Puerperal presentation of a living abdominal pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal and heterotopic pregnancies appear to be increasing in incidence. CASE: We report a case of puerperal presentation of a living heterotopic pregnancy in an African woman. The patient presented 6 days postpartum with fever and abdominal pain. The correct diagnosis of heterotopic pregnancy was not considered, and for 9 days she was treated for presumed puerperal sepsis. It was only upon abdominal x-ray that the diagnosis was made. The patient underwent laparotomy with delivery of a living male neonate weighing 2000 g. He subsequently died of respiratory failure on day 3 of life. CONCLUSION: Although still rare, the increasing incidence of abdominal pregnancies in both developed and developing countries mandates awareness of this diagnosis, particularly in pregnant or postpartum women presenting with abdominal pain.

Misonidazole enhancement of radiation-induced growth delay in rat rhabdomyosarcoma tumours exposed to accelerated carbon and neon ions.

The response of a rat rhabdomyosarcoma tumour was assessed by measurements of radiation-induced growth delay resulting from administration of the hypoxic cell sensitizer misonidazole in combination with single and fractionated doses of X-rays and charged-particle radiation. Enhancement ratios of 1.8--2.1 were obtained following single doses of misonidazole (500 mg/kg i.p.) and 225 kV X-rays. Single doses of misonidazole with either carbon-ion or neon-ion radiation in the 4 cm extended-peak ionization region led to enhancement ratios of 1.2--1.3. When combined misonidazole (300 mg/kg i.p.) and X-ray treatments were given in four daily fractions, the enhancement ratios decreased to 1.2--1.5. However, a four-fraction schedule using either carbon-ion or neon-ion radiation in combination with misonidazole gave enhancement ratios of 1.1--1.3, which are similar to the values obtained for single-dose schedules with the sensitizer and charged-particle radiation.