Iopamidol and meglumine diatrizoate: comparison of effects on patient discomfort during aortofemoral arteriography

Iopamidol was compared with Renografin-60 (meglumine diatrizoate, Squibb) in a controlled, randomized double-blind study of 40 patients undergoing peripheral arteriography for arteriosclerotic occlusive disease to determine which agent caused less discomfort. Each patient was evaluated for objective signs of discomfort and subjective feelings of pain and heat. Monitoring was achieved by multiple physical examinations, chemical tests, electrocardiograms, and intra-arterial pressure recordings. It is concluded that iopamidol is safe and causes significantly less patient discomfort than Renografin-60.     

Small bowel CT‐enteroclysis: Technique,pitfalls and pictorial review

Computed tomography small bowel enteroclysis has been carried out at Noosa Hospital since July 2003, and more recently at St George Private Hospital, Kogarah. Over 125 cases have been carried out. This article describes the different techniques, the pitfalls and a pictorial review of small bowel pathology.     

Serum apolipoproteins A-I and B in male and female full-term new borns of the Toledo study (Spain)

Cord serum apolipoproteins (Apo) A-I and B from 548 healthy, full-term singletons were studied. Females displayed slightly, but significantly, higher Apo A-I levels ( p < 0.001) than males. Particularly at weeks 38 and 39 ( p < 0.05), whereas Apo B was not gender affected but likewise increased ( p < 0.05) between weeks 37 and 41. Apo A-I values increased ( p < 0.05) with gestational age in males, but with birthweight in females. Results suggest that small gender and age-related metabolic differences exist at birth in terms infants     

Posterior spinal cord block: a dosimetric study

To determine the optimal width of a midline posterior spinal block (MPSB) (to avoid delivering too great a dose to the cord and too small a dose to adjacent tissue), the authors determined with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging normal ranges of cord depth and width and correlated them with film dosimetric data. In 59 randomly selected patients there was a wide range for both depth and width. The average depths of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cord were 6.7 cm +/- 1.4 and 5.4 cm +/- 1.3, respectively. The average cord width was 1.6 cm +/- 0.4. Optimal cord block width as a function of cord width was determined for a 6-MV photon beam. The optimal cord block width at the surface (half-value layer [HVL] thickness = 6) varied from 1.5 to 3.0 cm for cord widths of 0.8-2.4 cm, which correspond to two standard deviations from the average. There was no significant dependence on depth of the cord. For optimal treatment outcome, the MPSB width may have to be determined for each patient individually.