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Background: Community-acquired non-complicated acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a frequent, occasionally serious infection (around 20% of the cases are bacteremic) that usually requires hospital admission. The third generation oral cephalosporins which are active against more than 95% of E. coli strains should allow the outpatient management of these patients., Objective: To evaluate the bacteriological and clinical efficacy of oral cefixime in comparison to amoxicilin plus netilcilin in the treatment of APN., Patients and Methods: Patients older than 18 years affected by APN were included in a fourteen month prospective study. According to a random numbers chart, the patients received cefixime (400 mg/24 h in a single daily dose for 12 days) or amoxicilin (1 g/8 h per os) plus netilmicin (4 mg/kg/24 h in a single intramuscular daily dose) during five days followed by 7 days of an oral treatment chosen according to the susceptibility pattern of isolated microorganism., Results: Sixty-one patients received cefixime and 65 amoxicillin plus retilmicin. There were no significant differences between both groups of patients. Thirty-two patients presented bacteremia (25.4%). The mean (SD) eak and trough concentrations of netilmicin were 11.4 (2.8) mg/l and 0.38 (0.4) mg/l, respectively. Clinical response was favorable in 97% of patients treated with cefixime and in 98% of those treated with amoxicilin plus netilmicin (p = NS). The infection recurred in 10 out of 59 patients (16.9%) in the cefixime arm of the study and in 9 out of 64 patients (14%) treated with amoxicillin plus netilmicin (p = NS). Tolerance to the study drugs was good in both arms of the study, and renal function remained normal., Conclusion: Cefixime seems to be an acceptable alternative to the regimens containing an aminopenicillin and an aminoglycoside for the treatment of community-acquired non-complicated APN.

Background: In order to find out the effect of peripheral blood (PB) hematopoietic progenitor cells on immune reconstitution the present study compares, through a randomized trial, some lymphoid subsets after peripheral blood (PBT) or bone marrow (BMT) autologous transplantation., Material and Methods: Twelve patients suffering from malignant hematological disorders were included (6 BMT and 6 PBT). From these patients 14 lymphoid and natural killer (NK) subsets were sequentially analyzed using appropriate dual staining. NK activity was analyzed by measuring Cr51 release from the K562 cell line. Studies were done in days and -6, +10, +17, +24, +31, +38, +52, +66, +90, +120, +180 and +360 after transplantation., Results: The CD8+ cell regeneration was produced mainly by activated cells (CD38+), and no differences were observed between BMT and PBT, but CD8+ HLADR+ cells were higher in the PBT group. During the first year after transplantation CD4+ lymphoid cells were never within normal range, and its recovery was due to the memory subset (CD4+/CD45RO+). The CD19+ lymphocytes began their regeneration after the first month and it was produced mainly by by the CD19+/CD5+ subset. NK cells recovered faster in patients who underwent PBT, but NK activity was similar in both subgroups of patients and it was within normal range from day +17 until the end of the study., Conclusion: T, B and NK lymphoid reconstitution do not differ significantly between patients that receive BM or PB as hemathopoietic rescue, but PB seems influence a faster reconstitution of cytotoxic subsets (CD8+/HLADR+ and NK lymphoid cells).

Syndrome of abnormal chromatin clumping in leucocytes syndrome (ACCLS) is an uncommon entity which shares clinical and biological features with the myelodysplastic (MDS) and chronic myeloproliferative syndrome. In fact, as some authors consider ACCLS a new type of MDS, others maintain that it is in Ph'negative/bcr-abl negative chronic myeloid leukaemia. A new case of ACCLS appeared in a 68 year old woman, who presented with anaemic symptoms, bleeding and recurrent infections, and a haematological picture including progressive macrocytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and leuco-erythroblastosis. Marrow hypercellularity with granulocytic hyperplasia, and mature granulocytes presenting nuclear hyposegmentation and large peripheral blocks of chromatin separated by clear zones were the characteristic features of this case. No cytogenetic abnormalities were found and DNA flow-cytometry content was normal (euploid), supporting the thought that a disequilibrium exists in the hetero-chromatin/eucromatin ration in AACLS. Reverse PCR for bcr-abl transcripts was negative. The cell-cycle-phase analysis showed a high fraction of S-cells in the bone marrow (27%) in contrast to a very low S-phase (0.2%) in the peripheral blood, pattern that is different from both CMML and CML. In vitro clonogenic assays showed a high colony forming capacity and a certain grade of autonomous proliferation of the bone marrow cells, which is reminiscent of the CMML growth behaviour in culture. The patient was treated with vitamin D3, low dose Ara-C, prednisone and hydroxyurea until her demise, fifteen months after diagnosis. In total, the patient received 47 units of packed cells and 114 of platelet concentrates, and was transfused only when she presented anaemic or hemorrhagic symptoms. These clinical and haematological features suggest that ACCLS is a distinct entity that should be considered a sixth type of MDS, beside CMML, with which it has much in common.

