The present study confirms that patients with SLE can receive transplants with excellent graft and patient survival rates and a low rate of clinical recurrent lupus nephritis.

We studied the effectiveness of the intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) in morbidly obese patients scheduled for bariatric surgery. We included 118 consecutive morbidly obese patients (body mass index, 45 Ϯ 5 kg/m 2 ). After the induction of general anesthesia, the laryngeal view was classified by the first observer according to the method of Cormack and Lehane. The ILMA was then inserted, and the trachea was intubated through the ILMA by a second observer. The rate of successful tracheal intubation with ILMA was 96.3%. The success rate, the number of attempts, and the total duration of the procedure were not different among patients with low-grade (Cormack 1-2) and patients with high-grade (Cormack 3-4) laryngeal views. The time required for insertion of the ILMA was slightly longer in patients with high-grade laryngeal views. Failures of the technique were not explained by the experience of the practitioner or airway characteristics. No adverse effect related to the technique was reported. Results of this study suggest that using the ILMA provides an additional technique for airway management of morbidly obese patients.

A 58-year-old man presented with retrosternal pain 30 months after a surgical operation for reflux esophagitis in relation to Barrett's esophagus. Gastroscopy revealed an ulcer of the inferior part of the esophagus, which on biopsy proved to be an adenocarcinoma. Additional surgery was performed through the abdomen and through the thorax via the sixth intercostal space. Resection of the lower part of the esophagus and high anastomosis were performed because of nondilatable peptic stenosis. Two chest tubes were put in place: one draining the right pleura and the other in contact with the anastomosis. On the second postoperative day, a sepsis-like syndrome including bronchospasm developed with increasing ventilation requirements. A chest radiograph revealed no abnormalities, and a perfusion computed tomography (CT) scan did not show pulmonary thromboembolism. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and gentamicin were given for 8 days despite various bacteriological analyses that were all sterile, including 10 blood samples, 3 pleural fluid samples, 1 bronchoalveolar lavage, 1 bronchial aspiration, and 1 urine sample. The patient improved partially, and the pleural tube was removed. On the 13th postoperative day, the patient was still ventilator dependent. Fever recurred, and biological investigations showed a leukocyte count of 11,700/mm 3 and a C-reactive protein level of 128 mg/liter. A chest CT scan revealed a small collection of 1 cm in diameter in contact with the posterior part of the anastomosis and a new infiltrate of the left lung parenchyma located in the apical segment of the lower lobe. Analysis of the fluids from both bronchoalveolar lavage and chest tube showed a large number of neutrophils and numerous flagellated, motile organisms with the typical appearance of trichomonads, visible on wet preparations and Giemsa staining. Culture of bronchoalveolar fluid yielded Neisseria lactamica, while culture of tube fluid yielded alpha-and beta-hemolytic streptococci and Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Treatment with metronidazole, piperacillintazobactam, and gentamicin was started. Trichomonads were not found in the drained fluid, and a chest CT scan showed the resolution of the collection and no change in pulmonary parenchyma 3 and 5 days after the initiation of metronidazole therapy, respectively. The CT scan failed to show passage of contrast material from the esophageal suture line into the mediastinum. Antibiotics, including metronidazole, were continued for 10 days, and the tube was removed later. However, the patient had remained ventilator dependent since the operation. Ischemic brain damage of unknown origin was revealed by cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, and the patient remained in a deep coma for 1 week and then died.In order to identify the species of Trichomonas, we amplified directly from the bronchoalveolar fluid and sequenced the 5.8S rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer flanking regions (ITS1 and ITS2) with the forward and reverse primers TRICHO-F and TRICHO-R (5Ј-CGGTAGGTGAACCTGC CGTT-3Ј and...

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