Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Acquired benign esophagorespiratory fistula: report of 16 consecutive cases. Sixteen cases of acquired benign esophagorespiratory fistula were treated in a 20-year period. A delay in diagnosis was usual, and most patients were first seen with a pulmonary infection already developed. Contrast esophageal x-ray studies established the diagnosis in all patients. There were seven esophagotracheal and nine esophagobronchial fistulas. A fistula between the esophageal diverticulum and a bronchus considered to be of inflammatory origin developed in 7 patients. A fistula as the consequence of trauma developed in 9 patients, and these fistulas were situated at a higher level of the respiratory tree. All patients underwent surgical treatment; in 12 it was definitive, and in 4 temporary gastrostomy was performed to improve nutrition before definite repair. The definitive repair consisted of eventual diverticulectomy, division of the fistula, and suture of both esophageal and respiratory defects. Two patients required esophageal resection and later reconstruction with colon interposition. One patient died, creating an operative mortality of 8.3% in the definitive-repair group. The remaining 11 patients had a gratifying long-term result. There were two deaths in the gastrostomy group due to an extremely poor condition of patients and debilitating pulmonary infection. Early diagnosis of this rare condition is necessary if severe pulmonary complications are to be avoided. Early direct repair gives excellent results. 

Category: general pathological conditions
The association of selected cancers with service in the US military in Vietnam. II. Soft-tissue and other sarcomas. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group As part of a series of investigations into the health of Vietnam veterans, we conducted a population-based, case-control study of soft-tissue and other sarcomas between 1984 and 1988. All men born between 1929 and 1953 and diagnosed in an area covered by eight cancer registries were considered eligible. Controls were selected by random-digit dialing. Analyses of 342 men with pathologically confirmed sarcoma and 1776 controls showed that Vietnam veterans had a relative risk of 1.0 for sarcoma in comparison with men who did not serve in Vietnam (95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 1.6). Restriction of the analysis to the 254 men with soft-tissue sarcoma yielded a relative risk of 0.9 (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 1.6). Several attributes of military service in Vietnam (eg, branch, duration of service, military region, and other characteristics that may have been associated with the use of Agent Orange) were examined, and none was associated with an increased risk for the development of sarcoma. Furthermore, no morphologic type of sarcoma was overrepresented among Vietnam veterans. Results were unchanged if Vietnam veterans were compared with (1) other veterans or (2) men who never served in the military. This study, which had 97% power to detect a relative risk of 2.0 for all sarcomas, provides no evidence that the risk for the development of soft-tissue or other sarcomas is increased among veterans 15 to 25 years following service in Vietnam. 

Category: neoplasms
Optimal interpretation of the supine exercise electrocardiogram in patients with right bundle branch block. A detailed analysis of the exercise ECG was performed in 82 patients with right bundle branch block who underwent supine exercise equilibrium radionuclide angiography. The sensitivity and specificity of each individual electrocardiographic lead for the detection of a positive radionuclide angiogram was determined. Leads V5 and V6 had a sensitivity of 58 percent and a specificity of 89 percent. The limb leads and lead V4 had a lower sensitivity, but an equivalent specificity. Leads V1 and V3 each had a clearly lower specificity that ranged from 56 to 67 percent. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the optimal interpretation of the exercise ECG included the limb leads and V4 to V6, but not V1 to V3. The results of coronary angiography in the subset of 16 patients who underwent this procedure confirmed these findings. 

