Evaluation of Respiratory Function During Reeves Stretcher Use

Objective. We were aware of a small number of cases in our EMS system where patients in respiratory distress had a worsening of their condition after being removed from the home on a Reeves® stretcher (RS). We sought to determine if this prehospital lifting device causes additional respiratory effort used in normal subjects by describing changes in heart rate, pulse oximetry, tidal volume, minute ventilation, andrespiratory rate. Methods. Forty-nine subjects were entered into this study. Data were collected while the subject was supine on the floor in the RS andonce while suspended over the floor in the device. A randomized crossover design was used. Ten subjects were excluded because of inadvertent omission of a nose plug during spirometry. Data points were recorded in the final minute of a 3-minute exposure. Three minutes was chosen to simulate a prehospital transport time from the scene to the ambulance. Minute ventilation, tidal volume, heart rate, pulse oximetry, andrespiratory rate were recorded for each subject during each phase. Subjects were also asked to rate the difficulty of breathing using the modified Borg scale. Results. Data were obtained for 39 subjects. The mean respiratory rate while suspended was 9.9 ± 3.0 breaths per minute compared to 9.1 ± 2.5 breaths per minutes supine on the floor (p = 0.007). The mean minute ventilation while suspended in a RS was 8.17 ± 3.25 L/min versus 7.37 ± 2.37 while lying flat (p = 0.03). There was no difference in tidal volume, heart rate, pulse oximetry, or subjective modified Borg scale ratings. Conclusions. Subjects suspended in a RS for 3 minutes had statistically higher respiratory rates andminute ventilation than the same subjects lying flat. Although these modest changes are clinically insignificant in normal subjects, they could present a significant challenge to subjects in respiratory distress.     

Does the two-week rule pathway improve the diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma? A retrospective review of referral patterns and outcomes over five years in a regional sarcoma centre

INTRODUCTION

The NHS Cancer Plan was introduced in 2000 and included guidelines for the rapid assessment and referral of cases of suspected malignancy. We wished to assess the efficiency and appropriateness of patients referred under the Department of Health''s general practitioner referral guidelines implemented for sarcomas in December 2000.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective case-note review was performed of all patients referred to our regional soft tissue sarcoma unit between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2008. Patients referred under the two-week guidelines and all patients referred routinely were analysed. The main outcome measures were the total number of patients referred on the basis of the two-week guidelines and the proportion they constitute of all referrals. The referring criteria were noted and compared to the observed criteria recorded. The final histo-logical diagnosis of patients referred on the basis of the two-week guidelines are documented.

RESULTS

A total of 2746 referrals for suspected sarcoma were made from January 2004 to December 2008. Of these, 154 referrals were made under the two-week rule of which 102 were referred purely on the clinical criteria for suspected soft tissue sarcoma. The remaining patients were referred after non-urgent special investigations indicated the possibility of sarcoma. Twelve patients referred under the two-week rule were proved to have sarcoma, nine after specific investigations including imaging or histological diagnosis. Of the 102 patients referred on clinical suspicion of a sarcoma, two patients had proven soft tissue sarcomas and one patient a cutaneous sarcoma. Between 2004 and 2008, the number of 2-week referrals rose 25-fold but accounted for an increase of less than 1% of the sarcomas treated in this unit.

CONCLUSIONS

The numbers of all referrals for suspected sarcoma are increasing; however, the rate of increase of 2-week referrals is increasing faster than routine referrals and will exceed it in 2012 if current trends continue. There has not been a commensurate rise in the detection of sarcoma or, more specifically, diagnosis of the deep sarcomas associated with worse prognosis. Current clinical guidelines have essentially had no impact on the early diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, and may negatively impact on the treatment of patients with proven sarcoma by delaying treatment within a regional centre because of redirection of a large number of patients with benign abnormalities to such centres.     

