Successful renal autotransplantation in a patient with bilateral renal artery thrombosis.

Bilateral renal artery thrombosis is a rare but traumatic injury that is most commonly caused by sudden deceleration. Traditional methods of repair (e.g.

Perioperative complications of long-term central venous catheters in high-risk patients: predictors versus myths.

A prospective cohort of 126 patients having long-term central venous catheterization was collected over a 10-month period. The patients were preoperatively assessed for the following risk factors: previous catheter placement, an absolute neutrophil count less than 500/mm3, a platelet count less than 50,000/mm3, a BUN value greater than 60 mg/dL or a serum creatinine level greater than 2.5 mg/dL, a prothrombin time greater than 1.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as an antidote for cyanide, spermine, gentamicin, and dopamine toxicity: an in vivo rat study.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B6, readily forms complexes with a wide variety of potentially toxic substances, including cyanide (KCN), spermine (SPM), gentamicin (GM), and dopamine (DOP). The role of PLP as an antidote for these toxicants in vivo was studied. Rats were given intraperitoneal injections of the toxicant, followed by injections of either saline or PLP.

The effect of prolonged fasting and total parenteral nutrition on hepatobiliary imaging with technetium-99m DISIDA.

Prolonged fasting (NPO) and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) have been reported to result in an unacceptable number of false-positive hepatobiliary scintigrams for acute cholecystitis. Based on these reports, the clinical usefulness of the hepatobiliary scan in diagnosing acute cholecystitis in the critically ill postoperative patient who has been NPO or on TPN has been questioned. Patients who were either on prolonged fasting or total parenteral nutrition and who had no history of hepatobiliary disease were prospectively studied to assess the value of the Tc-99m diisopropyl-iminodiacetic acid (DISIDA) scan without pretreatment with cholecystokinin (CCK) in such a setting.

A logical approach to chest wall neoplasms.

Thirty chest wall tumors were evaluated over a 3-year period at two major medical centers; a nonradical excisional biopsy technique was used. The majority of the lesions were benign; the small number of malignancies consisted of either plasmacytomas or metastatic neoplasms. These findings support a limited excisional biopsy as the recommended initial diagnostic approach for all chest wall tumors.

Accuracy of the hepatobiliary scan in acute cholecystitis.

The accuracy of the hepatobiliary scan in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis was determined at a major United States Army Medical Center. Forty-two patients with complete medical records were selected for the study. There was 18 positive findings and 24 negative findings.

Thromboembolectomy of arteries explored at the ankle.

Experience with 11 cases of thromboembolectomy of leg arteries explored at the ankle is presented. Patency was established in 19 of 23 arteries (83%), resulting in salvage of 11 of 14 limbs (79%). This experience documents success of this technique with follow-up ranging from 2 to 70 months (mean followup, 24.

Incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients with atheromatous arterial disease.

Seventy-three patients with atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease underwent prospective evaluation of the abdominal aorta by both physical examination and ultrasonography. The objective was to find out the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysms by these two methods. Early diagnosis may decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease.

Dilation of knitted Dacron aortic prostheses and anastomotic false aneurysms: etiologic considerations.

Five patients with knitted Dacron aortic bifurcation prostheses developed prosthetic dilation and anastomotic false aneurysms. The interval between placement of prostheses and secondary presentation ranged from 4 to 10 years. Three patients presented with femoral false aneurysms (one ruptured) and two presented with aortic false aneurysms (one ruptured).