Nodular sarcoidosis of the liver and spleen: Appearance on MR images

Small nodular lesions in the liver and spleen have been reported as an infrequent manifestation of sarcoidosis. Five patients with this appearance on either dynamic contrast material—enhanced computed tomographic (CT) or ultrasound scans underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with and without dynamic gadolinium enhancement. The lesions were relatively uniform in size, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 cm. On CT scans, they were hypoattenuating relative to surrounding parenchyma. On MR images, the lesions were hypointense relative to background parenchyma with all sequences. No substantial enhancement was observed in the lesions, although lesion conspicuity decreased over time on serial postcontrast images. Lesion conspicuity was greatest on either T2-weighted fat-suppressed (T2FS) images or early-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced images. Abdominal adenopathy was seen in three of the five patients and was hyperintense relative to liver on T2FS images in two and intermediate in intensity in one patient.     

Prediction of outcome from intensive care after gastroenterologic emergency

Prognostic factors determining the outcome from intensive care were studied in 952 patients admitted to 25 Finnish ICUs after gastroenterologic emergency. Logistic regression analysis was used to create predictive models based on the APACHE II–system. The models were constructed by using data from a random two–thirds of the study population and validated in the remaining independent one–third together with the original APACHE II–index. The Acute Physiology Score, age, and a pre–existing liver disease were the three most important determinants of outcome. The inclusion of the TISS score describing the intensity of treatment into a model did not enhance the accuracy of the prediction. Our models were better calibrated than the original APACHE II–equation when tested by the goodness–of–fit –statistics. These statistical models may help the clinicians to predict the outcome for an individual patient by providing them information about the relative impacts of predictive factors or about the probability of death. These probabilities should be interpreted cautiously, taking into acount the limitations of statistical methods. This is especially important when assessing the highrisk patients. Their number in our study was too low for accurate outcome prediction.     

Perioperative respiratory events in smokers and nonsmokers undergoing general anaesthesia

Background: The prevalence of respiratory diseases in smokers and nonsmokers and the incidence of perioperative respiratory events (PREs) were investigated for patients undergoing general anaesthesia. The aim was to quantify well-known problems and to identify possible new associations between smoking and PREs.
Methods: From July 1992 to December 1994, risk factors, demographic data, and PREs were documented by an automatically readable anaesthetic record (ARAR). PREs were used as defined by the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care.
Results: Of 26 961 subsequent anaesthesias in adults, 7122 (26.4%) were performed in smokers with a prevalence of chronic bronchitis of 23.3% (4.8% in nonsmokers). 1573 PREs occurred in 1397 (5.2%) of all anaesthetics. 459 events concerned intubation problems and problems in technical airway management. 1114 specific respiratory events (SPREs) like re-intubation, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, aspiration, hy-poventilation/hypoxaemia and others had a total incidence of 5.5% in smokers and 3.1% in nonsmokers. The relative risk (RR) of SPREs was 1.8 in all smokers, 2.3 in young (16–39 years) smokers, and 6.3 in obese young smokers. The RR of perioperative bronchospasm was 25.7 in young smokers with chronic bronchitis.
Conclusion: The impact of smoking on perioperative respiratory problems should make anaesthetists take this widespread preoperative condition seriously, particularly in young adults. The presented method of incident reporting (based on a national classification) could contribute to future research in anaesthetic epidemiology.     

膀胱憩室的手术治疗

作者总结３１例膀胱憩室的手术治疗结果，并介绍一种处理巨大膀胱憩室的简易手术。多数憩室继发于膀胱流出道梗阻。憩室内并发肿瘤７例，结石形成９例。膀胱憩室多由膀胱造影或Ｂ超诊断。憩室切除常采用膀胱内外联合入路。本组２６例手术同时处理膀胱出口梗阻和膀胱憩室。获得随访的２３例中，２１例尿路症状消失。７例憩室肿瘤患者中，５例在两年半内死亡，余２例分别存活２年和６年。本组２例巨大膀胱憩室行经膀胱内憩室旷置术，无并发症，膀胱造影无异常。作者认为，膀胱憩室的治疗应依据每个患者的情况而选用不同的手术方式。对位于膀胱后下方，粘连广泛的巨大憩室，宜采用经膀胱内入路憩室旷置术。     

