全腔静脉-肺动脉连接术Ⅰ期或分期生理矫治复杂先天性心脏病

目的 总结全腔静脉-肺动脉连接术(TCPC)生理矫治复杂先天性心脏病的疗效,探讨选择Ⅰ期或分期TCPC手术的策略.方法 2003年12月至2009年11月,为88例患儿施行了TCPC术.男58例,女30例.低风险病例进行Ⅰ期TCPC术,高风险病例进行分期TCPC术.Ⅰ期手术组41例,平均年龄(8.4±4.5)岁;分期手术组47例,平均年龄(9.0±4.2)岁.Ⅰ期TCPC组中27例采用外管道,14例肺动脉直接下拉与下腔静脉吻合.Ⅱ期TCPC组中42例采用外管道,3例采用心房内通道,2例肺动脉直接与下腔静脉吻合.结果 早期死亡6例,病死率6.8%.Ⅰ期TCPC组死亡5例(4例死于重度低心排征,1例死于呼吸衰竭),病死率12.2%;Ⅱ期TCPC组死亡1例(死于开胸时大出血),病死率2.1%,二组差异无统计学意义(P=0.054).二组的体外循环时间、辅助通气时间、胸管停留时间、住监护室时间、术后住院大数差异无统计学意义.65例随访4个月到6.5年.1例于术后8个月死于严重的房室瓣反流、心力衰竭;1例术后3个月出现感染性心内膜炎,死于多器官衰竭.结论 Ⅰ期和分期TCPC都能达到满意的手术效果.分期TCPC的效果似较Ⅰ期TCPC好.对存在两个或两个以上危险因素者,应选择分期手术.低风险患儿也应尽可能进行分期TCPC手术.     

Tachyarrhythmic syncopes in children with structurally normal hearts with and without QT-prolongation in the electrocardiogram

Forty children with presumed ventricular tachyarrhythmic syncopes in the absence of structural heart disease were studied.Twenty-nine patients, one of whom was deaf, had a prolonged QT-interval in the resting electrocardiogram (Group 1); eleven patients had a normal QT-interval (Group 2). The median QT_c-interval was 0.51s in Group 1 and 0.40s in Group 2. Familial occurence suggesting autosomal dominant inheritance was found in 21 of 28 normally hearing patients in Group 1 and in 2 of 11 patients in Group 2. Syncopes were definitely stress-induced in 22 patients in Group 1 and in all 11 patients in Group 2. Of 23 patients in Group 1 in whom an electrocardiogram was obtained during physical exercise, only one showed severe ventricular dysrhythmia. In contrast, all eleven patients in Group 2 developed severe ventricular dysrhythmia with exercice. Treatment with beta-blocking medication prevented further syncopes in 15 of 19 patients with several previous attacks in Group 1 and in 3 of 5 patients of Group 2. Four of the 29 patients in Group 1 died suddenly and one more remained apallic after an attack. Of the 11 patients in Group 2, four died suddenly and one retains severe cerebral damage after resuscitation from ventricular fibrillation.We conclude that, besides the group of patients with the long QT-syndrome, there may be a distinct group of patients with a consistently normal QT-interval and severe ventricular dysrhythmia with exercise. Patients of both groups are threatened by sudden death and are improved by treatment with beta-blocking medication.Presented in part on the World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology, London 1980     

Effect of oxygen administration during sleep on skin surface oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions in patients with chronic lung disease

