We conducted a prospective randomized study to assess the effect of thymostimulin in patients with long-standing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during a 1-year follow-up. A total of 38 patients in the intervention group and 40 in the control group received standard treatment for COPD. Patients in the intervention group were also given thymostimulin intramuscularly (1 mg/kg/day for the 1st week followed by once a week for 6 months). At the end of the study period, patients treated with thymostimulin showed a statistically significant lower number of exacerbations and hospital admissions as compared with controls. However, there were no changes in the number of patients with severe or moderate impairment of respiratory function throughout the study period. No significant differences were found by Multi-test or in serum concentrations of immunoglobulins and T-cell subsets before and after thymostimulin treatment. We conclude that treatment with thymostimulin is effective in the prevention of COPD exacerbations acting on the cellular immune response involved in bronchopulmonary defense.
We report the case of a 77-year-old male who came to the emergency department with epigastric pain accompanied by fever and chills. After the diagnosis of intra-abdominal abscess and gastric tumor, emergency surgery was performed with resection of the tumor and abscess drainage. The patient had a good postoperative course.
We present the case of an elderly patient, who had orthopaedic surgery and suffered in the early postoperative period an idiopathic gastric partial necrosis. We reviewed the literature and it is an extraordinarily infrequent entity. Partial resections have already been described in case of limited necrosis, as reported in our case. Prompt diagnosis of idiopathic gastric necrosis and aggressive treatment are mandatory. Further awareness of this strange entity and its risk factors can lead to a quicker diagnosis and higher possibilities of survival for the patient.
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