Computed tomography in the evaluation of severe facial trauma.

Computed tomography (CT) is a simple, rapid, and safe method of evaluating patients with severe facial trauma. It has its greatest value in defining the extent of soft tissue damage as well as in assessing the skeletal disruption. In a group of 32 patients with severe facial trauma, CT outlined the degree of soft tissue and skeletal fracture.

Postnatal growth and size of the pulmonary acinus and secondary lobule in man.

The acinus and the secondary lobule are important anatomic, functional, and pathologic units in the human lung; there are, however, few studies that specifically describe their postnatal growth and size. Normal lungs from 15 children and adults dying without evidence of pulmonary disease were fixed and dried using a standardized technique and were radiographed after tantalum or silver nitrate bronchoacinography. The acini and secondary lobules were identified and the diameters of these terminal respiratory units determined.

Detection of pulmonary emboli in dogs: comparison of single photon emission computed tomography, gamma camera imaging, and angiography.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allows separation of radionuclide activity in front of and behind the area of interest and results in more contrast than can be achieved using conventional gamma camera imaging. To determine if this improved contrast is of value in the detection of perfusion abnormalities in the lung, the lower lobe segmental pulmonary arteries of six dogs were embolized and pulmonary perfusion was evaluated using SPECT, conventional gamma camera imaging, and angiography. Although selective segmental angiography was the most sensitive method of detecting emboli, SPECT was much more sensitive than the gamma camera examination in evaluating the effects of the emboli at two hours and one, two, and eight weeks after embolization.

A 1957 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease associated with a meat packing plant.

Retrospective study shows that a 1957 outbreak of pneumonia in Austin, Minnesota, was Legionnaires' disease. Between June 7 and August 9, 1957, 78 persons were hospitalized with acute respiratory disease of unknown cause. Most had fever, headache, cough, and pneumonitis; two died.

Experience using two CT-guided stereotactic biopsy methods.

15 patients had intracranial CT-guided stereotactic biopsies. Biopsies were performed either with a Riechert-Mundinger stereotactic frame modified for use in the CT or by using the CT scan to establish the relationship of the intracranial lesion to identifiable bony landmarks, and subsequently performing the biopsy in a standard stereotactic frame. Both systems provided safe and accurate methods for obtaining intracranial tissue.

Seminal vesiculography: limited value in vesiculitis.

Seminal vesiculograms were performed on 44 men being evaluated for chronic perineal pain consistent with seminal vesiculitis. The vesiculograms were performed prior to antibiotic instillation into the vas deferens. Vesiculograms were abnormal in 32 of the 44 patients (73%).

Comparison of ochratoxin, aflatoxin, and T-2 toxin for their effects on selected parameters related to digestion and evidence for specific metabolism of carotenoids in chickens.

Aflatoxicosis, ochratoxicosis, and T-2 toxicosis were produced by feeding diets containing graded concentration of the appropriate toxin to broiler chicks from hatching unit 3 weeks of age. Aflatoxin, even at levels not growth inhibitory, produced a malabsorption syndrome characterized by steatorrhea, hypocarotenoidemia, and decreased concentrations of bile salts and pancreatic lipase, trypsin, amylase, and RNase. The T-2 toxin at concentrations higher than required to inhibit growth produced a mild malabsorption syndrome characterized by steatorrhea and decreased levels of pancreatic lipase, trypsin, amylase, and RNase.

Late sequelae of spinal cord trauma. Myelographic and surgical correlation.

Eighteen patients with posttraumatic paraplegia were examined myelographically at 2 months to 30 years after the injury, and the findings correlated with surgical exploration. The following six myelographic patterns were seen: 1) tethered cord and subarachnoid adhesions; 2) proximal cord cysts; 3) loculated subarachnoid cysts; 4) proximal cord atrophy; 5) extradural fibrosis; and 6) complete obliteration of the subarachnoid space at the level of trauma due to extradural fibrosis and/or bone encroachment on the vertebral canal. Myelography with or without computerized tomography (CT) accurately reflected the gross pathological process.

