Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Nov 1992
Accumulation of brown adipose tissue and nutritional status. A prospective study of 366 consecutive autopsies.
Increased amounts of brown adipose tissue have been reported to occur in association with several diseases. The objective of the present study was to determine whether brown adipose tissue accumulation is related to nutritional status. Histologic sections of periadrenal tissue prospectively obtained at consecutive autopsies from 366 adults were examined. ⋯ Of these patients, 89 had brown adipose tissue accumulation, 35 were malnourished, 32 were normotrophic, and 22 were obese. The results showed a correlation between brown adipose tissue and patient nutritional status and a higher brown adipose tissue accumulation in malnourished patients. Cardiovascular disease was the most common type of illness present in the cases with brown adipose tissue accumulation.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Oct 1992
Comparative StudyComparison of hemoglobin and red blood cell distribution width in the differential diagnosis of microcytic anemia.
In a total group of 415 subjects (100 normal controls, 115 with iron deficiency anemia, 100 with the alpha-thalassemia trait, and 100 with the beta-thalassemia trait), the following indexes were analyzed: hemoglobin distribution width, red blood cell distribution width (RDW)-coefficient of variation, and RDW-SD. The hemoglobin distribution width and RDW-coefficient of variation were examined with a laser light scattering system (Technicon H1), whereas the RDW-SD was determined with an impedance autoanalyzer (Sysmex M-2000). All of these parameters helped, to some extent, in the differential diagnosis of microcytic anemia. However, our data suggested a low RDW-SD might provide significantly more value in differentiating thalassemia traits from iron deficiency anemia, as well as from normal controls, while the hemoglobin distribution width gave no help in the differential diagnosis between iron deficiency anemia and the beta-thalassemia trait.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Jun 1992
What will the pathologist be doing in 2001? Speculations of a hospital practitioner.
The 21st century looms ahead, and physicians are increasingly anxious about what the practice of medicine will be like in the future. Pathologists, like other physicians, are holding conferences and writing papers in an attempt to predict what lies ahead. ⋯ The jobs that will need to be filled will include familiar ones and numerous new tasks. There will be plenty of jobs; but will there be enough skilled pathologists to fill these positions? The answer depends on our ability to attract the needed physicians into pathology and to give them the needed variety of skills to survive in a new work environment.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · May 1992
Case ReportsOral presentation of Kaposi's sarcoma in a patient without severe immunodeficiency.
Primary oral Kaposi's sarcoma of the "traditional type" (non-African, non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, nonimmunosuppressed) is a rare disorder. Presentation of this disorder at this site has not been well documented in the surgical pathology literature. ⋯ The case illustrates the importance of including Kaposi's sarcoma in the differential diagnosis. The lesions can easily be confused with pyogenic granuloma if the physician is unaware that primary Kaposi's sarcoma can occur at this site.
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · May 1992
Case ReportsEndometrial tuberculosis acquired by a health care worker in a clinical laboratory.
I describe a case of endometrial tuberculosis acquired by a microbiologist while she was working in a clinical laboratory. Granulomatous endometritis was found, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated. Respiratory tract exposure from a faulty exhaust hood is the likely source of infection. Endometrial tuberculosis and laboratory-acquired infections are briefly discussed.