Clodronate in the palliative therapy of bone-metastasized prostatic carcinoma]

Activity and side-effects of clodronate (Ostac), an inhibitor of osteoclastic bone resorption, were recorded in an open prospective uncontrolled study on 35 patients with metastatic prostatic cancer. All patients had progressive symptomatic bone metastases despite prior hormone therapy. Clodronate was initially administered i.v. for 8 days with 300 mg/day. This was followed by a daily oral administration of 1600 mg. The analgesic effect was evaluated by using a visual analogue scale and by recording the daily consumption of analgesic drugs. Karnofsky index and routine blood examinations, including PSA, were assessed. Repeated bone scans and radiological evaluations were performed. An improvement in pain was observed in 71% of the patients. The mean duration of improvement was 4 weeks. Average survival time was 12 weeks. There were no side-effects after i.v. administration. Slight gastrointestinal discomfort was observed in 3 patients after oral administration. No effect was observed on the extent or biology of the metastases. Clodronate is an effective drug for palliative treatment of symptomatic bone metastases of prostatic carcinoma. It causes fewer and less pronounced side effects than other palliative drug therapies.     

Hodgkin's disease of the prostate: a detailed case report

Malignant lymphoma of the prostate is an unusual entity, and nonHodgkin's lymphoma constitutes most reported cases. We report a well documented case of Hodgkin's lymphoma, initially involving the gastrointestinal tract and spleen, which recurred in the prostate following initial remission with chemotherapy. Treatment with external beam radiotherapy resulted in a rapid complete response that has been sustained for 18 months.     

Appendizitissonographie durch chirurgen — Erfahrungssache? Eine prospektive studie

A number of studies have shown that ultrasound has an advantage over physical examination in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Most of these studies were conducted by experts in the field of ultrasonography. In this study the influence of experience on the results of the sonography of actue appendicitis were evaluated. All 203 patients admitted to our unit between December 1990 and December 1992 were examined physically and sonographically by a team of surgeons consisting of one experienced sonographer and six inexperienced surgical trainees. Laparotomy was performed in 136 patients (46%). Appendicitis was demonstrated histologically in 119 cases (39.4%). Initial clinical findings were positive in 87 (28.8%). Sonography was positive in 119 patients (39.4%). The 163 patients not operated on demonstrated other pathology on ultrasound in 60 cases (19.9%). The rate of negative laparotomies amounted to 7.2% in our study. Sensitivity and specificity for the sonographic diagnosis were 92% and 95%, respectively. They were only 81% and 80% for physical examination. Overall accuracy was 92% for sonography. Sensitivity and specificity for the inexperienced surgeons were 87% and 93%, respectively, while the experienced surgeon reached values of 97% and 98%, respectively. The results of both groups are comparable with values in the literature, suggesting that ultrasound evaluation of appendicitis is not a diagnostic tool limited to a few experienced sonographers.     

AC/A ratios in myopic and emmetropic Hong Kong children and the effect of timolol§

Purpose: Caucasian children with myopia have elevated response accommodative vergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios. The purpose of this study was twofold: to determine if response AC/A ratios vary with refractive error and with myopic progression rate in Hong Kong Chinese children, and to determine the effect of beta‐adrenergic antagonism with topical timolol application on AC/A ratios. Methods: Thirty children aged eight to 12 years participated in the study. All refractive errors were corrected with spectacle lenses. Accommodative responses were measured using a Shin‐Nippon autorefractor and concurrent changes in vergence were assessed using a vertical prism and a Howell‐Dwyer card at three metres and 0.33 metre. Accommodative demand was altered using plus or minus two dioptre lenses and lens‐ and distance‐induced response AC/A ratios were calculated. Measurements were repeated 30 minutes after the instillation of topical timolol maleate (0.5 per cent). Results: AC/A ratios appeared higher in progressing myopic children but the difference was not statistically significant. Timolol application reduced accommodative convergence (AC) in the stable myopes (reduction = ‐3 ± 1.14^A) but not in the emmetropes (0.69 ± 0.9^P) or progressing myopes (0.16 ± 0.43^A) and this difference between refractive groups was statistically s ignificant (F^2,27= 3.766; P= 0.036). However, timolol did not produce a significant change in the accommodative response to positive or negative lenses or response AC/A ratios. Conclusions: We did not find that AC/A ratios in myopic Chinese children were elevated and therefore, it is unlikely that elevated AC/A ratios are responsible for the high levels of myopia that occur in Hong Kong. The finding that timolol reduced AC in the stable myopes suggests that the autonomic control of accommodative convergence in these children may be different from that in emmetropic children and those with progressing myopia.