Rupture of the flexor tendon after malunited Colles' fracture.

Flexor tendon rupture as a complication of Colles' fracture is rare. We describe a case of attrition rupture of flexor tendons to the ring and little fingers after a malunited Colles' fracture, and we review the 17 previously reported cases.     

Gorog Thrombosis Test: analysis of factors influencing occlusive thrombus formation.

We used the Gorog Thrombosis Test to analyze the factors influencing the occlusion time, which represents platelet activation and subsequent occlusive thrombus formation, in 132 healthy Japanese volunteers (116 men, 16 women; mean age, 45.0 +/- 12.0 years). The Gorog Thrombosis Test was designed to evaluate platelet aggregation and thrombolytic activity under a high shear stress condition (175 dynes/cm) in a native blood sample in vitro. The mean +/- SD occlusion time was 154.8 +/- 64.7 s (men, 153.4 +/- 64.2 s and women, 165.4 +/- 56.5 s). The occlusion time was inversely correlated with von Willebrand factor ristocetin cofactor activity (VWF:Rco) (r = -0.242, P = 0.0055) and von Willebrand factor antigen (r = -0.230, P = 0.0080). The mean occlusion time in the group with VWF:Rco of at least 170% (137 s) was significantly shorter than that in the group with VWF:Rco less than 170% (156 s, P < 0.05). Platelet counts, other coagulation markers and smoking showed no significant correlations with occlusion time. Red blood cells (r = -0.177, P = 0.0365), hemoglobin (r = -0.191, P = 0.0245) and hematocrit (r = -0.182, P = 0.0329) also showed inverse correlations with the occlusion time. This report is the first to clearly demonstrate the role of von Willebrand factor in the formation of occlusive thrombi in the Gorog Thrombosis Test.     

Measurement of free and total hydroxyproline by automated flow injection of serum or urine samples from maintenance hemodialysis patients with renal osteodystrophy

An automated measurement of total and free hydroxyproline in serum or urine is presented that uses flow injection analysis. After exclusion of nonspecific substances, hydroxyproline was oxidized by chloramine- T and L-cysteine with Ehrlich's reagent. The linearity obtained was from 3.8μmole/ L to 1.22 mmole/L with good precision (CV <3%). Comparison of the proposed method with HPLC yielded r = 0.939 as the correlation coefficient. Reference intervals of free and total hydroxyproline are 1.4–9.7 μmole/L, 3.8–27.2 μmole/L for serum, and 10.0–72.5 μmole/L, 25.2–303.6 μmole/L for urine, respectively. Serum free and total hydroxyproline levels in renal osteodystrophy patients on maintenance hemodialysis (N = 71) were significantly higher than in controls (P<0.0001). This method is superior to the use of HPLC with regard to stability of the color reaction. The measurement of serum free and total hydroxyproline is a useful marker for therapeutic observation of renal osteodystrophy patients. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Uptake and biotransformation of sevof lurane in humans: A comparative study of sevof lurane with halothane, enflurane, and isoflurane

Study Objective: To compare the volatile anesthetic sevoflurane with halothane, enfurane, and isof urane on the uptake and biotransformation in humans.

Design: Prospective pharmacokinetic study of sevofurane administration in human subjects.

Setting: Inpatient surgery clinic at a university medical center.

Patients: Thirty-two Japanese patients, free of systemic diseases, undergoing minor elective surgery with endotracheal general anesthesia.

Interventions: The patients were assigned randomly to one of four groups: halothane, enflurane, isofurane, or sevofurane. One of the four volatile anesthetics being investigated [equivalent to 1.1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC): halothane, 0.85%; enfurane, 1.85%; isofurane, 1.27%; and sevofurane, 1.88%; in inspired concentrations throughout the first hour of anesthesia] was administered for 60 minutes.

Measurements and Main Results: In all patients, serum and urinary fluoride concentrations were measured. The concentrations of all gases were measured separately with a mass spectrometer. The cumulative uptake of each anesthetic agent during a certain period was calculated as an integration of the uptake rate per minute. The results for one-hour inhalation of sevofurane (1.1 MAC) showed an uptake (corrected for body surface area and MAC) of 490 ml/m²/MAC and estimated degradation rate of 3.3%. For purposes of comparison, similar studies of halothane (uptake, 653 ml/m²/MAC; degradation rate 15.7%), enfurane (1150 ml/m²/MAC; 1.3%), and isofurane (439 ml/m²/MAC; 0.6%) were also conducted. Sevofurane had a peak serum inorganic fluoride concentration of 19.3 μmol/L, and no abnormality in hepatic or renal functions was observed in any of the subjects during the two weeks postoperatively.

Conclusions: Accurate determinations of uptake and degradation rate for sevoflurane and three other volatile anesthetics in Japanese patients were obtained. These findings have established that, despite its relatively large MAC *1.71%), sevoflurane has a small uptake due to its low solubility. However, the degradation rade was shown to be as high as 3.3%, resulting in a higher serum fluoride concentration than seen after administration of isoflurane, halothane, and (possibly) enflurane.