. More than 90% of cases recovered completely. The search for markers of hepatitis B virus in subjects with chronic liver diseases has shown that the B virus plays an important role in these diseases in Morocco: 6.7% of controls, 38.5% of cirrhotics and 40.9% of patients with chronic hepatitis were carriers of HBsAg. The anti-hepatitis Bc antibody was present in 53.3% of the control population, in 86.5% of cirrhotics and 90.9% of active chronic hepatitis patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma is relatively rare in Morocco, representing 5.9% of hepatic tumours and accounting for one hospitalization out of 84. It occurs in older subjects (mean age, 58 years) and more often in men than in women (40:23). The presence of HBsAg was investigated in 46 patients and 379 controls: it was found in 17% of hepatocellular carcinoma patients and 4.7% of controls. Anti-HBc antibodies were present in 76.8% of patients and 53.3% of controls.