HELLP syndrome: undiagnosed in a case of impending rupture of uterus. A case report.

A 31-year-old women, 34 weeks gestation with intrauterine fetal death, and transverse lie with impending rupture of the uterus due to obstructed labor, was scheduled for urgent cesarean section. On preoperative anesthetic assessment, she was diagnosed to have HELLP syndrome based on clinical findings (subsequently confirmed by laboratory results). She was anesthetized taking the necessary precautions.

High prevalence of metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among Saudi population, aged 30-64 years.

Objective: Study the prevalence of metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia and other cholesterol related risk factors among Saudi population, aged 30-64 years.

Design: Cross sectional national epidemiological randomized household survey.

Subject: 2059 Saudi subjects, aged 30-64 years.

Rabbit liver contains one major sterol 12alpha-hydroxylase with broad substrate specificity.

Conversion of cholesterol into cholic acid in mammalian liver requires a 12alpha-hydroxylation step. Results have been presented suggesting that two different enzymes are involved in this hydroxylation with different activities towards the two steroids believed to be the physiological substrates for the enzyme, 7alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one and 5beta-cholestane-3alpha,7alpha-diol. It is shown here that rabbit liver microsomes and partly purified sterol 12alpha-hydroxylase as well as COS cells transfected with a cDNA coding for this enzyme are able to catalyze 12alpha-hydroxylation of the two substrates at similar relative rates.

Overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabian adult population, role of socio-demographic variables.

The objectives of this Community-based National Epidemiological Household Survey, conducted between 1990-1993, were to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia and to examine its association with the socio-demographic characteristics of the adult population. A sample of Saudis 20 years and over was selected using a multistage stratified cluster sampling technique with probability proportionate to size. The selected subjects were requested to visit primary health care centers in their localities.

The use of an expert system of composite risk factors in breast cancer screening.

Mass Screening seems to be the only promising way to discover breast cancer patients at an early and more curable stage and a positive method improving the cost-effectiveness and compliance of mass screening is the use of prognostic factors, to identify the high-risk group, who alone then would be screened. In a 200 women sample, who had undergone screening for breast cancer with clinical examination and bilateral mammography, we calculated the Composite Risk Factors of six Characteristics (C6RF), which are family history for breast cancer, pregnancy history, menstrual history, history of cystic breast disease, history of regular breast clinical or self-examination and presence or not of breast lump, using an expert system in IBM-compatible personal computer. In these cases the average C6RF was 0.

Detection of stellate distortions in mammograms.

Malignant densities in mammograms have an irregular appearance and frequently are surrounded by a radiating pattern of linear spicules. In this paper a method is described to detect such stellate patterns. This method is based on statistical analysis of a map of pixel orientations.

Serum TNF-alpha, sCD8 and sIL-2R levels in childhood tuberculosis.

In this study we have determined the serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), soluble CD8 (sCD8) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels in children with active pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 66) and healthy controls (n = 20). Measurable serum TNF-alpha levels were detected in nine of 86 children (10.5%), all of whom belonged to the group with active disease.

The anesthetic and intensive care management of pulmonary hemosiderosis in a child--case report.

Pulmonary hemosiderosis represents challenges during anesthesia and intensive care management. This is a report of a case of idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis in a child which was successfully managed during anesthesia and in the intensive care unit with total remission of the disease. The management of this and similar cases are discussed.

Semi-automatic tracking of myocardial motion in MR tagged images.

Tissue tagging using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has enabled quantitative noninvasive analysis of motion and deformation in vivo. One method for MR tissue tagging is Spatial Modulation of Magnetization (SPAMM). Manual detection and tracking of tissue tags by visual inspection remains a time-consuming and tedious process.

Using an image database to constrain the acquisition and reconstruction of MR images of the human head.

A training set of MR images of normal and abnormal heads was used to derive a complete set of orthonormal basis functions which converged to head-like images more rapidly than Fourier basis functions. The new image representation was used to reconstruct MR images of other heads from a relatively small number of phase-encoded signal measurements. The training images also determined exactly which phase-encoded signals should be measured to minimize image reconstruction error.

Fast SPECT simulation including object shape dependent scatter.

A fast simulator of SPECT projection data taking into account attenuation, distance dependent detector response, and scatter has been developed, based on an analytical point spread function model. The parameters of the scatter response are obtained from a single line source measurement with a triangular phantom. The simulator is able to include effects of object curvature on the scatter response to a high accuracy.

Automated nurse rostering system for administrative efficiency as a subsystem of a total hospital information system.

After trying a variety of nurse scheduling packages, the Chiba University Hospital chose to develop their own system and implemented it in April 1994. The system is the newest component of their HIS which has been functioning since 1991. The rostering system avails itself of the modern client server technology which has been installed over the past few years.

Neuroelectrophysiological evaluation of untreated hyperthyroid patients.

Hyperthyroidism is a common endocrinologic disorder affecting many organ systems. Musculoskeletal and neurological involvement present themselves as fatigue, muscle weakness and paralysis. Electromyography (EMG) is essential for differential diagnosis of muscle weakness.

Experimental granulomatous alveolitis in rat. Effect of antigen manipulation, smoke exposure and route of administration.

When Sephadex beads (0.45mg/kg b.w) are instilled intratracheally into rats, a granulomatous alveolitis with giant cell formation and fibrosis occurs.

Determination of optimal angiographic viewing angles: basic principles and evaluation study.

Foreshortening of vessel segments in angiographic (biplane) projection images may cause misinterpretation of the extent and degree of coronary artery disease. The views in which the object of interest are visualized with minimum foreshortening are called optimal views. The authors present a complete approach to obtain such views with computer-assisted techniques.

Increased expression of CD25 and adhesion molecules on peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and ANCA positive vasculitides.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes of 29 c-ANCA positive WG patients fulfilling the ACR classification criteria were examined for the expression of various leukocyte surface molecules by dual marker cytofluorometry (FACStar, Becton Dickinson). Activation markers such as CD25, HLA-DR, CD29 and adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and LFA-3) were clearly elevated in this group in comparison to 40 healthy volunteers. Similar results were obtained for p-ANCA positives vasculitides (n = 13) and, unexpectedly, also for patients suffering from cholesteatoma, a chronic, bacterial infection of the middle ear (n = 21).