Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Retrograde transurethral balloon dilation of prostate: innovative management of abacterial chronic prostatitis and prostatodynia. Retrograde transurethral balloon dilatation (RTBD) of the prostate recently has been suggested as alternative therapy for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Seven patients with documented functional urinary outlet obstruction at the level of the bladder neck or prostatic urethra underwent RTBD of prostate. Each patient had a classic diagnosis of abacterial chronic prostatitis or prostatodynia based on history, physical examination, and localization cultures. Prior to RTBD of prostate, patients underwent cystoscopy, voiding cystourethrogram, urodynamic and uroflow studies. RTBD of prostate was done as an outpatient procedure requiring intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Dilation was performed with a 25-mm urethroplasty balloon catheter inflated at 3.5 atm of pressure for twenty minutes. Improvement in voiding symptomatology was noted in all patients and graded numerically (0-10 scale), with ten indicating normal voiding. Follow-up to date ranges from one to five months. This technique may have promise as a treatment option in patients with abacterial chronic prostatitis and prostatodynia. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Immune competent cells of regional lymph nodes in colorectal cancer patients: I. Flow cytometric analysis of lymphocyte subpopulation. Lymphocyte subpopulations of the regional lymph nodes in 20 colorectal cancer patients were measured by flow cytometry to analyze nodal lymphocytes phenotypically. Eleven patients with cholelithiasis were used as controls. Comparison of lymphocyte subpopulations between colorectal cancer and control groups revealed a significantly increased rate of Leu-12+ cells in the cancer patients. Furthermore, a significant increase of Leu-3a+ Leu-8- cells and a significant decrease of Leu-3a+ Leu-8+ cells were also found in the paracolic nodes of the cancer patients. However, Leu-2a+ Leu-15- cells were not different between the both groups. Meanwhile, in the cancer patients, the rates of Leu-4+, Leu-3a+, and Leu-3a+ Leu-8- cells were higher in the paracolic nodes compared with the intermediate nodes. Additional investigation of the correlation between clinicopathological features of the tumors and lymphocyte subpopulations, showed that Leu-12+ cells were related to the tumor size and Leu-2a+ 15- cells related to the histopathological type. The foregoing results indicate that the rates of both B and helper T cells, which may specifically participate in the antibody production, increase in the regional lymph nodes of colorectal cancer patients. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Clinical and electrographic effects of acute anticonvulsant withdrawal in epileptic patients. We retrospectively investigated the effects of acute antiepileptic drug (AED) withdrawal on seizure symptomatology--including frequency, clinical features, and electrical onset--by studying 35 patients during evaluation for epilepsy surgery. The highest risk for both partial and secondary generalized seizures occurred during absent or subtherapeutic, and not during rapidly falling, AED levels. AED withdrawal had minimal effect on clinical symptomatology or electrographic onset. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion. A curable entity using surgery alone without need for adjuvant therapy. Of 408 negative axillary node (NAN) patients surgically treated at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, NY, 1976 through 1987), 36 (8.8%) presented with ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM). In more than 50% of the patients (20/36) the disease was detected solely by mammography (microcalcifications and/or radiological density less than 1.5 cm). Thirty-three patients underwent modified radical mastectomy; three had wide excision +/- axillary dissection. Residual disease after excisional biopsy was found in 22 of 33 mastectomy specimens (67%): 11 (33%) pure ductal carcinoma in situ, five (15%) DCISM, and six (18%) frankly invasive. Of the 22 incidents of residual disease, 50% (11) were multicentric (one third of all specimens). These findings imply a high likelihood of residual cancer after excisional biopsy in these patients. All patients were free of disease for a mean follow-up of 57 months (range, 16 to 137). These findings indicate that DCISM is an entirely curable disease when treated by mastectomy alone, without the need for adjuvant therapy, regardless of the status of other prognostic factors such as tumor size, histologic differentiation, age, or steroid receptor status. 

