Uses and risks of drainage following elective colon resection. A prospective, randomized and controlled clinical study

The results of a controlled randomized and prospective clinical study including 113 patients from March 1987 until August 1988 showed that prophylactic drainage in elective resection for cancer of the colon was not necessary. 60 patients received a drain, 53 patients were not drained. The drain turned out to be ineffective even concerning its expected function of draining intraabdominal fluid: its diagnostic and therapeutic value failed in clinical practice. The rate of surgical complications--i.e. anastomotic leakage, impaired wound healing and relaparotomy--was significantly higher in the drained group. In elective colon resection the use of a drain as a routine procedure cannot be recommended.     

Detection of undiagnosed coagulopathies using routine rapid heparin neutralization.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the most frequent clinical causes of a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) result, and to determine whether a new heparin-removal device (the Hepchek, Pall Biomedical, Glen Cove, NY 11542) is capable of efficiently detecting the causes of these values. DESIGN: A combination of chart review and laboratory testing comparing the criterion standard--the heparin chromogenic substrate assay--with the Hepchek. Laboratory investigations were blinded and controlled. SETTING: Inpatient, acute-care hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 1,000 hospital patients with a variety of hemostatic disorders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The extent to which the Hepchek accurately identified the etiology of a prolonged APTT result. RESULTS: The APTT was prolonged in 25.2% of samples. The presence of heparin in the sample was confirmed by chromogenic assay or by using the Hepchek heparin-removal filter. The presence of heparin was confirmed in 12.8% of all samples and in more than 50% of all abnormal samples. The cause of the abnormal APTT was often unappreciated by the clinician. Bayesian analysis of the Hepchek's ability to diagnose heparin correctly as the cause of the abnormal APTT showed a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 99.9%. CONCLUSION: Use of the Hepchek in the routine clinical laboratory is an efficient and rapid method of detecting heparin as a cause of isolated prolonged APTT results, and should reduce demands for unwarranted coagulation analyses and inappropriate treatment with blood products.     

A multicentre assessment of the specificity of ten anti-HBc screening tests

SUMMARY. Samples from 1828 donations were screened for anti-HBc at seven sites in the UK using kits supplied by 10 manufacturers. Only 10 (0.55%) donations were considered to have true anti-HBc reactivity and these were detected by all 10 kits. Additional markers of HBV infection were found in nine of these 10 donations. Additional reactives were found by all kits, the number ranging from 1 to 43.
In the four more specific kits, the 10 true reactives were clearly distinguished from the 'false reactives' by the strength of the reaction. It is concluded that the reliance on a single ELISA test for anti-HBc diagnosis is unwise. The use of a second test known to be more specific than the screening ELISA is recommended.     

The HGAR1 familial hypercholesterolemia pedigree

Data on 232 members of a single pedigree, descended from two pairs of original parents, were made available to the participants of Genetic Analysis Workshop 8 (GAW8). In addition to information concerning age and sex, measurements for 10 quantitative traits and genotypes at 22 polymorphic marker loci were also provided for a subset of 193 of these family members. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Allografted keratinocytes used to accelerate the treatment of burn wounds are replaced by recipient cells

Cultured keratinocytes were used as allografts on burn wounds in two patients. In both patients successful covering of the wounds was obtained. DNA fingerprinting of the epidermis covering the wounds 21 days later showed that the cultured keratinocytes were replaced by the patients' cells.     

The experimental pharmacotherapy of the liver lesion induced by indomethacin

In experiments on albino rats it was established that three administrations of indomethacin in a dose of 0.01 g/kg body weight induced a severe damage of the liver characterized by disturbances of hepatocytic membranes, bile-producing and protein-producing functions of the liver, an enhancement of lipid peroxidation, a decrease of reduced glutathione pool. Antioxidants (tocopherol acetate, essentiale, legalon, flacumin) limit manifestations of indomethacin, hepatotoxicity, as a result of which tha functional-biochemical disorders in the liver show up to a lesser degree. During the combined use of antioxidants in indomethacin-induced lesions of the liver their hepatoprotective activity increases.