Doppler US of helical flow in the portal vein.

In helical portal venous blood flow, the usual laminar flow in the portal vein is replaced by a spiral. This changes the color Doppler ultrasound (US) appearance to one of alternating or parallel red and blue bands. Duplex US may appear to show hepatopetal, hepatofugal, or simultaneous bidirectional flow depending on placement of the cursor within the helix.

Influence of local peritoneal involvement on pelvic recurrence and prognosis in rectal cancer.

Aims: To evaluate the influence of involvement of the peritoneal surface by carcinoma of the rectum on local recurrence and prognosis.

Methods: Prospective analysis of pathological prognostic factors in 209 resections for rectal carcinoma between 1988 and 1993 with meticulous pathological technique particularly to assess the relation of tumour to the peritoneal surface. Comprehensive clinical follow up with cause of death established from all available sources of information (hospital and general practitioner data) with necropsies where necessary.

Strontium 89 therapy for the palliation of pain due to osseous metastases.

Objective: To present the current state of systemic radiopharmaceutical therapy for the palliation of pain in individuals with metastatic cancer and to evaluate the palliative effect and degree of hemotoxicity of strontium chloride 89 (89Sr) in patients with painful osteoblastic metastases primarily from prostate and breast cancer.

Data Sources And Study Selection: A MEDLINE search through December 1994 was performed to identify English-language studies that met the following criteria. All eligible studies reported treatment of patients with painful osteoblastic bony metastases primarily from prostate or breast cancer treated with intravenous 89Sr.

The effect of ureteric stenting on the function and morphology of long-term rat renal allografts.

In the development of a reliable model for chronic rejection in rat renal allografts, the effect of modifying the ureteric anastomosis was tested. Rats, tolerized by pretreatment with two donor blood transfusions under Cyclosporin A, received renal allografts with either sewn or stented ureter. Control groups received isografts or underwent uninephrectomy with insertion of ureteric stents.

From the archives of the AFIP. Musculoskeletal angiomatous lesions: radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Vascular lesions of bone and soft tissue are relatively common musculoskeletal neoplasms. Hemangioma is the most frequently encountered angiomatous lesion. Osseous hemangioma commonly involves the spine and calvaria and often has a characteristic radiographic appearance, with either coarsened trabeculae lying adjacent to the vascular channels or multifocal lytic areas creating a honeycomb pattern.

A reproducible model of chronic rejection in rat renal allografts.

A reproducible animal model is essential for the study of the pathogenesis of chronic rejection. This study investigates: (i) the optimal pre-transplant blood transfusion conditions to induce tolerance in a strongly rejecting rat kidney allograft model (Dark Agouti to Albino-Surgery) and avoiding post-transplant immunosuppression; (ii) the functional and histological changes that occur in long-term surviving kidneys and their similarity to chronic rejection; and (iii) the maintenance of tolerance. Prolonged survival occurred after administration of at least two donor blood transfusions with concomitant cyclosporin A (5 mg/kg per day).

Blockade by ifenprodil of high voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in rat and mouse cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurones: comparison with N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist actions.

1. The block by ifenprodil of voltage-activated Ca2+ channels was investigated in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) evoked by 50 mM K+ (high-[K+]o) in Fura-2-loaded rat hippocampal pyramidal neurones in culture and on currents carried by Ba2+ ions (IBa) through Ca2+ channels in mouse cultured hippocampal neurones under whole-cell voltage-clamp. The effects of ifenprodil on voltage-activated Ca2+ channels were compared with its antagonist actions on N-methyl-D-aspartate- (NMDA) evoked responses in the same neuronal preparations.

Screening cerebrovascular patients for silent myocardial ischemia with stress testing and ambulatory left ventricular function monitor.

Patients with symptomatic cerebrovascular disease suffer a high mortality from myocardial ischemia, which may occur during rest or following the conclusion of exercise. In a pilot study, we screened 11 patients with transient cerebral ischemic attack or stroke for silent myocardial ischemia using bicycle ergometer stress testing with electrocardiographic (EKG) monitoring and ambulatory left ventricular function monitoring (VEST). Three of 11 patients had nondiagnostic exercise EKGs due to failure to achieve their target heart rates during exercise but had positive VEST tests during and after exercise.

Segmentation and interpretation of 3D protein images.

The segmentation and interpretation of three-dimensional images of proteins is considered. A topological approach is used to represent a protein structure as a spanning tree of critical points, where each critical point corresponds to a residue or the connectivity between residues. The critical points are subsequently analyzed to recognize secondary structure motifs within the protein.

