Microvascular lung tissue oxygenation--a methodological study in the pig.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the possibility of measuring lung tissue oxygen pressure (PtO2) distributions at the microvascular level, and also if a change in the lung tissue oxygenation could be detected during hypoventilation (50% reduction in ventilatory settings). Experiments were carried out on eight mechanically ventilated ketamine-anaesthetised pigs. A thoracotomy was performed through the third right intercostal space.

Investigation of a unique male and female sibship with Kallmann's syndrome and 46,XX gonadal dysgenesis with short stature.

A sibship is described where the brother and a sister both have Kallmann's syndrome (anosmia and deficiency of gonadotrophin releasing hormone) and the woman also has streak ovaries. Although there are several conditions that may occur with Kallmann's syndrome, there are no known reports of ovarian dysgenesis being associated with this disorder. Cytogenetic analysis showed no rearrangement or major deletions of the chromosomes.

Out-patient treatment of acute deep vein thrombosis.

Background: To assess whether uncomplicated deep vein thrombosis could be treated in an out-patient setting without increasing the frequency of complications, and to determine the proportion of patients with deep vein thrombosis, traditionally treated as in-patients at the Departments of Medicine, who are eligible for such treatment.

Methods: In a multicentre study, carried out at six hospitals of varying sizes and serving a population of about 600,000, consecutive patients over 18 years of age, with verified deep vein thrombosis, primarily presented as acute cases at the respective Departments of Medicine, were considered for treatment on an out-patient basis during a 1-year period.

Interventions: Those eligible for out-patient treatment were put on low molecular weight heparin and oral anticoagulants, and scheduled for daily attendance at the out-patient clinic of the respective Dept.

Gamma-glutamyl transferase, intestinal alkaline phosphatase and beta-hexosaminidase activity in duodenal biopsies from chronic alcoholics.

Background/aims: Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) are present in the brush border of mucosal absorptive cells in the small intestine. There are few studies on the effect of alcohol consumption on these enzymes. Increased intestinal GGT in biopsy specimens from the duodenum has been described in chronic alcoholics.

Purification of recombinant apolipoprotein A-1Milano expressed in Escherichia coli using aqueous two-phase extraction followed by temperature-induced phase separation.

A method for purification of recombinant apolipoprotein A1 in aqueous two-phase systems has been studied. A mutant of apolipoprotein A-1, the Milano variant, was expressed in E. coli.

The analgesic effect of racemic ketamine in patients with chronic ischemic pain due to lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans.

Background: Ketamine in sub-dissociative doses has been shown to have analgesic effects in various pain conditions, including neuropathic and phantom-limb pain, where conventional treatment has often failed. Chronic ischemic pain due to lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans often responds poorly to analgesics, and the pain-generating mechanisms are not well understood.

Methods: Eight patients with rest pain in the lower extremity due to arteriosclerosis obliterans were given sub-dissociative doses of 0.

Photochemically-induced ischemia of the rat sciatic nerve produces a dose-dependent and highly reproducible mechanical, heat and cold allodynia, and signs of spontaneous pain.

Sensory abnormalities and changes in spontaneous behavior were examined after a photochemically induced ischemic lesion of the rat sciatic nerve. Male adult rats were anesthetized and the sciatic nerve was exposed. After the intravenous injection of a photosensitizing dye, erythrosin B, the exposed nerve was irradiated just proximal to the nerve trifurcation with light from an argon laser.

Glial cell responses, complement, and clusterin in the central nervous system following dorsal root transection.

We have examined the glial cell response, the possible expression of compounds associated with the complement cascade, including the putative complement inhibitor clusterin, and their cellular association during Wallerian degeneration in the central nervous system. Examination of the proliferation pattern revealed an overall greater mitotic activity after rhizotomy, an exclusive involvement of microglia in this proliferation after peripheral nerve injury, but, in addition, a small fraction of proliferating astrocytes after rhizotomy. Immunostaining with the phagocytic cell marker ED1 gradually became very prominent after rhizotomy, possibly reflecting a response to the extensive nerve fiber disintegration.

The use of and need for patient classification systems in Swedish neonatal care.

Patient Classification Systems (PCSs) comprise a large group of instruments which describe the condition of a patient regarding severity of disease, severity of illness, risk factors, intensity of nursing care, costs, and so on. They are advocated as an essential ingredient in outcome assessment, but the application of PCSs extends beyond research activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of and need for PCSs in Swedish neonatal care units as well as the need for evaluation and improvement of the systems already in use.

Development and clinical evaluation of a second-generation voice prosthesis (Provox 2), designed for anterograde and retrograde insertion.

