Effects of hypothermia on testicular ischemia

The ischemic effects of prolonged testicular torsion have been well documented; however, prevention or arrest of the damaging effects of prolonged ischemia has been incompletely studied. Two groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to varying lengths of bilateral testicular ischemia. Group I underwent normothermic ischemia for two, four, and six hours. Likewise, Group II underwent similar time periods of ischemia, however, after thirty minutes of normothermic ischemia the scrotum of each animal was placed into an ice bath maintained at 4C. Two weeks postoperatively, bilateral orchiectomy was performed. Histology of the testes of the two groups was compared. Neither group revealed significant destruction of the germinal epithelium after two hours of ischemia. Group I revealed only 25% preservation of the germinal epithelium at four hours and only 8% preservation at six hours of ischemia. In contrast, Group II which received ice showed 90% preservation of germinal epithelium at four hours and 85% preservation at six hours of ischemia. We conclude that external ice application significantly preserves seminiferous tubules at four and six hours of ischemic injury in the rat testicle.     

Endoscopic extraction of eroded Marlex mesh in a Kock pouch

We report a case of recurrent calculi in a Kock pouch continent urinary diversion. An open operation was avoided by successfully excising the Marlex mesh and removing it with the associated calculi in an endoscopic fashion.     

Computer-assisted evaluation of renal blood supply in children and its clinical value

The blood supply to the kidneys was studied in 106 children with urological diseases from angiograms. Computer analysis of 322 angiograms of patients with renal hypoplasia, dysplasia, hydronephrosis, megaureter, and abnormal mobility of the kidney was carried out. The results of angiography of a healthy kidney in 64 children were used to determine the normal parameters. The author gives a quantitative appraisal of the area of the kidney and its vessels, the calculation of the percentage of kidney vascularization, determination of the area of the renal cortex, the area of its vessels and percentage of vascularization, and the diameter of the large renal vessels. The study showed that the most informative parameters of the angiograms are as follows: the area of the renal vessels and its cortex, the percentage of vascularization of the Kidney and its cortex. Renal hypoplasia, dysplasia, megaureter, and hydronephrosis are characterized by different variants of disturbed blood supply of various severity.     

Head lice in Israeli children: parents' answers to an epidemiological questionnaire

BACKGROUND: The aim was to determine the influence of the socioeconomic status of the family and the hygienic practices in the home on the prevalence of head lice infestation in children. METHODS: The study was carried out by analyzing the answers to a standardized epidemiological questionnaire given to parents of school children aged 4-17 in Bet Shemesh, a medium-sized urban town 25 km from Jerusalem. RESULTS: Of 3,000 questionnaires distributed, 958 (31.9%) were completed and returned. The majority of the children (72.4%) had been previously infested with lice. Half of them had other family members, mainly brothers and sisters, who had been infested in the past with lice. In 97.5% of the families the mother was responsible for examining the children for lice, and for carrying out treatment when infestation was present. An association was found between presence of lice infestation and mother's education, age of child, and frequency of shampooing, combing, and examination for lice. There was no association between infestation rates and mother's country of origin, crowding in the home, and the sharing of combs, brushes, hats, scarves, towels, and clothes. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that the incidence of lice infestation depends on the hygienic practices in the home rather than on the socioeconomic status of the family or sharing of personal articles among family members.     

Computed tomography and nonoperative treatment for blunt abdominal trauma

Studies were undertaken to determine if computed tomography (CT) could reliably assist physical examination in the initial assessment of blunt abdominal trauma, and also to examine how various abdominal injuries were managed with the guidance of CT. A total of 255 patients underwent emergency abdominal CT following blunt abdominal trauma over a period of seven years. One hundred and fifty two patients had abnormal CT scans, including 58 hepatic, 36 renal, 25 splenic and 9 pancreatic injuries as well as 67 patients with intra-abdominal hemorrhage and 21 patients with free abdominal air. A comparative study on the detection of pneumoperitoneum revealed CT to be far superior to plain radiography. One hundred and three patients had normal CT scans, all of whom were managed nonoperatively, except for three false-negative cases and two nontherapeutic cases. The patients with injury to the parenchymal organs were given nonoperative treatment if they had stable vital signs and no evidence of associated injuries demanding immediate surgery and the majority of these patients were managed well nonoperatively. CT was thus found to be a useful adjunct in the management of victims of blunt abdominal trauma, since in a rapid and noninvasive fashion, CT accurately defined the extent of parenchymal organ injury and also disclosed any other abdominal injuries.     

