Hearing recovery from deafness caused by bromate intoxication.

OBJECTIVES: Sodium bromate is a strong oxidant, and bromate intoxication can cause irreversible severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. This paper reports the first case in the English literature of bromate-induced hearing loss with hearing recovery measured by formal audiological assessment.Case reportA 72-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with complaints of profound hearing loss, nausea, diarrhoea and anuria after bromate ingestion in a suicide attempt. On admission, pure tone audiometry and auditory brainstem responses showed profound bilateral deafness. Under the diagnosis of bromate-induced acute renal failure and sensorineural hearing loss, continuous haemodiafiltration was performed. When dialysis was discontinued, pure tone audiometry and auditory brainstem responses showed partial threshold recovery from profound deafness. CONCLUSION: Severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss is a common symptom of bromate intoxication. Bromate-induced hearing loss may be partially treated, and early application of continuous haemodiafiltration might be useful as a treatment for this intractable condition.

Technique and assessment of sentinel lymph node biopsy usefulness in laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Recently, some studies have suggested that sentinel node biopsy also can be applied to gastric cancer. The authors apply sentinel lymph node biopsy in laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy to perform it as safe limited surgery. Limited surgery is a procedure in which the extent of lesion resection and lymph node dissection is reduced. The authors demonstrate that intraoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis is useful in this respect. METHODS: The study was conducted with 38 patients (29 men and 9 women) who had a preoperative diagnosis of T1 tumor invasion. The patients had a mean age of 66.2 years. Patent blue (1%) was injected submucosally into four or five different sites around the primary tumor at 1 ml per site. Blue-stained lymphatics and lymph nodes could be seen by turning over the greater omentum and the lesser omentum extraperitoneally. If blue nodes were found, biopsy was performed. RESULTS: The mean number of blue nodes dissected was 2.5 +/- 1.9. Intraoperative identification and biopsy of blue nodes could be performed for 35 (92.1%) of the 38 patients. Of the 35 patients in whom blue nodes were identified, 4 (9.7%) had metastases in blue nodes confirmed by intraoperative frozen-section diagnosis. Intraoperative frozen-section diagnosis was negative for blue node metastasis in 31 patients. Postoperative permanent section diagnosis also showed no evidence of lymph node metastasis in these 31 patients (100% accuracy, 0% false-negative rates). CONCLUSION: The reported method allows observation of blue-stained lymphatics up to 2 h after patent blue injection. Sentinel node biopsy was performed in laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy, making it technically equivalent to open gastrectomy. Sentinel node biopsy can serve as a method to determine the appropriate use of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy for management of T1 gastric cancer.

[Completion pneumonectomy for pulmonary aspergillosis with hyper immunoglobulin-E syndrome].

A 22-year-old man was admitted to the department of pediatrics of our institute in February 2005, because of pulmonary aspergillosis. He had been diagnosed as hyper immunoglobulin-E syndrome in infancy, and repeated pulmonary infectious desease, such as pulmonary aspergillosis. He received art of right upper lobectomy by pulmonary aspergillosis at the age of 17. In February 2005, he had hemosputum and the chest X-ray showed a giant cavity with niveau in the right lung. In spite of medical treatment by antibiotics and antimycotics, the lesion rapidly increased in size. Therefore, right completion pneumonectomy and omentopexy around the bronchial stump was done. His postoperative course was uneventful.

Cost-effectiveness of mandibular two-implant overdentures and conventional dentures in the edentulous elderly.

Implementation of new therapies is usually governed by financial considerations, so efficacy studies should also include cost comparisons. The cost and effectiveness of mandibular conventional dentures (CD, n = 30) and two-implant overdentures (IOD, n = 30) were compared in elderly subjects. Effectiveness (Oral Health Impact Profile, OHIP-20) and cost were measured up to one year post-treatment. Data for subsequent years were estimated by the Delphi method. Using an average life expectancy of 17.9 years, the equalized annual costs (in Canadian dollars) were dollar 399 for CD and dollar 625 for IOD (p < 0.001), and the equalized annual values for the outcome (OHIP-20) were 47.0 for CD and 31.3 for IOD treatment (p < 0.05). These values translate into a yearly additional cost for IOD treatment of dollar 14.41 per OHIP-20 point. These results are key to the implementation of programs to provide this form of therapy for edentulous adults.

