Successful Treatment of Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome with Prednisone and Epsilon-Aminocaproic Acid

The Kasabach-Merritt syndrome is characterized by thrombocytopenia and localized coagulopathy associated with a hemangioma. Most techniques applied to eradicate the tumor or accelerate its involution (surgery, radiation therapy, embolization) are invasive and require transfusion of large amounts of blood products. In some cases, medical treatment is the only alternative. Efficacy of steroids and antifibronolytic agents has already been described, but even this approach is associated with the administration of blood products. We report two cases of infants with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome associated with cardiac and hepatic hemangiomas. At admission, both had signs of cardiac failure. They were successfully treated with prednisone and epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA). Blood products were not required once the diagnosis was made. These observations have important implications for the management of patients with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome because they show that even in severe cases blood transfusions can be avoided by the use of prednisone and EACA.     

Pneumothorax and other lung diseases: effect of altered resolution and edge enhancement on diagnosis with digitized radiographs

Prior studies have shown that pneumothorax is one of the more difficult entities to diagnose with digitized radiography. This study was designed to test whether increasing resolution from 1.25 to 2.5 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) and image processing (edge enhancement from unsharp masking) would increase accuracy and confidence in the diagnosis of pneumothorax, as well as normal cases and other forms of lung disease. Conventional radiographs were digitized with use of a laser reader and then reformatted as film hard copy. Eleven observers read 35 cases reformatted in three different ways (1.25 lp/mm, 2.5 lp/mm, 1.25 lp/mm unsharp mask). The images with finer resolution (2.5 lp/mm) and unsharp mask images were superior to those with coarser resolution (1.25 lp/mm) for the diagnosis of pneumothorax. There was no difference in diagnostic accuracy for normal patients. For abnormalities other than pneumothorax, the unsharp mask images were significantly worse. Confidence in the diagnosis of pneumothorax and other abnormalities was highest with the finest resolution (2.5 lp/mm).     

导数光谱系数倍率法测定多组分体系感冒清胶囊中盐酸吗啉胍的含量

This paper provides a basic principle and experimental technique of derivative signal multiplier spectrophotometry in multicomponent mixture. A microcomputer was used to process the spectral data measured on a manual spectrophotometer (UV-7520) for the determination of moroxydine hydrochloride in Gan Mao Qing capsules. Quantitative analysis of multicomponent mixture can be done without sample separation. The selection of optimal wavelength pairs is performed through the program with a computer. The method needs no special spectrophotometer and is simple, rapid and easy to operate. The mean recovery was 99.98 +/- 0.53% (n = 12).     

Application of reflectance spectroscopy to the estimation of uric acid, urea and glucose: an evaluation of the Ames Seralyzer

An original approach to the measurement of analytes in clinical chemistry has now become available, in which dry reagent strip technology is linked to measurement by reflectance spectroscopy. The present studies have evaluated the performance of the first of these test systems—for uric acid, urea and glucose, in serum—by comparison with conventional liquid chemistry methods. Satisfactory performance in terms of both precision and accuracy was obtained for all three test systems, the current “state-of-the-art” performance criteria being met; the Seralyzer system proved reliable and easy to use in the hands of trained operators. It should find a place as a “Stat” analyser in the laboratory, in specified wards and in Health Centres.     

A formalism for independent checking of Gamma Knife dose calculations

For stereotactic radiosurgery using the Leksell Gamma Knife system, it is important to perform a pre-treatment verification of the maximum dose calculated with the Leksell GammaPlan (DLGP) stereotactic radiosurgery system. This verification can be incorporated as part of a routine quality assurance (QA) procedure to minimize the chance of a hazardous overdose. To implement this procedure, a formalism has been developed to calculate the dose DCAL(X,Y,Z,dav,t) using the following parameters: average target depth (dav), coordinates (X,Y,Z) of the maximum dose location or any other dose point(s) to be verified, 3-dimensional (3-dim) beam profiles or off-centerratios (OCR) of the four helmets, helmet size i, output factor Oi, plug factor Pi, each shot j coordinates (x,y,z)i,j, and shot treatment time (ti,j). The average depth of the target dav was obtained either from MRI/CT images or ruler measurements of the Gamma Knife Bubble Head Frame. DCAL and DLGP were then compared to evaluate the accuracy of this independent calculation. The proposed calculation for an independent check of DLGP has been demonstrated to be accurate and reliable, and thus serves as a QA tool for Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery.