Preliminary evidence for a role of apolipoprotein E alleles in identifying haemodialysis patients at high vascular risk

Conventional risk factors have very low predictive power in identifying haemodialysis patients at high risk of vascular accidents. A role for apolipoprotein E isotypes was looked for in a small, but rigorously defined, cohort of longterm haemodialysis patients. In individuals with high vascular risk, as identified by higher common carotid intima/media thickness, we found an excess of apolipoprotein E4 alleles. This preliminary result requires confirmation in large patient cohorts.      

PERINEAL PROCTECTOMY FOR RECTAL PROLAPSE IN ELDERLY AND DEBILITATED PATIENTS

This paper details the indications, operative technique and results of perineal proctectomy in the management of complete rectal prolapse in a high risk, elderly and debilitated group of patients. Eighteen procedures were performed by one surgeon (A.L.P.) on 16 consecutive patients over a 5 year period. Data collection was via: (i) retrospective analysis of hospital and office records; and (ii) response to a postal questionnaire by the patient, a relative or attending nursing staff. There were 14 females and two males with a mean age of 81 years. All patients had significant associated medical conditions. The interval from the time of a surgical procedure until review varied from 3 to 37 months with a mean follow-up period of 16 months. Total hospital stay varied between 6 and 20 days with a mean of 7 days. Eleven procedures were performed under general anaesthesia and seven under spinal anaesthesia. There was no postoperative mortality. One patient suffered an anastomotic haemorrhage that required operative intervention and another patient suffered a rectal stricture that necessitated dilatation. Two patients were re-operated for recurrent symptomatic prolapse at 34 and 36 months after the initial procedure. Continence improved in seven patients, worsened in one and was unchanged in the remaining patients. Fifteen of 16 patients were considered to have had a successful result from the operation with satisfactory control of the symptom of rectal prolapse. Perineal proctectomy is a low risk operative procedure for the elderly and debilitated group of patients in controlling complete rectal prolapse. If the condition recurs, the procedure can be repeated with equally low morbidity.     

Hodgkin disease: CT of the thymus

The computed tomography (CT) scans in two groups of patients with Hodgkin disease were reviewed to determine the frequency of thymic enlargement. In 50 CT scans from 50 patients with evidence of thoracic disease on CT scans who were examined for primary staging, the thymus was enlarged in 15 of 50 (30%). Fifty CT scans were obtained from 44 patients at the time of 50 separate episodes of known or suspected relapse. Relapse occurred in the mediastinum in 12 episodes, lung parenchyma in five, and both sites in one. Thymic enlargement thought to be due to involvement by disease was present in seven of 18 (38%). Mediastinal disease was associated with thymic enlargement in all but one patient in whom a thymic cyst developed after radiation therapy. Differentiation of thymic enlargement from enlarged superior mediastinal lymph nodes was easily made in all but two patients. Thymic enlargement in the absence of lymph node enlargement may indicate a different disease, since isolated Hodgkin disease of the thymus is uncommon. Primary thymic tumor should be considered initially, whereas after treatment, rebound hyperplasia of the thymus may be the cause of enlargement.     

Solitary bronchioloalveolar carcinoma: CT criteria

The computed tomographic (CT) scans of 30 patients with solitary bronchioloalveolar carcinoma were reviewed. Common features at CT included the peripheral or subpleural location of a pulmonary mass (25 cases), pseudocavitation (18 cases), heterogeneous attenuation (17 cases), irregular margins forming a star pattern (22 cases), and pleural tags (21 cases). Using these CT criteria, four independent observers attempted to identify cases of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma from a larger sample of lung cancers and benign lesions by categorizing a series of test cases into four probability categories. Although the bronchioloalveolar carcinomas were correctly ranked in the two highest probability categories 75% of the time (in 45 of 60 cases), there was considerable overlap with other lung lesions, particularly with adenocarcinoma and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. However, even though the typical features of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma are not invariable or highly specific, they are characteristic enough to suggest the diagnosis.