Pseudoaneurysms complicating organ transplantation: roles of CT, duplex sonography, and angiography

In a retrospective study of proved pseudoaneurysms (PAs) in 15 patients with transplanted organs (11 liver, three kidney, one pancreas), the results of computed tomography (CT), duplex sonography, and angiography were reviewed. Of the 15 cases of PA, eight occurred at the arterial anastomosis and seven were nonanastomotic. Three of the eight anastomotic PAs were caused by infection. Of the seven nonanastomotic PAs, four were caused by percutaneous biopsy, two were caused by infection, and one was of undetermined cause. In nine (60%) of the 15 patients the PAs were incidentally detected at imaging studies performed for other reasons. Diagnosis requires a high degree of suspicion. CT was performed in nine cases and duplex sonography in ten. The diagnosis of PA was made with CT in six (67%) patients and with duplex sonography in five (50%). CT and duplex sonography could not enable diagnosis when the PA was small, when the arterial anastomosis was not included in the field of study, or when enhancement with intravenously administered contract material was suboptimal. Angiography depicted the PAs in all 15 patients. In three liver transplant recipients with gastrointestinal tract bleeding, the causative PAs were detected only with angiography.     

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty: the treatment of choice for renovascular hypertension due to fibromuscular dysplasia

Twenty-three renal artery stenoses in 21 hypertensive patients, caused by fibromuscular dysplasia, were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Follow-up over a period of 1 to 30 months, including angiography, renal vein renin assay, and radionuclide flow studies, was performed in 8 patients, each with one stenosis. Dilatation was initially successful in all cases and was successfully repeated in 1 case. The mean systolic pressure decreased by 61.81 mm Hg and the mean diastolic pressure by 36.28 mm Hg in response to treatment. Thirteen patients were cured, 8 were felt to have better control of blood pressure on medication, and there was no failures. This study demonstrates that PTA is a clinically effective method of treating renovascular hypertension due to fibromuscular dysplasia.     

Hip arthroplasty surgery in Manitoba: 1973-1978

A review of all (1279) total hip arthroplasties in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, from 1973 to 1978 demonstrates an increase in the number of operations except in the very elderly. Six-week operative mortality was decreased from 2.4% to .6%, and time spent in the hospital has decreased from 54 to 40 days. Utilization of medical services by patients before and after surgery, as recorded by the Manitoba Health Services Commission, enables identification of all serious postoperative complications. Two years after surgery, 95.2% of patients were alive, and 16% had a contralateral hip arthroplasty. Fourteen patients (2.7%) required revision surgery within two years; 20 patients (4%) were readmitted to the hospital with other surgical complications, including trochanteric bursitis, osteomyelitis, pulmonary embolism, and so forth. Visits to physicians for arthritis-related problems and to chiropractors decreased in the two years after surgery compared with the two years before.     

Peroxidase activity and iodide uptake in hormone-responsive and hormone-independent GR mouse mammary tumors.

Transplanted mammary tumors growing in the inbred GR/AFib mouse were assayed for peroxidase activity and ability to concentrate injected 125I. Both tumor peroxidase activity and iodide uptake were about ten times greater in the hormone-resonsive (HR) tumors than in the hormone-independent tumors. However, although peroxidases are known for their ability to participate in the iodination of proteins, over 90% of the radioactive iodine found in the tumors was shown to be free iodide. This finding suggests that these two parameters may be independent of each other, but both are higher in HR tumors.     

Carotid artery thrombosis, encephalitis, myelitis and optic neuritis associated with rubella virus infections.

The clinical, virological and pathological findings in 5 patients with neurological complications associated with rubella virus infection are described. The neurological illnesses began four to ten days after the rubella illnesses. The patients were all males aged between 6 and 17 years and were diagnosed during one non-epidemic year in a population of 1-5 million people. All the patients had rubella specific IgM in their sera. Two patients had no rash. In one of the patients who died, left internal carotid artery thrombosis and cerebral infarction were found at post-mortem. Rubella virus antigen and particles resembling rubella virus were found in the brain together with IgG and IgM in the same areas. This patient also had extensive liver necrosis. The other patient had a severe meningomyelitis and radiculitis and he recovered completely after two years. His serum rubella antibody rose significantly and was shown to leak into CSF during the acute stage of his illness. Three patients had a rash. Two of these patients had encephalitis: one recovered completely and the other had residual disability. The third patient had bilateral optic neuritis from which he recovered completely. Rubella specific IgM was, however, present in his serum for the abnormally long time of twenty-eight weeks indicating possible persistence of rubella virus.