Determination of glomerular filtration rate by means of newly developed plastic scintillation counter both with and without dilution procedures.

Unlabelled: The double-well single-plastic scintillation counter (DW counter) has been developed to reduce the need for technical expertise in a plasma sample method after a single injection of radioactive marker. The DW counter serves the 2 functions of a standard well counter in well A and a dose calibrator in well B. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical feasibility of the counter for the estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with (99m)Tc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA).

99mTc-MAG3: review of pharmacokinetics, clinical application to renal diseases and quantification of renal function.

About 14 years have passed since Fritzberg et al. developed 99mTc-MAG3 in 1986. The biological properties of this radiopharmaceutical are somewhat different from radioiodine labeled hippurate: it exhibits higher protein binding, slower blood clearance, higher extraction efficiency by tubular cells and larger excretion into the bile than the latter.

[A case treated with thoracoscopic wedge resection for cT1N0M0 lung cancer complicated with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypofunction of left ventricle in a octogenarian].

A 81-year-old man who had medical treatment for both COPD and essential hypertension was admitted to our institution for evaluation of shadows of a mass in the right upper field on chest X-rays. The tumor was 3.0 cm in diameter on chest CT and diagnosed to be bronchogenic squamous cell carcinoma on the basis of findings of bronchoscopic brushing.

[Radionuclide studies of the digestive organ and genitourinary system for general radiologists].

Radionuclide imaging is useful in demonstrating the functional anatomy of target organs and has been used to in routine practices involving the digestive tract and genitourinary system. Such procedures are now limited in number of practices because of the advance of morphological modalities such as CT, MRI, and US. The functional information and data analysis obtained from radionuclide studies may be feasible for CT, MRI, and US.

[A case treated surgically through anterior axillary thoracotomy for recurrent right spontaneous pneumothorax after repeated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery].

A 21-year-old male who had thoracoscopic surgery for right spontaneous pneumothorax was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea due to the recurrence. There was no bulla in right apex but empysematous change in visceral pleura at re-thoracoscopic surgery. Two bulla in right S6 were removal using endo-stapler.

[Single-blood-sample method for the determination of glomerular filtration rate using 99mTc-DTPA in Japanese].

The study was aimed to evaluate glomerular filtration rate with 99mTc-DTPA by means of a single-plasma-sample method in Japanese. Three were 50 patients (29 males and 21 females, age range being 25 to 91 years) with diabetes mellitus of various degree of the renal function. 99mTc-DTPA of 300 MBq/2 ml that was prepared in our hospital was injected.

[Bone scintigraphy in metastatic bone disease].

Bone scintigraphy has been widely used in the evaluation of metastatic bone disease. It can provide easy performance of whole body evaluation and high sensitivity for the detection of lesions. However, the indication for bone scintigraphy is revised from views of the less specificity and relatively higher cost than newly introduced diagnostic tools such as CT and MRI in Japan.

[Successful treatment of a patient with recurrent ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma under combination chemotherapy of 5-FU (civ) and low-dose CDDP (i.v.)].

Resistance to conventional chemotherapy including CDDP is the most important therapeutic problem in ovarian cancer. The combination chemotherapy of 5-FU (civ) and low-dose CDDP (i.v.

[Pleural empyema complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax treated with thoracoscopic debridement and pleural irrigation: case report].

A 69-year-old man who had experienced spontaneous left pneumothorax one week previously was admitted to our hospital for the management of left empyema thoracis. Because the symptoms did not resolve with antibiotic therapy and chest tube drainage, thoracoscopic debridement and pleural irrigation were performed in the fibrinopurulent phase 4 days after admission. The postoperative course was uneventful.

[A case report treated in two-stage operations for lung cancer associated with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO)].

A case of lung cancer complicated with ASO treated surgically in two-stage procedures was reported. A 74-year-old male was admitted to our institution with the complaint of intermittent claudication. Chest X-rays showed shadows of a mass in the right upper lung field, and the tumor was suspected to be bronchogenic adenocarcinoma on the basis of findings of bronchoscopic brushing smears (class IIIb).