Background: The study determines the prevalence of high cardiac output status in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and its relationship with the more significant clinical and biological characteristics of the disease., Patients and Methods: Cardiac output was determined in 28 patients with multiple myeloma by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Patients with any other identifiable cause of high cardiac output were excluded. Mean age was 70 +/- 8 SD years (53-84). A stepwise regression with the cardiac output as dependent variable and age, performance status (ECOG), clinical stage (Durie and Salmon), scale of bone lesions, serum calcium, serum creatine, bone involvement (percentage), and M protein quantity as independent variables showed the following results., Results: A high cardiac output state, defined as a cardiac index higher than 4.6 l/min/m2 was present in five patients (17.8%), four of them with severe bone involvement. Two patients developed heart failure. The stepwise regression revealed the scale of bone lesions was the unique variable associated with the risk of developing a high cardiac output status., Conclusions: A high cardiac output status may be fairly common in patients with multiple myeloma. The syndrome is associated with severe bone involvement, being the scale of bone lesions the only risk factor for this complication.

Background: Infections are the most common medical complications in drug addicts. Some studies suggest that heroin itself could facilitate them by altering the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) function of these patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the heroin effect on the chemotaxis, the phagocytosis and the bactericidal oxidative metabolic activity on PMNL from 10 healthy adults., Material and Methods: Three samples of 20 ml of blood were obtained from each donor, separating the leukocytes later. The first sample was used as control (A group); heroin was added to the blood of the second sample before PMNL separation (1 mg of heroin into 20 ml of blood)(B group) and to the third sample after PMNL separation (0.05 mg of heroin in 1 ml of PMNL suspension)(C group). The concentration of heroin used was 50 microliters/ml of blood (this concentration was higher than the lethal concentration found in the blood of drug addicts who die from heroin overdose). The PMNL functions studied in vitro were the chemotaxis of PMNL applying the under agarosa gel method, and for the phagocytosis and the intracellular oxidative metabolic activity the following two tests were used: the ingestion of bacto-latex particles combined with nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test and the chemoluminiscence method. The statistical analysis was done using parametric and non-parametric tests., Results: There were no differences between the three groups studied (A, B or C) regarding chemotaxis, the ingestion of bacto-latex particles and the NBT reduction test. Concerning chemoluminiscence, it was inferior in the C group (with PMNL directly incubated with heroin) compared with A group (control) and B group (with PMNL from blood with heroin)(p < 0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences between A and B groups., Conclusions: In this study, heroin did not have any in vitro significative effect of chemotaxis, phagocytosis and oxidative metabolic activity on the human PMNL.

Background: The aim of the present study was to analyze the blastic transformation occurring during chronic myeloproliferative diseases (CMPD) and to establish the differences between them., Methods: The clinical and hematological characteristics of 54 patients in blastic crisis (BC) of a CMPD were analyzed: 40 chronic myelogenous leukemias (CML), 9 idiopathic myelofibroses (IMF), 4 polycythemia vera (PV), and one essential thrombocythemia (ET). The results were analyzed by the BMDP statistical program., Results: The BC of CML appeared in younger patients (p less than 0.05). Only in this group did some patients achieve complete remission. Moreover, in this BC a greater incidence of visceromegalies and leukocytoses were observed. The BC of the IMF patients led to marked anemia (p less than 0.01) and bone marrow infiltration (p less than 0.05); these leukemias were more frequent in males and began with lymphadenopathies and visceromegalies. The transformations of PV were preceded by a longer chronic phase and had a lower incidence of visceromegalies and a nearly normal hemoglobin count value. The patient with acute leukemia secondary to ET did not display visceromegalies but did have anemia, leukopenia and a normal platelet count. None of the four groups responded to therapy, and their survival was short., Conclusions: Blast transformations of different myeloproliferative disorders have their own idiosynchratic clinical and hematological characteristics, some of these may be related to the chronic phase of disease.

Two cases of tricuspid endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus in two young heroin addicts are reported. In one of them there was concomitant aortic valve involvement. The clinical picture was typical. Tricuspid and aortic valve vegetations were demonstrated by cardiac ultrasonography. The relatively good prognosis of tricuspid endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus was confirmed in one of the cases in whom an excellent response to therapy with cephalothin and gentamicin was obtained. Simultaneous aortic involvement worsens the prognosis considerably. The clinical features characteristic of endocarditis in heroin addicts are reviewed, with emphasis in those that permit to distinguish them from endocarditis in the general population. Although only indirect data are available the disease will probably be seen with increasing frequency in Spain.

Diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was made in a patient who had been treated with diphenylhydantoin sodium for 4 years. Three different neoplastic diseases of the lymphoid tissue following therapy with hydantoin derivatives have been reported. Pseudolymphoma is characterized by lymph node enlargement, fever, arthralgias, cutaneous rash, hepatosplenomegaly and eosinophilia. The lymph node biopsy reveals a non-malignant histopathologic pattern. Pseudolymphoma develops few weeks after administration of hydantoin and it completely disappears when medication is discontinued. Pseudo-pseudolymphoma has similar clinical and histologic characteristics than those of pseudolymphoma, but patients in this category develop a true lymphoma after an asymptomatic period. Lymphomas (Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas) appear following prolonged treatments with hidantoin derivatives. Risk to develop lymphoma is two to four times higher for patients taking such medication. Carcinogenic mechanism of hydantoin is unknown, but it might be related to the immunosuppressive effect of this drug.

In a prospective randomized study we have evaluated the influence of co-trimoxazole and mecillinam on the clinical outcome and the fecal Salmonella sp carrier status in 134 adult patients with acute non-typhi Salmonella sp enteritis. The patients were distributed in three groups on the basis of predefined clinical and biological criteria, depending on their risk of bacteremia or severe complications of it, or on the enteroinvasive character of the causative organism. The inclusion in any group determined the treatment. Seventy-six patients received mecillinam (1.200 mg/day p.o.), 36 co-trimoxazole (1.600 mg/day p.o.), both during five days, and 22 only diet. The patients were investigated after 1, 3 and 6 weeks until stool culture was negative. The isolated Salmonella strains, either in stool or blood culture, had a sensitivity of 98.3% to mecillinam and 96.9% to cotrimoxazole. Resistance did not develop during therapy. All patients had a favorable outcome, including the six with bacteremia. No differences were found regarding clinical features (diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever) or the rate of positive stool cultures in the three therapeutic groups in any of the follow-up controls. It was concluded that the administration of mecillinam or co-trimoxazole to patients with Salmonella sp enteritis is not associated with a prolongation of the state of fecal carrier or with the development of resistant strains.

Out of a group of 57 patients with the diagnosis of multiple myeloma fourteen (25%) with different degrees of renal disease were selected. Bence-Jones (BJ) proteinuria, infections, and, above all, the tumoral cell mass were the three main factors implicated in the development of myeloma associated renal disease. Only 13% of IgG myelomas presented with renal failure as compared to 27% of IgA myelomas. The patients with BJ and IgD myeloma, classically those with a higher tendency to develop renal disease (in our series 37% of BJ myelomas and 50% of IgD myelomas had renal disease), had the biggest tumoral cell mass of all patients studied. The relationship between tumor cell mass and renal disease in myeloma is supported by the recovery of renal function in a patient with chronic renal failure after a treatment-induced reduction of the tumoral cell mass from 1.71 to 0.82 x 10(12) cells/m2 body surface.

Boutonneuse fever is a rickettsioses which is endemic in the Mediterranean countries. Since 1972 we have had the chance to study eight observations os this disease (6 in the last year) and our attention has been drawn by the constant hepatic involvement. This was biological in all cases and histopathologic in the five patients submitted to a liver biopsy. Functional liver tests showed an elevation of SGOT and SGPT in six patients, as well as of the alkaline phosphatase and/or gamma-GT in five. No signs of hepatocellular insufficiency were detected and posterior controls demonstrated a complete normalization of the analytical parameters. As regards the histopathologic findings the most important was the fibrous enlargement of the porta spaces with slight infiltration by round cells, hyperplasia of the Kupffer's cells, and accumulations of histiocytes and lymphocytes. In no patient did we observed epithelioid granulomas. The authors conclude that the hepatic involvement in boutonneuse fever is benign but very constant, which means that it ought to be known about and that it has no defined histopathologic patterns.

A case is reported of aortic valve endocarditis in a 53 year-old female patient with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. Emphasis is made on the value of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of both conditions. Ecography has also prognostic interest when big vegetations are found. A comment is made on the need for early surgical replacement of the aortic valve when valvular insufficiency is present.

In 1964 Sweet described a new syndrome, characterized by the association of fever, neutrophilic leukocytosis, erythematous plaque affecting the extremities, neck and face, with histologically verified polymorphonuclear perivascular dermal infiltrates and a rapid response to corticosteroids. Although some 100 cases have since then been described the pathogenesis remains obscure. We present two cases which showed all criteria for Sweet's syndrome, in which the initial presentation of acute onset with fever, multiple skin lesions and especially the poor general state on one, made use at first think of an infectious process such as staphylococcal or gonococcal sepsis, in which case diagnosis must be differential. Only when the causal agent is known and an early skin biopsy is done can correct diagnosis and treatment be established.