Ratio of motor nerve conduction velocity to F-wave conduction velocity in diabetic neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the usefulness of a new parameter, the ratio of motor nerve conduction velocity to F-wave conduction velocity (M/F ratio), for the differential diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Nerve conduction studies were conducted in 95 patients with diabetic neuropathy, 44 nondiabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy, and 24 normal control subjects. Nondiabetic patients with neuropathy were grouped by clinical diagnosis as follows: segmental demyelination (n = 15), axonal neuropathy (n = 11), alcoholic polyneuropathy (n = 4), and other polyneuropathy (n = 14). Motor nerve conduction velocity (MCV) of post-tibial nerves, sensory nerve conduction velocity (SCV) of sural nerves, and F-wave conduction velocity (FWCV) of post-tibial nerves were measured by standardized techniques. The M/F ratio was calculated from these measurements. RESULTS: The MCV and SCV of diabetic patients were significantly slower and the M/F ratio was significantly lower than those of normal subjects: MCV, 43.7 +/- 5.4 vs. 47.1 +/- 2.9 m/s, P < 0.001; SCV, 44.7 +/- 11.1 vs. 48.3 +/- 5.7 m/s, P < 0.05; M/F ratio, 0.84 +/- 0.09 vs. 0.90 +/- 0.06, P < 0.001. The FWCV of nondiabetic patients with neuropathy was significantly slower (40.0 +/- 6.3 vs. 48.3 +/- 4.0 m/s, P < 0.001) and the M/F ratio was significantly higher (1.04 +/- 0.12, P < 0.001) than that of normal subjects, respectively. Although MCV, SCV, and FWCV were correlated with age in normal control subjects, the M/F ratio was independent of age in the diabetic as well as the nondiabetic patients with neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the M/F ratio, which is influenced by the neuronal damages in the distal segment of peripheral nerves, is useful in the differential diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.

Wistar fatty rat is obese and spontaneously hypertensive.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether genetically obese Wistar fatty rats have higher blood pressure than their lean littermates and if so to elucidate the mechanism of this obesity-related hypertension. We measured blood glucose and plasma insulin levels, blood pressure, and catecholamine and sodium excretions in age-matched female Wistar fatty and lean rats. After 12 weeks of age, the body weight of Wistar fatty rats was significantly greater than that of their lean counterparts. Fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations were higher in the fatty than the lean rats throughout the observation period (8 to 24 weeks of age). Systolic blood pressure of fatty rats measured by the tail-cuff method was similar to that of lean rats at 8 weeks of age (135 +/- 2 [mean +/- SEM] versus 134 +/- 3 mm Hg) but significantly higher at 16 (158 +/- 2 versus 136 +/- 3 mm Hg, P < .01) and 24 (166 +/- 5 versus 142 +/- 2 mm Hg, P < .01) weeks of age. Urinary norepinephrine excretion was significantly increased in the fatty rats at both 16 (1755 +/- 173 versus 977 +/- 128 ng/24 h, P < .05) and 24 (1907 +/- 283 versus 737 +/- 173 ng/24 h, P < .01) weeks of age. The ratio of urinary norepinephrine excretion to body weight was also significantly increased in the fatty rats. These results show that with increasing body weight Wistar fatty rats develop hypertension, which may be attributable to an increased sympathetic nerve activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A new method for magnetoencephalography: a three-dimensional magnetometer-spatial filter system.

A novel three-dimensional magnetometer-spatial filter system was developed to study human brain activity with high spatiotemporal resolution. The system combines the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography with the high spatial resolution achieved by using three-dimensional magnetometers and spatial filters to measure the direction and intensity of magnetic fields generated during brain activity. Simulation and phantom studies indicate that the system is capable of mapping current sources of magnetic fields with a spatial resolution comparable to that of any other brain functional imaging technique while maintaining millisecond temporal resolution. Application of this system to the human brain resolved magnetoencephalographic responses evoked by motion stimuli on a millisecond scale into responses occurring in visual cortical areas V1, V2/3 and V5. It also revealed signals related to contextual modulation in V1 and V2/3. This system provides a new way of studying the dynamics of human brain function.

Comparison of ventricular function after Senning and Jatene procedures for complete transposition of the great arteries.

