Original lithotomy positioning for transperineal extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for distal ureteric calculi with Tripter X1.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) has been initially designed for stones located in the kidney and the upper ureter. Our lithotripter is no exception. Its components (the table and the orientation of the semi-ellipsoid reflector) are adapted for the treatment of kidney or lumbar ureter stones. However, the elements forming the unit of treatment (the table, the C-arm and the Tripter) can be modified in such a way that focalization of stones of the lower ureter becomes possible through a perineal exposure. The aim is to avoid the pelvic bone shield while a good focalization of the stone is realized. From June 1989 to March 1991, 35 patients were treated for distal ureteric stones by ESWL in this original positioning.     

Prostate cancer after heart transplantation: unicenter case-control study.

BACKGROUND: We have noted an unexpectedly high incidence of prostate cancer in our heart transplant recipients (HTR). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of patients after heart transplantation to investigate the prevalence, treatment, and outcome of prostate cancer diagnosed after systematic screening (study group). We compared them with case-matched HTR (control). RESULTS: Among 702 recipients, 15 patients had elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Fourteen cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and treated. The median time between transplantation and prostate cancer diagnosis was 73 months. No patient was diagnosed in a locally advanced (>T2) or metastatic stage. Eleven patients (78.6%) received curative treatment. During follow-up (median, 44 months), 1 patient died from prostate cancer. The survival rate between the study and control groups did not differ. CONCLUSION: Routine PSA testing is recommended as a screening test for prostate cancer in patients after heart transplantation. We believe this could also result in detection of early stages of prostate cancer, thus allowing curative treatment, and achieving similar survival to other case-matched HTR with no prostate cancer.     

Decreased serum levels of nutritional biochemical indices in healthy children with marginally delayed physical growth

Biochemical markers of nutritional status (albumin, transthyretin, insulin-like growth factor-I and zinc) were measured in slowly growing two- to five-year-old, low-income Parisian children whose weight-for-height or height-for-age z scores (WHZ or HAZ) were between — 1 and — 2 SD of the NCHS median. The results were compared to controls who were matched for age, sex, and ethnic origin with WHZ and HAZ between — 1 and + 2 SD. Mean serum levels of transthyretin, albumin and insulin-like growth factor-I and mean plasma zinc concentrations were significantly lower in the growth-impaired children than in the controls ( p = 0.002, p = 0.006, p = 0.015, and p = 0.035, respectively). While the height-retarded children had low mean serum insulin-like growth factor-I values, the weight-retarded subjects had decreased levels of albumin, transthyretin and zinc when compared to controls. Lower mean levels of nutritional markers in healthy, slowly growing children suggest that inadequate dietary intakes of zinc, protein and/or energy may result in marginal delays in weight and height gains.     

A prospective, randomized, cross-over comparison of two methods of artificial insemination by donor on the incidence of conception: intracervical insemination by straw versus cervical cap

In a prospective, randomized study of insemination with donor semen, intracervical insemination by straw was compared with insemination using a cervical cap with an intracervical reservoir. A total of 91 patients completed 486 treatment cycles. There were no significant differences in age, parity, indication for insemination by donor, or method of cycle monitoring between women who became pregnant and those who did not conceive with either insemination method. In 236 standard intracervical insemination cycles, 14 patients became pregnant (5.9% per cycle), whereas 38 patients conceived in 250 cervical cap cycles (15.2% per cycle). Both the crude pregnancy rates and the cumulative pregnancy rates calculated by the Kaplan-Meier life-table method were significantly different (chi(2)-test, P < 0.001, and log-rank test, P < 0.005 respectively). Pregnancy rates in artificial insemination with cryopreserved donor semen may be improved by the use of a cervical cap when compared to cervical insemination by straw. The use of the cervical cap may prolong the exposure of the spermatozoa to the cervical mucus and prevent the backflow of semen into the vagina.      

Platelet-activating factor acether (PAF-acether) involvement in acute inflammatory and pain processes

PAF-acether is a potent aggregating agent released by various cells involved in acute inflammatory process. In this paper, exogenous PAF-acether has been investigated for its ability to generate signs of inflammation (edema measured by plethysmometry) and hyperalgesia (Randall-Sellito test) by standard subplantar injection in the rat paw. From 0.005 g, PAF-acether induced significant edema of the paw, maximal 1 hour after injection; it was dose-dependent from 0.1 to 5 g. Significant dose-dependent hyperalgesia occurred from 1.25 g; it reached a plateau from 2 to 4 hours after injection. Both phenomena were long-lasting (>6 h). PAF-acether was 1.5 to 10 times stronger than PGI₂ and PGE₂ in inducing edema, pain, and in increasing vascular permeability. We investigated the interaction of miscellaneous drugs with the edema and the hyperalgesia caused by 2.5 g of PAF-acether. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) drugs exerted only moderate effects on the edema without affecting hyperalgesia. Edema was highly reduced by various agents: prednisolone,l-cysteine, anti-calcic drugs, theophylline, PGI₂, salbutamol, clonidine. All of them, except clonidine, and in contrast to NSAI drugs, were more potent on PAF-acether edema than on kaolin edema; a possible link between these agents is their ability to increase cyclic AMP levels in the cells and consequently to reduce lysosomal enzyme release. PAF-acether itself, injected intra-peritoneally, inhibited PAF-acether edema without preventing pain, at doses inactive on arterial pressure and hematocrit, but inducing marked gastric mucosal damage. Among the drugs tested, including analgesics, only PGI₂ and imidazole improved PAF-induced hyperalgesia, showing a dissociation between edema and hyperalgesia not only in their induction (doses of PAF required, time course of the phenomena), but in the drugs able to antagonize their development too.     

