Iopamidol and meglumine diatrizoate: comparison of effects on patient discomfort during aortofemoral arteriography

Iopamidol was compared with Renografin-60 (meglumine diatrizoate, Squibb) in a controlled, randomized double-blind study of 40 patients undergoing peripheral arteriography for arteriosclerotic occlusive disease to determine which agent caused less discomfort. Each patient was evaluated for objective signs of discomfort and subjective feelings of pain and heat. Monitoring was achieved by multiple physical examinations, chemical tests, electrocardiograms, and intra-arterial pressure recordings. It is concluded that iopamidol is safe and causes significantly less patient discomfort than Renografin-60.     

Solid phase red cell adherence immunoassay for anti-HIV 1: a simple, rapid, and accurate method for donor screening

In technically developed countries in which acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a risk to the recipients of blood or tissue, it is mandatory to screen the donor for evidence of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. Current tests, based on enzyme-linked immunoassay, are time-consuming and expensive and as such are unsuitable for developing countries. We describe a second generation test using anti-human IgG coupled to red cells as the indicator of antibody having reacted with test antigen (1). The test is complete within ten minutes, simple to perform and to read and has 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity compared with Western blot. It is ideal for the rapid screening of organ donors and for the screening of blood donors where cost is a major consideration.     

Ovarian metastases: computed tomographic appearances

Computed tomographic scans of 34 patients with ovarian metastases were reviewed to assess the radiographic appearances and to correlate these with the primary neoplasms. Primary neoplasms were located in the colon (20 patients), breast (six), stomach (five), small bowel (one), bladder (one), and Wilms tumor of the kidney (one). The radiographic appearance of the metastatic lesions could be described as predominantly cystic (14 lesions), mixed (12 lesions), or solid (seven lesions). There was one false-negative examination which showed no ovarian enlargement, although neoplastic deposits were found on the ovary at laparotomy. The cystic and mixed lesions tended to be larger in overall diameter than the solid. The metastases from gastric carcinoma appeared solid in four of five cases. The metastases from the other neoplasms had variable appearances simulating primary ovarian carcinoma.