37 research outputs found
Successful valve replacement for aortic incompetence in rheumatoid arthritis with vasculitis.
Fat necrosis presenting as obscure abdominal mass: birefringent saponified fatty acid crystalloids as a clue to diagnosis.
Current Status of Therapy in Autoimmune Liver Disease
Therapeutic strategies for autoimmune liver diseases are increasingly
established. Although proportionately uncommon, specialist centers have with
time refined the best approaches for each disease, based on an improved
understanding of the spectrum of presentation. The major treatment aims are to
prevent end-stage liver disease and its associated complications. As a result of
drugs such as ursodeoxycholic acid, predniso(lo)ne and azathioprine, both
primary biliary cirrhosis and autoimmune hepatitis are now less commonly
indications for liver transplantation. Unfortunately, the same inroads in
treatment efficacy have as yet not been made for primary sclerosing cholangitis,
although the recognition that a subset of patients may have a treatable
secondary sclerosing cholangitis (IgG4 related) is helping a proportion. With
better biological understanding, more specific interventions are expected that
will benefit all those with autoimmune liver diseases
A comparison of the accuracy of peritoneoscopy and liver biopsy in the diagnosis of cirrhosis
The accuracy of peritoneoscopy and liver biopsy in the diagnosis of hepatic cirrhosis was compared in 473 consecutive patients submitted to both procedures. One hundred and fifty-two of them had cirrhosis diagnosed by one or both methods. There was 73% agreement between the two procedures. `Apparent' false-negative results were 17路7% for peritoneoscopy and 9路3% for liver biopsy. The incidence of false-negative results in the diagnosis of cirrhosis can be reduced by combining both procedures