Hypoxemia, hypercarbia, and cor pulmonale ultimately occur in most patients with chronic lung disease. Although oxygen therapy may reduce or delay the development of pulmonary hypertension and myocardial failure in these patients, its use is thought to lead to CO2 narcosis and apnea. The effect of O2 administration during sleep has been examined in 12 patients (seven with cystic fibrosis, three with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, one with bronchiolitis obliterans, and one with severe hypersensitivity pneumonitis) using skin surface O2 (Roche) and CO2 (Radiometer) electrodes. Both electrodes were calibrated over wet gas and applied at 44 C. Ten patients had chronic hypercarbia (PaCO2 62 +/- 19 torr; range 46 to 103 torr) when awake. Humidified oxygen was administered by nasal cannula, Venturi mask, or head hood. Oxygen flow was increased every 20 minutes from 80 minutes or until the patient awoke. In eight of ten patients with hypercarbia and in the two normocarbic patients, skin surface carbon dioxide tension (PsCO2) increased by 10% or less as the skin surface oxygen tension (PsO2) was increased. In the remaining two patients with hypercarbia (both had cystic fibrosis) PsCO2 increased 18% and 24% as PsO2 was increased. These last two patients with depressed responsiveness to CO2 could not be separated from the other patients by clinical or laboratory criteria. It is concluded that the skin surface blood gas tensions are a simple and reproducible method for adjusting oxygen therapy in patients with chronic lung disease, and although the response to oxygen varies from patient to patient, most patients with chronic hypercarbia retain their central responsiveness to CO2 during sleep and for them O2 therapy is probably safe.     

Nucleoside analogues in the therapy of Langerhans cell histiocytosis: a survey of members of the histiocyte society and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have suggested activity of the nucleoside analogues 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) and 2'-deoxycoformycin (2'-DCF) in Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). PROCEDURE: To assess the efficacy of 2-CdA and 2'-DCF as salvage therapy for LCH, a survey of members of the Histiocyte Society and a literature review were undertaken. Twenty-three patients treated with 2-CdA and 4 treated with 2'-DCF were found, age range 2 months to 49 years. RESULTS: All 15 survey patients had multiorgan involvement, and 14 were heavily pretreated. Doses of 2-CdA ranged from 0.1 mg/kg/day continuous infusion for 5-7 days (majority of patients) to 13 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, for 1-6 courses. One of the 15 patients had an early death, 5 had no response (NR), 3 had partial response (PR), and 6 achieved complete response (CR). Among 8 published patients, 7 achieved stable CR and 1 NR. Among 4 patients treated with 2'-DCF (4 mg/m(2)/week for 8 weeks then q 2 weekly), 2 achieved CR for 16+ and 18+ months and 2 PR for 2 and 5 months. Toxicity consisted mainly of combined myelo- and immunosuppression but no significant infections occurred and there were no toxic deaths. A cumulative thrombocytopenia was noted, which in 1 case took up to 6 months to resolve. Transient gastrointestinal toxicity and elevation of liver enzymes was seen, and 2 patients developed renal tubular acidosis. The peripheral neuropathy reported in adult patients receiving high doses was not seen. CONCLUSIONS: 2-CdA and 2'-DCF appear to have a useful role in LCH and are worthy of prospective trial in patients unresponsive to routine therapy.     

全腔静脉-肺动脉连接术Ⅰ期或分期生理矫治复杂先天性心脏病

目的 总结全腔静脉-肺动脉连接术(TCPC)生理矫治复杂先天性心脏病的疗效,探讨选择Ⅰ期或分期TCPC手术的策略.方法 2003年12月至2009年11月,为88例患儿施行了TCPC术.男58例,女30例.低风险病例进行Ⅰ期TCPC术,高风险病例进行分期TCPC术.Ⅰ期手术组41例,平均年龄(8.4±4.5)岁;分期手术组47例,平均年龄(9.0±4.2)岁.Ⅰ期TCPC组中27例采用外管道,14例肺动脉直接下拉与下腔静脉吻合.Ⅱ期TCPC组中42例采用外管道,3例采用心房内通道,2例肺动脉直接与下腔静脉吻合.结果 早期死亡6例,病死率6.8%.Ⅰ期TCPC组死亡5例(4例死于重度低心排征,1例死于呼吸衰竭),病死率12.2%;Ⅱ期TCPC组死亡1例(死于开胸时大出血),病死率2.1%,二组差异无统计学意义(P=0.054).二组的体外循环时间、辅助通气时间、胸管停留时间、住监护室时间、术后住院大数差异无统计学意义.65例随访4个月到6.5年.1例于术后8个月死于严重的房室瓣反流、心力衰竭;1例术后3个月出现感染性心内膜炎,死于多器官衰竭.结论 Ⅰ期和分期TCPC都能达到满意的手术效果.分期TCPC的效果似较Ⅰ期TCPC好.对存在两个或两个以上危险因素者,应选择分期手术.低风险患儿也应尽可能进行分期TCPC手术.     