Category: neoplasms
Allergen-induced increase in airway responsiveness and inflammation in mild asthma. The relationship between airway responsiveness to methacholine and inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was determined in patients with history of rhinitis and/or mild bronchial asthma either at baseline (10 patients) or 3-4 h after allergen inhalation challenge (11 patients). At baseline, airway responsiveness did not correlate with any BAL cell population. When data obtained after allergen challenge were included in the analysis, 44% of the variability of airway responsiveness was explained by a multiple regression model with BAL eosinophils as a directly correlated (P = 0.002) independent variable and with BAL macrophages as an inversely correlated (P = 0.045) independent variable. Changes in airway responsiveness after allergen challenge were predicted (82% of variance explained) by a model with BAL eosinophils and BAL lymphocytes as directly correlated (P = 0.0002 and P = 0.03, respectively) independent variables. We conclude that, in stable asymptomatic asthma, baseline airway responsiveness does not correlate with the presence in the airways of inflammatory and immunoeffector cells that can be recovered by BAL. Nevertheless the allergen-induced increase in airway responsiveness is associated with an influx of eosinophils and lymphocytes in the bronchial lumen. 

Category: general pathological conditions
The effect of pH buffering on reducing the pain associated with subcutaneous infiltration of bupivicaine [published erratum appears in Am J Emerg Med 1991 Jul;9(4):410] The authors propose that pH buffering of bupivicaine with sodium bicarbonate reduces the pain associated with its local subcutaneous infiltration. In a double-blind, prospective study, 62 healthy adult volunteers received a 0.5 mL subcutaneous infiltration of 0.5% buffered bupivicaine into the dorsum of a randomly chosen hand. The pH was adjusted to 7.0 by adding 0.05 mL of sodium bicarbonate (1 mEq/L [corrected]) to 10 mL vials of commercially available bupivicaine (1:200 dilution). The control hand was injected with the same amount of unbuffered agent. Pain was scored after each infiltration using a nonsegmented visual analogue scale. Student's t-test for paired measurements was used to analyze intergroup pain score differences. Forty-three subjects (69%) reported less pain with buffered bupivicaine and only 17 (27%) noted a modest increase: two subjects (3%) reported no difference. The mean pain score for the buffered agent was 22 mm compared with 30 mm for the control. The mean difference (control-experimental) was 8 mm (t = 4.64, df = 61, P less than .001). The authors conclude that the addition of sodium bicarbonate to bupivicaine reduces the pain associated with its local infiltration. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Reversed lateralization of cognitive functions in right handers. Exceptions to classical aphasiology. Most current and past research on the cerebral organization of cognitive functions has presupposed certain specialized hemisphere operations. At least for right handers, language and praxis are to be organized in the left hemisphere, while affective prosody, configurational spatial capacity, and global attention are lateralized in the right hemisphere. Deviations from these presuppositions, as in crossed aphasics and perhaps left handers, are generally considered to be 'exceptions' and either to disprove the rules or to be irrelevant to the rule. We report 4 very 'exceptional' cases, right handers with almost entirely reversed lateralization of functions. Analysis of the intrahemispheric relationships between functions suggests that there may be a specific neurobiology to the interrelationships between and among cognitive functions, handedness, and the intrahemisphere localization of the function. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Effect of a leukocyte-platelet removal filter on ischemia induced reperfusion injury. The effect of leukocyte and platelet depletion on reperfusion injury using a leukocyte-platelet removal filter (LRF) in intracoronary thrombolysis is reported. To better define the usefulness of LRF in evaluating the effectiveness of intracoronary thrombolysis with this device, several cardiovascular variables were examined in rabbits during ischemia followed by reperfusion. The rabbits underwent cytoapheresis with LRF (n = 5) and were compared with controls without LRF (n = 5). LRF was composed of a nonwoven polyester fabric (1.8 microns, 4.6 gm). Removal of leukocytes and platelets by LRF was 98% for both. A period of 30 min equilibration was allowed before any experimental intervention, at which time the diagonal artery was occluded for 20 min and then reperfused. All arrhythmias were defined and quantified in accordance with the Lambeth Convention. Regional wall thickening was examined by a pulsed Doppler dimension system. No significant differences were observed in hemodynamic variables between the two groups; however, rabbits treated with a LRF demonstrated greater regional wall thickening (LRF group: 17 +/- 0.9%, control group: 11 +/- 0.3%, p less than 0.01), as well as significant improvement in the frequency of ventricular arrhythmias (LRF group: 12.5%, control group: 47.2%, p less than 0.01). The data suggest that LRF may help prevent arrhythmias, and preserve left ventricular contraction, during and after intracoronary thrombolysis. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Management of subglottic stenosis in the adult. Twenty-one adult patients were surgically treated for severe subglottic stenosis refractory to endoscopic treatment. Patients were treated by anterior or anterior and posterior cricoid division with costal cartilage grafting. Seventy-six percent of the patients were successfully decannulated. Success of treatment was not dependent on cause of the stenosis or age or sex of the patient. There was a significantly better outcome (p less than .05) in patients with isolated subglottic stenosis versus those with combined glottic and subglottic stenosis. 