Category: general pathological conditions
An echocardiographic assessment of atrial mechanical behaviour. Relations between movement of the atrioventricular ring and changes in left atrial and ventricular dimensions were studied by echocardiography and compared with apexcardiography and Doppler mitral flow velocity traces in 20 healthy controls and in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (n = 28) or dilatation (n = 16). During left ventricular systole the atrioventricular ring, a structure common to ventricle and atrium, moved towards the ventricular apex, thus increasing left atrial volume. This action matched pulmonary venous return because it was in phase with the transverse left atrial dimension measured from aortic root to posterior left atrial wall. During early diastole, the mitral ring moved rapidly towards the atrium as transmitral flow accelerated. This requires a force directed from ventricle to atrium, likely to be the result of elastic recoil arising from compression of the ventricular myocardium or stretching of the atrial myocardium during ventricular systole. Two additional mechanisms of ventricular filling with atrial systole were recognised: (a) an increase in ventricular volume as the atrioventricular ring moved upwards and (b) transverse left ventricular expansion by pressure driven transmitral flow. The former is undetectable by Doppler from the apex; it accounted for 10% of ventricular filling in the healthy controls, but for significantly less in those with ventricular dilatation. In left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular filling was maintained by both mechanisms compensating for the reduced increase in volume early in diastole. Interactions between the atrium and ventricle are functionally important during ventricular systole, early diastole, and in atrial systole. They are not included in the traditional separation of atrial function into reservoir, conduit, and pump functions. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Developing improved observational methods for evaluating therapeutic effectiveness. Therapeutic efficacy is often studied with observational surveys of patients whose treatments were selected nonexperimentally. The results of these surveys are distrusted because of the fear that biased results occur in the absence of experimental principles, particularly randomization. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate improved observational study designs by incorporating many of the design principles and patient assembly procedures of the randomized trial. The specific topic investigated was the prophylactic effectiveness of beta-blocker therapy after an acute myocardial infarction. To accomplish the research objective, three sets of data were compared. First, we developed a restricted cohort based on the eligibility criteria of the randomized clinical trial; second, we assembled an expanded cohort using the same design principles except for not restricting patient eligibility; and third, we used the data from the Beta Blocker Heart Attack Trial (BHAT), whose results served as the gold standard for comparison. In this research, the treatment difference in death rates for the restricted cohort and the BHAT trial was nearly identical. In contrast, the expanded cohort had a larger treatment difference than was observed in the BHAT trial. We also noted the important and largely neglected role that eligibility criteria may play in ensuring the validity of treatment comparisons and study outcomes. The new methodologic strategies we developed may improve the quality of observational studies and may be useful in assessing the efficacy of the many medical/surgical therapies that cannot be tested with randomized clinical trials. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Pelvic pain: lessons from anatomy and physiology. Pelvic pain is often a difficult differential diagnosis in the emergency department. For physiologic reasons, pain in the pelvis is difficult to localize to a specific organ, and pelvic peritonitis is hard to recognize. On the other hand, differences in types of pain can be very useful in arriving at a correct diagnosis. The clinician must learn to recognize superficial and deep somatic pain, and differentiate between various types of visceral pain which originate from inflammation, ischemia, or colic. A review of the anatomy and physiology of pelvic pain helps identify some of the problems as well as potential aids in approaching the patient with pelvic pain. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Demographic, social and stress correlates of hypertension among the urban poor. The relationship of demographic, social, and psychological variables to the diagnosis of hypertension in a population of urban, poor, predominantly black out-patients is reported. Subjects were 182 patients presenting for health care at Wayne State University Family Practice Clinic. Age, race, marital status, attendance at religious services, education, employment status, income, source of income and interpersonal stress were significantly related to a diagnosis of hypertension in this sample. Of those characteristics found to be significantly related to hypertension, discriminative analysis showed that age, race, education and frequency of church attendance were most important in predicting a diagnosis of hypertension among this out-patient sample of the urban poor. Implications for clinical care and for future research needs are considered. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Abdominal aneurysms in childhood: report of a case and review of the literature. Abdominal aneurysms are rare in children and are usually found in association with congenital cardiac or aortic malformations, connective tissue disorders, trauma, or previous arterial catheter placement. A 4-year-old girl who had a common iliac artery aneurysm, who had no history of arterial catheter placement or trauma, and who had no evidence of Marfan's or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, arteritis, coarctation of the aorta, or other diseases associated with childhood aneurysms is presented. Resection of the aneurysm and arterial reconstruction were performed without the use of prosthetic material or vein graft. Pathologic examination showed no evidence of inflammation or medial degeneration in any of the layers of the arterial wall. This is the fourth report found in the literature of documented idiopathic abdominal aneurysm in a child. The conditions associated with abdominal aneurysms in childhood are discussed, and the literature is reviewed. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Hamman-Rich syndrome revisited In this article, we retrospectively review 29 cases of Hamman-Rich syndrome. As in some other recent reports, we have used the term "acute interstitial pneumonia" to emphasize the clinical and pathologic features of these cases and to distinguish them from the more common chronic interstitial pneumonias, particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Of the 29 patients, 12 survived, some after a long and complicated hospitalization. The histologic features were those of organizing diffuse alveolar damage, and some patients, including survivors, had extensive fibroblastic distortion of lung parenchyma. The overall survival among these patients was not appreciably different from the survival of patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome in general. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Clinicopathological experience with pineocytomas: report of five surgically treated cases. The clinicopathological experience associated with five cases of pineocytoma is presented. All patients were treated by surgical removal without postoperative radiotherapy. In three individuals, 2000 cGy was administered to the tumor as a presurgical diagnostic test, with no evidence of response. All cases demonstrated histological features of pineocytoma, according to the criteria of Borit et al., and of the so-called "pineocytoma with neuronal differentiation," according to the criteria of Rubinstein. The experience obtained from the present series reveals that these tumors can occur in the initial decades of life, that a cystic appearance and the presence of calcifications are distinctive features of their radiological evaluation, and that they have a good prognosis after surgical removal, even when the histological data indicate local invasion. The convenience of reserving the term "pineocytoma" for these tumors, and of including the so-called "pineocytomas without further differentiation" within the group of pineoblastomas, is suggested in order to achieve a practical clinicopathological assessment of parenchymatous pineal tumors. 

