ObjectiveTo clinically and demographically characterize potential organ donors
admitted to a general intensive care unit and analyze data on donated
organs.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted from 2010 to 2015 and analyzed
demographic and clinical variables and the number of harvested organs and
tissues.ResultsA total of 92 potential organ donors were identified, of whom eight were
non-effective donors and 84 were effective donors (59.5% were expanded
criteria donors). The mean age of the potential donors was 60.7 years, and
the majority were men. Hemorrhagic stroke accounted for 55.4% of brain
deaths. The most common blood type among the donors was A Rh+ (43.5%), and
the most common comorbidity was arterial hypertension (43.3%). The most
frequently collected organs were the kidneys (84.5%) and liver (66.7%). The
average number of organs harvested per donor was 2.8, and this ratio was
smaller for donors with expanded criteria compared to other donors.ConclusionIn most cases, potential organ donors died of brain death, were older than
middle age, were male and were victims of a hemorrhagic stroke. The majority
of the donors were expanded criteria donors and donated an average of two to
three organs. The organs donated most frequently were the kidneys and
liver.
The authors present two cases of purulent pericarditis secondary to pneumococcus pneumonia, a rare entity in the antibiotic era, one of them in an apparently healthy person. A systematized diagnostic approach to moderate pericardial effusion is presented, together with a review of purulent pericarditis. The presence of pericardial effusion with persistent fever with or without known etiology, particularly in the immunocompromised but also in the apparently healthy patient, should always raise the possibility of purulent pericarditis.
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