Pediatric atlantoaxial instability: management with screw fixation.

Sixteen pediatric patients (age range 3-15 years; mean 9.4 years) with atlantoaxial instability underwent screw fixation at Columbus Children's Hospital between 1992 and 1998. Three patients with type II odontoid fractures underwent odontoid screw fixation. The remaining group of 13 patients had posterior C1-2 transarticular screw fixation and Sonntag C1-2 fusion. The group included 3 patients with rotatory C1-2 fixation, 4 patients with os odontoideum, 4 patients with congenital atlantoaxial instability and 2 patients with traumatic C1-2 instability. Postoperatively, all patients were placed in a Miami-J collar only. At 3 months follow-up, all patients achieved fusion. Bony fusion across the fracture line was clearly evident in patients with odontoid screws. The only complications in this series were a transient swallowing difficulty that resolved spontaneously in 2 weeks, and another patient's C1-2 fusion had extended to C2-3 at 9 months follow-up. This study demonstrates that children at 3 years of age and older, who sustain a type II odontoid fracture with an intact transverse ligament, can be safely managed with odontoid screws if the fracture is less than 4 weeks old. Posterior C1-2 transarticular screw fixation can be done safely and results in a high fusion rate in children older than 4 years of age. The technical difficulties of screw fixation in children are discussed.     

Changing spectrum of diabetes mellitus in children: challenges with initial classification

Objective. To determine the frequency of initial misclassification of diabetes mellitus (DM) in children and to compare the presenting features of DM1, DM2, and the misclassified cases. Results. A total of 206 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of them, 74.75% had DM1 and 25.25% had DM2. Ten percent of studied patients had a subsequent change in classification. The mean HbA1c of the DM2 patients, who were initially misclassified, was 13.35% (SD = 1.96). The mean HbA1c of DM2 patients with correct initial classification was 8.83% (SD = 3.01). Diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) was seen in 59.44% of DM1 and 23.91% of DM2 patients. Of the DM2 patients who were initially misclassified, 58.82% had presented in DKA as opposed to only 6.45% of patients who were correctly classified. Conclusion. The initial classification of DM frequently requires revision (10% in this study). The misclassification is highest among DM2 patients who initially present with higher HbA1c and DKA.     

Serum-soluble interleukin-2 receptors in B-cell lymphoproliferative malignancies.

The levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R) were determined in the serum of 53 patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative malignancies, including 31 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), 16 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 6 with multiple myeloma. In addition, serum samples from 40 patients with various solid tumors as well as from 53 healthy individuals were used as controls. It was found that the mean serum levels of sIL-2R were significantly increased (P less than 0.001) in NHL (mean +/- standard error of the mean 2,327 +/- 320 units/ml) and CLL patients (2517 +/- 451 units/ml) as compared to normal controls (207 +/- 17 units/ml). No such difference was observed when the serum sIL-2R levels of patients with multiple myeloma or solid tumors were analyzed. Serum sIL-2R levels were closely related to the clinical stage, the presence of B-symptoms, and the disease activity of patients with NHL and CLL. In fact, response to chemotherapy was followed by marked decrease or normalization of sIL-2R levels, while in a number of patients sIL-2R values were even able to predict disease relapse. Finally, no association with histologic grade in NHL patients, could be demonstrated. We conclude that serum sIL-2R (1) are increased only in B-NHL and B-CLL but not in myeloma patients, (2) are related to the tumor burden, and (3) can serve as a valuable tumor marker for the monitoring of patients treatment.     

