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Objective: to analyze the trend and spatial distribution of some diseases that require compulsory notification in pregnant women., Method: ecological study, with data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, of the incidence of the six most frequent diseases that, require compulsory notification, in pregnant women. The Prais-Winsten model was used to analyze the trend classified as stable, decreasing and increasing, according to macro-regions. For the spatial analysis, the incidences distributed in percentiles, in choropleth maps, by Health Regions were calculated., Results: the most frequent infections were syphilis, dengue, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, influenza, hepatitis and toxoplasmosis. Incidence increased by 30.8%, 30.4%, 15.4% and 2.6%, on average, for syphilis, toxoplasmosis, dengue and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, respectively. On average, the incidence of syphilis increased by 40.5% in Macro-regional North and 38% in Macro-regional Northwest. The spatial analysis showed, in the last four years, high incidence of dengue, syphilis and infection by Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which reached 180.2, 141.7 and 100.8 cases per 10,000 live births, respectively., Conclusion: there were increased incidences of infection in pregnant women due to syphilis, toxoplasmosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, with differences in their spatial distribution, indicating that these diseases should be a priority in the care of pregnant women in more affected regions.

Background: Marked hypertransaminasemia (HT) is not an infrequent situation within clinical practice, which is usually interpreted as primary acute liver damage. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence, mortality rate and aetiology of marked HT among the general population, and the use therefore as an indicator of primary acute liver damage., Methods: A retrospective study was made of all patients with marked HT (ALT >400 IU/L) which were attended over a two-year period at the Healthcare Department n 11 in the Autonomous Community of Valencia. The computerized medical records and the results of the different supplementary examinations made were reviewed, and an analysis was made of different variables: clinical diagnosis and evolution, other liver function-related biochemical parameters and autoimmune and infection serology markers., Results: A total of 414 patients with marked HT were identified (incidence of 88 cases/100,000 inhab./year), 73 of whom died (mortality rate of 16 deaths/100,000 inhab./year). Of the twenty aetiologies found, the most frequent were extrahepatic cholestasis (28.3%), hypoxic hepatopathy (14.6%) and sepsis (11.9%). The positive predictive value of marked HT as an indicator of primary acute liver damage was 27.7%., Conclusions: Marked HT is a disorder having a remarkable incidence rate among the general population, entailing a high mortality rate. Its aetiology is widely varied, being however the extrahepatic origin predominant.

Introduction and Objectives: Q fever (Coxiella burnetii infection) is an underdiagnosed zoonosis in our area, Extremadura, a rural region in the Southwest of Spain. The characteristics of Q fever and the changes in this infection seen over the last decade in our hospital are described., Material and Methods: A total of 124 cases of Q fever diagnosed in the Infectious Diseases Unit of a tertiary hospital Hospital Universitario Infanta Cristina de Badajoz) during the years 1992-2005 were analyzed. The epidemiological, clinical, serological and therapeutic data of the patients, and the factors related with hospital admittance are described., Results: Mean age was 41 +/- 16 years, most patients were males (4:1 ratio), 61% lived in rural areas and 47% mentioned some kind of contact with farm animals. The clinical presentation included non-focalized fever (53%), hepatitis (43%), pneumonia (11%), and endocarditis (6%). The factors related with the need for hospital admission were diagnosis after 1999 (OR: 12.2; 95% CI: 3.2-47.6), pneumonia (OR: 4.1; 95% CI: 1.1-15.9), and hepatitis (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2-6.3). During the second half of the study period there were more cases of Q fever, the interval of time to diagnosis was shorter (P = 0.042), and there was a significant increase in hospitalizations (55% versus 9%; P < 0.0001)., Conclusions: In Extremadura, Q fever is an emerging infection that predominates in males who are in contact with animals for work purposes. Non-focalized fever is the most frequent form of clinical presentation; pneumonia is rare. Hospitalization for Q fever infection has increased over the last years.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease that occurs in patients with no significant alcohol consumption, characterized for macrovesicular steatosis, hepatocellular necrosis, mixed inflammatory infiltrate and various grades of fibrosis and, in some cases, Mallory bodies. The prevalence of this disease is unknown; recent studies indicate that in the general population, incidence is about 3%, although the rates are higher in some subpopulations as are obesity and diabetes mellitus. The goal of this work was to determine the prevalence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in one sample of patients with the metabolic syndrome, patients at "Presidente Juárez" Regional Hospital. It was a cross-sectional and descriptive study in which, by means of random selection a sample of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia, alone or in combination was chosen. We carried out a clinical and laboratory evaluation, selecting those patients with persistent elevation of aminotransferases for whom additional studies were made, in order to exclude other causes of enzyme abnormality. Five patients were selected for percutaneous liver biopsy, all they had NASH. The prevalence of NASH was 4.54%. The clinical and laboratory characteristics of these patients will be discussed in the article.

