Using the LigaSure vessel sealing device in the large uterus at laparoscopic hysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare intraoperative hemorrhage and other operative parameters between patients with large and small weighted uterus who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six patients intending to have LH were divided into two groups according to uterine weight (group 1 > 300 grams vs. group 2 < 299 grams). Intraoperative blood loss, operating time, periopera- tive complications, and duration of hospitalization were compared. RESULTS: Intraoperative blood loss was significantly higher in the large uterus group (group 1); 350 (227-454) ml vs. 250 (182-320) ml (p < 0.001). However, it was not significantly different between the groups in the laparoscopy step. Mean operating time was 90 (77-103) minutes and 80 (62-98) minutes in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p < 0.001) revealing ten-minute delay in group 1. Similarly, this was also not significantly different in the laparoscopy step. No significant differences were found between two groups; in terms of hemoglobin concentration decrease, major and minor complications, and hospitalization duration. CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that LigaSure can be safely used for LH in patients with a large uterus.

Discriminative stimulus properties of tripelennamine in the pigeon.

Pigeons trained under a two-key drug discrimination procedure eventually learned to discriminate the antihistaminic tripelennamine (5 mg/kg) from saline. When 0.63-7.5 mg/kg doses of tripelennamine were administered in generalization test sessions, the percentage of responses directed to the tripelennamine-appropriate key varied directly with dose. At certain doses, the discriminative stimulus properties of the antihistaminics, diphenhydramine and pyrilamine, clearly generalized to tripelennamine, whereas intermediate generalization was evident with the antihistaminics, chlorpheniramine and promethazine. Chlorpromazine, cimetidine, d-amphetamine, diazepam, morphine, pentazocine, phenobarbital, and sodium valproate failed to produce tripelennamine-like patterns of responding.

Effects of phenobarbital in combination with phenytoin or valproic acid on the delayed-matching-to-sample performance of pigeons.

The present study examined the effects of phenobarbital (5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg), phenytoin (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 15 mg/kg), and valproic acid (40, 60, 80, and 120 mg/kg), and those of phenobarbital (10 and 20 mg/kg) in combination with phenytoin (2.5, 5, and 7.5 mg/kg) or valproic acid (40, 60, and 80 mg/kg), on the delayed-matching-to-sample performance of pigeons. In general, high doses of each individual drug reduced accuracy. Drug combinations also reduced accuracy relative to control values. Reductions in accuracy produced by drug combinations were very similar in magnitude to those predicted by a response-addition model of drug interaction.

[Ofloxacin in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the ear]. / Ofloxacin zur Behandlung von Pyocyaneusinfektionen des Ohres.

Twenty-three patients suffering from a Pseudomonas infection of the ear were treated with ofloxacin in a prospective study. The type of infection was as follows: external otitis 4, external otitis with furuncle 3, external otitis and otitis media 5, acute exacerbation of chronic otitis media 7, infection of radical mastoidectomy 3, malignant external otitis 1. All patients had previously been unsuccessfully treated elsewhere. The average period of infection was 13.7 days. The patients received 200 mg of ofloxacin (Tarivid) twice daily for 3 weeks. At the same time the ear was cleaned by suction at 2-4 day intervals and a Normison ear strip applied. Twenty patients were completely cured, 2 patients stopped taking ofloxacin early as a result of improved symptoms but their condition subsequently deteriorated. After a further 3 weeks of consistent treatment both of the cases were also cured. Hence only one patient did not respond to our therapy; that is a success rate of 95%. These results are compared with those of our former therapeutic plan in which all patients with resistant Pseudomonas ear infections were treated as in-patients with selected intravenous antibiotics.

Medication regimen: a subject characteristic rarely reported in behavior modification studies.

The present study determined whether articles describing attempts to alter behavior in mentally retarded participants through nonpharmacological interventions typically specify whether participants received medication during the experiments. From 1978 through 1982, the vast majority of such articles published in the American Journal of Mental Deficiency, Behavior Modification, Behavior Therapy, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and Mental Retardation failed to specify whether participants were receiving drugs. In addition, very few articles examined pharmacological interventions or attempted to address the interaction of drug and nondrug treatments.