[Diagnosis of breast tumors by scintigraphy versus mammography]. / Diagnóstico de tumores mamarios por centelleografía versus mastografía.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of the breast scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI in the detection of breast lesions versus mammography. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: A concentration oncologic hospital in Mexico City. PATIENTS: 56 women with a biopsy performed due to radiologic suspicion of mammary cancer were included as well as 10 normal women. MAIN PROCEDURES: Mammography, breast scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI, and biopsy were performed. RESULTS: Sensitivity of breast scintigraphy was 100% specificity 94.6%, PPV 90% and NPV 100%; sensitivity of the mammography was 100%, specificity 54% PPV 52.7%, and NPV 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Breast scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI showed a higher sensitivity and specificity than those of mammography. It was highly reliable for the diagnosis of mammary gland malignant lesions.

[Evaluation of ventricular function in patients treated with mitoxantrone and 4'-epidoxorubicin]. / Valoración de la función ventricular en pacientes tratados con mitoxantrone y 4'epidoxorubicina.

Serial assessment of ventricular function by means of radionuclide angiography was performed in previously untreated patients with lymphoproliferative diseases who received either 4'epidoxorubicin or mitoxantrone for longer than 6 months. No changes were observed in left ventricular function in patients received mitoxantrone at doses ranged 90 to 165 mg (mean 113 mg). Three patients (7%) in 4'epidoxorubicin group showed less than or equal to 10% drop in left ventricular ejection, but without clinical manifestations. The doses in this group were 420 to 810 mg (mean 610 mg). We felt that patients without high-risk factors (radiotherapy to mediastinum or previously anthracycline therapy) could be treated with high doses of both drugs and that radionuclide angiography is a useful method for monitoring cardiotoxicity of antineoplastic drugs.

Prevalence and prevention of deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremities in high-risk pulmonary patients.

Information is lacking about the prevalence of, and the best method of preventing deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities in patients forty years or older with pulmonary disease that keeps them in bed for three consecutive days or more and who are thus at high risk of developing DVT or pulmonary embolism (PE). In this study, 192 high-risk patients, aged forty to ninety-two, received 125I fibrinogen and had daily radioactive scans, venous Doppler, and strain gauge plethysmography. Four preventive methods were used until patients became ambulatory: graded compression stockings (GCS) in 39, elastic bandages (EB) in 33, subcutaneous administration of 5,000 USP units of heparin (HEP) bid in 39, and oral administration of 0.5 g of acetylsalicyclic acid (ASA) bid in 35. Results were compared with those in 46 patients in a control group (CG). Twelve patients in CG, none in GCS, 4 in EB, 1 in HEP, and 2 in ASA developed DVT proved by contrast venography. There was a statistically significant difference between GCS and CG (P less than 0.0003), HEP and CG (P less than 0.0022), and ASA and CG (P less than 0.0148) but not between EB and CG (P greater than 0.10); no significant differences were found between any pair of prophylaxis groups. The significant differences could not be attributed to differences in age, sex, or length of stay in bed. PE occurred in 3 patients in CG and 1 in EB. Hemorrhagic complications occurred in 7 patients in HEP and 4 in ASA, requiring exclusion of 2 patients and 1 patient, respectively, from the study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Hormone profile of the essential hypertension patient with ischemic cardiopathy. I. Renin, angiotensin and aldosterone]. / El perfil hormonal del hipertenso esencial con cardiopatía isquémica. (I) Renina, angiotensina y aldosterona.

To evaluate the characteristics that the renin and aldosterone profile could present in essential hypertensive patients complicated with ischemic heart disease, and as a contribution to the knowledge of the roll that these hormones could have as possible "risk factors" of coronary heart disease, sixty male patients were studied. These were divided in three groups: group I, formed by 15 essential hypertensive patients with objectively demonstrated ischemic heart disease; group II integrated by 15 essential hypertensives with no ischemic heart disease and group III with 30 normal volunteers. Serum levels of plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone determined by radioimmunoassay, and of urinary sodium excretion were measured in all the patients. The distribution of cases with high, normal and low renin and aldosterone were similar in group I and in group II. It was interesting to find that the four patients of group I who were non-smokers, presented the lower renin levels (from 0.36 to 2.8 ng/ml/h). The relation between PRA and the number of occluded coronary arteries revealed an increased number of patients and affected arteries in the subgroup with renin levels above 5 ng/ml/h in comparison with the subgroup with PRA from 0 to 5, although the difference was not statistically significant. By our study, we cannot conclude that the PRA and aldosterone behave in a different fashion in essential hypertensives from those complicated with ischemic heart disease.

[Abdominal aortogammography with YCK-11 99mTc. Preliminary report]. / Aortogammagrafía abdominal con TCK-11-Tc99m. Communicación preliminar.

The Aortic Scanning with 99mTc was done initially by powell in 1966. This radioisotope is the ideal for dinamic studies. In this paper we purpose a new method in order to label erythrocytes, which allows the radiactive bolus sended for the vascular tree to be more compact (TCK-11 99mTc). Seventy abdominal aortic scanning in normal persons were done, fifty with TCK-11 and twenty with 99mTc with Powell's technique. The images were obtain from video-tape recorder. By this way it was possible to get cuantitative determinations from Aorta, Renal and Iliac arteries. These terminations can be very useful for diagnosis of several arterial abnormalities.