A rare case of chronic benign tracheo-oesophageal fistula, with Candida albicans cultured from a pleural effusion.

We present a case of chronic benign tracheo-oesophageal fistula in an immunologically competent elderly female, cured with a period of nasogastric feeding.

Accuracy of intra-operative frozen section analysis of ovarian tumours.

During operative treatment for ovarian tumours assistance is frequently required to make decisions regarding malignancy status and the extent of the ensuing procedure. Intra-operative frozen section analysis may be useful, provided there is adequate acquaintance with the correlation between using frozen sections and permanent histopathological sections for diagnosis at the institution where the operation is being undertaken. This retrospective study aimed to determine this correlation. Findings from 131 intra-operative frozen sections were compared with the subsequent diagnosis from permanent histopathological sections for women with benign, borderline and malignant ovarian tumours at the Maribor Teaching Hospital (now the University Clinical Centre Maribor) between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2001. Frozen-section findings corresponded to histopathological findings in 84.7% of cases, with 15.3% false-negative and no false-positive results. For benign, borderline and malignant ovarian tumours, sensitivity was 100.0%, 76.1% and 89.0%, respectively, and specificity was 90.6%, 90.6% and 100.0%, respectively. The majority of errors occurred in diagnosing mucinous borderline tumours. Precise pre-operative diagnosis is extremely important in the treatment of ovarian tumours.

Efficiency and usability of silicone surfactants in emulsions.

Synopsis The critical micelle contration (CMC) of silicone surfactants was determined to provide their optimal efficiency in emulsion systems. The lowest CMC value was found for the amphionic polysiloxane polyorganobetaine copolymer, which is undoubtedly the consequence of electrostatic repulsion preventing the aggregation of ionized molecules. Also the nonionic surfactants (polydimethyl siloxane polyethers) showed some differences: the surfactant with polyethylene oxide side chain is more effective compared to the polyethylene-polypropylene oxide side chain. The results of miscibility testing of silicone surfactants with common components of emulsions and creams confirm that not only silicone oils, but also silicone surfactants, should be considered as both explicitly hydrophobic and non lipophilic. The stability of emulsions containing silicone surfactants prepared by cold emulsification supported the incorporation of polyelectrolyte sodium carboxymethylcellulose, which increased viscosity of the continuous phase and prevented coalescence. The physical stability testing of prepared emulsions confirms that the used methods - centrifugation, particle size analysis and the observation of ageing at room (20-25 degrees C) and elevated temperature (40 degrees C) - give comparable results.