Human lamellar tendon graft in corneal surgery.

Background: Due to the lack of donor corneas or unsuitable conditions for keratoplasty because of preexisting conditions such as vascularization, infections, and multiple rejections, scientists have searched for new synthetic and biological materials that can temporarily or permanently substitute for corneal tissue. The purpose of this article is to show our personal experiences with the use of commercially available donor tendon tissue which has been chemically treated and was developed by Muldashev.

Methods: Ten eyes unsuitable for a corneal allograft underwent lamellar keratoplasty using tendon allografts.

The extracellular matrix in slow-growing tumors of the central nervous system.

This report describes and illustrates the results of the histopathological and histochemical investigation on five slow-growing tumors of the central nervous system: four meningiomas and an ependymoma of the spinal cord. We have studied, by means of polarizing microscopy, sections stained with picro-sirius red F3BA that enhance the birefringence of collagen and reticulum fibres. The heterogeneous behaviour of the distribution of the collagen let us conclude that the fibrillar component of the extracellular matrix have a scarce importance for the speed of growth of these tumours.

Serum neuron-specific enolase in various pathological conditions.

Quantitative determination of neuron-specific enolase in the serum was performed by RIA method in 18 neurological patients and in 22 patients with pulmonary diseases. The data confirmed that the specificity of this marker is not absolute for the detection both of the nature and of the seat of origin of the disease. Further problems are posed in patients which simultaneously suffer from endocrine, nervous and pulmonary abnormality.

Trend of caesarean section in Italy: an examination of national data 1980-1985.

An Italian nationwide presentation of data concerning the proportion of births by caesarean section (CS) for the period 1980-1985 is presented here. A constant increase in CS was noted, from 11.2% in 1980 to 15.

Prevalence survey of nosocomial infections in a paediatric hospital.

A prevalence survey of nosocomial and community infections in a children's hospital was carried out in the wards of the Bambino Gesù Hospital, Rome, Italy. The overall prevalence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) was 5.1%, with higher rates in surgical units and among children aged 1 to 5 years.

Indications for caesarean section: results of a local study.

Records from 6820 deliveries of three year (1980, 1985 and 1988) were reviewed in order to collect informations on cesarean section trend and its indications in a public hospital of Milan, Italy. Data show the magnitude of the phenomenon in the wards considered and an evident increase of cesarean section proportion from 1980 (18.6%) to 1988 (26.

Symptomatic tension pneumocephalus after evacuation of chronic subdural haematoma: report of seven cases.

We present seven cases of tension pneumocephalus developing after burr hole evacuation of chronic subdural haematoma. After a careful review of the literature we discuss the physiopathology, the diagnosis and the treatment of this complication of chronic subdural haematoma surgery.

[Tetravalent anti-meningococcal vaccine: serologic and clinical evaluation].

Meningococcal disease is the only bacterial meningitis able to cause an epidemic and the mortality due to this disease is all but negligible; therefore the active immunization induced by a vaccine that includes a large portion of Neisseria meningitidis serogroups responsible for the immunization of subjects at risk. Tetravalent vaccine containing polysaccharides of the serogroups A, C, Y, W135 has given good results both for tolerability and immune response. Considering the epidemic situation in Italy, this vaccine could be an excellent strategy "to behead" possible epidemics and/or hyperendemics due to a known serogroups.

[Problems of laundry hygiene].

As the bacteria found more frequently in hospital infections are the same found in the linen, it is speculated that hospital linens can contribute to the spread of nosocomial patologies. Nevertheless this consideration does not prove that linen constitutes a significant source for transmission of hospital infections, although some studies have strengthened this possibility. The hygienic problems of hospital linens washing have a great importance and in this contest the possibility of contagion throught infected sheets or overalls constitutes only a part of the question.