In vivo regional quantitation of intrathoracic Tc-99m using SPECT: concise communication.

A whole-body single-photon emission computed tomographic system (SPECT) was used to quantitate the activities of a series of Tc-99m point sources in the dog's thorax and to evaluate attenuation of a uniform esophageal line source containing a known concentration of Tc-99m. A first-order attenuation correction and an empirically derived attenuation coefficient of 0.09 cm-1 were used in the SPECT analyses of the intrathoracic point sources.

A comparative study of the physical properties and enzymatic reactions of slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis and some leukotriene D4 isomers.

Eight synthetic isomers of 5-hydroxy-6-S-cysteinylglycine -7,9,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid were compared with authentic guinea pig SRS-A using UV spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography and soybean lipoxygenase. It was found that only the 5S, 6R 7,9trans 11,14cis isomer was similar to SRS-A in all respects. The 5S,6R 7trans, 9,11,14 cis isomer shows similar UV and HPLC characteristics but differs in that it spontaneously undergoes a 1,7 hydride shift reaction and unexpectedly does not react with soybean lipoxygenase.

The role of seminal vesiculography in the evaluation of male infertility.

Although most cases of male infertility are the result of primary testicular abnormalities (either maturation arrest, decreased spermatogenesis, or germinal hypoplasia), obstruction of the genital tract is a well recognized and potentially correctable cause of infertility. Seminal vesiculography is an excellent method of evaluating the male genital tract not only for obstruction but also for other structural lesions that may cause infertility. In 27 patients undergoing vesiculography as part of an evaluation of infertility, obstruction was found in 25%.

Postpericardiotomy syndrome.

Postpericardiotomy syndrome is an immune phenomenon that occurs from several days to months after surgical incision of the pericardium. Prominent clinical features include fever, pericarditis, and pleuritis. Of 161 patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome who underwent surgical treatment, 50 (31%) developed postpericardiotomy syndrome 4-12 days later.

Prediction and selective prophylaxis of venous thrombosis in elective gastrointestinal surgery.

Clinical features were noted and routine and non-routine laboratory variables were measured before elective major gastrointestinal surgery in 63 patients aged 40 years or more. Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), detected by routine 125I-fibrinogen leg scanning, developed in 21 patients. Five clinical variables but no laboratory variables were significantly associated with DVT: age; percent mean weight for age, sex, and height (%MW); presence of varicose veins; cigarette-smoking; and sex.

Treatment of pyogenic liver abscesses by percutaneous needle aspiration.

Fifteen patients with solitary or multiple pyogenic liver abscesses diagnosed by ultrasound examination were treated by percutaneous aspiration under ultrasound guidance. The pus obtained was cultured immediately for aerobic and anaerobic organisms and appropriate antibiotic therapy was started. Anaerobic organisms were grown from this pus in nine patients.

Comparison of plain radiography, conventional tomography, and computed tomography in detecting intrathoracic lymph node metastases from lung carcinoma.

Forty-two patients with T2 bronchogenic carcinoma were evaluated with plain radiography, conventional 55 degrees oblique hilar and anteroposterior mediastinal tomography, and computed tomography (CT) to compare their accuracy in assessing mediastinal and hilar nodal metastases. Definitive staging was achieved by thoracotomy and histopathological evaluation of resected specimens. All modalities demonstrated about the same accuracy; however, in the 25 patients with hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy, CT of the mediastinum was more sensitive but not more specific than the other two and conventional tomography was no more accurate than CT for hilar evaluation.

Case report. Transient cerebral ischemia as a manifestation of ruptured intracranial dermoid cyst.

Transient cerebral ischemia was the initial manifestation of a ruptured intracranial dermoid cyst in a young adult male. The ischemia could have resulted from vasospasm caused by release of the contents of the dermoid cyst into the subarachnoid space or from other local effects of the tumor. The role of computed tomography in the evaluation of patients with transient cerebral ischemia is discussed.