Publications

BACKGROUND

A 32-year-old African American man with HIV infection presented with hemoptysis, shortness of breath and renal insufficiency. Serologic testing revealed the presence of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies and equivocal levels of anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies.

INVESTIGATIONS

Physical examination, urine and blood analysis, kidney ultrasound, chest radiograph, sputum cultures, bronchoscopy and renal biopsy.

DIAGNOSIS

Reactivation of tuberculosis infection, immune complex glomerulonephritis, and 'false-positive' anti-glomerular basement membrane and anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies.

MANAGEMENT

Directly observed therapy with four-drug anti-tuberculosis therapy and conservative management of chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with smoking behavior were evaluated in a nationwide household survey in Argentina to describe the status of the tobacco epidemic. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews with adults, age 20 and older, assessed smoking status, frequency, and age of initiation. Multivariate logistic regression was used to compare social and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 43,863 participants, 38% of men and 24% of women were current smokers, and 20% of current smokers smoked occasionally. For older men and women, smoking was less prevalent and their probability of quitting higher. Men with more than high school education were less likely to be current smokers. Rates for women did not differ by education. CONCLUSIONS: The lower smoking rates among men with more education suggest that Argentina has begun to transition to the next stage of the tobacco epidemic. Tobacco control policy must direct efforts to change smoking behavior.

Advances in interventional endoscopic technology and techniques are paving the way for the increased application of minimally invasive methods to treat various upper gastrointestinal conditions, both benign and malignant. Through the description of enteral stenting for palliation of malignant obstruction, expanded techniques of enteral feeding tube placement, mucosectomy of early gastric cancer, and snare ampullectomy for benign ampullary lesions, this review focuses on recent progress in therapeutic endoscopy of the stomach and duodenum and highlights the importance of continued research and development.