Surgical management of major pancreatic injury in children.

INTRODUCTION: Major or complicated pancreatic trauma in children is uncommon and management strategies remain controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate our experience with both early and delayed surgery in these pediatric cases. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of data of pediatric patients with major or complicated pancreatic injury operated on between January 1994 and December 2005 in our pediatric trauma center. RESULTS: Thirteen children (9 boys and 4 girls) with a mean age of 8.5 years (range 3 - 16 years) were operated for major or complicated pancreatic injury. The extent of injury was: grade II (major contusion without duct injury or tissue loss) in 4 children; grade III (distal transection) in 5 children and grade IV injury (proximal transection) in four patients. Pseudocyst developed in 8 children: 4 with grade II injury, 2 with grade III injury and 2 with grade IV injury (one with abdominal pseudocyst and one with an abdominal and a mediastinal pseudocyst). Early diagnosis and operation was achieved in 5 cases, while delayed diagnosis and operation occurred in 8. Three children underwent cystogastrostomy; 6 had a spleen-sparing distal pancreatectomy and 4 had resection with Roux-en-Y jejunostomy drainage. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) was the most useful diagnostic tool in assessing ductal injury. There were no deaths or long-term morbidity in our group of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the view that early operation is important in ductal pancreatic injury. We recommend transferring children with a suspected ductal injury to a tertiary center with experience in both pediatric ERCP and pancreatic surgery.     

Common bile duct pressure in patients with common bile duct stones with or without acute suppurative cholangitis

Resting common bile duct pressure was measured in three groups of patients: group 1, 53 patients with gallstones but without common duct stones; group 2, 35 patients with common bile duct stones unaccompanied by cholangitis; and group 3, 36 patients with common duct stones and acute suppurative cholangitis. A significantly higher pressure in the common bile duct was documented in patients with cholangitis when compared with the other two groups. Twenty-four patients with cholangitis had common duct pressure values above 20 cm H2O, the maximal values of normal. Additionally, patients with cholangitis with pressure values over 30 cm H2O (nine patients) showed absence of green bile in the extrahepatic biliary tract, suggesting cessation of bile excretion into biliary duct. In all these cases, an impacted stone at the distal end of the common bile duct was documented.     

Periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges: etiology, clinical aspects, seizures, and evolution in 130 patients.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical aspects in 130 patients presenting periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) in their EEG and to compare these results with those found in the literature. Etiology, neurologic deficit, seizure occurrence, and evolution were studied in each patient by historical review. The recordings were obtained on 8- or 16-channel EEGs with electrode placement according to the International 10-20 System. Recordings containing PLEDs were selected. PLEDs were defined as repetitive periodic, focal, or hemispheric epileptiform discharges (spikes, spike and waves, polyspikes, sharp waves) usually recurring every 1 to 2 seconds. The statistical study was carried out via the chi(2) test using the computer program SPSS. The main etiology found in this group of patients was stroke (61 of 130 patients). Other processes found were brain infections, tumors, hematomas, and several other entities grouped together as miscellaneous (anoxic encephalopathy, subarachnoid hemorrhage, craniocerebral trauma, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and aminophylline intoxication). Half of these patients (65 of 130) developed seizures, mostly partial motor seizures. No significant relation between etiology and seizures was found (chi(2) = 2.81, P = 0.4222). Seizures recurred in 14 of 130 patients during a follow-up of 14.5 months. PLEDs were not recorded in any EEG at the time of seizure recurrence. PLEDs constitute a distinctive but uncommon EEG phenomenon of repetitive, periodic, and stereotyped lateralized complexes. In agreement with the literature, PLEDs were associated with an acute process and occurred early during the course of the illness in all patients studied and were usually associated with structural lesions, with stroke being the main etiology. Traditionally, seizures occur with PLEDs but it is also accepted that they can exist in patients who never develop epileptic activity, either clinically or electrically, as demonstrated in 50% of the patients studied. No significant association between seizures and any etiology could be found. It was not demonstrated that the occurrence of seizures may influence the outcome in any way.     

Antiepileptic drugs in schizophrenia: a review.

The first choice group of psychotropic agents in schizophrenia is neuroleptics. However, this treatment is not effective in all patients and with every symptom. We summarize papers published on the role of antiepileptic drugs in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. We have searched the computer database system MEDLINE for relevant articles including reviews, reports of drug studies and case histories. Antiepileptic drugs can change symptoms of schizophrenia by their action on GABA-ergic neurotransmission or via anti-glutamatergic mechanisms. High doses of adjunctive benzodiazepines reduce positive symptoms, anxiety, and agitation. Carbamazepine is effective in affective symptoms of schizophrenia and influences violent behavior in psychotic patients. Its anti-kindling action may represent a promising treatment strategy for some patients with chronic course of schizophrenia. Valproate treatment leads to a decrease in positive symptoms as well as hostility. Lamotrigine is expected to influence the positive, negative, affective, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. New antiepileptics (e.g., gabapentin, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, vigabatrin) present a promise as potential adjuncts to neuroleptic treatment in resistant symptoms of schizophrenia.     

Subcostal incision versus midline laparotomy in gallstone surgery: a prospective and randomized trial

We report the results of a prospective and randomized trial designed to study the incidence of abdominal and pulmonary complications in gallstone surgery comparing subcostal (SI) with midline incision. The need for postoperative analgesia was lower in the SI group. There was no difference in the degree of hypoxaemia in the first two postoperative days, but there was less impairment of pulmonary function in terms of vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (P less than 0.0001) in the SI group. SI patients also had a lower incidence of pulmonary or abdominal complications but the difference was not significant. Finally, we found a reduced hospital stay for the SI patients (P less than 0.01), probably related to a reduced postoperative analgesic requirement and an improved pulmonary function. We conclude that subcostal incision is a better approach for biliary tract surgery and should be used whenever possible.     

Cytogenetic studies in polycythemia vera

A group of 54 patients with the original diagnosis of polycythemia vera were subjected to cytogenetic examination. Six (17.6%) of the 34 cases examined in the period of the advanced phase of the polycythemia vera had a chromosomal change. Thirteen (65%) of the 20 patients undergoing the cytogenetic examination in the period when the polycythemia vera turned into another myeloproliferative disease showed chromosomal aberration. This suggests a relationship between the number of chromosomal changes and the transformation of the disease. No connection between the cytogenetic changes and myelosuppressive cures could be confirmed in our material. The chromosomal change 20q- considered to be the most frequent kind in the polycythemia vera was not discovered until in patients with the polycythemia vera transformed into a different myeloproliferative disease.     

Autolyzed antigen-extracted allogeneic bone for bridging segmented diaphyseal bone defects in rabbits

The autolyzed antigen-extracted allogeneic (AAA) bone implant was placed into a 17-mm long diaphyseal periosteum-free defect in the radius in 27 rabbits. The animals were observed physically and roentgenologically every week. The continuity of the radius was evaluated macroscopically and histologically. Maximum length of the follow-up period was 114 days. The AAA implants were progressively resorbed and replaced by the recipient's bone growing from fragments of radius, restoring the continuity of diaphysis. Osteoinductive activity of the implant was transferred across a tube of a polyamide vascular prosthesis. There were no appreciable histologic signs or immune of foreign-body reaction.