Nuclear medicine studies of aging--VIII. Bone to soft-tissue ratio of 99mTc labeled MDP and HMDP vs age.

An objective approach to determine whether there was an advantage of using 99mTc-MDP or 99mTc-HMDP for bone imaging, particularly in elderly subjects, was evaluated by measuring the bone to soft-tissue ratio in relation to age. This was done by quantifying analog images of the femoral region by using an optical densitometer. A ratio (mean for right and left thighs) was determined for mid-femur to adjacent soft-tissue.

Radionuclide evaluation of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity: the need for cautious interpretation.

Serial radionuclide angiography is a sensitive technique for the identification of asymptomatic cardiac dysfunction secondary to doxorubicin hydrochloride chemotherapy. However, the results of serial studies must be interpreted with caution in order to avoid labeling variations in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) due to artifact as doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. The use of sequential gated cardiac studies in the evaluation of a thirteen-year-old boy on doxorubicin hydrochloride is presented.

Disseminated Geotrichum candidum infection.

The pathogenicity of the fungus Geotrichum candidum in humans has not been clearly defined. A patient with acute leukemia who developed a fatal disseminated G. candidum infection while neutropenic is described.

Pseudomonas putida. Newly recognized pathogen in patients with cancer.

Pseudomonas putida was recovered from blood culture specimens between 1980 and 1985 in 15 patients with cancer. No isolates were found in specimens obtained before 1980. Eight patients were considered to have septicemia (more than one positive blood culture result plus clinical signs of infection).

Escherichia coli bacteremia in cancer patients.

During a 10-year period, 621 episodes of Escherichia coli bacteremia occurred in 575 cancer patients. The infection was most common in patients with acute leukemia and genitourinary and gastrointestinal malignancies. Most of the patients acquired their infection while in the hospital, and 38 percent had received antibiotics during the preceding 10 days.