Intracoronary thrombolysis: Organizational prerequisites,technique, and results

Reestablishing myocardial perfusion during evolving myocardial infarction may limit the ultimate extent of infarction if viable myocardial tissue is present when recanalization of the occluded vessel is achieved. This will result in improved left ventricular function and decreased mortality. In addition to their therapeutic benefits, recanalization procedures have contributed greatly to our knowledge of acute myocardial infarction. It has been demonstrated that myocardial infarction most often occurs after thrombotic occlusion of a coronary artery. This has settled a controversy that has preoccupied cardiologists for decades. Selective intracoronary administration of fibrinolytic agents is followed by recanalization in approximately 80% of cases. Therapeutic failures are attributable to occlusion caused by other factors, to inactivation of streptokinase by high antibody concentrations, and to insufficient concentrations of streptokinase at the thrombus as a results of unfavorable flow conditions. This study is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Med. Horst Schmutzler on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Pulp and periodontal healing of laterally luxated permanent teeth: results after 4 years

Abstract – Aim: To evaluate the pulp and periodontal healing of laterally luxated permanent teeth. Material and methods: Patients presenting with lateral luxation of permanent teeth during 2001–2002 were enrolled in this clinical study. Laterally luxated teeth were repositioned and splinted with a TTS/composite resin splint for 4 weeks. Immediate (prophylactic) root‐canal treatment was performed in severely luxated teeth with radiographically closed apices. All patients received tetracycline for 10 days. Re‐examinations were performed after 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 48 months. Results: All 47 laterally luxated permanent teeth that could be followed over the entire study period survived. In 10 teeth (21.3%), a prophylactic root‐canal treatment was performed within 2 weeks following injury. The remaining 37 teeth showed the following characteristics at the 4‐year re‐examination: 19 teeth (51.4%) had pulp survival (no clinical or radiographic signs or symptoms), nine teeth (24.3%) presented with pulp canal calcification, and pulp necrosis was seen in another nine teeth (24.3%), within the first year after trauma. None of the teeth with a radiographically open apex at the time of lateral luxation showed complications. External root resorption was only seen in one tooth. Conclusions: Laterally luxated permanent teeth with incomplete root formation have a good prognosis, with all teeth surviving in this study. The most frequent complication was pulp necrosis that was only seen in teeth with closed apices.     

Use of a Parathyroid Hormone Peptide (PTH1−34)‐enriched Fibrin Hydrogel for the Treatment of a Subchondral Cystic Lesion in the Proximal Interphalangeal Joint of a Warmblood Filly

To describe the treatment of a subchondral bone cyst in the proximal phalanx with parathyroid hormone peptide‐enriched fibrin hydrogel in a warmblood filly. The cyst was localized with computer‐assisted orthopaedic surgery, then curetted and finally filled with parathyroid hormone fragment peptide 1–34 (PTH₁₋₃₄) covalently attached to a fibrin hydrogel. The cyst healed quickly without any complications. This result supports the hypothesis that PTH₁₋₃₄ delivered locally in a fibrin hydrogel may improve the postoperative prognosis of surgical management of subchondral bone cysts in horses. Subchondral bone cysts are fairly common in horses. Especially in older horses, the prognosis is poor, even after surgical curettage. Therefore, different management protocols have been investigated in conjunction with surgical curettage to improve prognosis. Locally delivered PTH₁₋₃₄ seems to be a new method in the treatment of subchondral bone cysts.     

September 11th related stress and trauma in New Yorkers

Exposure to trauma and stress has been linked with poor health, while forgiveness appears to be positively associated with health outcomes. The current study investigates whether traits such as forgiveness and ruminative tendencies predict levels of trauma and stress experienced by New York City residents on the 1‐year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack. Seventy‐one students and staff members (57 females, 14 males) of a graduate school in New York City were administered the Impact of Events Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and questionnaires designed for the purpose of this study to measure ruminative tendencies and forgiveness on September 11, 2002. Rumination predicted levels of trauma (p < 0.05) and perceived stress (p < 0.01). Lower levels of forgiveness predicted perceived stress (p < 0.05), but not trauma. Rumination mediated the relationship between forgiveness and perceived stress. These findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of rumination have an elevated risk of experiencing trauma and stress‐related symptoms following a traumatic event. Forgiveness is associated with lower levels of stress, but not trauma, perhaps because trauma is an extreme form of stress. Forgiveness appears to serve as a buffer against stress more so in individuals with low levels of rumination than in individuals with high levels of rumination. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship of scoring systems and mortality in the surgical intensive care unit

To determine the relationship between severity of illness and mortality, therapeutic intervention score (TISS) and acute physiology score (APS) were determined on admission to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). Patients were divided into survivors and nonsurvivors and differences were compared by chi-square analysis. The 1524 patients admitted to the SICU during a 12-month period had a mean TISS of 3.03 and a mean APS of 13. The average length of stay (LOS) was 3.75 days. Of the 1524 patients, 97 (6.4%) died. The number of nonsurvivors increased with higher TISS and APS scores (P less than 0.001). There were no deaths in the TISS Category 1 patients or in the APS 0-5 group. Mortality rates dramatically increased with APS greater than 20 (P less than 0.001). There were 1286 patients with APS less than 20, and 24 (2%) of these patients died, whereas 73 (31%) of 238 patients with APS greater than 20 died. Nonsurvivors had a mean TISS of 3.6, mean APS of 27, and LOS of 4.88 days, all of which totals were higher than the survivors' totals. In this study population, risk of death was one in three if the APS was greater than 20. These data indicate that TISS and APS scores are effective means of assessing mortality risk in SICU patients.     

Response rates,duration of response,and dose response effects in phase I studies of antineoplastics

Summary Over a period of 14 years, 7,960 patients were treated in 228 phase I trials. In these patients, there were 75 complete and 432 partial responses for an overall objective response rate of 6%. Complete responses lasted a median of six months (range 1–18), while partial responses lasted a median of three months (range 1–17). Of note is that no drug has made it to the market which has not had a response in phase I trials. Responses were noted in very diverse histologic types of tumors. Although there were responses at doses which were as low as 3–5% of the recommended dose for phase II trials, the majority of responses did occur at 80–120% of the dose recommended for phase II trials. Although the response rate in phase I trials is indeed low, responses do occur. This response rate information should help the clinician provide facts for the patient considering a phase I trial with new anticancer agents. These findings also emphasize that although phase I trials are characteristically dose-finding studies, if no responses are noted in phase I studies, it is unlikely the drug will be used routinely in the clinic.