The term ciliocytophthoria (CCP) (Greek etymology) describes a degenerative phenomenon of the ciliated cells secondary to respiratory viral infections and characterized by specific morphological changes. In the winter 2014-2015, we examined 12 patients, aged between 12 and 32 years (mean age 21, F/M: 4/8) who attended the clinic of Rhinology of the University Hospital Center of Bari (Italy) wit...

Giemsa-stained blood smears are mainly used for microscopic examination to diagnose malaria. However, they may also be subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm diagnosis or for retrospective studies requiring the analysis of old smears. We investigated the possibility of DNA contamination occurring during automated Giemsa staining or due to the failure to clean the oil-immersion ...

Gastric liposarcoma is very rare such that only a few cases have been reported to date. We present a case of a 62 - year - old diabetic man who presented with epigastric pain, vomiting, constipation and melena. The physical examination was unremarkable. By computed tomography (CT), a large mass with low attenuation value was seen in the left abdominal cavity. Histologic examination of a ga...

Bacteriological results from microscopic and cultural examinations of morning and 24 h sputum were compared in an attempt to optimize the diagnosis of bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. Twelve patients collected sputum randomly on two consecutive days, either fresh morning sputum (3 h sputum) first, followed by 24 h sputum or vice-versa. Sputa were washed three times in 0.9% NaCl an...