Bone and joint tuberculosis in Denmark

Epidemiologic data on 100 patients with bone and joint tuberculosis reported in Denmark from 1980 to 1984 are presented. The annual incidence of skeletal tuberculosis remained unchanged during the period, although most other forms of tuberculosis showed a decreasing trend. Eighteen per cent of all the cases of bone and joint tuberculosis were found among young first generation immigrants, notably from Asia. In the native Danish population, bone and joint tuberculosis was almost exclusively found among the elderly. The lesions were most common in the spine and hip. Thirty per cent of the patients had a previous history of pulmonary tuberculosis.     

Quantitative renal scintillation camera studies in renal transplantation

Renal transplant recipients and donors were studied serially with quantitative renal scintillation camera studies utilizing ¹³¹I-Hippuran and ^99mTc-Iron ascorbate. This study allows for determination of effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), filtration fraction (FF), and predicted return in ten minutes. A drop in FF occurred with, or preceded clinical rejection; whereas, an increase in FF occurred with acute tubular necrosis (ATN) caused by preservation injury, aminoglycosides, and following acute rejection. Combined with the other parameters of renal function determined by this technique, FF alternation proved useful in the differentiation of ATN from rejection and in predicting the prognosis of renal homografts.     

Experience in the treatment of carcinoma of the cervix using a rotational technique

The radiation technique described is an unconventional method of treatment for carcinoma cervix patients and is essentially external beam therapy alone, using a ⁶⁰Cobalt rotation plan. This is in contrast to the more conventional series of 2 or 3 intracavitary radium insertions, either preceded and/or followed by fixed field external beam therapy. An advantage to the patient from this treatment scheme is the avoidance of the trauma associated with the repeated anaesthetics required for uterine and vaginal radium applications. Dosage levels have also been determined to ensure minimal post-radiation complications, and the 5- and 10-year survival rates for stage II and stage III cases are comparable with the survival results published by other centres. The series was treated during 1957-64 and consisted of all stage II and III cases referred to the Westminster Radiotherapy Department during this period, together with 13 stage I cases which were considered to be poor anaesthetic risks, and 4 stage IV cases. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for 69 stage II cases were 44% and 36% respectively, and for 81 stage III cases were 38% and 23% respectively.     

Distribution of survival times of 12,000 head and neck cancer patients who died with their disease.

The lognormal parametric statistical model can provide, for groups of carcinoma cervix patients, good estimates of long-term survival fractions several years earlier than would otherwise be possible. The present paper extends this model work to head and neck cancer by using a minimum chi-squared test for goodness of fit (P greater than 0-05), to study the distribution of survival times of patients who died with their cancer present. Some 12,000 case histories were available from 7 hospital registries, 4 regional cancer registries and one national registry (the OPCS). All histories were followed up for at least 10 years subsequent to treatment and could be grouped into one of 8 cancer sites: antrum, floor of mouth, larynx, nasopharynx, pyriform fossa, post cricoid, tonsil and tongue. The theoretical distributions investigated were the lognormal, negative exponential and skew exponential. The results showed that the lognormal provided the best overall fit to the data, although the range of optimum values for the lognormal parameter, S, differed with cancer site. The optimum range did, however, usually include the value S=0-45. These results will now permit the second stage of validation of the lognormal model to proceed for head and neck cancers.