Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Oral contraceptive therapy and the surgical management of ENT patients: a review of current clinical practice. The current policy of British Otolaryngologists with regard to the preoperative cessation of the oral contraceptive pill is reported. This is based on a confidential questionnaire sent to all members of the British Association of Otolaryngologists. The overall response rate was 66%, 91% of which were from practising otolaryngologists and forms the basis of this report, the remaining 9% being from respondents not engaged in active surgery. Although there is evidence to show an increased risk of developing thromboembolic complications after major abdominal, gynaecological and hip surgery in those patients taking the oestrogen-containing contraceptive pill, the risk following minor and intermediate surgery (which forms the bulk of the otolaryngologist's workload) is not known. Not surprisingly therefore the results of the survey show a varied policy across the country with 36.5% of respondents choosing to continue the pill and 25% always stopping the pill preoperatively. The remainder elect to stop the pill only in certain circumstances. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Apical secretion of lysosomal enzymes in rabbit pancreas occurs via a secretagogue regulated pathway and is increased after pancreatic duct obstruction. Lysosomal hydrolases such as cathepsin B are apically secreted from rabbit pancreatic acinar cells via a regulated as opposed to a constitutive pathway. Intravenous infusion of the cholecystokinin analogue caerulein results in highly correlated apical secretion of digestive and lysosomal enzymes, suggesting that they are discharged from the same presecretory compartment (zymogen granules). Lysosomal enzymes appear to enter that compartment as a result of missorting. After 7 h of duct obstruction is relieved, caerulein-stimulated apical secretion of cathepsin B and amylase is increased, but the ratio of cathepsin B to amylase secretion is not different than that following caerulein stimulation of animals never obstructed. These findings indicate that duct obstruction causes an increased amount of both lysosomal and digestive enzymes to accumulate within the secretagogue releasable compartment but that duct obstruction does not increase the degree of lysosomal enzyme missorting into that compartment. Pancreatic duct obstruction causes lysosomal hydrolases to become colocalized with digestive enzymes in organelles that, in size and distribution, resemble zymogen granules but that are not subject to secretion in response to secretagogue stimulation. These organelles may be of importance in the development of pancreatitis. 

Category: digestive system 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: cardiovascular diseases
Sympathetic drive and vascular damage in hypertension and atherosclerosis. Current knowledge of the links between the sympathetic nervous system and vascular damage in hypertension and atherosclerosis is summarized. The main mechanisms leading to the structural changes of the arterial wall as a consequence of enhanced adrenergic drive are reported. Hemodynamic mechanisms, including increase in pressure leading to changes in the arterioles and alteration of flow pattern with impact mainly in the large arteries, respectively, account for the typical target organ damage observed in hypertension and is involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Regarding the direct effect of catecholamines, the atherogenic effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the absence of changes in blood pressure and cholesterol levels have been demonstrated in vivo in monkeys and rabbits. In rats, catecholamine administration induces polyploidization of aortic smooth muscle cells in vivo and in vitro. Regarding the effects of lipid metabolism, adrenergic stimulation may induce free fatty acid transformation into triglycerides with secondary increase in very low density lipoprotein plasma levels and decrease of very low density lipoprotein transformation into high density lipoprotein through circulating lipoprotein lipase inhibition. Catecholamines may also increase cholesterol levels of the arterial wall, probably by triggering the acyl-cholesterol-acyl-transferase activity. Finally, indirect evidence of the pathogenetic role played by the sympathetic system in the development of vascular disease derives from the results of experiments showing that sympatholytic agents are capable of reducing both medial hypertrophy and atherogenesis. beta-Blockers, alpha- and beta-blockers, and centrally acting sympatholytic agents not only ameliorate hemodynamics but also appear to inhibit the direct effects of catecholamines on the arterial wall. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Panic disorder and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular problems: results from a community survey. Follow-up studies of psychiatric patients with panic disorder have shown an abnormally high mortality rate in men due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. The authors report that in the New Haven portion of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area program the risk for stroke in persons with lifetime diagnoses of panic disorder was over twice that in persons with other psychiatric disorders or no psychiatric disorder. After adjustments for demographic differences between groups, the risk was even higher. While the results should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample and absence of medical examinations, these findings are consistent with clinical studies showing an association between panic disorder and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Medical management of congestive heart failure. The syndrome of congestive heart failure can result from a variety of cardiac disorders of which left ventricular dysfunction is the most common. The clinical presentation is determined by the interaction between cardiac dysfunction and a series of compensatory mechanisms that are activated throughout the body. Therapy for this disorder is best approached through an understanding of this complex relationship and an appreciation for the influence of preload, afterload, and contractility on cardiac performance. Recent important advances in therapy include the use of combined diuretic therapy, a better understanding of the value of the digitalis glycosides, and evidence that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can relieve symptoms and prolong life. More intensive therapy earlier in the course of congestive heart failure appears to have some clinical benefit. The use of ACE inhibitors during this phase may delay progression of the underlying left ventricular dysfunction. Future therapy will be influenced by the results of ongoing trials that are testing both new agents and expanded indications for drugs that are currently available. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Percutaneous angioscopy during coronary angioplasty using a steerable microangioscope. The feasibility of using a flexible, steerable angioscope to perform coronary angioscopy before and after percutaneous coronary angioplasty was tested. The microangioscope fits through an 8F coronary angioplasty guiding catheter and contains a multifiber viewing bundle incorporated into the body of a 4.3F balloon catheter with a central lumen for distal flushing and guide-wire passage. Angioscopy was performed without complications 45 times in 24 patients, including 6 patients with stable and 18 with unstable angina. Circumferential visualization of the target lesion was successful in 20 (83%) of the 24 patients and improved with operator experience. Excellent visualization of the target lesion was achieved in 16 (94%) of the last 17 patients. Plaque, thrombus and dissection were among the abnormal findings in the 20 patients (4 with stable, 16 with unstable angina) in whom circumferential viewing of the target lesion was achieved. In four patients with restenosis after angioplasty, the lesion morphology was distinctly different from that of lesions in arteries without prior angioplasty. In patients with stable angina, no thrombus or dissection was seen by angiography or angioscopy before angioplasty. In patients with unstable angina, thrombus was detected more frequently by angioscopy than by angiography before angioplasty (8 versus 2 of 16) and after (15 versus 2 of 16) angioplasty. Intimal dissection was also seen much more frequently by angioscopy than by angiography before angioplasty (7 versus 0 of 16) and after angioplasty (16 versus 7 of 16). It is concluded that high resolution percutaneous coronary angioscopy can be performed safely in conjunction with balloon angioplasty. Further investigation is needed before this diagnostic tool can be applied clinically. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Cardiac arrhythmias from a malpositioned Greenfield filter in a traumatic quadriplegic. A case study is presented of premature Greenfield filter discharge with intracardiac migration and resulting life-threatening arrhythmias. These arrhythmias also interfered with the patient's transition from ventilatory support via orotracheal intubation to noninvasive positive airway pressure ventilatory support methods. The patient's arrhythmias were controlled by a demand cardiac pacemaker and cardiac glycoside therapy. No anticoagulants were used. She had no further filter migration nor significant complications for 16 months after hospital discharge. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Lung sound nomenclature survey. We report the terms used by 223 pulmonary physicians and 54 physicians in other specialties to describe eight recorded examples of lung sounds. The participants listened to the lung sounds at the 1988 American College of Chest Physicians annual convention and wrote "free form" answers. Pulmonary physicians used the terms "crackles" and "rales" with equal frequency to describe discontinuous adventitious lung sounds (ALS) and not at all to describe continuous ALS. Other physicians preferred the term "rales" in describing discontinuous ALS. The terms "wheeze" and "stridor" were used only in describing continuous ALS; however, the term "rhonchi" was frequently used to describe continuous and discontinuous ALS. The majority of participants recognized the normal breath sounds but not the pleural friction rub. Most did not use a qualifying adjective to describe ALS, and there was little agreement among those who did. The lung sound terminology used by physicians is not well standardized and the recommendations of the ATS/ACCP nomenclature subcommittee are not widely accepted. 

