Kidney length and scarring in children with urinary tract infection: importance of ultrasound scans.

Background: Many studies have demonstrated that dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy is the most sensitive diagnostic method in the identification of irreversible renal lesions (scars) in children with previous episodes of acute pyelonephritis (APN). This study assessed the reliability of ultrasound in identifying reflux nephropathy in children with acute pyelonephritis with or without vesicoureteric reflux (VUR).

Methods: Eighty children (45 female and 35 male, age range 5 months to 10 years, average age 2 years 1 month) with a positive history for at least one episode of APN participated in this study.

Usefulness of immunoscintigraphy in the follow-up of surgically treated gastrointestinal carcinomas using 111In-labelled anti-CEA monoclonal antibodies.

Twenty-five patients treated surgically for gastrointestinal carcinomas (16 rectum-sigmoid colon, 6 colon, 3 stomach) were investigated by immunoscintigraphy (IS) using 111In-labelled anti-CEA antibody (mouse monoclonal F023C5) F(ab')2 fragments in order to visualize questionable abdominopelvic recurrences (excluding the liver). Fifteen (60%) patients showed a rise in serum CEA levels above 5 ng/ml. Planar scans and emission computed tomographic (ECT) imaging were carried out without reference to the results of computed tomographic (CT) scans and gastrointestinal endoscopic examinations done 1-2 weeks before IS.

Benefits sought by the employed care giver.

More than 600 full-time employed care givers of older family members reported the impact of care giving on their work performance. While a large proportion reported a minimal negative impact on work performance, this impact was positively correlated with the extent of their care giving burden. When asked what employers could do to help, employees most often requested flexibility.