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Background: The posterior urethral valve (PUV) is an important cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in boys, with a wide spectrum of presentations, different degrees of severity, and in 25-45% of patients end with stage kidney failure. Objective: Monitoring the children diagnosed and operated for PUV and identifying the predictive factors for the evolution towards chronic kidney failure. Material and method: Retrospective analysis of children treated for PUV at Children' Hospital "St. Mary" Iasi during 2004-2014. We followed: age, clinical presentation, recurrences of urinary tract infection (UTI), association with/without vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), serum creatinine levels (at diagnosis, after valve resection and at the end of follow-up) and correlation with the degree of impaired of renal function over time. Results. Of the 18 boys diagnosed between 2 days and 12 years old; 11 were admitted for recurrent UTI, and 5 were presented for the investigation after antenatal diagnosis of hydronephrosis.11 cases presented grade IV and V VUR, bilateral in 6 cases. Impairment of renal function was present at initial diagnosis in all patients in various degrees and at the end of follow-up period 5 patients were with end stage kidney disease with creatinine clearance less than 60 ml/min/1.73 sqm. Two of them were in end stage of renal insufficiency under dialysis and one in the predialytic stage. Unfavorable prognostic factors were late diagnosis with recurrent UTI, association with VUR, and persistent increased creatinine after valve resection. Conclusion. The study reveals the persistence of recurrent urinary tract infection as the main criteria to identify the posterior urethral valve (11/19). Late diagnosis along with the persistence of increased creatinine after valve resection were the main factors of unfavorable prognosis of renal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia represents a heterogeneous group of hematological malignancies, defined by clonal proliferation of lymphoid cells. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and molecular analysis for the detection of genetic anomalies are clinical standard procedures for diagnosis, sub-classification and post-therapeutic evaluation. Samples from 105 patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were immunophenotyped at diagnosis and were investigated by molecular analysis in order to identify the occurrence of four fusion genes: MLL-AF4, TEL-AML-1, BCR-ABL-p190, E2A-PBX-1. There were no associations found between the immunophenotype and the presence of any fusion genes evaluated. Both methods in combination remain a prerequisite for an improved subclassification of hematological malignancies, therapeutic decision, and evaluation of treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]