Category: neoplasms
Occult inferior vena cava thrombosis: diagnosis by sonography--case reports. Ultrasound has become an effective tool for evaluating the inferior vena cava. The authors report 3 cases that illustrate the difficulty in diagnosing partially adherent clots, which may have a high propensity for pulmonary embolism. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
The management of aneurysms and arterio-venous fistulae of the popliteal artery arising from war trauma. Emphasis on sigmoid operative approach. Between 1986-1988, 600 vascular cases arising from the Iran-Iraq conflict were dealt with within an 18 month period and 60 cases of popliteal artery and/or venous disruption were encountered presenting at variable times after injury. A policy of management between the forward and base hospital surgical teams was introduced, observing the following broad categorizations: (a) assessment/referral, (b) assessment/fasciotomy/referral, (c) immediate operation/referral for further operation/review/management. Two types of incision were used to enter the popliteal fossa: (a) a medial incision and (b) a sigmoid posterior incision (which we now favor). The results of this strategy of management and operative technique (when compared with our previous experience within the same time frame) suggested an improved outcome. Fifty-four out of 60 cases had a satisfactory operative result with below-knee amputation being required in only four cases and higher amputations in two others. No operative or postoperative deaths occurred. The implementation of this "vetting policy" at the front line appeared to reduce the number of amputations and assisted the clarification of management criteria in assessing limb viability at the forward hospital when a large number of casualties were being received. Operative access using the sigmoid posterior incision was not associated with any complications, offered better exposure than the medial incision and was technically easier for the surgeon to perform. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Outbreak of diarrhoea due to Escherichia coli O111:B4 in schoolchildren and adults: association of Vi antigen-like reactivity. During six days in November, 1987, 611 pupils (age range 7-19 years) and 39 adults (23-57) at a school complex in southern Finland had diarrhoea due to Escherichia coli O111:B4. Diarrhoea developed in 137 other household members during the two weeks after the school outbreak. The source of the organism remains unknown. The outbreak strains, when incubated at 22 degrees C or exposed to ampicillin, lost the lipopolysaccharide O antigen and began to react with antisera against Salmonella typhi Vi antigen. The Vi antigen-like reactivity increased the adherence of the organisms to Hep-2 cells. These results indicate that E coli O111:B4, and possibly other enteropathogenic E coli strains, should be considered in the diagnosis of all diarrhoea cases and not only in infantile diarrhoea. Expression of Vi antigen in E coli may play a part in virulence by enhancing adherence to the intestinal epithelium. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Inflammatory pseudosarcoma (pseudotumor) of the bladder. Inflammatory pseudosarcoma of the bladder is a rare benign entity that cannot be differentiated from malignant tumor at radiologic examination alone. Only pathologic examination can enable a definitive diagnosis. The authors report two cases of these benign tumors in patients with no history of bladder disease or trauma; the tumors were large, demonstrated invasion into local tissues, and recurred in one case after incomplete transurethral resection. 

Category: neoplasms
Fundoplication and gastrostomy in familial dysautonomia. Fundoplication with gastrostomy has become a frequent treatment for patients with familial dysautonomia, so we evaluated the use of both procedures in 65 patients. Although patients differed widely in presenting signs and age, from 5 weeks to 40 years, gastroesophageal reflux was documented in 95% of patients by cineradiography or pH monitoring. Panendoscopy was a useful adjunct. Preoperative symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux included vomiting, respiratory infections, and exaggerated autonomic dysfunction. Severe oropharyngeal incoordination frequently coexisted and resulted in misdirected swallows with aspiration, dependence on gavage feedings, or poor weight gain and dehydration. Follow-up after surgical correction ranged from 3 months to 11 years; 55 patients (85%) were available for a 1-year postoperative assessment. We had no instances of surgical death. The long-term mortality rate was 14%, primarily related to severe preexisting respiratory disease. Beyond the first postoperative year, 30 patients had pneumonia attributed to continued aspiration, exacerbation of preexisting lung disease, or recurrence of gastroesophageal reflux. Of 11 patients who vomited postoperatively, six had recurrence of reflux. Recurrence of gastroesophageal reflux was documented in eight patients (12%), and we revised the fundoplication in three patients. The number of patients with cyclic crises was reduced from 18 to 7; retching replaced overt vomiting in all but two of these seven patients, neither of whom had recurrence of reflux. Because oropharyngeal incoordination was prominent, concomitant use of gastrostomy and an antireflux procedure was especially effective in the treatment of younger patients with familial dysautonomia, before the development of severe respiratory disease. Despite the development of severe morning nausea in 15 patients, the combination procedure resulted in significantly improved nutritional status, decreased vomiting, and decreased respiratory problems. Appropriate use of gastrostomy feedings also contributed to success of the operation. The generally good outcome of fundoplication with gastrostomy confirms the benefit of this procedure in familial dysautonomia. 