COX-2 expression correlates with survival in patients with osteosarcoma lung metastases

SUMMARY: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a correlation exists between tumor cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression and disease-specific survival in patients with osteosarcoma lung metastases. Thirty-six patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma lung metastases between the years 1990 and 2001 were included in this retrospective study. The majority of the patients (72%) presented newly -diagnosed osteosarcoma lung metastases whereas the remaining patients (28%) presented recurrent disease. Clinicopathologic parameters were obtained from patients' clinical records. Tissue samples were obtained at the time of resection of the lung metastases and stained for COX-2 using immunohistochemistry. Samples were graded according to the intensity of COX-2 staining (grade 0: negative, grade 1: very weak, grade 2: weak, grade 3: moderate, and grade 4: strong). COX-2 staining was correlated with disease-specific survival and clinicopathologic parameters using the Jonckheere-Terpstra and the Kruskal-Wallis tests. All patients with grade 3 or 4 COX-2 expression died of osteosarcoma lung metastases. Ten percent of patients with grade 2 COX-2 expression and 29% of patients with grade 1 expression were alive and free of disease at the last follow-up. By contrast, 60% of the patients with grade 0 COX-2 expression were alive and free of disease at the last follow-up. No association between COX-2 expression and clinicopathologic parameters was found. However, COX-2 expression correlated inversely with disease-specific survival in patients with osteosarcoma lung metastases. Our data indicate that COX-2 expression in metastatic osteosarcoma may have prognostic significance.     

Intracranial germ cell tumors: analysis of the therapy study MAKEI 83/86 and changes in protocol for the follow-up study

As part of the Cooperative Germ Cell Tumors Studies MAKEI 83/86 of the German Society of Pediatric Oncology, 37 patients with intracranial germ cell tumors were registered. Based on histological criteria and tumor markers, 26 were classified as germinomas, 9 as fully malignant non-germinomatous germ cell tumors (2 yolk sac tumors, 1 embryonal carcinoma, 1 choriocarcinoma, 5 mixed type germ cell tumors), and 2 were mature teratomas. Of 26 patients with germinomas, 14 received radiotherapy only, all patients are surviving disease-free, median period of observation: 2 years, 10 patients were treated with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, 8 of these patients are surviving disease-free. Of the 2 patients who received chemotherapy only, none is surviving. Of 9 patients with fully malignant non-germinomatous germ cell tumors, 4 are surviving following surgery, cisplatinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy more than 2 years following diagnosis, 1 of these 4 patients with stable disease. Of 2 patients with mature teratomas, 1 is surviving disease-free. Based on these data, recommendations for diagnostic evaluation and therapy of intracranial germ cell tumors are outlined.     

Chronically Transfused Pediatric Sickle Cell Patients are Protected from Cardiac Iron Overload

Iron overload is a major toxicity of chronic transfusions. Myocardial iron overload is associated with cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac and liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 14 chronically transfused sickle cell disease (SCD) and non-sickle cell disease (non-SCD) patients seen at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital from 1 January 2000 to 10 March 2010. Retrospective review was conducted to assess cardiac T2*, liver T2*, ventricular dimensions and function, echocardiogram, length of transfusion, hemoglobin, and ferritin measurements. Ten patients had SCD and 4 had non-SCD, including α-thalassemia, β-thalassemia, and Diamond-Blackfan anemia. Cardiac T2* was normal in all SCD patients (mean 39 ± 12 ms), but abnormal in 3 of 4 non-SCD patients (mean 11.8 ± 2.4 ms). Liver T2* was similar between SCD (mean 6.2 ± 1.6 ms) and non-SCD patients (mean 5.9 ± 1.9 ms), and did not correlate with serum ferritin. Comparing SCD and non-SCD patients with similar transfusion duration, SCD patients had normal cardiac T2* and non-SCD patients had abnormal cardiac T2*. No patients had cardiomyopathy, but ventricular dilatation was common among SCD patients. Chronically transfused pediatric SCD patients are relatively spared of myocardial iron overload, which is unlikely to be due to lower total body iron burden in SCD patients than non-SCD patients.     

