Use of triple-lumen subclavian catheters for administration of total parenteral nutrition.

This study evaluated the safety of triple vs single-lumen catheters in intravenous nutrition. Patients who were judged likely to benefit from a triple-lumen catheter were randomized to receive either a single-lumen catheter, with additional peripheral or central venous access as needed, or a triple-lumen catheter. All patients were at increased risk of catheter-related infection because of one or more of the following conditions: > 60 years of age, breakdown of skin integrity, severe underlying illness, diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, recent head or neck surgery, or presence of a preexisting infection. Patients were excluded who had neutropenia, were immunosuppressed, had body burns > 40%, or had contaminated wounds in the subclavicular area. Of 204 patients entered between June 1989 and November 1991, 177 completed the required > or = 7 days of therapy. Seventy-eight of these patients were randomized to a single-lumen catheter and 99 to a triple-lumen catheter. Catheters were inserted and maintained by the Nutrition Support Team. Dressings were monitored daily and changed weekly using a bio-occlusive dressing. When parameters were met for a possible septic episode, simultaneous peripheral and central catheter blood cultures were obtained using the Isolator method. Catheter-related sepsis was considered present if the colony count from a central catheter lumen was > or = 5 times that of the peripheral blood. The incidence of catheter-related sepsis for single-lumen catheters was 2.6% (2 of 78) compared with 13.1% for triple-lumen catheters (13 of 99) (p < .01). No correlation was found with the number of insertion attempts, catheter days, or patient's age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aseptic meningitis as a complication of scinticysternography utilizing 111Indium-dtpa.

The intrathecal administration of numerous substances has been known to cause arachnoiditic as well as aseptic meningitic reactions. Pleocytosis and increased protein in the CSF are well known findings following administration of air or myelographic dyes. This has also been observed with antibiotics. Even intrathecal steroids (e.g. depo-medrol) have been implicated in aseptic meningitic reactions. Despite the wide variety of causative agents, only a small percentage of patients develop clinical manifestations of aseptic meningitis. Are these reactions then caused by specific auto-immune type responses, or are they directly related to local irritants in each case, or a combination of both factors?

Human chorionic gonadotrophins (hCG) in non-trophoblastic neoplasms. Assessment of abnormalities of hCG and CEA in bronchogenic and digestive neoplasms.

Evaluation of plasma hCG measurement in the diagnosis of nontrophoblastic neoplasms and assessment of the value of concomitant measurement of plasma hCG and CEA in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and neoplasms of the digestive tract were undertaken. Only one of 70 normal control subjects had positive plasma hCG (3.5 ng/ml), whereas 54 of 320 patients with nontrophoblastic neoplasms had measurable plasma hCG (1.9 to 160 ng/ml). Forty of these patients had less than 5.1 ng/ml. Elevated plasma CEA levels of 3.6 to 140 ng/ml were found in 38 of the 70 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and 30 of the 72 patients with neoplasms of the digestive tract in this series. Concomitant positive hCG was found in only six of the 68 patients who had elevated CEA levels, and positive hCG was found in eight of 74 patients who had normal plasma CEA. The low frequency and the modest elevation of plasma hCG, despite frequent advanced disease, indicate plasma hCG has limited value as a biologic marker for diagnosis and assessment of non-trophoblastic neoplasms.