The kidneys in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Long-term study of 21 PNH patients revealed an unexpectedly high incidence of functional and anatomic renal abnormalities. Most patients demonstrated varying degrees of hematuria and proteinuria distinct from hemoglobinuria. Evaluation of renal function revealed hyposthenuria, abnormal tubular function, and declining creatinine clearance. Radiologically these patients had enlarged kidneys, cortical infarcts, cortical thinning, and papillary necrosis which were confirmed by autopsy studies. Hypertension developed in eight patients. Urinary tract infection was uncommon. The renal findings bear striking similarity to those of sickle cell anemia. Contrary to the usual opinion, out studies clearly showed evidence of widespread renal pathology in PNH most likely due to repeated microvascular thrombosis similar to the venous thrombosis involving other organs in this disorder.     

Normal deposition of brain iron in childhood and adolescence: MR imaging at 1.5 T

Magnetic resonance (MR) images of the brain in 285 patients between the ages of 2 and 25 years were retrospectively studied to determine the appearance of brain iron accumulation. The globus pallidus, red nucleus, substantia nigra, and dentate nucleus were evaluated with long TR/TE (repetition time/echo time) spin-echo sequences and staged. All four regions in most patients were initially hyperintense compared with white matter (stage I) before becoming isointense (stage II) and subsequently hypointense (stage III). The globus pallidus was the first to reach stage III, the red nucleus and substantia nigra were next, and the dentate nucleus was last. In general, decreased signal intensity (stage III) was not seen in these regions in patients less than 10 years old; in most patients it was seen by age 25 years. The dentate nucleus decreased in signal intensity more slowly and inconsistently; only one-third of patients had reached stage III by age 25 years. The temporal sequence of normal iron deposition as detected with MR imaging is helpful not only in the diagnosis of known iron-deposition diseases but also in the detection of iron-related pathologic changes.     

Osteomyelitis: detection with US

To evaluate the role of ultrasound (US) in the detection of osteomyelitis, the authors prospectively studied 48 patients clinically suspected of having osteomyelitis. A sonographic diagnosis was made if fluid was seen directly in contact with bone, without intervening soft tissues. Twelve of the 48 patients were subsequently found to have osteomyelitis. In 10 of them, US demonstrated abnormal fluid adjacent to the bone. This fluid was thought to represent an inflammatory exudate dissecting in a subperiosteal and/or extraperiosteal location. Eight of the 48 patients had soft-tissue fluid collections. The rest of the patients either had no abnormalities or had cellulitis. The authors conclude that US can be useful in the detection of osteomyelitis.     

The epidemiology of reoperations for orthopaedic trauma

IntroductionThe Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) has issued guidance regarding the use of reoperation rates in the revalidation of UK-based orthopaedic surgeons. Currently, little has been published concerning acceptable rates of reoperation following primary surgical management of orthopaedic trauma, particularly with reference to revalidation.MethodsA retrospective review was conducted of patients undergoing clearly defined reoperations following primary surgical management of trauma between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2011. A full case note review was undertaken to establish the demographics, clinical course and context of reoperation. A review of the imaging was performed to establish whether the procedure performed was in line with accepted trauma practice and whether the technical execution was acceptable.ResultsA total of 3,688 patients underwent primary procedures within the time period studied while 70 (1.90%, 99% CI: 1.39–2.55) required an unplanned reoperation. Thirty-nine (56%) of these patients were male. The mean age of patients was 56 years (range: 18–98 years) and there was a median time to reoperation of 50 days (IQR: 13–154 days). Potentially avoidable reoperations occurred in 41 patients (58.6%, 99% CI: 43.2–72.6). This was largely due to technical errors (40 patients, 57.1%, 99% CI: 41.8–71.3), representing 1.11% (99% CI: 0.73–1.64) of the total trauma workload. Within RCS guidelines, 28-day reoperation rates for hip, wrist and ankle fractures were 1.4% (99% CI: 0.5–3.3), 3.5% (99% CI: 0.8%–12.1) and 1.86% (99% CI: 0.4–6.6) respectively.ConclusionsWe present novel work that has established baseline reoperation rates for index procedures required for revalidation of orthopaedic surgeons.     

Are vitamin B12 and folate deficiency clinically important after roux-en-Y gastric bypass?

Although iron, vltamm B₁₂, and folate deficiency have been well documented after gastric bypass operations performed for morbid obesity, there is surprisingly little information on either the natural course or the treatment of these deficiencies in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients Durmg a l0-year period, a complete blood count and serum levels of iron, total iron-binding capacity, vltamin B₁₂, and folate were obtained in 348 patients preoperatively and postoperatively at 6-month intervals for the first 2 years, then annually thereafter The principal objectives of this study were to determine how readily patients who developed metabolic deficiencies after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass responded to postoperative supplements of the deficient micronutrient and to learn whether the risk of developmg these deficiencies decreases over time Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were slgnificantly decreased at all postoperative intervals in comparison to preoperative values Moreover, at each successive interval through 5 years, hemoglobin and hematocrit were decreased signifiantly compared to the preceding interval Folate levels were significantly increased compared to preoperative levels at all time intervals Iron and vltamin B₁₂ levels were lower than preoperative measurements and remained relatively stable postoperatively Half of the low hemoglobin levels were not associated with iron deficiency Taking multivltamin supplements resulted in a lower incidence of folate deficiency but did not prevent iron or vitamin B₁₂ deficiency Oral supplementation of iron and vitamin B₁₂ corrected defiaencies in 43% and 81% of cases, respectively Folate deficiency was almost always corrected with multivitamins alone No patient had symptoms that could be attributed to either vitamin B₁₂ or folate deficiency Conversely, many patients had symptoms of iron deficiency and anenua Lack of symptoms of vitamin B₁₂ and folate deficiency suggests that these deficiencies are not clinically important after RYGB Conversely, iron deficiency and anemia are potentially serious problems after RYGB, particularly in younger women Hence we recommend prophylactic oral iron supplements to premenopausal women who undergo RYGB     

Studies on sympathetic mechanisms in isolated intestinal and vas deferens preparations

The effects of various drugs which block sympathetic nerves have been studied in Finkleman preparations of rabbit and cat ileum. Contractile responses could be produced in many cases after the normal inhibitory responses to periarterial nerve stimulation had been blocked. In almost all cases this contractile response was abolished by ganglion-blocking drugs. The normal rabbit ileum Finkleman preparation was found to behave differently towards bretylium than do preparations taken from animals treated with reserpine. The block of the guinea-pig isolated hypogastric vas deferens preparation caused by hemicholinium HC-3 was found to be reversed in the presence of noradrenaline, histamine, or 5-hydroxytryptamine, as was the block caused by guanethidine and bretylium. The results are discussed in relation to the Burn-Rand theory of sympathetic nerve mechanism.