Efficacy of FDG PET/CT imaging for venous thromboembolic disorders: preliminary results from a prospective, observational pilot study.

Purpose: In recent years, several case reports have described venous thromboembolism (VTE) on FDG PET/CT. In this short communication, we present results from a proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at providing some preliminary data on the efficacy of FDG PET/CT in prospective patients with suspected VTE.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE) were included prospectively and underwent a whole-body FDG PET/CT.

[Dermatomyositis as a paraneoplastic first symptom of ovarian cancer].

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare disease, which is associated with malignancy in around 20% of cases. DM can precede the diagnosis of ovarian cancer by years. In this case, a 63-year-old woman was diagnosed with DM by biopsy due to diffuse symptoms of oedema in both arms and a spreading violet/dark red rash of both arms and thighs.

Efficacy of recombinant human erythropoietin administered subcutaneously to CAPD patients once weekly.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the dosage requirements of recombinant human erythropoletin (rHuEPO) administered subcutaneously (SC) either one or three times weekly.

Design: A randomized, prospective study.

Setting: The patients were recruited from two university hospitals and five county hospitals.

Association of IDDM and attenuated response of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase to yellow fever vaccine.

Basal and yellow fever vaccination-induced 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2',5'A) activity was determined in blood mononuclear cells (peripheral blood lymphocytes [PBLs]) from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and matched control subjects. The live attenuated yellow fever vaccine represented a primary stimulus in all subjects. First, basal 2',5'A activity increased severalfold in response to yellow fever vaccination.

Multicystic transformation of the kidneys in dialysis patients.

In a dialysis population patients who had been treated merely with haemodialysis (HD) or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) were examined with ultrasound. The occurrence of multicystic transformation of the kidney was 4/15 in HD patients and 8/25 in CAPD patients with no significant difference between the two groups. There was a significant association between the occurrence of multicystic transformation and the patient age while there was no significant association to the duration of dialysis or the duration of the uraemic state.

Thrombosis caused by polyurethane double-lumen subclavian superior vena cava catheter and hemodialysis.

During an 18-month period, 82 consecutive patients (37 women and 45 men), with a mean age of 50 yr (range 15 to 74), underwent hemodialysis with 91 polyurethane double-lumen subclavian superior vena cava catheters inserted via the right subclavian vein. Upon catheter removal, venograms were performed in 53 which revealed thrombosis in 13. Autopsy performed in 13 other patients revealed thrombosis in three.

Hepatocellular calcification.

Autopsy of a twenty year old girl dying from complications of renal and cardiac failure demonstrated severe hepatocellular calcification, a rare finding. The pathogenesis is thought to be a combination of dystrophic calcification caused by severe centrilobular necrosis and metastatic calcification due to secondary hyperparathyroidism.

Xeno- and auto-perfusion of rabbit kidney. Machine perfusion with blood at 37 degrees C.

Five rabbit kidneys were perfused with human blood and another five with their own blood in a re-circulating oxygenated system at 37 degrees C. The flow decreased to 2 ml/min. within 30 min.

Chronic granulomatous disease associated with chronic glomerulonephritis.

A boy with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) developed glomerulonephritis at the age of 12 years. The glomerulonephritis progressed to terminal uraemia at age 15 when maintenance haemodialysis was started. The clinical course was complicated by pulmonary aspergillosis and Pseudomonas septicaemia from which he eventually died.