Altering local soft-tissue circulation fails to halt venous drainage from the femur.

It has been suggested that tourniquet application proximal to bone biopsy in an extremity can reduce the number of tumor cells spread through circulation. This study investigates the anatomical pathway through which rapid cell spread could occur. Radioactively labeled 15-mu microspheres were injected into the medullary canal of rat femurs. The ratio of injected particles found in the femur was compared among groups that received application of a tourniquet prior to injection, no tourniquet, or transection of all soft tissue proximal to the injection site. Obliteration of circulation in the soft tissue surrounding the femur with a tourniquet or tissue transection did not alter the spread of particles from the femur. The pulmonary circulation trapped approximately 95% of particles reaching the lungs, limiting their access to peripheral arterial circulation. If the number of particles injected into the femur was increased, the number of particles leaving the femur increased at an even greater rate. These data suggest that (1) a particle can exit the femur without traveling through the soft tissue surrounding the femur; (2) most particles that reach the lung are retained; and (3) the injected bone acts as a sponge, retaining some particles and permitting the rest to enter the venous drainage.

Concentrations of antimicrobial agents in middle ear fluid, saliva and tears.

Antibiotics concentrations in middle ear fluid (MEF), saliva and tears were measured in children with persistent middle ear effusions undergoing tympanostomy tube placement. In 31 children given cefaclor, specimens of serum, saliva and MEF were collected at 0.5, 1, 2, 3 or 5 h after a dose. Another group of 37 children were randomized to receive a single dose of penicillin V, amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin estolate, erythromycin ethylsuccinate, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or cefaclor. Concentrations of antibiotics in saliva and tears bore no consistent relationship to those in MEF. Mean concentrations of all drugs in MEF were several-fold greater than the usual minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of pneumococci, but only with trimethoprim and cefaclor were they greater than in usual MIC's for Haemophilus influenzae. Concentrations of antibiotics in MEF in persistent effusions were comparable to those previously reported in acute purulent effusions.

Bekesy comfortable loudness: supportive case studies.

Two cases of radiographically or surgically confirmed acoustic neurinoma are presented. In each case a mild, unilateral sensorineural hearing loss was identified. Results of threshold Bekesy audiometry were negative while the Bekesy comfortable loudness (BCL) procedure indicated significant auditory adaptation in both patients.

Concentrations of erythromycin in serum and tonsil: comparison of the estolate and ethyl succinate suspensions.

Concentrations of erythromycin were measured in serum and tonsil from children who had received either the estolate or ethyl succinate suspension before surgery. The in vitro assay measured total erythromycin activity against a group A beta hemolytic streptococcus. Levels of erythromycin in serum and tonsil after single and multiple doses of the estolate were significantly higher than those after administration of the ethyl succinate. The therapeutic implications of these findings are unknown.