The relationship between maternal serum zinc levels during pregnancy and birthweight

A retrospective follow-up study to ascertain the relationship between the level of serum zinc and its rate of change during gestation and birthweight was conducted in 476 women of lower socioeconomic status. Serum zinc concentrations measured at approximately 16 (early) and 32 weeks (later) in gestation were both found to be significant predictors of birthweight. Even after controlling for gestational age at birth and other determinants of birthweight, for each microgram/dl increase in serum zinc early and later in pregnancy, birthweight increased by 5.8 and 8.6 g, respectively. Furthermore, after adjustment for initial zinc levels both the total change (beta = -7.0, P = 0.0007) and the rate of change (beta = -60.8, P = 0.007) in serum zinc during pregnancy were inversely associated with birthweight, i.e., the larger the fall in serum zinc during pregnancy, the smaller the infant. Low serum zinc level (less than 60 micrograms/dl) late in pregnancy was associated with greater than a five-fold increase in the odds (OR = 5.8, 95% CI = 1.8, 16.4) of giving birth to a low birthweight infant. The results of this study suggest a threshold for maternal serum zinc below which the prevalence of low birthweight increases rapidly.     

Unusual Cause of Methadone Poisoning

ABSTRACT. A child with respiratory distress was found to have been given an antibiotic which was reconstituted with methadone. A delay in standard emergency room management led to a delay in diagnosis and treatment.     

Should nitrous oxide be discontinued before desflurane after anaesthesia with desflurane/N2O?

Background : The appearance of hypoxaemia immediately after anaesthesia with nitrous oxide may be partially explained by diffusion hypoxia. This study was undertaken to evaluate circulatory and respiratory variables during emergence after desflurane/nitrous oxide anaesthesia, and whether there are any differences depending on which gas is discontinued first. Methods : 20 patients were studied after gynaecological laparoscopic surgery. The depth of anaesthesia was reduced 10 min prior to the emergence by stopping the administration of one of the two inhalational agents. Desflurane was discontinued first in Group 1, nitrous oxide in Group 2. Ventilation was controlled with E'C0₂ maintained at 5% until the administration of the second anaesthetic gas was discontinued. Thereafter, the patients breathed spontaneously. Results : The PaC0₂ at which the respiratory drive reappeared after controlled normoventilation was similar in both groups, 6.1–6.5 kPa, and extubation was performed after 10–11 min. At extubarion, the end–tidal C0₂ and total MAC were similar in the groups, about 6.2 vol% and 0.16, respectively. Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly higher in Group 1. The cardiac output increased in both groups from about 6 1/min at the conclusion of anaesthesia to 9.0 and 7.6 1/min at 15 min in the recovery period. End–tidal O₂ decreased and CO₂ increased in both groups during the first 10 min in the recovery period. pH was reduced at 15 and 30 min in both groups. Conclusion : Irrespective of which agent was discontinued first, there was an increase in cardiac output, decrease in oxygenation and a modest acidosis in the first 30–min recovery period. The only significant difference between the groups was in mean arterial blood pressure in the early emergence phase with a greater MAP when N₂O had been used until the conclusion of anaesthesia.     

Angioedema due to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use: Radiographic findings in 3 patients

Angioedema of the oropharynx and hypopharynx due to oral angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is a potentially life-threatening event and has not been well described in the radiology literature. A retrospective review of the clinical and radiologic findings in three patients with angioedema due to ACE inhibitor use was performed.Our subgroup of patients treated with ACE inhibitors presented with varying degrees of dysphagia, dyspnea, and facial swelling. Plain radiographic findings included enlargement of the epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, and prevertebral and submental soft tissue. Computed tomography confirmed extensive retropharyngeal and subcutaneous edema. Clinical symptoms resolved in each case in 24–48 hours with cessation of the ACE inhibitor and concomitant steriod therapy.Our cases demonstrate the typical clinical and radiographic presentation of neck angioedema in the setting of ACE inhibitor use. As ACE inhibitors are increasingly being used as first-line agents in the treatment of hypertension, we caution that neck angioedema may be encountered with increased frequency in adults. Early recognition and immediate intervention result in rapid resolution of this potentially life-threatening event.     

The first mechanism-based inactivators for angiotensin-converting enzyme.

The first example of mechanism-based inactivation of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is described for N-[N-(cyanoacetyl)-L-phenylalanyl]-L-phenylalanine (compound 1). It is proposed that an ACE-mediated deprotonation of 1 unmasks a ketenimine intermediate, which traps an active-site nucleophile, and hence irreversibly modifies the enzyme. In competition with the inactivation reaction, ACE also hydrolyzes 1 with a partition ratio of 8300 (i.e., kcat/kinact). Since the corresponding keto analogue, N-[(R)-2-benzyl-5-cyano-4-oxopentanyl]-L-phenylalanine (compound 4), does not inactivate the enzyme, it is suggested that the NH in compound 1 is critical for the proper active-site anchoring of the inhibitor for the inactivation process to take place.     

Combined radiotherapy and surgery in the treatment of neck node metastases from squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

A prospectively recorded series of 107 patients with clinical neck node metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, treated in 1983-1988, and with initial local control, is evaluated. Eighty-eight patients received preoperative, and were operated 4-6 weeks after radiotherapy, and 19 received postoperative radiotherapy. Forty-four of the neck specimens in the preoperatively treated patients showed vital tumor tissue, 7 with positive and 37 with negative resection margins. Nine of the latter 37 patients died due to regional recurrence. Twenty-three of the preoperatively treated patients had no palpable residual tumor following radiotherapy, but histological examination showed vital tumor tissue in five, of whom two had N1 neck disease. The overall regional failure rate was 19%. Eleven patients (10%) died from local recurrence and 11 from distant metastases. Forty-one patients (38%) are alive without evidence of disease and three (3%) alive with disease (mean observation time 30 months). Combined treatment is recommended for all cases of neck node metastases.     

Department of Palliative Care in Bratislava and the development of the palliative care movement in Slovakia

 Slovakia is a country with no tradition of home care services and a long history of regarding death and dying as taboos and therefore institutionalising them. Increased attention to palliative care issues has resulted in some important changes, to the benefit of patients in need of palliative care. These include general availability of oral slow-release forms of strong opioids (cost completely reimbursed by the insurance companies), a developing network of home care agencies, and increased attention to the needs of palliative patients, especially among oncologists and pain specialists. In February 1995 the Department of Palliative Care was established within the National Cancer Institute in Bratislava. It has 19 in-patient beds and also an out-patient clinic. Although the primary goal is the improvement of the quality of life, several approaches that can prolong life without worsening its quality are also used. These include laser destruction of intraluminal gastrointestinal tumours, insertion of intraluminal stents, brachyradiotherapy, pleurodeses, percutaneous gastrostomy, percutaneous nephrostomy, palliative chemotherapy, treatment of hypercalcaemia. In 1995 the Palliative Care Section of the Association for Study and Treatment of Pain was established, as was thefirst Hospice Foundation.