Appendiceal diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis has long been known to affect the right colon, and in recent years, our understanding has evolved in regard to the underlying cause. Appendiceal diverticulitis has yet to gain widespread recognition despite the fact that it was first described in 1893. Commonly dismissed by surgeons and pathologists as a variant of true appendicitis, appendiceal diverticulitis is a discrete clinical process that must be considered in the appropriate setting. We describe a case of appendiceal diverticulitis in a previously healthy 59-year-old man and review the literature.

Determination of carprofen in blood by gas chromatography chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

A gas chromatographic chemical ionization mass spectrometric assay has been developed to measure carprofen in blood. The method features the addition of either a structural or stable isotope analog internal standard to plasma prior to a simple benzene extraction at pH 4.5. The residue, after removal of the benzene, is methylated with ethereal diazomethane. Following evaporation of the methylating solvents, a portion of the reconstituted residue is analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The mass spectrometer is set to monitor in the gas chromatographic effluent the [MH]+ ions of carprofen methyl ester and the methyl ester of the internal standard generated by isobutane chemical ionization. Assay sensitivity is 5 pmol ml-1. When 200 pmol ml-1 samples are analyzed using a stable isotope analog as the internal standard, the precision and accuracy are both 4%. Using a structural analog as the internal standard, the assay was neither as precise nor as accurate.