Ultrasonography of the pancreas in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type I.

Fifty-seven patients with the multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-1) syndrome underwent sonographic examinations, and focal pancreatic lesions were demonstrated in 18 (33%). Size ranged from 5 to 65 mm in diameter, and multiple lesions were seen in five patients. Eight patients with pancreatic lesions less than 20 mm have been followed over a period of 1 to 6 years.

Right ventricular perforation: a rare complication of percutaneous lung biopsy.

A 6 mm tear developed in the right ventricle as a complication of a percutaneous lung biopsy. The main causative factor was operator inexperience. A low platelet count may have contributed to the hemopericardium.

Primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the adult liver.

A 53-year-old male Caucasian presented with a massive liver tumor composed entirely of spindle-shaped cells showing light-microscopic and ultrastructural evidence of rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. No epithelial or other sarcomatous elements were included. Detailed postmortem examination failed to reveal evidence of metastatic tumor or an alternative primary site.

Value of hepatic computerized tomographic scanning during amiodarone therapy.

Amiodarone therapy is difficult to monitor because of the poor correlation between plasma amiodarone levels and clinical efficacy or toxicity. Monitoring tissue levels may give a better measure of effectiveness, but tissue levels cannot be easily measured. The iodine-containing amiodarone and its major metabolite, desethylamiodarone (DA), are highly tissue-bound, and it has been shown that computerized tomographic (CT) scanning of the abdomen will detect drug deposition in the liver.