Category: neoplasms
A randomized controlled trial of allopurinol in coronary bypass surgery. A plethora of experimental evidence indicates that allopurinol reduces the formation of cytotoxic free radicals during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of allopurinol on cardiac performance and early mortality after coronary bypass surgery. Allopurinol (n = 89) or placebo (n = 80) was administered to 169 patients before surgery. Randomization produced groups evenly matched for surgical risk factors. Hospital mortality rate in the placebo group was 14 of 80 (18%) in the allopurinol group 4 of 89 (4%), p = 0.014. Cardiac performance, scored by cardiac index and the need for ionotropic or mechanical support, was significantly better in the allopurinol group. More nonfatal complications occurred in the allopurinol group. When either a complication or death is termed an event, the proportion of events was equal in the two groups. No side effects were identified. We now administer allopurinol to all patients who are undergoing bypass surgery unless specifically contraindicated. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Endoscopic comparison of cimetidine and sucralfate for prevention of naproxen-induced acute gastroduodenal injury. Effect of scoring method. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug-induced gastroduodenal mucosal damage observed endoscopically is usually categorized as hemorrhages, erosions, or ulcerations. We undertook this study to determine whether the injury produced by a commonly prescribed NSAID, naproxen, could be reduced by cotherapy with sucralfate or cimetidine and to determine how dependent the differences in the degree of protection against mucosal injury measured were on the scoring system used. Four groups of 20 healthy volunteers with endoscopically normal gastric and duodenal mucosa received naproxen (500 mg twice a day) plus cimetidine (300 mg four times a day or 400 mg twice a day), sucralfate (1 g four times a day), or placebo for seven days. After seven days of therapy, a second endoscopy was performed. Separate scoring systems were used for the presence of hemorrhages, erosions, and a combination of both types of injury. There were significantly fewer mucosal hemorrhages present when naproxen and cimetidine were administered than when naproxen was administered with placebo or sucralfate (placebo vs 300 mg cimetidine, P = 0.04, and placebo vs 400 mg cimetidine, P = 0.006, placebo vs sucralfate, P = 0.26). Both cimetidine dosages resulted in significantly fewer hemorrhages than were present following cotherapy of naproxen and sucralfate (P less than 0.05). In contrast, there was no discernible difference in the mucosal injury between placebo and any drug or between any two active therapies when the injury was evaluated based on the presence of gastric erosions. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Chondrolipoangioma. A cartilage-containing benign mesenchymoma of soft tissue. The clinical and pathologic features of four cases of benign mesenchymoma in which mature cartilage represented the predominant component are reported. The distinctive histologic feature in all four cases was a lobular proliferation of cartilaginous tissue exhibiting a spectrum of hyaline cartilage, fibrocartilage, myxoid cartilage, and cartilage with ossification and even bone marrow formation, intimately associated with mature adipose tissue and vascular elements. The localization of these tumors was in the proximity of a bone, but not attached to the periosteum or in continuity with a joint. Because these lesions may be mistaken for other cartilaginous neoplasms of soft tissue, recognition of this entity has potentially important diagnostic and therapeutic implications in that mutilating surgery may be avoided. 

