Use of CO2 to move structures as an aid to percutaneous procedures

By injecting small amounts of CO2 through a needle, one can move bowel or bladder from the intended path of instruments during interventional procedures. The technique worked well in six of seven cases in the pelvis and retroperitoneum; it was not effective in the mediastinum or midabdomen (n = 6).     

Circulating immune complex levels in patients with schistosomiasis and complications

Circulating immune complexes (CIC), adult schistosome antibody, and total immunoglobulin concentrations were estimated in sera from 35 chronic Schistosoma mansoni patients with different infection intensities and different pathological complications. High CIC levels were present in about one-third (10/35) of the sera. Most of the patients (9/10) with elevated CIC levels also had hepatomegaly or hepatosplenomegaly. This finding is significant in the pathogenesis of schistosomal liver fibrosis and may also apply to other liver diseases, especially cirrhosis. No correlation was found between infection intensity as judged by stool egg counts and CIC levels. A reverse relationship was observed between the level of anti-adult worm IgG and CIC levels. CIC levels were elevated within 7 and 28 days after treatment in most patients. Hypergammaglobulinaemia was detected in most sera.     

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the circulatory support of children after repair of congenital heart disease

We have treated 39 infants and children with congenital heart disease with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during the past 5 years. Thirty-six were treated for low cardiac output or pulmonary vasoreactive crisis after repair of congenital heart defects. Twenty-two (61%) survived. Most patients were cannulated from the neck via the right internal jugular vein and the right common carotid artery. Six patients were cannulated from the chest, including three who had separate drainage of the left side of the heart with a left atrial cannula. Two of these patients survived and were the only survivors of the nine patients cannulated in the operating room because they could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass after open cardiac operations. We also reviewed 312 patients (the predictor study series) having open cardiac operations before the availability of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; 27 of these patients died. Data were collected at 1 and 8 hours postoperatively to determine if any parameters might predict early mortality. With these parameters used as criteria, patients who went on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were as sick as those who died before extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was available. The most common complication was bleeding related to heparinization. The mean transfusion requirement in survivors was 1.50 +/- 1.13 ml/kg/hr, 5.63 +/- 7.0 ml/kg/hr in the nonsurvivors, and 7.46 +/- 8.29 ml/kg/hr in those cannulated in the operating room because they could not be weaned from bypass. Four children had intracranial hemorrhage, and two of them died. There was one late death. Nine of the 22 survivors are entirely normal. All survivors who do not have Down's syndrome are considered to have normal central nervous system function. We conclude that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can improve survival in patients with both pulmonary artery hypertension and low cardiac output after operations for congenital heart disease.     

Neurotoxic envenoming by an immigrant spider (Steatoda nobilis) in southern England.

A young woman was bitten on the shoulder by a female Steatoda nobilis spider, in Worthing on the south coast of England. She noticed intense radiating pain, local sweating (indicating parasympathetic stimulation) and feverishness. This immigrant species from the Canary Islands has established itself along the south coast of England in recent years. Like the related Mediterranean species S. paykulliana, S. nobilis may be of medical importance and deserves further study.     

外科手术中产生的烟气:仅仅是大量的热空气吗?

外科医生和手术室人员经常接触手术设备产生的烟气,病人也会暴露于烟气中,特别是腹腔镜手术中产生的烟气滞留于腹腔内这一密闭空间并被吸收.这些烟气是一种与香烟烟气相似的毒性物质,然而对这种毒性物质的影响还未引起足够重视.应该采取必要措施尽可能减少手术中烟气的不良影响.     

The effect of cimetidine on anesthetic metabolism and toxicity

Because the H2-receptor antagonist cimetidine has been shown to inhibit drug metabolism, the effects of cimetidine on anesthetic metabolism and toxicity were investigated in a rat model. Cimetidine decreased inorganic plasma fluoride production after methoxyflurane administration both in 21% oxygen (P less than 0.001) and in 100% oxygen (P less than 0.001). Phenobarbital produces an increased fluoride formation after methoxyflurane anesthesia, and this fluoride formation is also reduced by cimetidine (P less than 0.005). There was no significant difference between the plasma fluoride levels in rats anesthetized with halothane or enflurane. Although cimetidine inhibited the in vivo defluorination of methoxyflurane, fluoride levels were still within the nephrotoxic range, and cimetidine is not likely to play a role as part of a preanesthetic regimen that would permit the increased clinical use of methoxyflurane. Cimetidine also inhibited the oxidative metabolism of halothane; cimetidine decreased (P less than 0.05) trifluoroacetic acid concentrations after halothane anesthesia in 21% oxygen and in 100% oxygen and decreased (P less than 0.05) bromide concentrations after halothane anesthesia in 100% oxygen. Trifluoroacetic acid levels were less (P less than 0.02) after halothane anesthesia in 14% oxygen as compared with 100% oxygen, indicating a reduction in oxidative metabolism under hypoxic conditions. However, bromide concentrations were maximal after halothane anesthesia in 21% oxygen, and significantly (P less than 0.001) less after halothane anesthesia in 14% and 100% oxygen. Bromide production, therefore, seems to be inhibited by both hypoxia and hyperoxia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Experience in the surgical management of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

The management of 12 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma is reviewed. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy. Local nodal and extracapsular spread was aggressively resected, followed by radiotherapy. No patient died from uncontrolled local disease. Prolonged survival after radical treatment is demonstrated even in the presence of distant metastases.