Serious respiratory consequences of detergent ingestions in children

After ingesting or inhaling laundry detergent powder, eight children required hospital admission. The predominant symptoms were stridor, drooling, and respiratory distress. All but one patient underwent endoscopy of the airways and the esophagus, five children were admitted to the intensive care unit, and four children required endotracheal intubation. Laundry detergent ingestions are generally considered to have minor consequences, and there exists a paucity of literature on the subject. Evidence of significant morbidity incurred because of ingestion or inhalation of sodium carbonate-containing laundry detergent powder is presented, together with a review of the existing literature.     

Multiple Cerebral Haematomata and Peripheral Nerve Palsies Associated with a Case of Juvenile Diabetic Ketoacidosis

A 15-year-old girl presented de novo in diabetic ketoacidosis having been comatose for 24 h (day 1). A CT scan and lumbar puncture performed on admission were normal and her conscious level slowly improved over several days. On day 7 she had central neurological signs of bilateral knee clonus and an extensor plantar response. In addition, she had developed lower motor neurological signs of an ulnar nerve palsy of the left forearm, and ulnar, median, and radial nerve palsies of the right forearm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), performed on day 12, showed multiple small cerebral haematomata with appearances at least several days of age. The scattered lesions were localized particularly to the parieto-occipital region, with sparing of the basal ganglia and without cerebral oedema, a novel feature not previously described in juvenile ketoacidosis. Four months later there was minimal residual disability of her right arm. The clinical findings together with the MRI images suggested that the peripheral nerve and central lesions were temporally related, suggesting a common aetiology. However, it is likely that MRI showed cerebral lesions which may have been missed by the conventional CT scanning performed initially.     

REOPERATION FOR RECURRENT CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: RESULTS OF 200 CONSECUTIVE CASES

Background : It is well known that reoperation for recurrent coronary artery disease is more difficult than primary coronary artery bypass grafting. However, it is possible to reduce the morbidity and mortality of reoperation to the same level as the initial procedure with careful surgical technique. Methods : A retrospective study of the first 200 patients who underwent redo coronary bypass grafting was undertaken. Results : In the first 200 cases of redo coronary bypass grafting at St George Hospital, Sydney (August 1986–January 1995), there were five in-hospital deaths (2.5%). There was one case of sternal infection (0.5%), which required surgical debridement, three cases of stroke (1.5%), one case of postoperative bleeding (0.5%), which required a return to theatre and six cases (3%) required mechanical ventilation for more than 24h. The need for major postoperative support (such as intra-aortic balloon pumping/adrenaline infusion) was significantly affected by the degree of urgency and the degree of pre-operative ventricular impairment. Conclusions : The mortality rate of redo coronary artery bypass grafting in this series is similar to that of primary surgery described in other reports.     

Holding Court with the Ghost of Gilman Terrace: Selected Writings of Ralph Milton Waters, M.D.

The importance of the contributions of Ralph Milton Waters tothe specialty of anaesthesia were rightly celebrated in Madison,Wisconsin in June 2002, at a meeting held to commemorate the75th anniversary of Academic Anesthesiology and of his appointmentin 1927 to the University of Wisconsin     

Reoperation for a patient with starr-edwards aortic valve malfunction due to pannus formation twenty-nine years after implantation

We report a re-do case of severe aortic valve stenosis due to pannus formation 29 years after an aortic Starr-Edwards caged-ball valve implantation. A huge shelf of calcified and thick pannus tissue below the valve had reduced the already small orifice by at least a third in surface area. The explanted Starr-Edwards valve revealed no mechanical or structural failure. Early detection and treatment of pannus outgrowth is essential in order to prevent life-threatening prosthetic valve malfunctions.     

Discordant repeat size and phenotype in Kennedy syndrome

Previous reports in the literature have described correlation of increasing repeat length with severity of the phenotype, in Kennedy syndrome. We describe male siblings with different repeat lengths, with lack of expression of the phenotype in the sibling with the longer repeat length. The phenotype was identical to motor neurone disease. There is variability of expression in Kennedy syndrome and repeat length even in siblings cannot be taken as a conclusive indicator of severity. CAG repeat length cannot be used to predict the natural history of Kennedy disease. The diagnosis of Kennedy syndrome should be considered in male patients presenting with atypical motor neurone disease.     

Cyclosporine interactions with miconazole and other azole-antimycotics: a case report and review of the literature.

Several antimicrobial drugs have been shown to pharmacokinetically interact with cyclosporine. On two separate occasions, we observed increases in cyclosporine plasma concentrations during concomitant miconazole therapy in a heart transplant patient with an infection secondary to Pseudallescheria boydii. To our knowledge, no interaction between cyclosporine and miconazole has previously been reported. In addition, drug interactions were observed between cyclosporine and ketoconazole and possibly between cyclosporine and SCH 39304, an investigational azole-antifungal agent. No interaction was noted between cyclosporine and fluconazole. In general, clinicians should anticipate drug interactions between cyclosporine and azole-antimycotic agents.     

Attention deficit disorder, alcoholism, and drug abuse: MMPI correlates.

Earlier research had demonstrated that alcoholics with attention deficit disorder residual type (ADDRT) differ from other alcoholics on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of drug abuse on the relationship of ADDRT and alcoholism as reflected on the MMPI. Groups of 48 male alcoholics, 28 ADDRT alcoholics, 25 ADDRT alcohol and drug abusers and 18 alcohol and drug abusers were all administered the MMPI. Significant differences were found between the alcoholic and ADDRT alcoholic groups on scales Pd, Sc, Si, F, and K. For the ADDRT alcohol and drug abusers versus the alcohol and drug abuser groups, they differed on scales K, Hs, D, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, Si, F, K, and L.