Transient hyperthyroxinemia in newborns from women with autoimmune thyroid disease and raised levels of thyroid peroxidase antibodies.

Objective: Although it is well established that maternal thyroid disease and increased levels of thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRab) during pregnancy are associated with a number of complications, is the significance of increased levels of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) alone a matter for discussion? The aim of the present study was to examine whether transplacental passage of TPOab from women with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) interferes with thyroid function in the neonate.

Methods: Pregnant women with AITD (raised levels of TPOab) and their neonates were monitored with regard to variations of thyroid hormones, thyrotropin (TSH), and TPOab. Pregnant women with non-AITD served as controls.

Magnetic resonance imaging determination of extraocular eye muscle volume in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy and proptosis.

Purpose: Recent studies concerning the association between extraocular muscle (EOM) enlargement in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and immunological and clinical activity have not been conclusive, probably due to a lack of uniform imaging methods (ultrasonography, computer tomography [CT] or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) and difficulties in the determination of EOM volume. The aim of the present study was to examine the significance of EOM enlargement as established by MRI-based volume determination, with reference to proptosis and the presence of autoantibodies, clinical activity and the duration of active disease.

Methods: We determined EOM volume using MRI in 15 patients concomitantly with the determination of TSH, thyroid hormones, thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRab) thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) and clinical activity score (CAS) at entry.

Subclinical hyperthyroidism in patients with nodular goiter represents a hypermetabolic state.

The aim of the study was to examine the metabolic status in patients with suppressed TSH but values of FT4I and T3 within the reference range (subclinical hyperthyroidism [sH]). Thirteen patients and 13 control persons with nodular goiter were included. The metabolic state was determined by measurements of basal oxygen consumption (VO2), bone mineral density (BMD), and the circadian variation of TSH.

Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with a low-grade inflammation, increased triglyceride levels and predicts cardiovascular disease in males below 50 years.

Objective: Mild thyroid failure is associated with an increased risk for development of atherosclerosis, but whether subclinical hypothyroidism is related to risk for cardiovascular disease is controversial. The purpose of the present study was to examine a possible association between subclinical hypothyroidism and cardiovascular disease.

Design: Cross-sectional study of a general population.

The significance of clinical euthyroidism on reference range for thyroid hormones.

BACKGROUND: The reference range for thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is usually established either by using the manufacturer's recommendations or by analyzing blood tests from a serum bank or from the local laboratory staff, assuming that they are healthy and euthyroid. The aim of this study was to examine the significance of clinical euthyroidism and a normal basal oxygen consumption on the reference range for thyroid hormones and TSH. METHODS: A clinical examination, including information on medication, was performed on 31 apparently healthy persons.

Incidence of gestational hypertension in gestational diabetes mellitus.

The purpose of this study has been to establish the incidence of gestational hypertension (GH) in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to examine the frequency of complications in women with co-existent GDM and GH. Furthermore, we wished to evaluate the significance of urine albumin excretion determined by the urine albumin creatinine ratio (ACR). A total of 215 successive pregnancies with risk factors for gestational diabetes, as defined by the Danish National Board of Health screened for gestational diabetes by the WHO criteria, were reviewed.

Acute interstitial nephritis associated with the use of mesalazine in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: In the last 10 years several reports have linked oral 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) therapy to acute and chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, but to our knowledge only 2 patients have been reported with terminal end-stage renal disease due to mesalazine (5-ASA). After 1 year of treatment with 5-ASA annual monitoring of serum creatinine is recommended.

Results: We report the development of end-stage renal disease in a patient 10 months after the last assessment of serum creatinine, which was normal at 71 micromol/l.

A prospective comparison of wedge matrix resection with nail matrix phenolization for the treatment of ingrown toenail.

In a prospective study, 110 patients with ingrown toenails were operated on, 55 with wedge matrix resection (WMR) and 55 with nail matrix phenolization (NMP). The patients were randomized on the basis of their address. All patients were reviewed by questionnaire 4 weeks postoperatively to establish the degree of pain, time of pain relief, walking and working ability, and the presence of infection.

Traumatic bilateral quadriceps tendon rupture.

Bilateral spontaneous quadriceps tendon rupture is a very rare event, with only an estimated 40 cases reported in the literature. We report a case of bilateral spontaneous quadriceps tendon rupture and review the literature. The reviewed literature recommends early repair; therefore, early diagnosis is crucial.

The epidemiology of elbow fracture in children: analysis of 355 fractures, with special reference to supracondylar humerus fractures.

We present a study of the pattern of elbow fractures in children under 15 years of age, during a 5-year period, with special reference to supracondylar humerus fractures. The incidence was 308/100 000 per year; 58% of the children had a fracture in the supracondylar area of the humerus. There were 355 elbow fractures, and there were 164 boys (46%) and 191 girls (54%).

