The influence of obstetricians on the utilization of amniocentesis.

A study of 173 Western New York State obstetricians was undertaken to study referral patterns for second-trimester amniocentesis in 1974-1978. Referral patterns were analysed in relation to obstetrician age, religion, board certification, hospital affiliation and practice location. Forty-seven per cent of the obstetricians had never referred a patient for amniocentesis.

Follicular thyroid carcinoma: response to chemotherapy.

A 69-year-old woman with far advanced inoperable follicular carcinoma of the thyroid became refractory to radioactive iodine therapy and to combination chemotherapy with adriamycin and cyclophosphamide. She then attained a good clinical response to chemotherapy with adriamycin, CCNU and methotrexate (ACMe); this lasted more than a year. The regimen of adriamycin, CCNU, and methotrexate deserves further study for patients with follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Hyperlipidemia in a Lebanese community: difficulties in definition, diagnosis and decision on when to treat.

Fasting serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured in 131 randomly selected adult members of a Lebanese Community of Western New York. Mean cholesterol levels (males, 217 mg%; females 234 mg%) were higher than those reported from the Lebanon but similar to those reported in most other populations. Mean triglyceride levels (males, 153 mg%; females, 115 mg%) were higher than those reported in most other populations.

Lupus anticoagulant in myelofibrosis.

A patient with myelofibrosis who also demonstrates a lupus anticoagulant is reported. The presence of a circulating anticoagulant adds to the list of potential hemorrhagic diatheses in myelofibrosis and also demonstrates myelofibrosis to involve a system that may be separate from the myeloid elements of the bone marrow.