Effect of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting on risk-adjusted and cumulative sum failure outcomes after coronary artery surgery.

Background And Aim: We have shown that cumulative sum (CUSUM) failure analysis may be more sensitive than standard statistical methods in detecting a cluster of adverse patient outcomes after cardiac surgical procedures. We therefore applied CUSUM, as well as standard statistical techniques, to analyze a surgeon's experience with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) and on-pump procedures to determine whether the two techniques have similar or different outcomes.

Methods: In 320 patients undergoing nonemergent, first time coronary artery bypass grafting, preoperative patient characteristics, rates of mortality and major complications, and ICU and hospital lengths of stay were compared between the on-pump and OPCAB cohorts using Fisher's exact tests and Wilcoxon two sample tests.

Sperm ubiquitination in patients with dysplasia of the fibrous sheath.

Background: Human sperm with structural abnormalities display an increased content of the cellular proteolytic marker peptide, ubiquitin. We investigated whether dysplasia of the fibrous sheath (DFS), a severe structural anomaly found in the sperm of some asthenozoospermic patients, is accompanied by (i) increased ubiquitination of the sperm surface and (ii) by increased ubiquitination of the sperm mitochondria.

Methods And Results: Five DFS patients and eight fertile donors were studied by immunocytochemistry with anti-ubiquitin antibodies.

The modified Blalock-Taussig shunt: a 6-year experience from a developing country.

Since 1992 we have performed the modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (MBTS) for cyanotic children in Libya. This retrospective study reviews our results as a developing country, comparing them with those in the literature, and makes suggestions to improve our results. Between May 1992 and May 1998, 94 children (58 males and 36 females) underwent 100 MBTSs in Mesallata Cardiothoracic Centre, Libya.

Hepatotoxicity of high dose salicylate therapy in acute rheumatic fever.

Liver function tests, including serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, serum proteins, blood ammonia levels and intravenous glucose utilization, were monitored in 50 children with acute rheumatic fever receiving anti-rheumatic doses of aspirin. There was a significant increase in blood ammonia levels and serum ALT after aspirin therapy. A significant fall in glucose utilization coefficient was also recorded.