Postoperative right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) volume characteristics in patients with complete transposition of the great arteries were studied to compare ventricular function after Senning and Jatene procedures and to analyze RV dimensional change during systole in patients after the Senning procedures. RV end-diastolic volume (EDV) was 181 +/- 74% of normal (mean +/- standard deviation) and RV ejection fraction (EF) was 0.48 +/- 0.09 in 15 patients who underwent the Senning procedure. In 9 patients who underwent the Jatene procedure, LVEDV was 152 +/- 27% of normal and LVEF was 0.61 +/- 0.09. One patient with aortic regurgitation, 1 with aortic regurgitation and residual ventricular septal defect, and 1 with aortic regurgitation and generalized LV wall hypokinesia of unknown cause had large LVEDVs. Pulmonary ventricular EDV and EF were within normal ranges except in the patients with persistent pulmonary hypertension, who had large EDVs and low EFs regardless of the anatomic type of ventricle, either the left or right. The study of RV dimensional change in the Senning group showed a reduced systolic shortening of the anteroposterior diameter compared with the preoperative transposition of the great arteries and normal. This reduced shortening may be related to postoperative adhesion of the RV free wall to the anterior chest wall and fixation of the atrium secondary to the intraatrial repair. In conclusion, systemic ventricular function after intraatrial repair for complete transposition of the great arteries is depressed by unavoidable residua and sequelae: persistent RV hypertension, anatomy of the right ventricle and, possibly, postoperative adhesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High incidence of synchronous cancer of the oral cavity and the upper gastrointestinal tract.

A high incidence of synchronous esophageal or gastric carcinoma in preoperative patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity was reported. Esophageal carcinoma was found in seven out of 56 patients (12.5%) and gastric cancer in five patients (8.9%) by videoendoscopy aided with lugol staining in the esophagus and indigocarmine solution in the stomach, although all patients were completely asymptomatic for these lesions. All patients were male, regular drinkers and heavy smokers. The depth of invasion of such tumors was limited to either mucosa or submucosa. Those esophageal and gastric lesions beside the primary oral cancers were positive for p53 protein by immunohistochemistry. Careful preoperative evaluation of not only the esophagus but also the stomach should be a routine procedure in patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Ruptured aneurysm of aortic sinus of Valsalva into right atrium. Associated atrioventricular block presumable caused by aneurysmal compression of His bundle.

We have seen a case of rupture of an aneurysm of the noncoronary sinus into the right atrium. Surgery revealed an aneurysmal mass the size of the tip of an index finger extending through the inter-atrial septum down to just above the tricuspid valvular ostium. An electrocardiogram showed first-degree atrioventricular block, while the His bundle electrogram demonstrated the presence of disturbances in the intra-atrial as well as His bundle conduction. The disturbance in His bundle conduction was interpreted as being due to compression of the His bundle by the aneurysm.

Anomalous origin of left coronary artery from pulmonary artery.

An anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery in a 26-year-old man was corrected by the ligation of the artery at its anomalous origin, followed by the construction of an aortocoronary bypass with a venous graft. The flow of blood to the myocardium was measured for the purpose of comparing the effect of the bypass method with that of the ligation method. The result suggested that the bypass method provided a greater flow of blood to the myocardium than did ligation alone.

Real-time measurement of tricuspid valve annular area for annuloplasty. Experimental study.

We used real-time measurement of the tricuspid valve annular area in anesthetized dogs to study the optimal size of the annular area for annuloplasty. During control conditions, the maximum tricuspid annular area appeared at the onset of ventricular systole. The minimum tricuspid annular area appeared between the ventricular isovolumic relaxation phase and the early ventricular filling phase. The maximum annular area varied in seven dogs between 2.18 and 3.10 cm2, and the minimum annular area ranged between 1.68 and 2.45 cm2. In regular sinus rhythm (heart rates 97 to 120 beats/min), the maximal decreases in tricuspid annular area during one cardiac cycle ranged from 14.3% to 23.6% of the maximum size. When the tricuspid annular area after the annuloplasty was kept larger than the minimum area that was observed during the cardiac cycle in the control study, cardiac output and right atrial pressure remained unchanged, as a result of unobstructed ventricular filling. On the other hand, when the annular area was reduced to smaller than the minimum area seen in the control study, a decrease in cardiac output and an elevation of right atrial pressure ensued. These findings suggest that the tricuspid annular area can be safely decreased by annuloplasty to the minimum area seen in the control study without causing a reduction of cardiac output or an elevation of right atrial pressure.

A new method for the quantitative standardization of cross-sectional areas of the pulmonary arteries in congenital heart diseases with decreased pulmonary blood flow.

