Concomitant herpetic and eosinophilic esophagitis--a causality dilemma

Eosinophilic and herpetic esophagitis are listed as independent causes of dysphagia, especially in young adult males. However, herpetic esophagitis rarely affects immunocompetent individuals. We report the case of a young, not immunocompromised patient, admitted because of severe dysphagia secondary to herpes simplex virus esophagitis. After complete resolution, an endoscopic and histologic reevaluation established the diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis. The potential association between the two conditions is discussed.

Intestinal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia and extraintestinal lymphoma--a rare association

Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the gastrointestinal tract is characterized by the presence of innumerable small discrete nodules involving a variable segment of the gastrointestinal tract. The association between nodular lymphoid hyperplasia and other benign and malignant diseases has been clearly described, with an increased risk of gastrointestinal tumours, namely gastrointestinal lymphoma. However, the association with extraintestinal lymphoma seems extremely rare. The authors present a clinical case of a patient with nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the small and large intestine that subsequently developed an extraintestinal lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma).

Analytical approach to determine ticlopidine in post-mortem blood

A new and sensitive method to determine ticlopidine in whole human blood using proadifen as the internal standard (IS) is described. The analyte and IS were extracted by solid-phase extraction using Oasis HLB cartridges, and the extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-electron impact ionisation-mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS). Calibration curves were established daily in spiked blood samples using a non-linear calibration model, between 0.01 and 4.5 microg/mL. The correlation coefficients were higher than 0.995. Precision and accuracy fulfilled the internationally accepted criteria (coefficients of variation were less than 9%, and the measured concentrations were within +/-7% of the true value). Limits of detection and quantitation were respectively, 3 and 10 ng/mL. No interfering substances were detected by analysis of 10 blank blood samples of different origin. Mean recovery, calculated at three concentration levels, was 71%. Because of its simplicity and speed, the proposed method can be applied in the determination of this inhibitor of platelet aggregation in whole blood samples, and is suitable for application in toxicology routine analysis.

Analytical method for the determination of strychnine in tissues by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: two case reports

This paper describes an analytical method for strychnine determination in biological samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and their application in the investigation of two cases involving strychnine ingestion: A fatal case and a clinical one. The strychnine is isolated from biological samples using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The clean-up procedure is performed using an acid solution. Papaverine is used as internal standard in the quantification of strychnine. In the analysed specimens, the limits of quantification were 0.1 microg/ml or 0.1 microg/g. The recovery rate ranged from 75.0% to 98.7% and the coefficients of variation ranged from 4.8% to 10.5%.