Shouldice hernia repair: results at a teaching institution

Authors with wide experience report that the Shouldice technique for repair of inguinal hernia is very effective. The technique has not gained widespread acceptance or notoriety. For example, the 13th edition of Textbook of Surgery, edited by Sabiston, devotes only one paragraph to this type of herniorrhaphy. Because of the excellent results reported by the Shouldice Clinic, this technique was adopted at the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospital, a teaching hospital of the Medical College of Georgia. Since 1976, a total of 604 Shouldice repairs have been performed by supervised house staff; 468 patients have been followed for up to 8 years and a recurrence rate of 1.3 per cent is reported. Although the follow-up is brief, the Shouldice hernia repair is widely applicable and good results are not dependent on wide experience alone.     

Oncocytic Schneiderian papilloma in a young adult: a rare diagnosis

The oncocytic Schneiderian papilloma (OSP) is a rare neoplasm of the nose and paranasal sinuses. The majority of the approximately twenty patients reported in the literature with this papilloma have been over the age of fifty at the time of diagnosis. The 33-year-old woman reported here is the youngest patient with this lesion to date. The OSP should be considered in the work-up of all unilateral nasal polypoid lesions. This lesion's propensity for recurrence and its documented association with synchronous malignant disease warrant surgical excision by en bloc resection of the lateral nasal wall, with corresponding careful microscopic evaluation of all excised tissue.     

Nasal fractures in children

Summary A group of thirty children with nasal fractures was evaluated retrospectively by means of a questionnaire and hospital records. Age at the time of injury ranged from age 3 to 12 (mean = 8.6) years and mean follow-up period was 9 years. Eight patients reported some degree of nasal obstruction post reduction, but only one patient required submucous resection and two patients underwent septorhinoplasty for appearance. No patients reported class III malocclusion, or required orthodontic treatment or maxillofacial corrective surgery for maxillary hypoplasia. We concluded that a childhood nasal fracture treated by closed reduction does not have deleterious effects on facial or nasal growth.This work was supported in part by the Brigham Surgical Group Foundation, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA     

Pharmacokinetics of ethylenediaminemalonatoplatinum(II) (JM-40) during phase I trial

Pharmacokinetics of the cis-platin analog ethylenediaminemalonatoplatinum(II) (JM-410) was studied in 28 cycles of 19 patients during the phase I study of this drug. The drug was administered intravenously by short-term (10-60 min) infusion. Doses ranged from 20 to 1,200mg m-2. JM-40 was determined in plasma ultrafiltrate and urine by HPLC. Platinum (Pt) concentrations were determined in plasma, plasma ultrafiltrate, urine and red blood cells by atomic absorption spectrometry up to 5 days after administration of the drug. Ultrafilterable Pt could be determined up to 45 days after the infusion in one patient sampled over such a long period. Pharmacokinetics of JM-40 showed a linear behaviour. The final half-life of total Pt in plasma was 4.1 +/- 0.9 days. The disposition of JM-40 was similar to that of ultrafilterable Pt in respect to t1/2 alpha (10 and 13 min), t1/2 beta (44 and 57 min), volumes of distribution Vc (11 and 121) and Vss (17 and 201), systemic clearance (256 and 223 ml min-1), renal clearance (69 and 73 ml min-1) and metabolic clearance (183 and 154 ml min-1). During the first 6 h 27 +/- 9% of the administered dose was excreted as JM-40. Cumulative platinum excretion in the urine amounted to 29 +/- 13% and 60 +/- 13% over the first 6 h, 24 h and 5 days, respectively. The uptake of platinum in red blood cells was limited, comprising only 0.24 +/- 0.12% of the administered dose. Although JM-40 and carboplatin are structurally closely related, pharmocokinetics and toxicity of JM-40 were more similar to cis-platin than to carboplatin.     

Assessment of closed head injury in trauma-related spinal cord injury

The complete medical records of 122 patients who sustained traumatic spinal cord injuries were reviewed to determine the frequency and results of emergency room assessments for loss of consciousness (LOC) and post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). Eighty-eight percent of the patients were assessed for LOC and 19% were assessed for PTA. Fifty patients (41% of the total population) admitted to LOC, PTA or both. Fourteen of these 50 patients underwent subsequent radiographic examinations of the skull, all of which were negative. Because of the association of intracranial complications and long-term cognitive sequelae with even brief LOC or PTA, early recognition of craniocerebral trauma is an important component of the acute management of spinal cord injured patients.     

Inborn errors of the urea cycle

Inborn errors of the urea cycle are an important cause of hyperammonaemia throughout childhood, and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. If they are diagnosed early and treated appropriately, the outcome for affected children is significantly improved.     

C-reactive protein levels predict postoperative septic complications

We studied 108 patients undergoing clean-contaminated and dirty surgical procedures to determine whether daily C-reactive protein (CRP) measurements for 14 days postoperatively could predict the occurrence of septic complications prior to clinical diagnosis. Diagnostic criteria for septic complications and positive CRP response were defined in advance of the study. The CRP assays were carried out using an automated laser nephelometer system after the patient's discharge from the hospital. Forty-six septic complications were diagnosed in 40 patients. These complications consisted of wound infection (23), urinary tract infection (11), pneumonia (six), upper respiratory tract infection (three), intra-abdominal abscess (one), and other (two). The CRP testing was found to have a positive predictive value of 69% and a negative predictive value of 78%. We conclude that serial CRP measurements may be a valuable adjunct to surgical care in patients at high risk of postoperative septic complications.     

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte function in psoriasis vulgaris

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) migration was assessed in vitro using the agarose plate method in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, and compared with an age- and sex-matched control group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the PMN response to the chemotactic substances F-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP) or zymosan activated serum (ZAS). Equally, the chemokinetic or chemotactic potential of psoriatic serum did not differ from control serum. Our results do not support a primary abnormality of PMN function in psoriasis.