Vomiting-Induced Pneumomediastinum and Subcutaneous Emphysema Does Not Always Indicate Boerhaave's Syndrome: Report of Six Cases

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is an uncommon, self-limiting condition resulting from alveolar rupture in young adults. Because of the ambiguous presentation and the general lack of awareness of this condition, its diagnosis is often delayed, missed, or confused with spontaneous esophageal perforation. We report our experience of treating six patients who were referred to our unit with vomiting-induced pneumomediastinum, subcutaneous emphysema, and an initial diagnosis of spontaneous esophageal perforation. Ultimately, we diagnosed spontaneous pneumomediastinum in all six patients, who recovered uneventfully without any surgical intervention. We review the literature with particular emphasis on differentiating spontaneous pneumomediastinum from spontaneous esophageal perforation.     

Hearing preservation in medial vestibular schwannomas

OBJECT: Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) with no or little extension into the internal auditory canal have been addressed as a clinical subentity carrying a poor prognosis regarding hearing preservation, which is attributed to the initially asymptomatic intracisternal growth pattern. The goal in this study was to assess hearing preservation in patients who underwent surgery for medial VSs. METHODS: A consecutive series of 31 cases in 30 patients with medial VSs (mean size 31 mm) who underwent surgery between 1997 and 2005 via a suboccipitolateral route was evaluated with respect to pre- and postoperative cochlear nerve function, extent of tumor removal, and radiological findings. Intraoperative monitoring of brainstem auditory evoked potentials was performed in all patients with hearing. Patients were reevaluated at a mean of 30 months following surgery. RESULTS: Preoperative hearing function revealed American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Classes A and B in 7 patients each, Class C in 4, and D in 9. Four patients presented with deafness. Hearing preservation was achieved in 10 patients (Classes A-C in 2 patients each, and Class D in 4 patients). Tumor removal was complete in all patients with hearing preservation, except for 2 patients with neurofibromatosis. In 4 patients a planned subtotal excision was performed due to the individual's age or underlying disease. In 1 patient a recurrent tumor was completely removed 3 years after the initial procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The cochlear nerve in medial VSs requires special attention due to the atypical intracisternal growth pattern. Even in large tumors, hearing could be preserved in 37% of cases, since the cochlear nerve in medial schwannomas may not exhibit the adherence to the tumor capsule seen in tumors with comparable size involving the internal auditory canal.     

Associations between vascular calcification, arterial stiffness and bone mineral density in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Vascular calcification (VC) and arterial stiffness are major contributors to cardiovascular (CV) disease in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Both are independent predictors of CV mortality and are inversely correlated with bone mineral density (BMD). Few studies have addressed the extent of VC in the pre-dialysis CKD population, with associated measurements of BMD and arterial compliance. METHODS: We report cross-sectional data on 48 patients with CKD (GFR 17-55 ml/min) assessing the prevalence of VC and its associations. All patients had computed tomography (CT) scans through abdominal aorta and superficial femoral arteries (SFAs) to determine VC, pulse wave velocity (PWV) using SphygmoCor device (AtCor PWV Inc., Westmead, Australia) measuring arterial stiffness, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans to determine BMD, as well as serum markers of renal function and mineral metabolism. RESULTS: Patients, 71% male, 54% diabetic, had a median age 64.5 years. Mean estimated GFR was 35.1 +/- 10 ml/min. Mean PWV was 10.0 +/- 4.5 m/s and mean aortic VC score was 421.5 +/- 244 Hounsfield units, with 90% of subjects having some aortic VC present. In univariate linear regression analysis, aortic VC correlated positively with age (r 0.50, P < 0.001), triglycerides (r 0.47, P = 0.002) and PWV (r 0.33, P = 0.03). There was also greater VC with declining renal function (r -0.28, P = 0.05). There was no significant association between VC and serum markers of mineral metabolism, however phosphate and Ca x P correlated positively with PWV (r 0.35, P = 0.02, r 0.36, P = 0.02, respectively). There was also a positive association between PWV and triglycerides (P = 0.008), and a trend towards greater PWV with increasing age (P = 0.09). In multivariate regression analysis only increasing age and triglyceride levels were significantly associated with aortic VC and PWV. Mean spine and femoral T-scores on DEXA were 0.48 and -1.31 respectively, with 13% of subjects having femoral T-score <-2.5 (osteoporotic range). SFA VC inversely correlated with femoral T-scores (r -0.43, P = 0.004); however, there was a positive (likely false) association between spine T-scores and aortic VC (r 0.37, P = 0.01), related to the limitation of vertebral DEXA in CKD. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of VC in pre-dialysis CKD patients, worse with increasing age, triglycerides and reducing renal function. Correlation exists between VC and PWV and determination of one or both may be useful for CKD patient CV risk assessment. Femoral BMD is inversely associated with SFA VC, but measurement of vertebral BMD by DEXA is unreliable in CKD patients with aortic VC.     