Infection with an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing strain of Serratia marcescens following tongue reconstruction

We report a case of postsurgical wound infection of polymicrobial etiology caused by Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa following the use of a radial forearm free flap for oncological tongue reconstruction. S. marcescens was a producer of SHV-12 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL). This is the first report from India of this ESBL. S. marcescens and P. aeruginosa were resistant to the empirical perioperative antibiotics administered. Delay in the recognition of the type of infection and in the institution of appropriate therapy resulted in total loss of the free flap.     

A longitudinal and prospective study of Epstein-Barr virus load in AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may be causally associated with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) in HIV-infected patients. OBJECTIVES: To compare EBV load in whole blood in AIDS-NHL patients, HIV non-AIDS patients and non-HIV-infected persons, and to prospectively measure EBV load in whole blood in AIDS-NHL patients. STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal and prospective study. RESULTS: We observed no statistical difference in EBV load between AIDS-NHL (3.69log(10) copies/mL [interquartile range (IQR): 2.89-4.27]) and HIV non-AIDS patients (3.08log(10) copies/mL [IQR: 1.29-3.57]) but AIDS-NHL patients had significantly higher EBV loads than HIV-negative controls (1.19log(10) copies/mL [IQR: 0.00-3.29]). We noticed an inverse correlation between CD4+ lymphocytes count and EBV load in patients with AIDS-NHL (r(2)=0.41, P=0.01). In the longitudinal study, the mean EBV load three months after NHL diagnosis decreased significantly (mean difference=-1.69log(10) copies/mL [95% confidence interval: -0.32; -3.04]; P=0.03) under chemotherapy but was still elevated in patients with relapses or no response to chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Although EBV load seems a suboptimal marker for the diagnosis of AIDS-NHL, we observed a significant decrease of EBV load in patients treated with chemotherapy and a strong association between NHL outcome and EBV load in whole blood.     

Korrelation histologischer und nuklearmedizinischer Befunde der Tumorregression in behandelten bösartigen Lungentumoren

Zusammenfassung Die CT ist nach neoadjuvanter Radio-Chemo-Therapie zur Charakterisierung der Tumorregression nur begrenzt einsetzbar. Daher sollte die Wertigkeit der ¹⁸F-FDG-PET als molekulares, nichtinvasives bildgebendes Verfahren analysiert werden.Bislang 32/100 Patienten mit NSCLC Stadium IIIA/IIIB wurden in einer multizentrischen, randomisierten Therapiestudie (LUCAS-MD) untersucht. Prätherapeutisch erfolgten eine ¹⁸F-FDG-PET und eine Spiral-CT. Der neoadjuvante Therapieblock bestand aus 2–3 Zyklen Paclitaxel und Carboplatin sowie einer simultanen Radio-Chemo-Therapie. Es folgte eine zweite PET direkt vor der Operation mit Bestimmung des Glukosemetabolismus für Primärtumor und Lymphknotenmetastasen sowie eine PET-CT-Bildfusion. Der am OP-Präparat bestimmte Regressionsgrad wurde mit den PET-Befunden und dem Überleben der Patienten korreliert.In Lymphknoten von 10 Patienten mit kompletter Remission in der FDG-PET zeigte sich ein Regressionsgrad/RG III im OP-Präparat (Sensitivität 100%). Zu 94% wiesen die 16/32 Patienten mit kompletter Remission im Primärtumor RG IIb oder III auf, ein Patient RG IIa (falsch-negativ). Die Zweijahresüberlebenswahrscheinlichkeit bei kompletter Remission war nach 24 Monaten signifikant erhöht (76 vs. 20%, p=0,0079). Patienten mit RG III bzw. IIb lebten signikant länger als Patienten mit RG IIa bzw. I (63 vs. 36%, p=0,0123).Der RG korreliert mit der in der FDG-PET bestimmten metabolischen Remission. Die PET eilt metabolisch dem durch die CT bestimmten Tumoransprechen nach neoadjuvanter Behandlung deutlich voraus und ermöglicht wahrscheinlich eine prospektive Aussage über den Langzeittherapieerfolg von Patienten mit NSCLC im Stadium III.