A new angiographic method for quantitative standardization of cross-sectional area of bilateral pulmonary arteries, the PA-index, and retrospective analysis of the PA-index in different types of operative procedures are presented. This study included 40 subjects in the normal control group, 46 patients in the tetralogy group, 26 patients in the Rastelli group, and 15 patients in the Fontan group. The normal value of the PA-index was 330 +/- 30 mm2/BSA and was consistent in a wide range of body surface areas from infancy to adolescence. The PA-index in the tetralogy and Rastelli groups ranged from 100 to 400 mm2/BSA. There were no early deaths in the tetralogy group, but the incidence of low cardiac output was higher in patients with a smaller PA-index, especially when the PA-index was less than 150 mm2/BSA. Low cardiac output was more severe in the Rastelli group. The operative mortality was significantly affected by the PA-index. In the Rastelli group, all of the patients with a PA-index of less than 200 mm2/BSA died, whereas the mortality rate in patients with a PA-index of more than 200 was only 6% (p less than 0.01). The mortality rate was not influenced by any other factors, such as aortic cross-clamp time or age at operation. In the Fontan group, two patients with a PA-index of less than 250 mm2/BSA died of severe heart failure, and 12 of 13 patients with a PA-index of more than 250 survived (p less than 0.01). Our results indicated the validity of the PA-index in predicting the postoperative prognosis of the various entities. In tetralogy, all patients with a PA-index over 100 mm2/BSA can undergo correction safely; in Rastelli operation, those with a PA-index under 200 should have a palliative procedure first, whereas those with a PA-index over 250 can be considered good candidates for the Fontan procedure. The PA-index may also serve a useful guide in comparing surgical results from different institutions with patients having anomalies of varying severity.

Common atrium associated with anomalous high insertion of the inferior vena cava.

The case is reported of a 38-year-old housewife with a common atrium associated with anomalous high insertion of the inferior vena cava, absence of the coronary sinus, and drainage of a left hepatic vein into the left side of common atrium. Surgical repair was performed successfully. The procedure was closure of a nearly total atrial septal defect with a Dacron patch. Embroyologically, the development failure of the sinu-atrial fold appears to be the basic causal factor.

Modified Fontan procedure in ninety-nine cases of atrioventricular valve regurgitation.

Between January 1985 and August 1995, among 242 patients who underwent a modified Fontan procedure, 99 had atrioventricular valve regurgitation ranging in degree from 1 to 4, for which concomitant repair of the atrioventricular valve regurgitation was done in the majority of cases. In all but 4 cases the atrioventricular valve was repaired mainly by circular annuloplasty and valve replacement was not done in any case. Although the hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in cases with atrioventricular valve regurgitation (12/99, 12%) than in cases without (4/143, 3%; p < 0.0037, chi 2 test), actuarial survival in atrioventricular valve regurgitation was 84% for years 5 through 10. The degree of atrioventricular valve regurgitation before operation was 1.6 +/- 0.7 on average: in 49 cases with higher than grade 2 regurgitation before operation there was a significant decrease to 0.4 +/- 0.49 (p < 0.0001) after operation in short-term survivors. Patients with atrioventricular valve regurgitation can be treated with reasonable risk, provided proper repair of the valve is done. Circular annuloplasty is a simple and uniformly effective method to control regurgitation even in cases of common atrioventricular valve.

Failure of intra-aortic balloon pumping to reduce experimental myocardial infarct size in swine.

Although intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) is reported to reduce myocardial infarct size in dogs, this phenomenon may be due to pre-existing collaterals in this species. Pigs more closely approximate human coronary anatomy, having poor inherent collateralization. This study evaluates hemodynamic changes and quantitates myocardial infarct size 24 hours after coronary occlusion in swine, with and without IABP. Eighteen pigs underwent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery distal to the first diagonal branch: Nine were treated with IABP beginning 45 minutes after coronary occlusion and nine served as control subjects. Three in each group died prior to completion of the study. In both groups myocardial infarction resulted in a significant (p less than 0.05) decrease of cardiac output (28.5%) and mean aortic pressure (p less than 0.05) improvement of mean aortic pressure (4 to 7%) during the switch on period. After 24 hours, mean aortic pressure in IABP-treated animals (105 +/- 20 mm Hg) was significantly (p less than 0.01) higher than in control pigs (73 +/- 12 mm Hg). Myocardial infarct size as detected by staining with nitroblue tetrazolium was 22.7 +/- 4.9 gm infarct/100 gm left ventricular and septal mass in control pigs and 19.4 +/- 5.9 gm infarct/100 gm left ventricular and septal mass in treated animals (p less than 0.3). In conclusion, IABP, despite significantly improving circulatory parameters, does not significantly reduce the size of an acute myocardial infarction after coronary ligation in swine.

Effect of coronary artery reperfusion on infarct size in swine.