Obesity is the most important risk factor associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is caused by to impaired insulin activity, overflow of portal triglycerides, and production of inflammatory cytokines; all of these are deleterious to hepatocytes. These phenomena facilitate disruptions in hepatic physiology, as observed in alcoholic hepatitis; however, consumption of this substance is absent. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis has had a great impact due to the fact that previously, main cases of cryptogenic cirrhosis actually were attributed to this disease. Despite advances in understanding the pathophysiologic process of the disease, there is no better treatment than weight reduction (a combination of diet and exercise). In this issue, we describe the most important topics with regard to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and the obesity-related process.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a hepatocellular inflammation that is characterised by a wide range of histopathologic (periportal interface hepatitis with plasma cell infiltration and piecemeal necrosis), biochemical (hypertransaminasemia, hypergammaglobulinaemia) and autoimmune (several autoantibodies presence) features. This relatively rare disorder frequently affects middle-aged women. There is no pathognomonic marker for AIH diagnosis, therefore it requires a careful rule out of other causes of liver disease together with the detection of a suggestive pattern of clinical and laboratory abnormalities. Scoring system for AIH diagnosis proposed by International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group has been used as a tool in clinical practice but is not sufficiently exclusive in terms of defining prognosis or treatment. AIH has been classified in two subtypes according to autoantibodies detected: 1 and 2, but this classification results in poor clinical implications. Previously known as subtype 3 is at the present included in subtype 1 because no clinical significant differences has been found between them. Aetiology, and molecular mechanisms still remain to be elucitaded in this disease, although viruses, drugs and molecular mimicry act presumably as a trigger in genetically predisposed patients (associated with HLA-DR3 and DR4 haplotypes). On the other hand, immunosuppressive therapy (corticosteroid or azathioprine) generally offers favourable response. Our aim is to review this disease from different points of view, considering: clinical, histopathological, etiologic, genetic, biochemical, autoimmune, treatment and prognosis features.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of Q fever in the southern area of the island of Gran Canaria (Spain)., Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical and epidemiological data of the cases of Q fever diagnosed by the Microbiology Laboratory of the Hospital Universitario Insular in Gran Canaria between 1998 and 2000. Antibodies against phase II Coxiella burnetii antigens were detected using an indirect immunofluorescence test. The diagnosis of acute Q fever was established by IgG titers > or = 1:320 and IgM titers > or = 1:80, or by seroconversion., Results: During the period of study 59 cases of acute Q fever were diagnosed, making an incidence of 5 cases/100,000 inhabitants/year. The seroprevalence (IgG > or = 1:80) in the patients for whom Q fever serology was requested during that period was 23.9%. Clinical and epidemiologic data were available for 40 patients. All were sporadic cases and 57% were hospitalized. The mean age of the patients was 40.6 6 13.3 years (range 20-74 years), 85% were males and 67.5% came from a rural background. The majority of cases (65%) clustered from April to July. The most frequent clinical presentation was an acute febrile process with elevated liver enzymes (87.5%). Pneumonia was infrequent (only three cases)., Conclusions: In our area Q fever is mainly manifested as an acute febrile illness with subclinical hepatic involvement. This fact and the small number of cases with pneumonia and chronic forms suggest the etiological involvement of C. burnetii strains different from those in other geographic areas.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease that occurs in patients with no significant alcohol consumption; it is not histologically different from alcoholic hepatitis because it presents macrovesicular steatosis, hepatocellular necrosis, mixed inflammatory infiltrate, and various stages of fibrosis in addition Mallory bodies in some patients. Some authors have even described NASH as a benign disease; however, it is presently considered a potentially serious disease that may evolve into liver cirrhosis and probably, liver cancer. It is more often related to female sex, obesity, and dyslipidemia, although it may be present in other population groups and associated with other factors. Its origin may be multifactorial, including insulin resistance, protein glycation, oxidative stress, and others. The disease may be asymptomatic and found in routine physical exams when the patient shows increased aminotransferases with no other explanation. At present the only specific diagnosis procedure is liver biopsy. The sole available current treatment is body weight control, normalizing glucose and lipid blood levels, as well as the administration of some medication, as illustrated in the subsequent article.