Duration of postoperative antibiotic therapy following revision for infected knee and hip arthroplasties.

In the period from 1990 to 1998 28 patients (14 males and 14 females) were treated for infected hip (19 cases) and knee (9 cases) arthroplasties. The median age at index operation was 72 y (range 34-82 y) and at revision surgery 74 y (range 36-83 y). The primary diagnosis was osteoarthritis (16 cases), rheumatoid arthritis (5 cases), failed femoral neck fracture (6 cases) and arthritis secondary to congenital hip dislocation (1 case).

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of perindopril in normotensive, normoalbuminuric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease. We examined whether ACE inhibitor treatment may have a nephroprotective effect in normotensive insulin-dependent diabetic patients without microalbuminuria and with normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and whether any effect was associated with the ACE genotype. In a prospective double-blind randomized study, normotensive patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus with normal serum creatinine and no microalbuminuria were treated with either placebo or perindopril, an ACE inhibitor.

Bone and joint tuberculosis in Denmark: increase due to immigration.

We studied the epidemiology of bone and joint tuberculosis (TB) in Denmark during the period 1993-1997, using data in the national Danish TB register. We found 95 cases, accounting for 4% of all tuberculosis cases and 15% of extrapulmonary cases, giving a mean annual incidence of 0.4 per 10(5) in the period.

Traumatic duodenal rupture in a soccer player.

Traumatic duodenal rupture resulting from blunt trauma during soccer is an extremely rare occurrence. A case report of this unusual condition is presented together with a review of the literature.

Comparison between in-line and rollerskating injury. A prospective study.

Rollerskating is an activity that has become increasingly popular over the past several years among children and adults in Denmark. During a 7-month period in 1997, 300 in-line skaters and 107 roller skaters were treated in the Emergency Department, Esbjerg County Hospital. Of these, 60.

The epidemiology of Achilles tendon rupture in a Danish county.

The epidemiology of Achilles tendon ruptures was examined during the 13-year period 1984-1996 in a Danish county. Five hospitals, serving a population of 220,000 cooperated. There were 718 ruptures, 544 men (75.

Results from screening for gestational diabetes mellitus in a Danish county.

Objective: To examine the complications in gestational diabetes mellitus with special reference to the significance of the threshold for the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT, plasma glucose > or = 7.8 mmol/l (equivalent to blood glucose 6.9 mmol/l) (WHO criteria) or blood glucose > 6.

Gigantic benign schwannoma in the lateral peroneal nerve.

While schwannomas of the lateral peroneal nerve at the neck of the fibula are rare, this entity should be considered in the differential diagnosis of popliteal cysts and in all cases of pain or paresthesia of the leg and foot. Magnetic resonance imaging is the diagnostic tool of choice for diagnosis of schwannoma.

Volvulus of the transverse colon in children.

Volvulus of the transverse colon is extremely rare in children. A case report of this unusual condition in a 9-year-old girl is presented together with a review of the literature. The transverse colon volvulus was managed operatively by detorsion.

An outbreak of Pontiac fever among children following use of a whirlpool.

We investigated an outbreak of fever, most likely due to a contaminated whirlpool, among nine adults and six children residing in a summerhouse. The outbreak was characterized by a high attack rate, short incubation periods, influenza-like symptoms, and rapid recoveries, all features typical of Pontiac fever. However, the children had less-characteristic symptoms than the adults, and they did not have any sequelae.

Granulomatous bone marrow inflammation during treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia with interferon alpha-2b.

A patient with chronic myeloid leukaemia developed bone marrow granulomas during treatment with interferon alpha-2b. Some granulomas had necrotic centres and giant cells and there was marked eosinophilia surrounding them. The granulomas disappeared when the interferon treatment was discontinued.

Ultrasound-guided renal biopsy with biopsy gun technique--efficacy and complications.

One hundred and thirty-one ultrasound-guided renal biopsies performed in 127 patients with automated spring-loaded biopsy technique were evaluated. Adequate tissue for histologic diagnosis was obtained in 92% of the procedures (94% of the patients). The mean glomerular yield was 16.

Assessment of anterior cruciate laxity using the Genucom System.

One hundred subjects with normal knees and 47 patients with chronic rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament were tested in the Genucom Knee Analysis System; the 13 different laxity tests were carried out on both knees. Measurements on right and left knees in normal subjects showed that only the lateral pivot shift test, performed at 25 degrees of knee flexion, had a good side-to-side correlation, but did not differentiate the involved and uninvolved knees in the patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency. The sensitivity of the lateral pivot shift was 30% and specificity 91%.