European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Dec 2002
Clinical practice of nutritional support in Dutch intensive care units: a survey.
A questionnaire was sent to all Dutch ICUs. The design of the study was a 1-day point prevalence study. ⋯ Nutritional support is provided to the majority of critically ill patients. Enteral feeding is more common than parenteral nutrition.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Aug 2002
Autoantibodies and defined target autoantigens in autoimmune hepatitis: an overview.
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a disease of unknown aetiology characterised by hypergammaglobulinaemia, non-organ and liver-related autoantibodies, association with HLA-DR3 or DR4 and a favourable response to immunosuppression. The current classification of AIH and the several autoantibodies/target autoantigens found in this disease are reported. The importance of these markers in the differential diagnosis and the study of pathogenesis of AIH is also given. ⋯ Autoantibodies against liver microsomes (anti-LM) are the specific autoantibodies found in AIH as a disease component of APS-1. However, anti-LM autoantibodies have also been described in cases of dihydralazine-induced hepatitis. Cytochrome P450 1A2 has been identified as the target autoantigen of anti-LM autoantibodies in both disease entities.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Feb 2002
Hyponatremia in acute brain disease: the cerebral salt wasting syndrome.
Hyponatremia in acute brain disease is a common occurrence, especially after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Originally, excessive natriuresis, called cerebral salt wasting, and later the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), were considered to be the causes of hyponatremia. ⋯ Hyponatremia and volume depletion may aggravate neurological symptoms, and timely treatment with adequate replacement of water and NaCl is essential. The use of fludrocortisone to increase sodium reabsorption by the renal tubules may be an alternative approach.