各种肝病的肝纤维化标志改变的探讨

目的 :探讨各种肝病患者血清肝纤维化标志的改变 ,甘草酸二胺注射液对肝脏炎症、纤维化指标的作用。方法 :用放免法检测透明质酸 (HA)、层粘蛋白 (LN)、Ⅲ型前胶原多肽 (PCⅢ )。结果 :急性肝炎的三种肝纤指标均升高 (P <0 0 5 )。急黄肝高于急无黄肝 (P <0 0 5 )。慢性肝炎 1 1 2例 ,三项肝纤指标显著高于正常对照 (P <0 0 5 )。慢肝重度显著高于慢肝轻度 (P<0 0 0 1 )。肝硬化的三项肝纤指标又显著高于慢肝 (P <0 0 0 1 ) ,其它肝病的肝纤指标也升高。 2 5例慢肝用甘草酸二胺注射液治疗 2月 ,ALT、AST、GGT显著降低 (P <0 0 1 )。三项肝纤指标中HA降低较显著 (P =0 0 5 ) ,LN和PCⅢ虽有降低 ,但差异不明显 (P =0 4 5 9,P =0 1 92 )。结论 :各种肝病的三项肝纤维化指标均升高 ,以慢肝重度 ,肝硬化升高明显。甘草酸二胺注射液治疗有抗炎及改善肝纤维化的作用     

An assessment of immunoreactive epidermal growth factor in urine of patients with urological diseases

To examine the excretion of urinary epidermal growth factor (EGF) in urological diseases and the relationship of EGF urine levels with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), we measured the concentration of EGF by radioimmunoassay. The series comprised patients with active TCC (n=50), others in tumor-free status (n=29) and with non-neoplastic inflammatory diseases (n=43), and normal controls (n=50). Urinary EGF values were lower in patients with urological diseases of different etiologies than in normal controls (P<0.005). Mean EGF levels of patients who had previous bladder tumor resection (n=21) were not statistically different from normal controls (P=0.2). For patients with active TCC, EGF urine levels showed a significant inverse relationship to increasing tumor grade (P=0.02). In addition, subjects who had received nephrectomy for pelvic carcinoma (n=8) showed significantly lower mean EGF values than those with intact kidneys (n=21), irrespective of sex (P<0.05). Immunostaining of EGF on non-neoplastic kidney (n=9) revealed reactivity in the distal convoluted tubules and thick ascending limbs of Henle. Our results suggest that the kidney is the major source of urinary EGF. Its excretion in urine is decreased in both inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the urinary tract. EGF may play an important part in the biological activity of TCC. Further study is indicated to investigate the monitoring of EGF urine levels as a marker of recurrence for EGF receptor-positive TCC.     

Large striatocapsular infarcts: Clinical features and risk factors

We defined large striatocapsular infarcts as subcortical softenings of more than 20 mm in diameter involving the territories of the lateral and medial groups of lenticulostriate arteries. The aim of this study of 56 patients was to compare the clinical features and risk factors of these infarcts with those of cortical and lacunar infarcts. On the whole, our data suggest that both the clinical features and risk factors of large striatocapsular infarcts are similar to those of cortical infarcts, but significantly different from those of lacunar infarcts. The clinical manifestations of large striatocapsular infarcts with a maximum diameter of less than 50 mm may sometimes resemble those of lacunar infarcts because neuropsychological disorders are less frequent; however, our study indicates that, even in these cases, cardioembolic sources and artery-to-arteiy embolism are significantly more frequent in large striatocapsular than in lacunar infarcts, thus suggesting a different pathogenesis.     

湘西自治州1995～2002年男性劳教人员法定性病监测报告

目的 了解湘西自治州重点人群性病患消长趋势，为性病防治工作提供科学依据。方法 从1995年起，采用统一的表格，每年对湘西州劳教所新入教人员进行一次法定性病监测。结果 三种法定性病平均患病率为14．64％(4．96～26．7％)，以1995年最低，1997年最高，8年未发现HIV／AIDS，患病率以20～39岁的性跃期人群为最高，汉族患病率高于其它民族；化程度越高，患病率越低。结论 男性劳教人员作为性病患病的高危人群，是哨点监测理想的目标人群。