Excessive fibrinolysis detected with thromboelastography in a case of amniotic fluid embolism: fibrinolysis may precede coagulopathy

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a catastrophic condition in the peripartum period and still remains as a leading cause of maternal death. Although over 80%...     

Spontaneous Uterine Venous Rupture During Labour: A Case Report With Postoperative Ultrasonographic Findings

EDITORIAL COMMENT: We accepted this case for publication to remind readers that although uterine rupture during labour in a primigravida is extremely uncommon it does occur, or at any rate nulliparas can develop abdominal pain and shock in labour with a haemoperitoneum resulting from a tear in a vein in the lower posterior uterine wall. When one sees the hugely dilated uterine and ovarian venous plexuses at Caesarean section it is easy to believe that bleeding from such a vessel during labour could be prodigious. This case suggests that a dilated vein with blood flow derangements may be the cause. Nonetheless, as the authors warn us, the necessary response is not a precise diagnosis, but rapid laparotomy. See also Editorial Comment to Chin MMS, Harvey JA, Duffy BL. Uterine rupture during labour in a primigravida. Aust NZ J Obstet Gynaecol 1996; 36: 210.     

Antibodies to HTLV-1 in saliva of seropositive individuals from Japan

Secretory antibodies protect mucosal surfaces against transmission of many viruses. Human T-lymphotropic Virus, Type I (HTLV-I) is transmitted via blood products and via sexual contact across mucosal surfaces. We investigated the presence of HTLV-I-specific antibodies in whole saliva samples from 10 seronegative and 28 seropositive volunteers from a hospital in southern Japan. Antibodies directed to HTLV-I antigens were found in the salivas from 22 of 28 (79%) of the seropositive subjects. None of the seronegative individuals showed evidence of salivary antibodies. Antibodies directed to the envelope antigens of the virus were found in 21 of 22 positive saliva samples. Secretory antibodies may be important in preventing mucosal transmission.     

Resected cases of middle lobe primary cancer

Of 200 lung cancer lesions resected in our hospital, there were 15 cases (7.5%) with middle lobe origin. The histological types were adenocarcinoma in 13 patients (4 patients with alveolar cell carcinoma), squamous cell carcinoma in one and large cell carcinoma in one. These patients were classified into two groups according to the type of operation they received and each group was evaluated. Group I (resection of the middle lobe) included 8 patients. Each one of Stage IIIB and Stage IV received the operation to improve their symptoms. The six patients of Stage I received only middle lobectomy as absolute curable cases. Group II (resection of the middle and lower lobes) included 7 patients, who had preoperative diagnosis of stage III. Two of them were postoperatively found to be cases of Stage I and Stage II. Although it was still short-term, the follow-up evaluation proved that these patients survived without local recurrence and distant metastasis, except for two with pleural dissemination and one with cerebral metastasis, who had received lobectomy as palliative operation. No difference was observed between the two groups receiving different types of operation.     

Percutaneous removal of renal and upper ureteral stones: clinical results and complications of 103 cases

We report the results and complications of 103 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous removal of renal and ureteral stones. The overall clinical success rate was 80.6%. For the recent 33 cases in which UL-arm fluoroscopy was used, however, the success rate was as high as 87.9%, which was considered to be due to easier establishment of percutaneous direct access. The most common complications were bleeding (18.5%), extravasation (15.5%) and fever (9.7%). Four cases with significant bleeding required arteriography, but there were no sign of arteriovenous fistula nor pseudoaneurysms in any cases. To study renal parenchymal damage in the percutaneous procedures, plasma renin activities (PRA) were compared in 54 cases after six months. However, significant elevation of PRA did not occur in any case.     

Endourologic management of filling defect in renal pelvis: limited value of cold cup biopsy

A fifty-six-year-old woman underwent transurethral ureterorenoscopy and cold cup biopsy for evaluation of a filling defect of the left renal pelvis. The pathology indicated a benign lesion, and percutaneous resection was done with the nephroresectoscope. However, the pathologic diagnosis of the resected tissue showed it to be transitional cell carcinoma, grade I. Consequently we performed a nephroureterectomy with excision of a cuff of bladder and the nephrostomy tract. Residual tumor was found in deep layer of the renal pelvis. The implication from this case in defining the indications for endourologic management of tumors is considered.     

Microheterogeneity of regional myocardial blood flows in low-perfused rat hearts evaluated by double-tracer digital radiography.

Using (3)H- and (125)I-labeled desmethylimipramine (DMI) for regional flow tracers, we established a two-time measurement method for the spatial pattern of myocardial perfusion in cross-circulated rat hearts. Myocardial extractions and retentions of these tracers were confirmed to be satisfactory; however, the latter were less than 90% after 3 min at a perfusion rate of 2.9 ml/min/g, limiting the present application to a short-time perfusion measurement. Distributions of myocardial depositions were separated by subtraction digital radiography with 400-microm pixel resolution. Its feasibility was examined by regression analysis between local deposition densities of (3)H- and (125)I-DMI injected simultaneously. The slope, y-intercept, and correlation coefficient (r) of the regression line were 0.98+/-0.04, 0.02+/-0.04, and 0.95+/-0.03, respectively, indicating the validity of the present image subtraction technique. The spatial pattern of myocardial perfusion in response to flow reduction was evaluated by the injections of (3)H- and (125)I-DMI, respectively, before and after a nearly 70% flow reduction. A significant correlation between normalized density distributions of these tracers was found in both subepicardium (r=0.77+/-0.12) and subendocardium (r=0.73+/-0.20), indicating the stable pattern of myocardial perfusion. However, the coefficient of variation of tracer densities showed a decrease of subendocardial flow heterogeneity from 35+/-15% to 31+/-16%. Thus, flow differences between originally high- and low-flow regions in subendocardium were reduced on a relative basis during low perfusion.     

ENDOSCOPIC PANCREATIC STENTING IN CHRONIC PANCREATITIS WITH DUCTAL DILATION PROXIMAL TO A STRICTURE: A SAFE and EFFECTIVE PROTOCOL

After removal of intraductal stones, a 10‐Fr or 7‐Fr pancreatic stent was placed in 16 patients with upstream ductal dilation proximal to a stricture of the main pancreatic duct. Stents were removed after a mean duration of 52.5 days. Nine patients underwent repeated stenting. About one year after removal of the initial stent, when the remaining upstream ductal dilation was found on follow‐up pancreatograms, the next stent was replaced. Repeated stenting improved outflow of pancreatic juice more effectively than one‐time stenting. Correlation between long‐term pain relief without recurrence of intraductal stones and reduction of duct diameter was also shown. Stent occlusion was observed in 14 of 30 stents. Stent occlusion was frequently associated with recurrence of pancreatitis and intraductal stones, and was also associated with morphologic changes in the pancreatic ductal system. Although there were no significant differences between stent patency of the initial stents and that of the next stents, stent patency of 10‐Fr stents was superior to that of 7‐Fr stents. 10‐Fr stents should be removed within 8 weeks and 7‐Fr stents should be removed within 4 weeks for the prevention of stent occlusion. Repeated stenting with short‐term stenting is therefore considered a safe and effective protocol of endoscopic pancreatic stenting.