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Aim: To know the number of patients that are admitted in the hospital with TED or those who have developed it during their stay, analyzing how to manage this disease and make a basis for a prospective study of this disease., Methods: It is a descriptive and retrospective study of TED diagnosed patients during their stay at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos of Madrid for a 6 month period. Data related with epidemiologic records, diagnosis, treatment and complications of patients with Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT), Pulmonary Thromboembolism (PTE) or both (DVT+PTE) are collected., Results: From October 1st of 2003 to March 31st of 2004, 239 patients were diagnosed with TED (64 DVT, 125 PTE y 51 DVT + PTE) when they were discharged from our hospital, with an average age of 73.2 years (standard desviation 13.64). We classify as risky factors with significative statistical differences chemotherapy, acute myocardium infarction and obesity. It has not been found any relation between the treatment used and the development of hemorrhage. Patients with previous episodes of TED had more frequent hemorrhagies than those without such records. Hypokinesia in the right ventricle shown on the echocardiogram supposed a gloomy prognosis of the death for TED as well as the development of DVT + PTE., Conclusion: In more than a 50% of patients, TED was PTE and more than a 60% were women. It is important to obtain information about these patients because 2/3 of them are admitted to internal medicine. Chemotherapy, AIM and obesity were factors significatively associated to DVT, PTE and DVT + PTE. Hypokinesia in the right ventricle shown on the echocardiogram supposed a gloomy prognosis for TED as well as the development of DVT + PTE.

Objectives: a) to determine the prevalence of anti-ribosomal P antibodies in patients with ESL in our setting; b) to determine if there are associations between clinical signs of ESL and these autoantibodies; c) to analyze if there is any correlation between the presence of anti-P in patients with ESL and the results of other routine lab tests; and d) to assess the usefulness of implementing as routine test the determination of anti-P antibodies., Material and Methods: The study included 60 patients diagnosed of ESL and 61 healthy subjects as the control group. ELISA was used to determine anti-ribosomal antibodies. Chi-square, Fisher and Student t tests were used for the statistical analyses., Results: Of the 60 patients with SLE, 29 (48%) had anti-P antibodies as determined by ELISA. No association was observed between the presence of anti-P antibodies and psychosis, depression, hepatic failure, renal failure or any other clinical signs of ESL. A correlation was found between the levels of anti-P antibodies as determined by ELISA and anti-histone, ANA and AMA antibodies., Conclusions: The prevalence of anti-P antibodies was high among our ESL patients (48%). Their presence was not significantly associated with any clinical sign; however, an association was found with other lab markers related to the presence of active disease.

Hematologic alterations are frequent in SLE. The hematologic changes of 111 patients diagnosed as suffering from SLE are described, associating them to 89 clinical, biological and hystological variables. The most frequent alteration was normocytic and normochromic anemia. Coombs positive hemolytic anemia appeared in 10% of the cases. Approximately 20% of patients had leukopenia. Lymphopenia was observed during the active period of the disease. Mild thrombocytopenia is common, as well as quality changes of the platelets. The sedimentation rate is high in nearly all patients with SLE and this is a non-specific index of the disease activity. These changes have seldom been described in our area.

A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who developed disseminated intravascular coagulation during the beginning of SLE is presented. No other cause responsible for the producing of DIC was found. After treatment with corticoids, and cyclophosphamide the DIC was rapidly settled. This case supports the need for a complete blood test in patients with SLE who show coagulation alterations.