Category: neoplasms
Mechanisms of gas-exchange impairment in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. To investigate the mechanisms of pulmonary gas-exchange impairment in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and to evaluate their potential relationship to the CO diffusing capacity (DLCO), we studied 15 patients with IPF (mean DLCO, 52% of predicted) at rest (breathing room air and pure O2) and during exercise. We measured pulmonary hemodynamics and respiratory gas-exchange variables, and we separated the ventilation-perfusion (VAQ) mismatching and O2 diffusion limitation components of arterial hypoxemia using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. At rest VA/Q mismatching was moderate (2 to 4% of cardiac output perfusing poorly or unventilated lung units), and 19% of AaPO2 was due to O2 diffusion limitation. During exercise VA/Q mismatch did not worsen but the diffusion component of arterial hypoxemia increased markedly (40% AaPO2, p less than 0.005). We observed that those patients with higher pulmonary vascular tone (more release of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction) showed less pulmonary hypertension during exercise (p less than 0.05), less VA/Q mismatching [at rest (p less than 0.005) and during exercise (p less than 0.0025)], and higher arterial PO2 during exercise (p = 0.01). We also found that DLCO corrected for alveolar volume (KCO) correlated with the mechanisms of hypoxemia during exercise [VA/Q mismatching (p less than 0.025) and O2 diffusion limitation (p less than 0.05)] and with the increase in pulmonary vascular resistance elicited by exercise (p less than 0.005). In conclusion, we showed that the abnormalities of the pulmonary vasculature are key to modulate gas exchange in IPF, especially during exercise. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Sinistral (left-sided) portal hypertension. Between 1953 and 1988, 21 patients with splenic vein thrombosis (SVT), 12 of whom had sinistral portal hypertension (SPH) were treated at our institution. SVT was identified at autopsy in nine patients. Twelve additional patients presented with SPH: bleeding esophageal varices, SVT and normal hepatic function. SVT was caused by pancreatic neoplasm (5), chronic pancreatitis (5), and pancreatic pseudocyst (2). SVT was diagnosed by splanchnic angiography, splenoportography, computerized tomography, and ultrasonography. Gastric varices were diagnosed by endoscopy (10) and barium swallow (2). Splenectomy was performed as primary therapy in 10 patients. Three of these 10 had en block distal pancreatectomy. Two high-risk patients had splenic artery embolization, one as a prelude to splenectomy performed 48 hours later and the other as definitive therapy. One splenectomized patient continued to bleed. No further bleeding occurred in 10 splenectomized patients in follow-up from 1 week to 14 years. Sinistral portal hypertension is a clinical syndrome of splenic vein thrombosis caused by pancreatic pathology and manifests as bleeding gastric varices in patients with a patent portal vein and normal hepatic function. Splanchnic arteriography is necessary for accurate diagnosis. Splenectomy is the effective treatment of choice. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
The endophthalmitis vitrectomy study [editorial] Endophthalmitis after cataract surgery can be a disastrous complication that may result in functional loss of an eye. All patients with this problem should receive direct injection of intravitreal antibiotics. The roles of initial vitrectomy and of intravenous antibiotics in treating this condition are controversial. Through a prospective, randomized, clinical trial, these issues can be assessed. We encourage ophthalmologists close to each clinical center to refer patients with postoperative endophthalmitis to these clinics. Questions concerning the Endophthalmitis Vitrectomy Study can be addressed to the principal investigator at the nearest clinical trial center. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Gallstone clearance: a randomized study of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and chemical dissolution Following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy it is not known whether gallstone fragments are cleared from the gallbladder without the use of oral dissolution therapy. To assess the efficacy of lithotripsy and dissolution therapy, alone or in combination, 35 patients were randomized to one of three treatment groups: lithotripsy alone, dissolution therapy alone or combined lithotripsy and dissolution therapy. All patients had symptomatic gallstones, functioning gallbladders and comparable stone profiles. Lithotripsy was administered using a piezoelectric lithotripter. Dissolution therapy consisted of combined bile acid and terpene. Clearance was assessed at 6 months using ultrasound and oral cholecystography. Patients with less than 50 per cent stone clearance at the end of 6 months were considered failures. The number of patients with total or partial clearance in the combined group (7/10) was significantly greater than those in the lithotripsy alone group (0/10, P less than 0.002). Gallstone clearance following lithotripsy appears to be dependent upon dissolution therapy. 