Serum-soluble interleukin-2 receptors in B-cell lymphoproliferative malignancies

The levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R) were determined in the serum of 53 patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative malignancies, including 31 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), 16 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 6 with multiple myeloma. In addition, serum samples from 40 patients with various solid tumors as well as from 53 healthy individuals were used as controls. It was found that the mean serum levels of sIL-2R were significantly increased (P < 0.001) in NHL (mean ± standard error of the mean 2,327 ± 320 units/ml) and CLL patients (2517 ± 451 units/ml) as compared to normal controls (207 ± 17 units/ml). No such difference was observed when the serum sIL-2R levels of patients with multiple myeloma or solid tumors were analyzed. Serum sIL-2R levels were closely related to the clinical stage, the presence of B-symptoms, and the disease activity of patients with NHL and CLL. In fact, response to chemotherapy was followed by marked decrease or normalization of sIL-2R levels, while in a number of patients sIL-2R values were even able to predict disease relapse. Finally, no association with histologic grade in NHL patients, could be demonstrated. We conclude that serum sIL-2R (1) are increased only in B-NHL and B-CLL but not in myeloma patients, (2) are related to the tumor burden, and (3) can serve as a valuable tumor marker for the monitoring of patients treatment.     

CHD2基因突变相关癫痫临床表型谱研究（附18例报告）

目的　研究CHD2基因突变相关癫痫的临床表型特点。方法　收集2014年1月至2019年3月在北京大学第一医院就诊的18例CHD2基因突变癫痫患儿,总结其临床表型特点。结果　18例患儿癫痫发作中位起病年龄为26.5月龄。病程中出现的发作类型包括全面强直阵挛发作11例,肌阵挛发作7例,局灶性发作5例,失张力发作4例,不典型失神4例,肌阵挛-失张力发作3例,痉挛发作2例。16例患儿发作间期脑电图监测到异常放电,8例监测到临床发作,2例脑电图正常。15例患儿有不同程度的运动、智力发育落后,7例有孤独症样表现。癫痫综合征诊断符合癫痫伴肌阵挛-失张力发作2例,Lennox-Gastaut综合征2例,热性惊厥附加症2例,婴儿痉挛症1例。末次随访年龄为3岁5月龄至18岁,其中10例发作控制半年以上,丙戊酸和左乙拉西坦是治疗CHD2基因突变相关癫痫的有效药物。结论　CHD2基因突变相关癫痫发作类型多样,GTCS和肌阵挛发作常见;多数患儿存在发育落后;半数以上患儿癫痫发作可控制。     

Eight-drugs-in-one-day chemotherapy in postirradiated adult patients with malignant gliomas

Fifteen patients, 12 with glioblastoma multiforme and 3 with anaplastic astrocytoma, were treated with "eight-drugs-in-one-day" chemotherapy [methylprednisolone 300 mg/m2, vincristine 1.5 mg/m2 (maximum of 2 mg/cycle), CCNU 75 mg/m2, procarbazine 75 mg/m2, hydroxyurea 3,000 mg/m2, cisplatin 90 mg/m2, cytosine arabinoside 300 mg/m2, and imidazole carboxamide 150 mg/m2]. All patients had prior brain irradiation but none had previous chemotherapy. The population included 10 patients with progressive disease after irradiation and 5 who presented within 2 months of completing radiation. Patients received an average of 5 monthly cycles of chemotherapy. Three patients achieved a complete and 2 a partial response (CR + PRrate was 33%). The median survival time was 46 weeks. Myelosuppression was the dose-limiting toxicity. Leucocyte counts between 2.0-4.5 x 10(3)/mm3 were observed in 40% of patients, between 1.0- less than 2.0 x 10(3)/mm3 in 33%, and less than 1.0 x 10(3)/mm3 in 7%. Platelet counts between 50-130 x 10(3)/mm3 were observed in 27% of patients, and less than 50 x 10(3)/mm3 in 33%. Six patients suffered infections, 4 had reversible renal toxicity, 2 developed paresthesias, and one a debilitating myopathy related to treatment with dexamethasone. Ototoxicity was seen in 3 patients. Two patients developed pulmonary emboli. Nine patients had nausea and vomiting, in one case associated with Candida esophagitis. One long-term survivor developed necrosis of the corpus callosum and dementia. Four patients discontinued treatment after an average of 3.5 cycles because of toxicity. Although extremely toxic, this regimen has modest activity in previously irradiated adult patients with malignant glioma.     

