Medicina
-
The prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from the lower airways of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients appears to be increasing. Different centers of USA, England, Sweden and Ireland have reported a prevalence ranging from 1.5 to 19.5%. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of NTM in patients assisted at these centers. ⋯ Active mycobacterial disease was diagnosed in one patient and he underwent treatment. The index of bacterial contamination of cultures was very high early along the study (57%), decreasing to 2.8% later due to a change in the methodology used in the processing of samples. It was concluded that the presence of NTM is relatively frequent in patients with CF, even in children with moderate or severe compromise, a fact which strongly suggests that NTM should be systematically searched for considering the possibility that the patients might develop active disease.
-
Using isotope methods we studied in 125 patients the absence or presence of gastric urease. Carbon 14 urea was given orally, breath samples were collected over a 30 min period, and the amount of 14CO2 excreted every 10 min was determined. The patients were divided in two groups: 1) uninfected with Helicobacter pylori (HP) (n = 64), 2) infected (n = 41), depending on whether the excretion of the 14CO2 in the breath was greater o lower that 1% of the administered dose. ⋯ Among these HP-positive patients, 16 (73%) had chronic gastritis, 3 (14%) gastritis acute and 3 (14%) had duodenal ulcer. Excretion of 14CO2 in breath, lower than 1% and higher than 1% has a specificity of 81% and sensitivity accuracy, positive predictive power of 86%, 84% and 86% respectively. In conclusion 14C urea breath test is a simple noninvasive and easy way to detect with high degree of confidence the presence or absence of gastric urease.
-
Comparative Study
[Comparative study of glycosylated hemoglobin with oral glucose tolerance test in a selected population].
A series of 405 consecutive oral glucose tolerance tests was analyzed in comparison with simultaneous glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measurements, in order to ascertain the possible utility of HbA1c as an alternative method for diagnosis and screening in populations suspected or at increased risk of presenting diabetes mellitus. The study group consisted of 158 male and 247 nonpregnant female patients aged 3 to 84 years (median 61.5 and 56 years, respectively) referred by their physicians for diagnostic purposes. Tolerance test was performed according to usual methods and HbA1c was measured with the 2000 DC immunoassay. ⋯ With HbA1c levels of 6.0 or 6.3%, specificity for a correct diagnosis of diabetes was high (0.94 or 0.97) making this a suitable level for diagnostic confirmation. With the new ADA criteria for fasting plasma glucose, the results were similar. We suggest that HbA1c measurement with highly accurate methods might be considered a valid alternative for diagnosis and screening in populations suspected or at increased risk of presenting diabetes mellitus.