Assessment of a new transtelephonic portable spirometer.

BACKGROUND: A new portable spirometer, the Spirophone, has been developed that records a subject's blow and can then transmit all the data by telephone to a receiving centre for analysis and comment. Tests of this device were undertaken to determine its accuracy and reliability. METHODS: The performance of the Spirophone was tested using computer generated wave forms, by delivering blows from calibrated syringes at different flows, and by comparing subjects' blows with those recorded with a commercial spirometer. RESULTS: Using computer generated wave forms all lung function indices were accurate to within 1% and blows delivered from calibrating syringes were accurate to within 5%. When subjects performed repeated forced vital capacity (FVC) manoeuvres there were no significant differences between lung function indices recorded with the Spirophone and with a commercial spirometer. With the Spirophone and commercial spirometer in series the FVC and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were within 5% of each other in nine out of 10 healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: The Spirophone recorded maximal forced expiratory manoeuvres with acceptable accuracy, reliability, and reproducibility, and this system offers the ability to monitor a patient's lung function at a centre remote from the patient.     

Laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy following failed hypophysectomy

Background: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has recently been shown to be a safe and effective means of treating adrenal pathology with much lower morbidity than the traditional approach. The majority of reports in the literature involve removal of adrenal tumors. Although open bilateral adrenalectomy has been utilized for persistent Cushing's syndrome following attempted hypophysectomy, there is little data available describing the application of laparoscopic adrenal surgery to this problem. Methods: Four patients with persistent Cushing's syndrome after attempted treatment with hypophysectomy underwent laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy at our institution. One procedure was done transabdominally in the supine position. Three procedures were done transabdominally using sequential lateral decubitus positions. Results: All procedures were completed laparoscopically. The mean operative time was 4.6 h (range 3.9–5.25). Repositioning and reprepping the patients resulted in a slight increase in operative time, but visualization was improved using the lateral decubitus position. Average blood loss: 156 cc (range 50–300). One patient required early reoperation for bleeding from the left adrenal bed, which was controlled laparoscopically. Three patients were eating the following day and were discharged on postoperative days 1, 2, and 5. The fourth patient remained hospitalized for 18 days due to problems unrelated to surgery. After a mean follow-up of 10 months, all patients have done well and have no clinical or biochemical evidence of recurrent disease. Conclusion: Our clinical experience indicates that laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy is a viable treatment option for Cushing's syndrome following failed hypophysectomy. Received: 29 March 1996/Accepted: 12 June 1996     

Flat adenomas in a colon cancer-prone kindred

We describe new pathologic findings in a hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer family. Affected family members developed multiple small adenomas with right-sided predominance; many adenomas had an unusual appearance featuring slightly elevated lesions with adenomatous changes confined to the upper regions of the colonic crypts. We have adopted the previously established term "flat adenoma" for these lesions. This phenotype may be a morphologic marker for at least one subset of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.     

Infants at risk for schizophrenia: sequelae of a genetic neurointegrative defect. A review and replication analysis of pandysmaturation in the Jerusalem Infant Development Study.

A 1975 report stated that a schizophrenic genotype may be manifested in infants by a neurointegrative defect called pandysmaturation. Recent evidence supports this: (1) 12 studies found delayed development in schizophrenics' infants and in preschizophrenics; (2) "blind" psychometric evaluations favored an adult schizotypal disorder in four to six of seven high-risk subjects with pandysmaturation in the New York study; and (3) finally, in a partial replication of this method using the Jerusalem data, blind diagnoses of "probable" and "possible" pandysmaturation were significantly related to a parental diagnosis of schizophrenia and to cognitive and motor neurointegrative deficits at 10 years. Obstetrical complications were unrelated to diagnosis, pandysmaturation, or outcome in the overall sample. However, we found a small subgroup of schizophrenic offspring in whom the most severe motor deficits at follow-up were related to obstetrical complications, pandysmaturation, and low birth weight.     