Endoprosthetic surface replacement of the head of the humerus

The concept of an endoprosthetic surface replacement of the humeral head differs from that of stemmed endoprostheses. It is the replacement of the destroyed joint surface with reconstruction of the normal anatomy and minimal bone resection. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the short-term results of a newly developed cup arthroplasty (Durom-Cup) for the humeral head. In a prospective study, 39 patients with 46 Durom-Cups were evaluated preoperatively and every 3 months postoperatively. The average follow-up was 15 +/- 9 months. The group included 28 shoulders with rheumatoid arthritis, 15 joints with osteoarthritis, and 3 humeral head necroses. The Constant-score and SAS-function score were used. The Constant-score increased from 20.25 +/- 9.06 points preoperatively to 46.62 +/- 14.05 at 3 months, to 48.11 +/- 14.49 at 6 months, and to 55.25 +/- 11.6 at 9 months postoperatively. The Constant-score stayed at this level during further follow-up and was 55.81 +/- 16.31 at 12 months postoperatively. The best results were seen in the group of humeral head necroses with a Constant-score of 71.0 +/- 12.2 compared to 54.66 +/- 13.89 in the group of osteoarthritis and 56.78 +/- 13.33 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis at 12 months postoperatively. The results with the Durom-Cup are encouraging so that cup arthroplasty seems to be a good alternative to stemmed prostheses. The main advantages of the humeral head resurfacing are the bone-preserving fixation and the relatively simple surgical technique.     

Angiotensin-II and endothelin-1 levels in children with renoprival hypertension

Children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) often remain hypertensive despite bilateral nephrectomy and aggressive fluid removal on hemodialysis. We speculated that an extrarenal source of renin might contribute to the release of ”tissular” angiotensin-II (AT-II) generating hypertension in anephric patients. At the same time, experimental evidence supports that peripheral AT-II vaso- constrictive effect is likely mediated by endothelin-1 (ET-1). Thus, it is conceivable that hypertension in ESRD patients may be due, in part, to a cascade involving vascular production and secretion of AT-II and ET-1. In order to establish the relationship between AT-II, ET-1, and blood pressure we performed a pilot study to measure predialysis systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP, respectively) and serum AT-II and ET-1 levels in 12 anephric children receiving hemodialysis. Predialysis AT-II and ET-1 levels were similar in all patients, and neither value correlated with their mean SBP or DBP. In patients with postdialysis hypertension, there was no correlation between predialysis AT-II and ET-1 plasma levels. We therefore find no evidence to suggest that vascular-mediated AT-II and/or ET-1 contributes significantly to hypertension in anephric patients. Received: 28 February 2000 / Revised: 1 December 2000 / Accepted: 4 January 2001     

The Sigma-trial protocol: a prospective double-blind multi-centre comparison of laparoscopic versus open elective sigmoid resection in patients with symptomatic diverticulitis

Backround  

Diverticulosis is a common disease in the western society with an incidence of 33–66%. 10–25% of these patients will develop diverticulitis. In order to prevent a high-risk acute operation it is advised to perform elective sigmoid resection after two episodes of diverticulitis in the elderly patient or after one episode in the younger (< 50 years) patient. Open sigmoid resection is still the gold standard, but laparoscopic colon resections seem to have certain advantages over open procedures. On the other hand, a double blind investigation has never been performed. The Sigma-trial is designed to evaluate the presumed advantages of laparoscopic over open sigmoid resections in patients with symptomatic diverticulitis.