Development of chronic injury and nature of interstitial infiltrate in a model of chronic renal allograft rejection.

A model of chronic renal rejection in the Dark-Agouti to Albino-Surgery rat combination is described. In a number of cases, the original allograft was replaced by a second Dark-Agouti allograft. Seventy-five percent of rats experienced early episodes of rejection that subsided spontaneously.

Do diagnosis related groups separate the case-mix of a specialist children's hospital and a paediatric unit in a general hospital?

The ability of diagnosis related groups (DRG) and refinement diagnosis related groups (RDRG) to measure differences in case-mix was investigated using discharge data for patients < 18 years of age from three specialist children's hospitals and four district hospitals. While the three children's hospitals each had a greater percentage of RDRG for more complex patients, only one children's hospital had more complex patients based on DRG and RDRG cost weights and on the percentage of diagnoses per discharge. Cost weights based on USA practices may be inappropriate in Australia, and Australian weights will be necessary for firm conclusions.

Clinical experience with strontium-89 in prostatic and breast cancer patients.

Bone metastases are a major problem in the clinical management of patients with breast or prostate cancer. Severe bone pain can be a particularly debilitating effect of metastatic disease, resulting in a growing dependency on opioid analgesics and a reduced quality of life in patients who have a short time to survive. The radiopharmaceutical strontium-89 has been demonstrated to be generally well tolerated as well as effective in reducing metastatic bone pain in breast or prostate cancer patients.

Are they getting enough? Meeting the oxygen therapy needs of postoperative patients.

Many patients require oxygen therapy as part of their postoperative care. A study to assess whether patients were actually given the supplementary oxygen prescribed showed many received only intermittent therapy. Placing more emphasis on oxygen therapy in nurse education would do much to improve its use in practice.

Hospitalisation of children under 15 years in Victoria.

Objective: To determine whether the separation rate from the hospital for children aged 0-15 years in Victoria was higher for those resident in the country area of the State in comparison with the metropolitan area and, if it was, to investigate possible explanations.

Design: Discharge data from all public hospitals in Victoria for children aged 0-15 years for the financial years 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 were analysed with detailed analysis being done on the 1990-91 data set. Discharge rates were determined according to the local authority area of residence.

Radionuclide therapy of intractable bone pain: emphasis on strontium-89.

Management of bone pain in patients with multiple osseous metastases is a significant clinical problem. Phosphorus-32 has been used as systemic radioisotope therapy for the management of bone pain for over 40 years. However, significant hematological depression usually results and its use is limited.

Image data compression using a new floating-point digital signal processor.

A new dual-ported, floating-point, digital signal processor has been evaluated for compressing 512 and 1,024 digital radiographic images using a full-frame, two-dimensional, discrete cosine transform (2D-DCT). The floating point digital signal processor operates at 49.5 million floating point instructions per second (MFLOPS).

Wide area networks for teleradiology.

Teleradiology networks transmit digital radiographic images from one location to another. These networks are wide area networks. Teleradiology networks are used for diagnostic purposes and preview tasks.

The problem of neonatal diagnosis related groups.

There is, as yet, no satisfactory set of Diagnosis Related Groups to measure the casemix and consumption of hospital resources in the care of newborn infants. To obtain further information, infants less than 28 days when admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital and Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne were analysed. Both Refined Diagnosis Related Groups and Pediatric Modified Diagnosis Groups were used.

Diagnosis related groups, refined diagnosis related groups and pediatric modified diagnosis related groups in specialist children's hospitals.

The value of Diagnosis Related Groups, Refinement Diagnosis Related Groups and Pediatric Modified Diagnosis Related Groups in measuring the output of specialist children's hospitals was evaluated by the examination of discharge data for 1987-88 from three major Australian children's hospitals and four district hospitals. The study included all patients aged 0-18 years but excluded those with specific neonatal diagnoses. Findings indicated that Refinement Diagnosis Related Groups seem to give a better measure of the output of specialist children's hospitals than Version 5 Diagnosis Related Groups in that they explained a higher proportion of variation of length of stay.

Pilot study of a screening test for peripheral arterial disease in middle aged men: fibrinogen as a possible risk factor.

A simple one minute exercise test was used as a screening test for asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease in a sample of 100 men in their sixth decade with no previous referrals for cardiovascular disease. Other investigations included resting ECG, non-invasive carotid artery assessment, and plasma biochemical analysis. Of these 100 men (mean age 56), 10 had evidence of peripheral disease on exercise testing, four had ischaemic changes on resting ECG, and one showed evidence of carotid artery stenosis.