RESUMEN

SETTING: It is generally accepted that antibodies do not protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, as this role relies upon T-cell reactivity. Hence, most studies on antimycobacterial antibodies have been aimed at developing serologic tests, and few explore their role in disease pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the IgG antimycobacterial antibody response of 55 Mexican Totonaca Indians with pulmonary tuberculosis and its correlation with some features of the disease. DESIGN: Study of the profile of antigen recognition by immunoblot and ELISA with isolated antigen 85 complex (Ag85) and whole culture filtrate proteins. Correlation of immunoblot and ELISA results with BCG vaccination, tuberculin reactivity, extent of the disease, clinical setting, and response to treatment. RESULTS: On immunoblot, band reactivity was very poor and the most frequently recognized antigen was the 30-32 kDa, antigen 85 complex (45.8% of serum samples). ELISA with this antigen showed a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 100%. Positive antibody titers to Ag85 were observed in 79.4% of patients with non-cavitary tuberculosis (P = 0.012) and in 95.8% of patients who were cured with anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy (P = 0.0001). By contrast, an antibody response to whole culture filtrate antigens had no correlation with the presence of cavitations or with prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that an antibody response to Ag85, aside from having great potential to develop a serologic test for tuberculosis, was associated with a positive outcome in a cohort of tuberculous Mexican Indians.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

In this prospective study, the complications and mortality appeared in 50 exchange transfusions (ET) were analyzed. The ET were performed in 84% of the cases through a catheter in the umbilical vessels, 22 through both vessels, 10 by vein and 10 by umbilical artery; in the rest of cases by central vein. We found complications in 33% of the cases. Cardiac arrhythmia (23 cases) was the most frequent complication; also metabolic complications in 20 cases, septic complications in 10 cases (8 cases of omphalitis and 4 of sepsis were included), 8 cases of necrotizing enterocolitis and 3 of bleeding were found. Some of the newborns has 2 or more complications at the same time. The total lethality rate was 4% which occurred in 2 preterm infants with critical state. Our finding suggest that morbidity due to ET is highest than previously reports and maybe the mortality is due to the critical state of patients more than the ET.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

We studied 30 full-term newborn infants, admitted to the newborn intensive care unit of "Manuel Gea González" General Hospital between January 1, 1989 and December 31, 1990. All infants had 5-minute Apgar score of 5 or less. The disturbances related to: brain, heart, liver, bowel, coagulation system, calcium and glucose homeostasis were investigate in all cases. Of the 30 infants, 29 (97%) had developed 1 to 7 abnormalities in the systems studied. Most of them had from 2 to 5 abnormalities (77%). The commonest disturbance was brain involvement in 22 cases (73%); metabolic and coagulation changes had also been observed, while heart disturbances were less common. There was no significant difference between the intensity and number of systemic abnormalities observed in these infants and the alterations seen during pregnancy, labor, delivery, administration of anesthesia and Apgar score. These observations suggest a striking relationship between asphyxia in the newborn infant and the development of systemic disturbances.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Para conseguir que la participacion de la comunidad sea activa y sostenida,es preciso que se produzca una comunicacion efectiva entre las instituciones encargadas de la promocion de estas actividades y la propria poblacion que se va a beneficiar de los programas de que se trate, en especial la marginada y la que vive en el area rural. En este documento el autor examina los obstaculos que ha observado en su experiencia en Guatemala en relacion con la promocion de sistemas de abastecimiento de agua y saneamiento y sugiere las medidas que se pueden tomar para superar las dificultades. Asimismo, propone una serie de estrategias generales que pueden adoptarse para lograr una activa participacion de la comunidad en estas actividades

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Liver biopsy was taken from 20 patients with chronic and acute alcoholism. The patients had been hospitalized for diverse reasons, had no clinical manifestations of alcoholic hepatitis nor cirrhosis, but did have abnormal liver function tests. The most common abnormal test results were low serum albumin, polyclonal gamma-globulin elevation, and S G O T and Alk P rise. In all patients one or more types of hepatic lesiones were found: steatosis (15), polynuclear and mononuclear infiltrates (15), and portal (7), interstitial (13), or centriobular (8) fibrosis. Two patients had cirrhosis. None had hepatic cell necrosis. These findings justify a motivated search for liver damage in patients with alcoholism who have slight alterations in liver function tests, even in the absence of clinical manifestations of liver disease.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

It was diagnosed hypothyroidism in a 53-year-old man with chronic renal failure, with blood urea of 306 mg/dl and serum creatinine of 14.9 mg/dl. At three months of triiodothyronine therapy, the patient became asymptomatic and blood urea and serum creatinine diminished to 49 and 1.1 mg/dl respectively. The possible mechanisms responsible of that reversible uremia of such unusual amount in this hypothyroid patient are discussed.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)