Indications for relaparotomy

From 1980 to 1987, 10,446 patients were operated on. In 152 patients, the necessity of a repeated operative intervention arose. In 106 patients the emergency, in 42--delayed, and in 4--elective relaparotomies were performed. There were the following indications for relaparotomy: diffuse and circumscribed peritonitis (78 patients), ileus (46), eventration (11), hemorrhage (12), others (5). Diagnosis of postoperative complications requiring relaparotomy is difficult. The postoperative lethality was 26%.     

Acute appendicitis in the pregnant patient

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical problem in pregnancy requiring emergent intervention. To establish a contemporary patient profile and formulate an effective management strategy, a retrospective review was conducted of 84 pregnant patients who underwent laparotomy with a preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Gestational stage at presentation included the first trimester in 27 patients (32%), the second trimester in 37 patients (44%), the third trimester in 13 patients (16%), and the puerperium in 7 patients (8%). Fifty-four patients (64%) had pathologically proven acute appendicitis; the incidence did not vary by trimester. Other intra-abdominal conditions were detected in 15 patients (18%). There were no significant differences between patients with positive and negative laparotomies (or among trimesters) regarding frequency of presenting symptoms and signs or laboratory results. Operation occurred within 24 hours of symptom onset in 19 of 54 (35%) instances of proven acute appendicitis. Perforation occurred in 23 of 54 patients (43%), all of whom had symptoms exceeding 24 hours (p less than 0.0005). Five instances of perinatal death and one case of extreme perinatal morbidity were associated with negative laparotomies; only one of these was attributed to operation itself. No adverse long-term maternal morbidity or mortality occurred. Wound infection developed in seven cases of acute appendicitis (six perforated) and two negative explorations. We conclude that (1) gestational physiologic changes obscure the accurate diagnosis of acute appendicitis; (2) the natural history of acute appendicitis is not affected by trimester of presentation; and (3) adverse sequelae of acute appendicitis are obviated by prompt operative exploration and prevention of appendiceal perforation.     

Nonspecific aortoarteritis and vasorenal hypertension

The article deals with the experience in surgical treatment of 157 patients with vasorenal hypertension consequent upon unspecific aortoarteritis. On the grounds of communications in the literature and their own clinical findings, the authors analyse the character of the affection in unspecific aortoarteritis and the peculiarities of the course of vasorenal hypertension and emphasize the malignancy of its course and inefficacy of nonoperative treatment. The indications and contraindications for various reconstructive operations on the renal arteries and the dependence of the results of surgery on the duration of the disease and the term of the operative intervention are discussed in detail. The authors also describe their experience in the modern methods of kidney revascularization. With the use of radiologically guided endovascular dilatation and an nitinol endoprosthesis they not only expanded considerably the possibilities of intervention on the renal vessels but improved the results of the management of vasorenal hypertension.     

Efficacy of radical neck dissection for the control of cervical metastasis after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Fifty-one patients who had persistent or recurrent neck disease from nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy underwent radical neck dissection. The follow-up period ranged from 0.5 to 9 years (median: 2 years). Multiple cervical lymph node involvement was present in 51% of the patients (26 of 51). Malignant cells were detected in 88% of the resected specimens (45 of 51). The clinical sign of fixation of lymph node is the only factor that affects the successful control of neck disease (p = 0.04). Extracapsular extension of the nodal disease was present, and 35% of the lymph nodes were adherent to surrounding structures at operation (18 of 51). There was one hospital mortality and the overall morbidity was minimal. The actuarial survival at 5 years was 38%, and the probability of control of neck disease was 66%. Radical neck dissection is effective in controlling post-irradiation cervical metastasis from nasopharyngeal carcinoma.     