Category: digestive system diseases
A distinctive triad of malformations of the central nervous system in the Meckel-Gruber syndrome. A distinct triad of central nervous system (CNS) malformations (prosencephalic dysgenesis, occipital exencephalocele and rhombic roof dysgenesis) was present in seven cases of the Meckel-Gruber syndrome examined at autopsy. We compared our findings with those previously described. Microcephaly, sloping forehead, posterior occipital exencephalocele, cerebellar hypoplasia, Chiari malformation, hydrocephalus, polymicrogyria, arhinencephaly, holoprosencephaly and anencephaly constituted a broad spectrum of the reported CNS anomalies. Few reports contained a comprehensive description of the observed CNS malformations. In those reports, and in our cases, features of prosencephalic dysgenesis included agenesis of olfactory bulbs and tracts (arhinencephaly), hypoplasia of optic nerves and chiasm, agenesis of corpus callosum, fused thalami or complete holoprosencephaly. The occipital encephalocele has consisted of a displacement of rhombic roof elements, including caudal third ventricle, cerebellar vermis and fourth ventricle, extruded through an enlarged posterior fontanelle rather than through an occipital cranium bifidum and is thus more precisely labeled an exencephalocele. Different degrees of dysgenesis of posterior fossa structures, described by some as a variant of Dandy-Walker cyst with features of a Chiari malformation, were often associated with this occipital exencephalocele. This pattern of CNS anomalies represents a triad of malformations probably associated with defective ventral induction of the developing CNS by the prechordal mesoderm. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Adenocarcinoma arising in Barrett's esophagus after total gastrectomy A 64-yr-old Japanese male who underwent a partial gastrectomy for a duodenal ulcer at the age of 21, a total resection of the remnant stomach for a stomal ulcer at age 25, and in whom Barrett's esophagus was diagnosed at age 47, was found to have a tumor at the distal esophagus and was operated on by thoracic esophagectomy. The tumor was a well to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma invading down to the muscularis propria. The entire esophageal mucosa in the resected specimen was lined by columnar epithelium. This tumor was thought to derive from the Barrett's esophageal epithelium. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Retinal vasculitis as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis. Two middle-aged women developed retinal vasculitis in the moderately active phase of classical rheumatoid arthritis. Fluorescein angiography disclosed diffuse leakage from the retinal capillaries and cystoid macular edema, which subsided in response to oral steroid. They did not show any clinical signs of vasculitis in other parts of the body. Retinal vasculitis should be included in the list of complications observed in rheumatoid arthritis. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
A combined electromyographic and cineradiologic investigation in patients with defecation disorders. Records from 20 patients on whom defecography and electromyography were performed simultaneously because of defecation disorders were analyzed. According to the electromyographic investigation, the patients could be divided into three main groups: 1) normal sphincter reaction; 2) paradoxical sphincter reaction; and 3) combined reaction. Group A was characterized by a marked reduction of muscular activity during emptying and a pronounced closing reflex after emptying. This was followed by return of normal tonic activity. Patients in group B had no relaxation of the sphincters during emptying but a pronounced increased activity in the external sphincter and the puborectalis muscle. They also had severe emptying difficulties at defecography. No closing reflex was seen. In group C the electrical activity in the sphincters increased during moderate straining and when emptying was complete a clear closing reflex was seen. In this study, a dynamic visualization of the defecation together with a registration of electromyographic activity in the striated anal sphincters was performed. It was shown that patients with paradoxical sphincter reaction were lacking a closing reflex after emptying was complete. This has not been reported previously and is important evidence for the paradoxical defecation pattern. It was also shown that the patients with rectoceles had paradoxical sphincter reaction. 

Category: digestive system diseases