Prosthetic voice restoration has considerably improved the results of vocal rehabilitation after total laryngectomy, and is presently the method of choice for many health-care providers treating laryngectomized patients. The Provox voice prosthesis, developed in the Netherlands Cancer Institute, is an indwelling device that has been applied in recent years with regular success. Its retrograde replacement method, using a disposable guide wire, assures reliable, atraumatic positioning of the prosthesis in the tracheoesophageal fistula.

Systemic absorption and block after epidural injection of ropivacaine in healthy volunteers.

Background: For local anesthetics, the process of removal from the site of administration influences the duration of anesthesia and the risk for systemic toxicity to develop. The systemic absorption of epidural ropivacaine and the time profile of sensory and motor block were studied in healthy volunteers.

Methods: Nine persons simultaneously received 150 mg ropivacaine hydrochloride (7.

Assistive technology selection: a study of participation of users with rheumatoid arthritis.

A new program based on improved user participation for the selection of assistive devices was implemented and its effectiveness and efficiency assessed. The intervention was compared with traditional routines. The study population comprised persons with rheumatoid arthritis who lived in two communities in Sweden.

Technology assessment using the association between outcome measures and patterns of illness severity.

The inclusion of a patient's illness experience as outcome in the assessment of health care technology has revealed methodological limitations such as the interpretation of multi-attribute scores and lack of knowledge about the association between illness and disease information. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, a cross-sectional study is performed to search for patterns of illness severity and investigate the association between illness measures and between illness patterns and disease factors. A sample of 211 patients with ulcerative colitis is studied using the sickness impact profile (SIP) and the rating form for inflammatory bowel disease patient concerns (RFIPC) as illness measures.

A quantitative analysis of the glial cell reaction in primary sensory termination areas following sciatic nerve injury and treatment with nerve growth factor in the adult rat.

The time course of the astroglial cell reaction in the nucleus gracilis and the spinal cord dorsal horn was examined following sciatic nerve transection in the adult rat with qualitative and quantitative analysis of glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity and in situ hybridization for its mRNA. In addition, the potential effect of exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) was examined on the astroglial and microglial cells in the spinal cord dorsal horn at certain time points following sciatic nerve transection. An increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity as well as mRNA labelling was observed from 1 day after lesioning, with a peak at about 1 week and 2 days after lesioning, respectively, followed by a decline.

Intraindividual and interindividual variability in the disposition of the local anesthetic ropivacaine in healthy subjects.

To predict the risk of adverse reactions to local anaesthetics used in clinical practice, it is crucial to know whether any nonlinearity exists in their pharmacokinetics. The disposition of ropivacaine, a new local anesthetic agent, was evaluated in healthy subjects on the basis of plasma levels in the concentration range obtained after regional anaesthesia. Three intravenous doses of ropivacaine hydrochloride (20, 40, and 80 mg) were given in a double-blind, randomized, complete crossover design.

Gastroduodenal morphology and related symptoms in chronic alcoholics.

Twenty-four chronic alcoholics admitted to hospital for detoxification after a drinking spree were examined by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Biopsy specimens were taken from corpus/fundus, antrum and duodenum for tissue histology (eosin stain). From the duodenum villus index and ultrastructure (scanning electron microscopy, SEM) were also performed.

Mucosal bacterial growth in the upper gastrointestinal tract in alcoholics (heavy drinkers).

Background/aims: Mucosal adherent bacterial flora in chronic alcoholics was studied and compared to a control group referred for upper endoscopy, mainly for dyspepsia.

Methods: 22 alcoholics, admitted to hospital for detoxification, were examined using upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Gastric and duodenal biopsies were taken for tissue pathology, quantitative and qualitative anaerobic and aerobic bacteriological culture and for culture of Helicobacter pylori (antral biopsies).

Surgical correction of dentofacial anomalies: an evaluation of two patient groups with the aid of a a questionnaire.

The study is based on a questionnaire answered by 273 patients with dentofacial anomalies who underwent surgery between 1988-1992 in Boden and Jönköping. The questions concerned how the patients experienced their circumstances before, during, and after treatment, and the care they received. The purpose of the study was to investigate the patients' experience of the treatment, and, thereby, evaluate the treatment team's care in order to improve it.

Surgical treatment of skin lesions induced by sulfur mustard ("mustard gas")--an experimental study in the guinea pig.

Sulfur mustard has been known as a chemical warfare agent since 1915 and its biological effects, e.g. acting as an alkylating agent reacting with nucleophiles in proteins and nucleic acids, are well known.