Effect on cooking time on mutagen formation in smoke, crust and pan residue from pan-broiled pork

The effect of cooking time on mutagenic activity in crust, pan residue and smoke from pan-broiled pork patties was studied in the Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test system. The effect on mutagenicity of reheating the cooked patties and of keeping them warm was also studied. The meat was broiled at 200 degrees C for various times between 2 and 10 min. Broiled meat was reheated up to 5 times at 200 degrees C, each time to a centre temperature of 70 degrees C. Reheating was also performed in a microwave oven for 2 min and in an electric oven at 200 degrees C for 10 min. In addition, broiled patties were kept warm at 60 degrees C in an incubator for up to 9 hr. The mutagenic activity increased rapidly in all fractions except the volatile phase over the first 6 min of cooking, after which time only a slight increase was seen. At cooking times below 4 min no mutagenic activity was detected in the smoke. Reheating or keeping the meat warm for up to 9 hr had very little effect on the mutagenic activity of the meat. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography mutagenicity profiles of the aerosol, crust and pan-residue extracts showed no major qualitative differences in samples cooked at different times. It is concluded that during pan broiling at 200 degrees C the major part of the mutagenic activity is formed during the first 6 min of cooking. Reheating the meat or keeping it warm does not significantly affect the mutagenic activity. No major additional mutagens are formed during continued heating for up to 25 min.     

The use of tracheal implants in toxicology and carcinogenesis research

Tracheal implants have served as an important experimental pathology tool with which to study the toxic and/or carcinogenic effects of chemicals upon upper respiratory tract epithelium. Initial studies with this method utilized heterotopic rat tracheal transplants which were exposed to compounds of interest, and assessed for toxic and/or carcinogenic endpoints. Grafts containing rodent tissue have proved useful for studying the cellular and biochemical features of neoplastic progression at different time intervals following in vivo exposure to carcinogens. More recent studies have utilized epithelial denuded tracheal implants inoculated with respiratory cell populations, and xenografted into immunodeficient nu/nu mice. This technique permits the study of airway epithelium from a variety of species, including man. The advent of molecular pathology techniques such as in situ hybridization will further expand the uses of tracheal implant technology for studies with xenografted human tissues. Such implants should prove useful for the examination of species- and tissue-specific characteristics of growth and differentiation by providing a bridge between cell culture and whole animal studies.     

Tachykinin receptors of the NK2 type involved in the acetylcholine release by nicotine in guinea-pig bladder.

1. The effects of guanethidine and tachykinins on nicotine- and electrical stimulation-induced cholinoceptor responses were studied in isolated urinary bladder from the guinea-pig. 2. Acetylcholine release and the contractile response stimulated by nicotine were partially reduced by a sympathetic nerve blocker, guanethidine. Neurokinin A (but not substance P methyl ester or senktide) enhanced both acetylcholine release and contraction by nicotine in the presence of guanethidine. 3. Frequency-contraction curves (1 to 50 Hz) for electrical field stimulation (EFS) were partially reduced by atropine (1 microM), and after desensitization to alpha,beta-methylene adenosine 5'-triphosphate, the atropine-resistant contraction to EFS was completely abolished. Guanethidine, the tachykinin antagonist [D-Arg1, D-Pro2, Trp7,9, Leu11]-substance P and application of neurokinin A or substance P did not change the contractile response to EFS. Preganglionic nerve stimulation (5 Hz and 20 Hz) also evoked a similar response to EFS and was not influenced at all by guanethidine or neurokinin A. 4. We conclude that the ability of nicotine to release acetylcholine is enhanced both by endogenous tachykinins (probably released from sympathetic nerves) and by exogenously applied tachykinins as a result of interaction with NK2 receptors in the urinary bladder.     

Movement-related potential measures of different modes of movement selection in Parkinson's disease

Movement-related potentials were recorded preceding self-paced voluntary movements in patients with Parkinson's disease and in healthy subjects of the same age group. We compared the Readiness Potential preceding joystick movements in a fixed direction and preceding joystick movements in freely selected directions. In normal subjects the Readiness Potential amplitude was higher preceding freely selected movements than preceding movements in a fixed direction. The Readiness Potential in Parkinson patients failed to be modified by the different modes of movement selection. The modulation of the Readiness Potential by different ways of preparing for movement might be due to the supplementary motor area (SMA) being more strongly engaged by tasks requiring internal control of movements than by tasks that are externally structured. The results suggest that this task-dependent variation of SMA activity is reduced in Parkinson's disease. A failing capacity to adapt SMA activity to different task demands has previously been suggested by evidence from positron emission tomography studies using similar tasks.