Comparison of normal saline and heparin solutions for maintenance of arterial catheter patency.

A double-blind, randomized study was conducted in 30 adult medical intensive care unit patients to determine if the presence of heparin in continuous-flush solutions prolongs the functional life span of radial arterial catheters compared with catheters flushed with solutions not containing heparin. Patients were consecutively entered into the study and randomly assigned to receive arterial line flush solutions containing 0.9% sodium chloride (NSS) or heparin 4 U/ml in 0.

Fatal adult respiratory distress syndrome following successful treatment of pulmonary strongyloidiasis.

Hyperinfection with Strongyloides stercoralis occurs mostly in immunocompromised patients, including those treated with systemic steroids. A case of Strongyloides-induced adult respiratory distress syndrome was recently reported, and we now report a case in which fatal ARDS appeared to result from the successful therapy of massive parasitic infection.

The effect of ketone bodies on nitrogen metabolism in skeletal muscle.

1. The ketone bodies, D-beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, inhibit glycolysis thereby reducing pyruvate availability which leads to a marked inhibition of branched-chain amino acid metabolism and alanine synthesis in skeletal muscles from fasted mammalian and avian species. 2.

Role of potassium in the pathogenesis of acute renal failure.

Potassium depletion can potentiate several experimental models of acute renal failure. It causes renal vasoconstriction, probably under the influence of vasoconstrictor prostaglandins and angiotensin II, and causes a reduction in vasodilatory prostaglandins. Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity in experimental animals and in man causes a reduction in serum potassium and in animals it enhances the functional and histological damage produced by aminoglycosides.

Sequential and simultaneous "in series" hemodialysis and hemoperfusion in the management of theophylline intoxication.

Hemodialysis and hemoperfusion have been evaluated, and both are effective in removing theophylline. We report two consecutive cases of theophylline intoxication in which the sequential treatment of charcoal hemoperfusion and hemodialysis is contrasted to the simultaneous "in series" treatment of hemodialysis and charcoal hemoperfusion. Analysis of the two methodologies shows that the combined in series technique offers several advantages, including increased extraction efficiency, decreased time of hemoperfusion cartridge saturation, and rapid correction of electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities, and that it is well tolerated clinically.

A survey of the initial referral of children to an ophthalmology department.

We report on a survey of the referral of 525 children making their first visit to an ophthalmology department. Information was gathered by interviewing the parents and reviewing the case notes. Parents and relatives initiated the referrals in 223 cases (42%) and health visitors initiated a further 123 cases (23%).

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of plasmid DNA.

We present scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of uncoated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) electrochemically mounted on highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and imaged in air. Images of linear abnormalities inherent to HOPG surfaces that can be confused with DNA are also presented. Scanning tunneling spectroscopic (STS) images generated by superimposing a small, high frequency ac bias onto the dc tunnel bias and recording the ac current signal were taken simultaneously with the topographic images.

Contribution of exogenous substrates to acetyl coenzyme A: measurement by 13C NMR under non-steady-state conditions.

A method is presented for the rapid determination of substrate selection in a manner that is not restricted to conditions of metabolic and isotopic steady state. Competition between several substrates can be assessed directly and continuously in a single experiment, allowing the effect of interventions to be studied. It is shown that a single proton-decoupled 13C NMR spectrum of glutamate provides a direct measure of the contribution of exogenous 13C-labeled substrates to acetyl-CoA without measurement of oxygen consumption and that steady-state conditions need not apply.

Protective effect of KCl loading in gentamicin nephrotoxicity.

Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity in experimental animals can be reduced by calcium loading, inducing diabetes, and giving thyroid hormone, while a potassium deficient diet enhances aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity. This study investigated whether potassium loading protects against gentamicin nephrotoxicity in the rat. In part I, group GK ate a diet containing 3.

The 1989 Kentucky Hospital Smoking Policy Survey.

Kentucky leads the nation in percentage of smokers (32.5%), years of potential life lost due to smoking-related illness, and burley tobacco production. In view of this, we sought to determine current practice regarding smoking policies in Kentucky hospitals.

Ultrasound assessment of renal cortical brightness in infants: is naked eye evaluation reliable?

Twenty observers estimated renal cortical brightness compared with the liver in 28 ultrasound images. Their judgment was compared with objective densitometer readings. High inter- and intra-observer variation was found.

The effect of glutamine on protein turnover in chick skeletal muscle in vitro.

The effect of glutamine on the rates of protein synthesis and degradation was studied in isolated chick extensor digitorum communis muscles incubated in the presence of plasma concentrations of amino acids. Addition of 0.5-15 mM-glutamine increases (P less than 0.

Acute toxoplasmosis in a camel.

A 6-year-old camel was examined because of a history of dyspnea of unknown duration. Approximately 24 L of turbid fluid was drained from the pleural cavity. Numerous Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites were found in macrophages in smears of the pleural fluid.

The effect of ketone bodies on protein turnover in isolated skeletal muscle from the fed and fasted chick.

1. The addition of 4 mM acetoacetate or DL-beta-hydroxybutyrate to the incubation medium decreased the rate of protein synthesis without influencing the rate of protein degradation in extensor digitorum communis (EDC) muscles from fed chicks and decreased the rates of protein synthesis and degradation in muscles from fasted chicks. 2.

The prevalence of age related cataract in the Asian community in Leicester: a community based study.

A community based ophthalmic survey has been carried out in the city of Leicester. Samples of Asians and Caucasians aged 40 years and over were randomly selected from the patients of four general practitioners and invited to have an ophthalmic examination. After adjustment for age, the prevalence rate of age-related cataract was significantly higher in the Asians when compared to the Caucasians.

The demand incidence of cataract in Asian immigrants to Britain and their descendants.

Cataract is known to be more common in India than it is in the industrialised world, but there is little evidence to show whether people emigrating from India will continue to have a high incidence of the disease. Data have been collected from the outpatient clinics of a hospital in Leicester, England, that suggest that for people aged over 45 the demand incidence of cataract is more than five times higher in people of Indian descent than it is in the indigenous population. As well as measuring the demand incidence of cataract in Leicester's two main racial groups the data are used to investigate other risk factors.

Pediatric choroid plexus neoplasms: MR, CT, and pathologic correlation.

Choroid plexus papillomas are rare, constituting approximately 0.5% of all intracranial neoplasms. Four benign choroid plexus papillomas and one choroid plexus carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed in patients aged 4-20 months who had been examined with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with a field strength of 0.

Eyelid opening in preterm neonates.

The frequency and patterns of eyelid opening were examined in a group of neonates (gestational age 24-35 weeks). Observations were spread over the 24 hour period to obtain a complete pattern of events. Mean eyelid closure was 74%.

Antagonistic effect of idazoxan on xylazine-induced central nervous system depression and bradycardia in calves.

Two doses of an alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist, idazoxan, were administered to reverse the CNS depressant and bradycardia effects of xylazine in calves. Once a week for 3 weeks, each of 6 calves were administered IV one treatment of: (1) 0.2 mg of xylazine/kg of body weight followed in 10 minutes by 1 ml of 0.

Xenon-CT cerebral blood flow evaluation of cerebral ischemia in children and young adults.

Xenon-CT cerebral blood flow determinations in 20 children and young adults (age less than 40) who presented with cerebral ischemia were retrospectively reviewed for evidence of unifocal or multifocal ischemic disease. These results were compared with the findings of conventional CT and magnetic resonance (MR) examinations in the same patients. Xenon-CT revealed additional lesions or added significant pathophysiological information in 80% of patients scanned by noncontrast CT, 89% scanned by postcontrast CT, and 58% scanned by MR.