Heterogeneity in presentation and treatment of catamenial anaphylaxis.

Background: Few reports have documented the uncommon association of the female menstrual cycle with anaphylaxis, an entity known as cyclic or catamenial anaphylaxis.

Objective: To examine cases of perimenstrual anaphylaxis, focusing on differences in presentation and response to treatment, in the hopes of enriching the description of this rare entity.

Methods: A cohort of 8 women with catamenial anaphylaxis were identified and retrospectively compared with regard to age at onset, organ involvement, diagnostic studies, and response to therapy.

Preoperative haemoglobin and warfarin response.

There is a narrow line between the benefits and risks of anticoagulant therapy. Many factors influence a patient's response to warfarin, and careful monitoring is required to ensure that the therapeutic level of anticoagulation is achieved. The purpose of this retrospective review was to examine the relationship between the postoperative response to warfarin and the preoperative level of haemoglobin.

Preoperative risk factors associated with symptomatic pulmonary embolism after total knee arthroplasty.

This retrospective case-control study reviewed 124 consecutive patients undergoing cemented total knee arthroplasty under regional anesthesia for osteoarthritis. Seven (5.6%) patients developed symptomatic pulmonary embolism despite warfarin prophylaxis.

The utility of tissue transglutaminase as a marker of apoptosis during treatment and progression of prostate cancer.

Purpose: To determine the extent of cell proliferation and apoptosis during treatment and progression of prostate cancer and to determine whether staining for tissue transglutaminase is a better histological marker than TUNEL for neoadjuvant androgen ablation treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: Immunocytochemistry techniques were used on archival prostate tissue from four groups of men: 14 men with BPH, 18 men with untreated, localized prostate cancer, 21 men with localized prostate cancer who received neoadjuvant hormone therapy prior to prostatectomy and 18 men with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer. Cell proliferation was evaluated by staining for the Ki67 nuclear antigen, and apoptosis was evaluated by staining for DNA fragmentation (TUNEL technique) and tissue transglutaminase (tTG).

Warfarin responses in total joint and hip fracture patients.

Warfarin is considered as a narrow therapeutic drug-an agent for which small changes in dosage can lead to significant changes in response. The precision of warfarin treatment is especially relevant in an acute-care setting. In this study, we examined the effect of various risk factors on warfarin response in the early postoperative period after total joint arthroplasty and hip fracture fixation.