Lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum associated with fatty replacement of the ventricular myocardium: a case report

Lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum (LHIS) is a rare benign entity characterized by the excessive fat deposition in the interatrial septum with typical sparing of the fossa ovalis. We report a case of a 61-year-old woman with an incidentally found LHIS associated with fatty replacement of the ventricular myocardium and epicardial mediastinal lipomatosis diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) and MRI.     

Severe hypernatremia: survival without neurologic sequelae

Hypernatremia is an electrolyte disturbance most frequently caused by excess water loss and less frequently by increased sodium intake. The few reported cases of severe hypernatremia (> 190 mEq/l) had an adverse outcome with high mortality and/or severe neurologic sequelae. The first case was a 7-year-old girl with renal failure undergoing continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration therapy who presented hypernatremia (216 mEq/l) after incorrect preparation of dialysis fluid. The patient was treated with hemodiafiltration and hypernatremia was resolved in 48 hours. She had a convulsive crisis without subsequent neurologic impairment. The second patient, a 3-year-old girl with pseudohypoaldosteronism type I and encephalopathy, had hypernatremia (203 mEq/l) due to erroneous sodium administration, which was corrected in 36 hours with intravenous fluid therapy. Her neurologic status was unchanged by treatment. We conclude that children with extreme hypernatremia survive without neurologic sequelae if treatment achieves a progressive decrease of natremia.     

Evaluation of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits for detection of tuberculosis in Argentinean population

Pathozyme-Myco G (Myco G), M, A, and TB complex plus (Omega Diagnostics Ltd., Alloa, Scotland) were evaluated for the serological diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an Argentinean population. Sera from 58 patients with pulmonary TB, 24 subjects with pulmonary mycobacteriosis or mycoses (pulmonary MM group), and 45 subjects with other underlying disorders (control group) were analyzed. The sensitivities of the tests ranged from 29% (Myco M) to 82% (Myco G) in smear-positive patients (17 subjects) and from 29% (TB complex plus) to 49% (Myco G) in smear-negative patients (41 subjects). The specificities of the assays varied from 93% (Myco M) to 100% (Myco G and TB complex plus) in controls and from 62% (Myco A) to 96% (TB complex plus) in the pulmonary MM group. Overall, for the diagnosis of smear-negative patients, Myco G had the best characteristics, with a sensitivity of 49% and specificities of 100% for controls and 75% for the pulmonary MM group; after its combination with TB complex plus, its sensitivity improved to 59%. Nevertheless, despite its relatively poor capacity to discriminate between pulmonary TB and pulmonary MM, Myco G, alone or in combination with TB complex plus, would be a useful diagnostic tool for patients with suspected pulmonary TB living in areas where the relative prevalence of pulmonary MM was low.     

Usefulness of MRI in detecting occult breast cancer associated with Paget's disease of the nipple-areolar complex

MRI allows for the detection of mammographically and clinically occult breast neoplasms. We analysed the ability of MRI to detect occult breast cancer in three patients with Paget's disease of the nipple-areolar complex, proven histologically. In all three cases we observed differences in the morphological and dynamic features of healthy and pathological nipples, and we also found enhancement foci in breast tissue, with suspicious kinetic and morphological characteristics, which in the case of two patients corresponded to ductal carcinoma in situ. The detection and location with MRI of underlying neoplastic foci may be of help in choosing the most reasonable and conservative treatment in these patients.