Full-term viable abdominal pregnancy: a case report and review

A full-term abdominal pregnancy culminating in the birth of a live healthy baby by laparotomy is described.     

Feasibility of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in situs inversus

PURPOSE: To address the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in situs inversus and highlight the necessary modifications in the surgical technique. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We present our experience in two patients with situs inversus and symptomatic gallstones who were treated successfully by laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The surgeon stood on the right side with the video monitor above the patient's left shoulder. Two 10-mm ports were placed in the epigastric and subumbilical positions. Two 5-mm ports were placed in the left mid-clavicular and left anterior axillary lines. The two procedures were carried out uneventfully after reorientation of the visual-motor skills of the surgeon and cameraman to the left upper quadrant. A summary of a further similar 13 cases so far treated in the English-language medical literature is also presented. RESULTS: Skeletonizing the structures in Calot's triangle consumed extra time and was more difficult than in patients with a normally sited gallbladder. However, the hospital stay and postoperative complications were similar. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in situs inversus seems to be feasible and safe provided it is performed by an expert laparoscopic surgeon who takes time in clearly demonstrating the extrahepatic mirror image anatomy of the biliary tree with its right-to-left shift.     

PERINATAL CAMPYLOBACTER FETUS SS JEJUNI ENTERITIS

ABSTRACT. Vesikari, T., Huttunen, L. and Mäki, R. (Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Tampere; Department of Paediatrics, Central Hospital of Päijät-Häme, and Department of Microbiology, Tampere Central Hospital, Finland). Perinatal Campylobacter fetus ss jejuni enteritis. Acta Paediatr Scand, 70:261, 1980. –A 2-day-old breast-fed male infant developed mucoid and bloody diarrhoea, and Campylobacter fetus ss jejuni was isolated from the stools but not from the blood. The probable source of transmission was his mother in whom symptoms of Campylobacter jejuni - associated illness began one day earlier. Both showed IgM, IgG and IgA antibody responses to autologous and reciprocal strains of Campylobacter jejuni as studied by ELISA.     

Effect of induced hypotension on serum concentrations of atropine after intramuscular administration

The serum concentrations of atropine after a single intramuscular injection of 0.01 mg/kg were determined by radioimmunoassay in nine general surgical patients during and after a combination anaesthesia and compared with those of 13 neurosurgical patients operated on during induced hypotensive anaesthesia (sodium nitroprusside plus trimetaphan). Surprisingly, comparable serum levels were found in both patient groups. We conclude that this kind of induced hypotension cannot be used as a model of drug absorption in such clinical situations as cardiac failure, haemorrhage or anaphylactic drug reactions.     

Enhanced Predictive Power of Quantitative TWA during Routine Exercise Testing in the Finnish Cardiovascular Study

Introduction: We examined whether quantification of T-wave alternans (TWA) enhances this parameter's capacity to evaluate the risk for total and cardiovascular mortality and sudden cardiac death (SCD).
Methods and Results: The Finnish Cardiovascular Study (FINCAVAS) enrolled consecutive patients (n = 2,119; 1,342 men and 777 women) with a clinically indicated exercise test with bicycle ergometer. TWA (time domain-modified moving average method) was analyzed from precordial leads, and the results were grouped in increments of 10 μV. Hazard ratios (HR) for total and cardiovascular mortality and SCD were estimated for preexercise, routine exercise, and postexercise stages. Cox regression analysis was performed. During follow-up of 47.1 ± 12.9 months (mean ± standard deviation [SD]), 126 patients died: 62 were cardiovascular deaths, and 33 of these deaths were sudden. During preexercise, TWA ≥ 20 μV predicted the risk for total and cardiovascular mortality (maximum HR >4.4 at 60 μV, P < 0.02 for both). During exercise, HRs of total and cardiovascular mortality were significant when TWA measured ≥50 μV, with 90 μV TWA yielding maximum HRs for total and cardiovascular death of 3.1 (P = 0.03) and 6.4 (P = 0.002), respectively. During postexercise, TWA ≥60 μV indicated risk for total and cardiovascular mortality, with maximum HR of 3.4 at 70 μV (P = 0.01) for cardiovascular mortality. SCD was strongly predicted by TWA levels ≥60 μV during exercise, with maximum HR of 4.6 at 60 μV (P = 0.002), but was not predicted during pre- or postexercise.
Conclusion: Quantification of TWA enhances its capacity for determination of the risk for total and cardiovascular mortality and SCD in low-risk populations. Its prognostic power is superior during exercise compared to preexercise or postexercise.     

The Asn-291→Ser and Ser-477→Stop mutations of the lipoprotein lipase gene and their significance for lipid metabolism in patients with hypertriglyceridaemia

We examined 99 Finnish patients whose serum fasting triglycerides (TG) had exceeded 6.0 mmol L^?1, with special interest to their lipid, lipoprotein and post-heparin plasma lipase activities. The control group consisted of 75 healthy individuals. We also determined the frequency of the Asn-291→Ser and Ser-447→Stop mutations both in hypertriglyceridaemic (HTG) subjects and in control subjects. A total of 51 of the original 99 hypertriglyceridaemic patients still had TG > 6.0 mmol L^?1 when measured a second time. They are referred to as persistently hypertriglyceridaemic subjects (pHTG). The remaining 48 subjects had TG < 6.0 mmol L^?1 in the second measurement and are referred to as sporadically hypertriglyceridaemic subjects (sHTG). The allelic frequencies of the Ser-447→Stop mutation in the total HTG and sHTG groups were similar to the frequencies present in the control group, but lower in pHTG patients compared with the control group (0.049 vs. 0.153, χ² = 6.63, P < 0.05). The Asn-291→Ser mutation was more frequent in HTG group than in the control group (0.0606 vs. 0.013, χ² = 4.86, P < 0.05). This difference was due to the higher frequency of the minor allele of Asn-291→Ser in the cohort with persistent hypertriglyceridaemia compared with the control group (0.088 vs. 0.013, χ² = 8.00, P < 0.01 ). The highest frequency (0.114) of the minor allele of Asn-291→Ser was found in type 2 diabetic patients with persistent hypertriglyceridaemia. The carrier status of Asn-291→Ser or Ser-447→Stop did not predict either post-heparin plasma lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities or lipid and lipoprotein levels in any of the groups studied. Our data suggest that overproduction of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) is a more important cause of hypertriglyceridaemia in the Finns than is the LPL deficiency.     

Skin microbiome sampling in the preterm neonate

Despite advances in our understanding of the human microbiome, there exist significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of the skin microbiome of the preterm neonate. Herein, we describe skin microbiome sampling of six preterm neonates at multiple timepoints, and compare the skin microbiome samples to environmental (crib/isolette swabs) and negative controls. Samples of the same type (skin, crib, control) were more similar than when compared by week or by patient.