Retrosternal epiphyseal disruption of medial clavicle: case and review in children

Retrosternal dislocations of the clavicle have been reported previously in adults throughout the orthopedic literature. However, in children few cases have been noted in either the pediatric, emergency, or orthopedic literature. The potential for great vessel injury as well as acute airway compromise makes the retrosternal disruption of the sternoclavicular joint a surgical emergency that must be diagnosed quickly. Diagnosis is enhanced by the cephalic tilt view and by computed tomography (CT scan), as planar x-ray and tomography do not always reveal this potentially life-threatening condition. Surgical consultation must be sought acutely; however, management may need to begin prior to definitive repair. Emergency management begins by suspecting the injury, and with immediate airway and circulatory support for the patient.     

Coping with cancer: the spouse's perspective

This study explored coping difficulties experienced by wives of patients with a diagnosis of cancer. Concomitantly, the study explored the ways in which nurses intervened to help these wives. This study was designed as an exploratory study. The qualitative analysis made use of data derived from responses to open-ended questions presented to the respondents by the interview method. The study sample consisted of 40 wives who acknowledged experiencing coping difficulties in meeting the demands of everyday living as a result of their husband's diagnosis of cancer. Respondents were selected randomly from seven eligible representative settings located in the Mid-Atlantic region until the desired sample number was reached. Wives, who encountered the unexpected and uncontrollable situation of having a husband with diagnosed cancer, experienced a multitude of coping difficulties. In addition, wives underwent psychological disorganization, disequilibrium, and emotional imbalance. They attempted to cope with the resulting imbalance by using their habitual problem-solving behavior patterns and experienced difficulty when seeking situational supports. This, in turn, added to their stress. Wives also reported that their children had coping difficulties. Wives identified listening, talking, caring, availability of nurses to patients and patients' spouses, sensitivity, empathy, and honesty as essential helpful nursing behaviors. The study underscored the importance of viewing wives of cancer patients as unique systems in need of therapeutic support, and reaffirmed a view of nursing as the art of understanding the unique needs of individuals who are experiencing coping difficulties. This study also underscored the key role of psychiatric liaison nurses in providing supportive therapeutic interventions to the spouses of cancer patients as well as to the nursing staff.     

A preliminary report of the short-term effect of carbonated beverage consumption on calcium metabolism in normal women

A variety of nutritional factors influence the bioavailability of calcium and increase a woman's risk of osteoporosis. Eight healthy women completed an 8-week metabolic study designed to investigate the effect of nonalcoholic carbonated beverage consumption on calcium metabolism. Compared with women receiving a control diet, women consuming a diet high in nonalcoholic carbonated beverages demonstrated similar mean serum levels of calcium, ionized calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and osteocalcin. Twenty-four-hour urine volume, creatinine clearance, calcium-creatinine ratio, and phosphorus-creatinine ratio were similar during consumption of the diet high in nonalcoholic carbonated beverages and the control diet. Twenty-four-hour cyclic adenosine monophosphate-creatinine ratio was significantly lower in women consuming the diet high in nonalcoholic carbonated beverage compared with women receiving the control diet (342 +/- 27.4 nmol/mmol vs 409 +/- 22.1 nmol/mmol). Consumption of a diet high in nonalcoholic carbonated beverages on a short-term basis does not appear to affect adversely the serum or urinary markers of calcium metabolism.     

Preparation of leukocyte-poor platelets by filtration

There is evidence that leukocyte contaminating red blood cells and platelet concentrates are responsible for refractoriness to platelet transfusions. The efficacy of a cotton-wool filter to remove leukocytes from red blood cells has been documented previously. The present study was designed to evaluate whether the cotton-wool filters can effectively remove leukocytes from platelet concentrates. Sixty pools of random-donor platelets and single-donor plateletpheresis products were filtered through a cotton-wool filter. The efficacy of filtration was determined by measuring the absolute numbers of leukocytes and platelets and subpopulations of mononuclear cells. The average platelet loss was 8% per pool of random platelets and 10% per plateletpheresis product. The average leukocyte removal was 99% from a pool of random platelets and plateletpheresis concentrates collected by CS-3000 and 90% from plateletpheresis concentrates harvested by single-stage COBE/IBM-2997. The filtration removed 100% of granulocytes, 95% of monocytes, 90% of B-lymphocytes, and 85% of T-lymphocytes. We conclude that filtration through a cotton-wool filter is an efficient and cost-effective method for preparation of leukocyte-poor platelets.     

Direct modulation by androgens of the response of human bone cells (SaOS-2) to human parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related protein

We have reported previously that 17 beta-estradiol (E2) inhibits selectively the cAMP response to human (h) PTH and PTH-related protein (hPTHrP), but not to vasoactive intestinal peptide, in human osteoblast-like cells (SaOS-2). We have now extended these studies to investigate the actions of androgens on hPTH-stimulated accumulation of cAMP, and on the roles of new protein synthesis and pertussis toxin (PTox) substrates in the actions of steroid hormones on SaOS-2 cells. Pretreatment with testosterone (T) or 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (5 alpha-DHT) for 4-12 h at concentrations of 10(-12) to 10(-8) M inhibited significantly the cAMP response to hPTH by up to 50-70% of control. Like E2, the actions of T and 5 alpha-DHT were selective for hPTH or hPTHrP; there was no inhibition of the stimulatory action of vasoactive intestinal peptide. Two related steroids, 5 beta-DHT and 17 alpha-epitestosterone, did not inhibit the action of hPTH. Pretreatment of cells with cycloheximide, under conditions which inhibited protein synthesis by greater than 90%, reduced the cAMP response to hPTH but did not block the further inhibitory actions of E2, T, or 5 alpha-DHT. Pretreamtent of cells with PTox (100 ng/ml) for 24 h, enhanced the accumulation of cAMP stimulated by hPTH consistent with an action of PTox on Gi; however, the inhibitory actions of E2, T, and 5 alpha-DHT on PTH-stimulated cAMP accumulation were not attenuated by PTox. We conclude that androgens, as well as estrogens, act directly on human bone cells to modulate selectively an early effect of hPTH. The inhibitory actions of these steroid hormones do not appear to depend on new protein synthesis and may not involve a functionally active PTox substrate, presumably Gi.     

Severe erythroblastopenia and hemolytic anemia during a hepatitis A infection

A 41-year-old woman had acute hepatitis A infection complicated with severe anemia due to selective erythroblastopenia and hemolysis. A mechanism involving a cellular immune reaction is suggested. The hematological complications resolved during steroid treatment. She later developed a transient seropositive arthritis.     

The use of pelvic ultrasonography in the evaluation of adolescents with pelvic inflammatory disease

To evaluate the use of pelvic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and management of female adolescents with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), sonograms of 60 patients with PID were compared with those of 40 age-matched controls. Sonograms were evaluated for adnexal volume, adnexal adherence, uterine size, and the presence of cul-de-sac fluid. Eleven (19.3%) of the 57 patients with PID, in whom adequate sonograms were obtained, had tubo-ovarian abscesses; in seven of these patients, the abscesses were diagnosed ultrasonographically before suspected clinically. Even in those patients without tubo-ovarian abscesses, the mean (+/- SD) adnexal volume in the PID group was significantly larger than that of the control group (11.0 +/- 6.8 cm3 vs 5.2 +/- 2.7 cm,3 respectively). Adnexal adherence, uterine size, and the presence of cul-de-sac fluid were not useful in differentiating patients with PID from normal controls. Pelvic ultrasonography can be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis and management of PID in adolescents and may, in some instances, provide diagnoses in the absence of clinical findings.