Utility of radioisotopic filtration markers in chronic renal insufficiency: simultaneous comparison of 125I-iothalamate, 169Yb-DTPA, 99mTc-DTPA, and inulin. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study

Assessment of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with inulin is cumbersome and time-consuming. Radioisotopic filtration markers have been studied as filtration markers because they can be used without continuous intravenous (IV) infusion and because analysis is relatively simple. Although the clearances of 99mTc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA), 169Yb-DTPA, and 125I-iothalamate have each been compared with inulin, rarely has the comparability of radioisotopic filtration markers been directly evaluated in the same subject. To this purpose, we determined the renal clearance of inulin administered by continuous infusion and the above radioisotopic filtration markers administered as bolus injections, simultaneously in four subjects with normal renal function and 16 subjects with renal insufficiency. Subjects were studied twice in order to assess within-study and between-study variability. Unlabeled iothalamate was infused during the second half of each study to assess its effect on clearances. We found that renal clearance of 125I-iothalamate and 169Yb-DTPA significantly exceeded clearance of inulin in patients with renal insufficiency, but only by several mL.min-1.1.73m-2. Overestimation of inulin clearance by radioisotopic filtration markers was found in all normal subjects. No differences between markers were found in the coefficient of variation of clearances either between periods on a given study day (within-day variability) or between the two study days (between-day variability). The true test variability between days did not correlate with within-test variability. We conclude that the renal clearance of 99mTc-DTPA, 169Yb-DTPA, or 125I-iothalamate administered as a single IV or subcutaneous injection can be used to accurately measure GFR in subjects with renal insufficiency; use of the single injection technique may overestimate GFR in normal subjects.     

Altered serum immunoglobulin response to model intestinal antigens during dietary exposure to vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol)

The effect of dietary vomitoxin on the serum IgA and IgG responses to two model intestinal antigens, casein and cholera toxin (CT), were assessed in 4 experimental groups: (1) mice fed casein-based diet, (2) mice fed casein-based diet containing 25 ppm vomitoxin, (3) mice fed casein-based diet and immunized with CT, and (4) mice fed casein-based diet containing 25 ppm vomitoxin and immunized with CT. Unimmunized and CT-immunized mice that were fed vomitoxin exhibited increased levels of total serum IgA relative to matched control animals fed the standard diet. Relative concentrations of casein-specific IgA were greater in both unimmunized mice and CT-immunized mice fed standard diet with vomitoxin than in matched controls fed standard diet only. CT-specific serum IgA in CT-immunized mice was not affected by vomitoxin feeding, but relative levels of CT-specific IgA were higher in unimmunized mice fed vomitoxin than in unimmunized mice fed standard diet. Both casein- and CT-specific serum IgG were depressed in mice fed vomitoxin. Significant differences in total, casein-specific and CT-specific IgA within the intestinal contents were not observed between CT-immunized mice fed vomitoxin and those fed the control diet. The results suggest that vomitoxin altered regulation of the normal immunoglobulin response to intestinal antigens and that this was manifested in the systemic compartment.     

The effect of metronidazole on TPN-associated liver dysfunction in neonates

The effect of metronidazole (MNZ) on hepatic dysfunction associated with total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in neonates was investigated. Neonates receiving TPN for more than 2 weeks were divided into three groups. In group 1, TPN was given alone, in group 2, 25 mg/kg/d of MNZ was administered intravenously for the first 2 weeks of TPN, and in group 3, 50 mg/kg/d of MNZ was given for the first 3 weeks of TPN. Several parameters of liver function tests (LFTs) during the first 4 weeks of TPN were compared among these three groups. There was no significant difference of these parameters between group 1 and group 2. Although there was no significant difference of alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, direct bilirubin, and total bile acid between groups 1 and 3, transaminase (glutamic oxaloacetic, glutamic pyruvic) of group 3 remained significantly lower than those of group 1. In conclusion, the administration of MNZ 50 mg/kg/d for 3 weeks, at least, prevented the elevation of transaminase during TPN in neonates, suggesting the possible involvement of intestinal anaerobic flora in the pathogenesis of TPN-associated liver dysfunction.