Several authors have reported a low mortality and salvage of ischemic myocardium in patients undergoing coronary revascularization after recent myocardial infarction. In this study, 20 surviving pigs with a coronary circulation similar to that of man were divided into two groups of 10 animals each. In the first group, the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was ligated just beyond the first diagonal branch. Five animals were put to death at 24 hours and the remaining five animals, at 7 days. In the other group of 10 animals, the LAD was occluded just beyond the first diagonal branch and reperfused 3 hours after occlusion. Five of these animals were put to death at 24 hours and the remaining five animals, at 7 days. The left atrial pressure (LAP), heart rate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and cardiac output were continuously monitored. Myocardial infarct size was determined planimetrically after the myocardium was sliced and stained with nitroblue tetrazolium. In five animals subjected to ligation for 24 hours, myocardial infarct size was 20.3 +/- 0.53 standard error mean (SEM) grams infarct per 100 gm left ventricular and septal mass (gm/100 gm LVS). In five animals subjected to occlusion, reperfusion in 3 hours, and death at 24 hours, the infarct size was 22.9 +/- 1.7 SEM gm/100 gm LVS. At 1 week in the ligated animals the infarction decreased to 15.5 +/- 1.7 SEM gm/100 gm LVS. In the reperfused animals at 1 week the infarction size was 14.5 +/- 1.7 SEM gm/100gm LVS. There was no significant difference in these values (Student's t test). Light and electron micrographs demonstrated hemorrhagic necrosis in every instance with reperfusion. Cardiac output, LAP, and MAP remained unchanged after reperfusion. These data suggest that in human beings without well-developed inherent collaterals sustaining myocardial infarction with coronary occlusion, that reperfusion as early as 3 hours after infarction would not be beneficial.

Infundibular septum and coronary anatomy in Jatene operation.

Displacement of the infundibular septum and coronary anatomy was studied in 40 patients with variable transposition of the great arteries who underwent the Jatene operation between August, 1982, and May, The perioperative mortality was 12.5%. Fourteen of the 16 patients (87.5%) with intact ventricular septum (Group I), eight of the 12 patients (67%) with aligned infundibular septum and perimembranous trabecular defect (Group II-A), and four of the 12 patients (33%) with anteriorly displaced infundibular septum, malaligned defect, overriding of the pulmonary valve, and severe pulmonary hypertension (Group hypertension (Group II-B) has Shaher type 1 coronary anatomy. In this type of coronary anatomy, the left coronary artery courses in front of the pulmonary artery. However, two patients (12.5%) from Group I, four (33%) from Group II-A, and eight (67%) from Group II-B had various unusual coronary patterns, such as Shaher types 2,3,4,7, and 9. All patients had a left or circumflex coronary artery coursing behind the pulmonary artery. These data suggest that the displacement of the infundibular septum not only determines the type of the defect and hemodynamics, but also often relates to the coronary anatomy Removal of a whole, scallop-shaped sinus of Valsalva and minimal dissection of the coronary artery are preferable, particularly for translocation of such unusual coronary anatomy.

Long-term evaluation of pericardial substitutes.

The development of postoperative pericardial adhesions increases the risk of cardiac reoperations because of the danger of damaging the heart, great vessels, or grafts. Several pericardial substitutes have been tested in the past in an attempt to facilitate reoperation, with inconclusive results. This study evaluated eight different materials as pericardial substitutes: six synthetic materials and two different preparations of bovine pericardium. In 32 dogs a 10 by 5 cm piece of pericardium was excised through a right thoracotomy and the defect closed with a measured patch. Each material tested was implanted in four dogs that were put to death at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. At autopsy the development of adhesions and epicardial reaction were graded as none, minimal, moderate, and severe. Histologic studies of the patch, the epicardium, and the suture line were performed. Our results suggest that both types of bovine pericardium were an excellent substitute. Although minimal adhesions developed, these were easily dissected. The underlying anatomy was clearly recognizable because of the lack of epicardial reaction. Silicone rubber-coated polyester fabric was an acceptable material for the prevention of adhesions, but a severe fibrous epicardial reaction impeded the recognition of the coronary arteries. Both silicone-filled and high-porosity polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films reduced adhesions but caused a severe epicardial reaction. The other synthetic materials were considered inferior because of severe epicardial reaction and/or structural deterioration.

Superoinferior ventricular heart with situs inversus, levo-loop and dextro-malposition (I,L,D), and double-outlet right ventricle: a case report.

A case of a 20-year-old man with superoinferior ventricular heart complicating situs inversus, levo-loop and dextro-malposition (I,L,D), and double-outlet right ventricle is described. The associated anomalies were hypoplastic right ventricle, ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect secundum, infundibular and valvular pulmonary stenosis, and mitral regurgitation. Intraventricular conduit repair was successfully performed.