No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

BackgroundSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by clinically heterogeneous manifestations. Infections can be the initial trigger to the development of autoimmunity. Initial presentation of SLE can mimic infections, and in turn infections can mimic disease flares in established SLE. Infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in SLE. Bacterial infections are most frequent, followed by viral and fungal infections. The impaired cellular and humoral immune functions seen in patients with SLE are predisposing conditions. Disease activity and high doses of methylprednisolone or cyclophosphamide are well-recognized risk factors for infection.ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence and mortality from infection in SLE patients as well as to identify etiology, associated factors to severity and site of infection.MethodsWe performed a retrospective study from 2010 to 2014 in a referral hospital. We analyzed risk factors (RF) on admission, involved organ, infectious type and etiology. Statistical analysis: We did descriptive statistical, Chi2, multivariate analysis.ResultsThere were 328 patients, 87% women and 13% men, mean age 32.4±9.9 years. Infections as cause of hospitalizations were 42.2%, prevalence of infections was 49%, and mortality from severe infections was 45%. The RF for severe infections were: renal involvement Odds Ratio (OR) 3.057, P<0.019; hematologic OR 1.9, p<0.001; increased dsAnti-DNA RM 5.1 p<0001, hypocomplementaemia: OR 2.673, P<0.02, leukolymphopenia OR 2.5, p<0001. Type of infecctions: bacterial 87%, viral: 3.4%, fungal: 8%, mycobacterial: 1.5%. Site of infection: lower respiratory tract 38%, urinary tract: 49% soft tissues: 6.1%, central nervous system: 1.2%, Others: 4.2%. Most frequent etiology agent were: bacterial: S. aureus, E. coli, A. baumanii, E. faecalis. Virales: H. zoster, mycotic: candida albicans and M. tuberculosis.ConclusionsInfections are an important cause of morbidity, mortality and hospitalization in SLE patients. The lower respiratory tract infections of bacterial origen were most frequent. The renal and hematological involvement, increased dsAnti-DNA, hypocomplementaemia, and leukolymphopenia were the most important factors for severe infections. Infections in active SLE patients constitute a true challenge for the clinicianReferencesLee YH, Choi SJ, Ji JD, Song GG. Overall and cause-specific mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus: an updated meta-analysis. Lupus. 2016 Jan 24.Tektonidou MG, Wang Z, Dasgupta A, Ward MM. Burden of Serious Infections in Adults With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A National Population-Based Study, 1996–2011. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015;67:1078–85.Disclosure of InterestNone declared

Microcalcifications (MCs) are important disease markers for breast cancer. Many studies were conducted on their characterization in female breast cancer (FBC), but no information is available on their composition in male breast cancer (MBC). Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a molecular spectroscopy technique that can explore the biochemical composition of MCs rapidly and without requiring any staining protocol. We here compared, by Raman spectroscopy, the MCs identified on breast cancer pieces from male and female patients. In this study, we used Raman spectroscopy to analyse 41 microcalcifications from 5 invasive MBC patients and 149 MCs from 14 invasive FBC patients. Our findings show that hydroxyapatite is the most abundant type of calcium both in MBC and FBC. However, some differences in the amount and distribution of calcium minerals are present between the two groups. Besides, we observed that MCs in MBC have a higher amount of organic material (collagen) than FBC.This study provides the first overview of the composition of microcalcifications present in MBC and suggests that they have several specific features. Our result support the need for studies specifically designed to the understanding of MBC.