BACKGROUND Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome is characterized by symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema in the dorsum of the hands or feet. Most cases of remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome are idiopathic, but some are secondary to malignancy, autoimmune disease, or neurodegenerative disorders. Pleural and pericardial...

This article discusses the pleural effusions that occur with the post-cardiac injury (Dressler's) syndrome (PCIS) and those that occur after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The PCIS can occur after any type of cardiac injury and is thought to be due to anti-myocardial antibodies. The primary symptoms are fever and chest pain, and pericarditis is frequently present. Pleural effusion...

A monoclonal antibody (MAb), designated B72.3, has been generated using membrane-enriched fractions of a metastatic human breast carcinoma as the immunogen. Previous studies have demonstrated that the reactive antigen, a novel M, 220,000 to 400,000 glycoprotein complex, can be detected in formalinfixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of human breast and colon carcinomas, and not in a variety...

Otitis media is a prominent disease among children. Previous literature indicates that otitis media is a polymicrobial disease, with Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Alloiococcus otitidis and Moraxella catarrhalis being the most commonly associated bacterial pathogens. Recent literature suggests that introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines has had an effect on the etiol...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to assess the usefulness of various enzymes, cytokines and biochemical studies of pleural fluid for the differential diagnosis of tuberculosis from malignant pleural effusions, and to clarify the role of combining diagnostic tests. METHODS The study group included 39 cases with tuberculous effusions and 31 cases with malignant effusions, whose diagnoses...

BACKGROUND The distinction between malignant and benign pleural effusions is a diagnostic challenge today and measuring soluble biomarkers could add to the diagnostic accuracy. Syndecan-1 is a proteoglycan involved in various cellular functions and is cleaved from the cell surface in a regulated manner. The shed fragment, which can be recovered in effusion supernatant and in serum, retains its ...

findings of Sonnenblick et al of the greatest positional changes in Pa02 that were found with two patients with cardiac failure were because of occult contralateral effusions, even though the diagnosed effusions were reported to be small. Indeed, cardiac failure is most often associated with bilateral effusions if more sensitive diagnostic techniques are performed. 3 The two reported patients w...