Category: digestive system diseases
General assay for phosphoproteins in cerebrospinal fluid: a candidate marker for paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration. The components of protein phosphorylation systems (protein kinases, protein phosphatases, and their phosphoprotein substrates) are highly enriched in neuronal cells compared with other cell types. We exploited this relative neuronal enrichment of protein phosphorylation system components to develop a general assay technique for putative protein kinase substrates (phosphoproteins) in human cerebrospinal fluid. Using this cerebrospinal fluid phosphoprotein assay, we have detected a putative protein kinase C substrate protein of apparent Mr 60 kd in 6 of 14 patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration but not in any of 55 patients with a variety of other neurological diseases. Phosphoproteins in cerebrospinal fluid may provide novel and unique markers for the diagnosis or staging of neuronal diseases as well as offer potential insights into the biochemical characterization of affected neuronal populations. 

Category: neoplasms
Magnetic resonance imaging white matter lesions and cognitive impairment in hypertensive individuals. To search for a morphologic basis of cognitive impairment possibly associated with essential hypertension, we studied 35 otherwise asymptomatic hypertensive individuals (mean age, 38.7 years; range, 22 to 49 years) and 20 normotensive control subjects (mean age, 37.9 years; range, 26 to 49 years) using neuropsychologic tests and magnetic resonance imaging. Irrespective of drug treatment, hypertensive individuals performed significantly worse than did control subjects when assessed for verbal memory and total learning and memory capacity, while there were no differences in test results of visual memory, attention, vigilance, and reaction time. The hypertensive individuals also described themselves as less active but ranked similar on five other mood subscales. Punctate high-signal intensities of the white matter were found almost twice as often in the hypertensive group (38%) as in the control group (20%). There was no difference in test performance between hypertensive individuals with and those without white matter lesions, however. Our results confirm the presence of subtle neuropsychologic deficits and indicate a higher frequency of white matter signal abnormalities in essential hypertension, as shown on magnetic resonance imaging, but do not indicate a correlation of these findings with each other. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Chest infection following head and neck surgery: a pilot study. This paper reports the results of a pilot study which examined factors associated with chest infection following head and neck surgery. The overall rate of chest infection was 11%, but was 20% in those patients having a tracheotomy. No infection developed in patients with an intact airway. Other factors which emerged as possibly important were the duration of surgery and heavy regular alcohol intake. We recommend that prophylactic antibiotics be continued for at least 48 h in patients requiring a tracheotomy as part of their head and neck surgery. This is against the trend of shorter antibiotic regimens recommended for prevention of wound infections. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Incarceration of colonoscope in an inguinal hernia. "Pulley" technique of removal. Because of its relative safety, colonoscopy has become an accepted diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in the evaluation of patients with colorectal disorders. Many unusual complications of colonoscopy have been described, but only anecdotal reports of hernial incarceration have been published. We present a case of a right-sided hernial incarceration of the colonoscope that would not permit reduction of the hernia nor removal of the instrument by conventional means. The mechanism of incarceration, which dictates the size of hernia at risk for incarceration, is explained. The "pulley" technique, which was used to remove the instrument without surgical intervention, is described. 

Category: digestive system diseases