[Two case reports of bilateral synchronous pneumothorax treated in a single stage bilateral thoracoscopic surgery].

We report here two cases of bilateral synchronous pneumothorax treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The first case was a 15-year-old male and the second case was a 22-year-old male. Bilateral thoracoscopic surgery by using of endo-stapler was performed at one stage and Nd-YAG Laser ablation to both the emphysematous surroundings and multiple small blebs was added.

[A case report of pleural empyema treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in an elder patient receiving hemodialysis].

A 79-year-old male who had the treatment of renal failure with hemodialysis was admitted to our hospital for the management of right pleural empyema. We performed thoracoscopic débridement and pleural irrigation in the management of empyema thoracis, because both chest tube drainage and antibiotic therapy had failed. Postoperatively pleural irrigation was performed for three weeks and the chest drains were removed after four weeks.

Intrapulmonary cystic lymphangioma: report of a case.

We describe herein the case of a 52-year-old man found to have a solitary pulmonary lymphangioma. Computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a nodule with homogeneous density and a well-defined border in the lower lobe of the right lung. T2-Weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a nodule with homogeneously high signal intensity.

[Comparison of single sample methods for determination of plasma clearance using 99mTc-MAG3].

We compared relationship among three single blood sampling methods which have been proposed for determination of plasma clearance with 99mTc-MAG3. Russell's and Bubeck's algorithms were employed for 48 adults (average age: 53 years) and Bubeck's and Piepsz's algorithms were used in 9 children (average age: 5.8 years).

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax coexistent with diaphragmatic disorder.

A 57-year-old woman was admitted to JR Sapporo General Hospital with the complaint of dyspnea and palpitation following photogastroscopy. A chest roentgenogram revealed a simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax. Video-assisted thoracoscopy demonstrated multiple holes and nodules at the top of the right diaphragm and a ruptured bulla in the left lower lobe.

[A case report of small-sized peripheral lung cancer diagnosed by thoracoscopic biopsy].

A case who had surgical treatment for small-sized peripheral lung cancer diagnosed by thoracoscopic biopsy was reported. A 66-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of evaluation of an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. Chest CT showed that the tumor about 7 mm in diameter was situated in right S1b and suspected to be malignant.

[Successful video-assisted thoracoscopic bullectomy and Nd-YAG laser ablation].

We report here two cases of giant/multiple emphysematous bullae treated with video-assisted thoracoscopy. The first case was a 35-year-old male who was referred to our hospital because an abnormal shadow was casually pointed out in a chest roentgenogram. Chest computed tomographic scan showed giant bulla in the left upper lobe.

[A case report of video-assisted thoracoscopic resection for a pericardial cyst].

We report here a case of a pericardial cyst resected by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The patient was a 38-year-old male who was incidentally pointed out as having an abnormal shadow close to the superior vena cava on a chest X-ray film. A pericardial cyst was suspected after magnetic resonance imaging showed low intensity in T1 weighted image and high intensity in T2 weighted image.

[Comparative studies of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery versus thoracotomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax].

Between April 1992 and March 1997, 32 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were operated in our institution. In the first three years, 9 patients underwent thoracotomy which was classified into two groups axillary thoracotomy group (AX group) in 5 cases and postero-lateral thoracotomy group (PL group) in 4 cases. In the recent two years, 23 consecutive patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS group).

[A case of mediastinal neurilemmoma originating from the intrathoracic vagal nerve].

A case of mediastinal neurilemmoma originating from the left intrathoracic vagal nerve was reported. A 42-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of evaluation of an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. Both CT and MRI showed that the tumor was located in middle mediastinum between the aortic arch and the left pulmonary artery, and the diagnosis was suspected to be neurilemmoma originating from the intrathoracic vagal nerve.

Gastric duplication cyst: evaluation by endoscopic ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are becoming popular methods for examining tumorous lesions along the upper gastrointestinal tract. Though duplication cysts are uncommon, EUS findings from gastric duplication cysts have accumulated and proven very useful for preoperative diagnosis. There have been few reports, however, concerning MRI findings from these cysts.