Assessment of fetal behavior and general movements by four-dimensional sonography

The aim of this paper was to review the clinical applications of four-dimensional ultrasonography in the assessment of fetal behavior. With the use of a computerized database, articles on three-dimensional ultrasonography were reviewed. Several applications of dynamic three-dimensional ultrasonography have been reported, including imaging of fetal movements, facial expression and fetal hand movements. The importance of the assessment of fetal behavior by four-dimensional sonography is stressed. Four-dimensional sonography seems to be a useful imaging tool for clinical problem solving in perinatology, especially in observing the development of the central nervous system in utero.     

Vitiligo in children and adolescents: association with thyroid dysfunction

Background The clinical characteristics of vitiligo in children and adolescents with an emphasis on thyroid dysfunction have only been reported in a few studies. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of children and adolescents with vitiligo and compare the incidence of thyroid dysfunction between them and controls without vitiligo at the same age. Methods A retrospective analysis of 324 Korean children and adolescents with vitiligo was performed. The results of thyroid function screening tests in them (n = 254) were compared with controls (n = 122). Results Of the total 324 children and adolescents with vitiligo, vitiligo vulgaris was the most common type (42.3%) and the most commonly involved site was the face (54.6%). A total of 15 of 254 (5.9%) patients screened for thyroid function were diagnosed with thyroid disease (four had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis; two, Graves’ disease; seven, subclinical hypothyroidism; and two, subclinical hyperthyroidism). None of the 50 patients with segmental vitiligo showed any thyroid dysfunction (P = 0.047). There was no significant difference in the incidence of thyroid disease between children and adolescents with vitiligo and the control group, in which seven of 122 (5.7%) showed thyroid dysfunction. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated the characteristics of children and adolescents with vitiligo and also observed no significant difference in the incidence of thyroid disease between children and adolescents with vitiligo and the control group.     

Clindamycin treatment of experimental chronic osteomyelitis due to Staphylococcus aureus

Clindamycin was used alone for treatment of experimental osteomyelitis due to Staphylococcus aureus in rabbits. Treatment with 30 mg/kg of body weight three times a day for 14 days was ineffective in sterilizing infected rabbit bones. In contrast, when given for 28 days, clindamycin sterilized the infected bones of 16 (84%) of 19 rabbits treated. Only one of 14 isolates of S. aureus from rabbits treated for two weeks developed resistance to clindamycin (minimal inhibitory concentration, greater than 100 micrograms/ml); none of three isolates from rabbits in which treatment failed in the four-week treatment group showed resistance to clindamycin. The results of four weeks of treatment with clindamycin for chronic experimental staphylococcal osteomyelitis were significantly better than those obtained with any other single agent used in prior studies and were generally as good as those with combination therapy that included rifampin.