儿童韦格纳肉芽肿病10例临床分析

目的 探讨韦格纳肉芽肿病(WG)的临床特征和预后。 方法 回顾性收集1990年10月至2010年7月在北京协和医院儿科确诊为WG、年龄<18岁且随访时间>3个月的患儿,提取临床表现、实验室检查、影像学检查、病理学检查和随访等资料进行分析。 结果 10例确诊WG患儿进入分析,其中男6例,女4例。发病年龄7~17.1岁,中位年龄13.9岁。从发病至确诊WG的病程为2~24个月。随访时间4个月至19年。①起病时发热7例,乏力3例,体重下降2例。病程中上呼吸道、肺脏和肾脏受累分别为10、8和4例,皮肤和眼部受累各3例,关节、消化系统和神经系统受累各2例。②所有患儿均行抗中性粒细胞胞质抗体(ANCA)检查,8例c-ANCA阳性,其中1例c-ANCA和p-ANCA均为阳性。③9例行鼻窦X线或CT检查,其中表现为鼻窦炎4例,鼻窦占位3例,侵犯眶内2例。8例行胸部CT检查,表现为肺内多发结节伴或不伴空洞形成5例,浸润性病灶2例,胸腔积液1例。2例行头颅MRI检查,均提示有异常信号,为脑缺血性改变。④10例患儿均行病理学检查,其中鼻黏膜活检7例,肺部活检2例,肾脏活检1例,病理改变主要为坏死性肉芽肿和（或）血管炎。⑤10例患儿均给予糖皮质激素联合环磷酰胺诱导缓解治疗,治疗后均达到临床缓解,维持治疗除给予糖皮质激素外分别加用环磷酰胺、甲氨蝶呤或环孢素等治疗。⑥随访期间7例患儿出现病情复发。1例患儿治疗17个月后因合并肺部感染和消化道出血死亡。1例出现了肾功能不全,需长期透析治疗。 结论 儿童WG临床表现多样,主要累及上呼吸道、肺脏和肾脏,c-ANCA阳性有助于诊断,组织活检可提供病理学诊断依据。糖皮质激素联合免疫抑制剂治疗可取得较好的疗效。     

Screening for fungal endophthalmitis in children at risk.

To evaluate the efficacy of screening ophthalmologic examinations in high-risk children, we reviewed the medical records for all patients hospitalized from 1985 through 1989 at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, who underwent ophthalmological consultation to rule out endogenous fungal endophthalmitis (n = 176). The patients were divided into groups: Group 1 (n = 47), those with deep-tissue fungal infection, and Group 2 (n = 129), those at risk for invasive fungal disease. Group 2 was subdivided further into two subgroups: Group 2a (n = 48), those with evidence of superficial fungal colonization (positive fungal culture) but no deep-tissue involvement, and Group 2b (n = 81), those with no evidence of fungal colonization (negative fungal culture). Of these 176 patients, 7 were diagnosed with endogenous fungal endophthalmitis: 6 from Group 1, 1 from Group 2a, and 0 from Group 2b. We found a significant association between the development of endogenous fungal endophthalmitis and the status of the fungal culture result (P less than .005). The odds ratio indicated the risk of endogenous fungal endophthalmitis in Group 1 patients with deep-tissue infection was at least 19 times that of Group 2 at-risk patients. The risk of endogenous fungal endophthalmitis in Group 1 patients was at least 7 times that of Group 2a colonized patients and 12 times that of Group 2b patients with no positive fungal culture. Our study confirms the necessity of careful dilated ophthalmoscopic examination in patients with invasive fungal disease and suggests screening for those at-risk patients with superficial fungal colonization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Chronically transfused pediatric sickle cell patients are protected from cardiac iron overload