Betamethasone effects on fetal sheep cerebral blood flow are not dependent on maturation of cerebrovascular system and pituitary–adrenal axis

Synthetic glucocorticoids are administered to pregnant women in premature labour to accelerate fetal lung maturation at a time when fetal cerebrovascular and endocrine systems are maturing. Exposure to glucocorticoids at 0.8–0.9 of gestation increases peripheral and cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) in fetal sheep. We examined whether the increase of CVR and its adverse effect on cerebral blood flow (CBF) depend on the current level of maturation of the pituitary–adrenal axis and the cerebrovascular system. Using fluorescent microspheres, regional CBF was measured in 11 brain regions before and 24 h and 48 h after the start of 3.3 μg kg⁻¹ h⁻¹ betamethasone ( n = 8) or vehicle ( n = 7) infusions to fetal sheep at 0.73 of gestation. Hypercapnic challenges were performed before and 24 h after the onset of betamethasone exposure to examine betamethasone effects on cerebrovascular reactivity. Betamethasone exposure decreased CBF by approximately 40% in all brain regions after 24 h of infusion ( P < 0.05). The decline in CBF was mediated by a CVR increase of 111 ± 16% in the cerebral cortex and 129 ± 29% in subcortical regions ( P < 0.05). Hypercapnic cerebral vasodilatation and associated increase in CBF were blunted ( P < 0.05). Fetal CBF recovered after 48 h of betamethasone administration. There were no differences in glucocorticoid induced CBF and CVR changes compared with our previous findings at 0.87 of gestation. We conclude that the cerebrovascular effects of antenatal glucocorticoids are independent of cerebrovascular maturation and preparturient increase in activity of the fetal pituitary–adrenal axis.     

APO-1(CD95)-dependent and -independent antigen receptor-induced apoptosis in human T and B cell lines

Certain B and T cell lines respond to activation signals, e.g.through the antigen receptor, by undergoing apoptotlc cell death.In T cells it has been recently shown that TCR-mediated apoptosisinvolves APO-1/Fas (CD95) receptor-ligand interaction. To investigatewhether the TCR-CD3 complex can trigger alternative apoptosispathways we generated subclones of the T cell line Jurkat whichwere completely resistant towards APO-1-mediated apoptosis.These Jurkat^R cells differed phenotypically from sensitive parentalJurkat^S cells only by the lack of APO-1 protein expression.Although Jurkat^R cells responded normally to anti-CD3 stimulationby expression of APO-1 ligand they failed to undergo anti-CD3-inducedapoptosis. Thus, in Jurkat cells APO-1 -mediated apoptosis wasthe main, and might be the only, mechanism for anti-CD3-inducedcell death. However, BL-60 B cells, highly sensitive to anti-IgM-inducedapoptosis, did not use the APO-1 receptor-ligand system becausethey failed to express APO-1 ligand mRNA. Taken together, ourresults suggest that malignant T and B cell lines may use APO-1receptor-ligand-dependent and -independent antigen receptor-inducedapoptosis pathways respectively. Similarly, differential pathwaysmay be used by T and B cell subsets.     

Factors associated with the use of psychiatric consultations in short-term general hospitals

A significant number of patients in general hospitals suffer from psychiatric distress or illness, but not all receive psychiatric consultation. This study examined several potential predictors of such consultation. These included patient characteristics (age, sex, race, insurance, disease stage, and number of medical diagnoses), characteristics of hospital stay (number of procedures, other consultations, length of stay, discharge destination), hospital characteristics (size, percent occupancy, teaching status, presence of a psychiatric unit, type of control), and community characteristics (region, urban/rural setting). Data were derived from a national sample of 327 hospitals. Parallel analyses using stepwise logistic regression were carried out across four samples: patients determined at discharge to have been hospitalized for diabetes, hip fracture, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and coronary artery bypass surgery. Results show a wide variation in the use of psychiatric consultations across different subgroups. Longer lengths of stay, urban setting. Northeast region, younger patient age, and other consultations were the most consistent predictors of the probability of psychiatric consultation. These variations may reflect differences in the need for consultation, differential recognition of these needs by providers, or differential availability of psychiatric consultation services. Moreover, they may have implications for equity and/or quality of hospital care.