[Activity of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology during the 25 years of its existence in the clinical arena].

Twenty-five years ago in the Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in Bratislava was created a Department of Clinical Epidemiology. It was the first department to bear this title. The authors analyze the activity of this department.

Adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase activities in peripheral blood cells of patients with neoplastic diseases. I. Bronchogenic carcinoma.

By means of sensitive and specific radiochromatographic methods the activities of adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase in peripheral blood cells of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma were estimated. It has been shown that purine nucleoside phosphorylase activity was two- to three-fold higher in lymphocytes of patients with epidermoid as well as other types of bronchogenic carcinoma in comparison with a group of healthy individuals. Adenosine deaminase activity in lymphocytes was elevated only in the group of patient with nonepidermoid carcinoma.

Combined treatment of patients with lung carcinoma. (Preliminary results assembled in international cooperative investigation).

The authors submit information on the preliminary results of combined treatment of patients with carcinoma of the lungs (epidermoid, adenocarcinoma, large-cell and combined carcinoma). The patients were classified, consistents with the protocol of the study, into two basic groups, each of which was sub-divided at random into two sub-groups. In the first group of 25 patients 9 were subjected to preoperative radiotherapy--2 000 rad (Co60) and 16 patients were operated without previous radiotherapy.

Early detection of airway abnormalities in a selected group of population.

Functional data were collected from 5,746 males from a country region, whose ages ranged from 14 to 65 years. Out of this population we excluded a group of 466 males (9%) who had abnormal results of traditional pulmonary function screening tests (FVC less than 80% reference values or FEV1% FVC less than 70%) and chose a group of 1,092 males (19%) with normal values for the above two parameters but with abnormal forced mid-expiratory flow. In randomly selected persons of the second group we found frequency dependent dynamic compliance (100%), abnormal maximum expiratory flow at 25% of vital capacity (98%), increased residual volume (76%), decreased maximum expiratory flow at 50% of vital capacity (67%), and increased closing capacity (57%); on the contrary static complicane and airway resistance were normal.