Iron overload is a major toxicity of chronic transfusions. Myocardial iron overload is associated with cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac and liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 14 chronically transfused sickle cell disease (SCD) and non-sickle cell disease (non-SCD) patients seen at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital from 1 January 2000 to 10 March 2010. Retrospective review was conducted to assess cardiac T2*, liver T2*, ventricular dimensions and function, echocardiogram, length of transfusion, hemoglobin, and ferritin measurements. Ten patients had SCD and 4 had non-SCD, including α-thalassemia, β-thalassemia, and Diamond-Blackfan anemia. Cardiac T2* was normal in all SCD patients (mean 39 ± 12 ms), but abnormal in 3 of 4 non-SCD patients (mean 11.8 ± 2.4 ms). Liver T2* was similar between SCD (mean 6.2 ± 1.6 ms) and non-SCD patients (mean 5.9 ± 1.9 ms), and did not correlate with serum ferritin. Comparing SCD and non-SCD patients with similar transfusion duration, SCD patients had normal cardiac T2* and non-SCD patients had abnormal cardiac T2*. No patients had cardiomyopathy, but ventricular dilatation was common among SCD patients. Chronically transfused pediatric SCD patients are relatively spared of myocardial iron overload, which is unlikely to be due to lower total body iron burden in SCD patients than non-SCD patients.     

Turner syndrome and its variants

Case records of female patients with karyotype proven turner syndrome were analyzed. 11 patients had classic Turner karyotype (Group 1) and 13 patients had karyotype suggestive of one of the variants of Turner syndrome (Group 2). There was a median difference of 3 years between the age of presentation and the age of diagnosis in Group 2. Out of the thirteen patients in Group 2, 4 had no clinical stigmata of Turner Syndrome; the rest (n=9) had one or more of the typical clinical stigmata of Turner Syndrome. One patient with a complex mosaic karyotype also had an intracranial medulloblastoma. One patient in each group had coarctation of the aorta. 5 patients in Group 1 and 3 patients in Group 2 had primary hypothyroidism and received levothyroxine. The median Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels were significantly higher among patients in group 1 than in group 2.     

Treatment of refractory lymphoproliferative diseases with daily, low-dose vincristine, continuous infusion of bleomycin, and high-dose prednisone

Vincristine 0.25 mg/m2 by IV push and bleomycin 5 units daily by continuous infusion were given on days 1, 2, 3 and 4, together with prednisone 1,000 mg/m2 po in 4 divided doses either on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 (6 patients) or on days 1 and 3 (11 patients) to 17 patients with various lymphoproliferative diseases who had failed their previous treatment program. Fourteen were leukopenic and/or thrombocytopenic. Of 10 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 2 achieved complete remission and 5 a partial response. Both patients with Hodgkin's disease achieved partial response. A decrease in plasma M protein (median decrease 51%) was observed in 3/3 patients with multiple myeloma and 2/2 with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. Decrease in tumor cell infiltration by 48%, 58% and 100% was observed in 3 patients (2 with macroglobulinemia and 1 with myeloma) in the bone marrow. Leukopenia of less than 3,600/mm3 and thrombocytopenia of less than 70,000/mm3 reverted to normal in 5/7 and 7/10 patients, respectively. Remission duration ranged from 4 to 35+ weeks (median 17 weeks). Three patients had severe GI bleeding. Psychosis controlled by phenothiazines was observed in one, and bleomycin toxicity (anaphylaxis, skin rash, and lung toxicity, one each) was observed in 3 patients. No severe neurotoxicity was observed.     

Elevated production of interleukin-2 by lymphocytes from children with acute leukemia

Abnormalities of the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) may play an important role in the immunologic dysfunction observed in pediatric leukemia patients. For an evaluation of the ability of lymphocytes from leukemic children to produce this cytokine, the production of IL-2 by mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells was determined in children with acute leukemia at the time of diagnosis, during clinical remission, and at the time of relapse. Of 16 patients, 11 (69%) with either acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia at the time of diagnosis had IL-2 production levels above the highest level observed in control subjects, and all but one had values above the control mean. Three of five treated patients had elevated IL-2 production at the time of bone marrow relapse. In addition, of 37 patients examined during clinical remission (both during chemotherapy and after the completion of maintenance chemotherapy), five had IL-2 production values above the control range and four of these five patients subsequently had relapses, compared with only one relapse in the remaining 32 patients with normal or below-normal levels of IL-2 production. These results demonstrate an increased ability to produce IL-2 by many patients with acute leukemia, both at the time of diagnosis and at relapse. Elevated IL-2 production may represent an immunologic response to leukemic cells and in some patients may provide a marker for persistent leukemia.