Unlabelled: Hepatic biopsy is a safe procedure. Its findings contribute to precise diagnoses and in selecting or modifying the treatment of some patients with liver diseases., Aim: To analyze indications, findings and complications of hepatic biopsy., Material and Methods: Retrospective study of patients with hepatic disease in which a hepatic biopsy was obtained. Information pertaining to clinical characteristics, biopsy indications and its results were collected. All tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, Masson and Perl. The analysis was performed by descriptive statistics, chi 2 test and the Fisher exact test., Results: There were 54.6% were women and 45.4% were men. In 361 patients the major diagnoses were: Hepatic cirrhosis 19.1%, hepatic metastases 16.3%, chronic hepatitis 11.6%, alcoholic hepatitis 11.1% and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis 9.7%. In 66.2% of the biopsies were preformed meanwhile patients were in the Hospital. The procedure was ultrasound-assisted in 76%. There were major complications in 1.4%., Conclusion: The hepatic disease is more common in the woman and the pathologic results show that the etiology of liver diseases in our hospital are similar to reports of third level hospitals in Mexico, its major complications were fewer.

Background: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a not very well known disease; it has been described principally in obese and diabetic women without significant alcohol consumption. The women are practically asymptomatic, and the hepatic function test (HFT) shows minimal changes. The liver biopsy findings are identical to those found in alcoholic liver disease. NASH may progress to cirrhosis., Objective: To determine the prevalence of NASH in a Mexican community., Methods: In the City of Pachuca, Mexico, we studied volunteers of both sexes who were between the ages of 17 and 75 years, all with an alcohol consumption of < 20 g/week without any known hepatic disease. A clinical review, laboratory test, and hepatic ultrasound were carried out. Subjects with HFT and ultrasound disorders were invited to continue the study with a hepatic biopsy., Results: Ninety-seven volunteers completed the study, of whom 70 were non-diabetics and 27 were diabetics. Ten patients (10.3%) had NASH confirmed by hepatic biopsy; the prevalence in diabetics was 18.5% and in non-diabetics, 7.1%. In spite of the differences between NASH patients and the control group concerning gender, age, and diabetic status, there was no significant statistical difference except for the gallbladder antecedent., Conclusions: The prevalence of NASH was 10.3% in the studied group. NASH is more frequent in diabetics and women, but without a significant statistical difference. However, the odds ratio (OR) analysis shows diabetes and female sex to be a risk factor for NASH; therefore it is probable than our sample size is not large enough.

Coeliac disease is a gluten-sensitive enteropathy in which, genetic, immunologic and environmental factors are implied. Several extradigestive diseases have been described in association with coeliac disease, which share most of the times an immunologic mechanism. The liver is damaged in coeliac disease, and it has been considered by some authors as an extraintestinal manifestation of the disease. In the present revision we discuss the different hepatic diseases related with the coeliac disease, as well as the best approach to diagnosis and therapy of choice. At diagnosis, it is very frequent to find an asymptomatic hipertransaminasemia, which frequently disappears after gluten suppression; the morphological substratum found in this alteration is a non-specific reactive hepatitis in the majority of cases. Coeliac disease is a demonstrated cause of cryptogenic hipertransaminasemia. In a small percentage of patient with coeliac disease an association has been found with other immunological liver diseases, such as primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. Few studies exist that include a large number of patient, and the results on occasions are discordant. Nevertheless, the strongest association is with autoimmune hepatitis and with primary biliary cirrhosis. Several communications of isolated cases of rare hepatic diseases, which probably, only reflect a fortuitous association, have been cited in the literature.

Objective: Description of the general characteristics of patients with Diffuse Chronic Hepatopathy (DCH) in an ABS., Design: Empirical study of a prospective and retrospective type. Site. Primary Care. ABS La Mina. Sant Adrià de Besòs., Patients and Other Participants: All patients diagnosed as suffering DCH since 1984, in line with histological or clinical--morphological criteria accepted in the literature., Main Measurements and Results: Using a data base of the centre's morbidity and mortality register, 287 reports of patients over 14 years old defined as having DCH were examined. 222 cases met the established criteria. Most of these were males (68%), and to an even higher proportion in the group with alcoholic etiology (84%), which was the most common cause of DCH (64.4%). There was a lower number of complications and deaths attributable to DCH than in published hospital series., Conclusions: Among the characteristics of DCH in a natural population using the health services, it is important to note the predominance of compensated forms having a rate of complications and deaths attributable to DCH significantly lower than what was observed in hospital series. This information may be of use in planning activities at the ABS level.