Category: general pathological conditions
The influence of elastic compression stockings on deep venous hemodynamics. To determine the effect of elastic compression stockings on deep venous hemodynamics we measured ambulatory venous pressure, venous refill time, maximum venous pressure with exercise, amplitude of venous pressure excursion, and duplex-derived common femoral and popliteal vein diameter and peak flow velocities with and without stockings in 10 healthy subjects and 16 patients with chronic deep venous insufficiency. The effects of below-knee and above-knee 30 to 40 torr and 40 to 50 torr gradient stockings were studied. Despite documentation of substantial stocking compressive effects by skin pressure measurements, neither below-knee or above-knee elastic compression stockings significantly improved ambulatory venous pressure, venous refill time, maximum venous pressure with exercise, or the amplitude of venous pressure excursion in healthy patients or in patients with deep venous insufficiency (p greater than 0.05). In patients with deep venous insufficiency stockings modestly increased popliteal vein diameter and flow velocity in the upright resting position (p less than 0.02). After tiptoe exercise without stockings deep venous peak flow velocity increased in healthy patients and in patients with deep venous insufficiency by a mean of 103% in the popliteal vein and 46% in the common femoral vein (p less than 0.01). With the application of elastic compression stockings only modest augmentation of deep venous flow velocity occurred in both groups above that seen in the bare leg after exercise. Thus elastic compression stockings did not improve deep venous hemodynamic measurements in patients with deep venous insufficiency. The beneficial effects of stockings in the treatment of deep venous insufficiency must relate to effects other than changes in deep venous hemodynamics. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Serial ultrasonographic evaluation of neonatal vein of Galen malformations to assess the efficacy of interventional neuroradiological procedures. Two-dimensional echocardiography complemented with color-flow imaging and pulsed Doppler ultrasound was used to evaluate one fetus and five neonates with a vein of Galen malformation who had severe high-output congestive heart failure and cranial bruits at birth. Intracranial blood flow through the vein of Galen malformations, cardiac status, and direction of aortic blood flow were assessed before and after staged interventional neuroradiological treatment with transarterial and transvenous embolization procedures. Color-flow imaging in each infant displayed the major vascular anatomy including feeding vessels and the patterns of filling of the vein of Galen malformations. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound performed on the descending aorta above the diaphragm showed the degree of diastolic flow reversal indicative of runoff into the vein of Galen malformations. A reduction in blood flow through the vein of Galen malformation was seen on color-flow imaging in four patients treated successfully by embolic procedures. The ratio of diastolic retrograde flow velocity in the descending aorta to systolic antegrade velocity decreased from 0.51 +/- 0.15 (mean +/- standard deviation) to 0.15 +/- 0.20 (P less than 0.05). Color-flow imaging and pulsed Doppler ultrasonography provided anatomical and pathophysiological information regarding cardiac hemodynamics and intracranial blood flow; with the patient's clinical status, these methods provided a reliable, noninvasive means to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy and the need for further treatment in neonates with vein of Galen malformations. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Breast cancer screening in older women: practices and barriers reported by primary care physicians. Annual mammography, in combination with clinical breast examinations, can reduce mortality from breast cancer. However, surveys of both patients and physicians suggest that mammography is underutilized. This study examined whether physicians' reported breast cancer screening practices and barriers to mammography varied with patients' age. Data from 576 primary care physicians (internal medicine, family/general practice, and obstetrics/gynecology) who participated in a mailed statewide survey were analyzed. Physicians reported screening elderly women significantly less often than younger women, regardless of family history of breast cancer. With the exception of medical specialty, physicians' demographic and practice characteristics were not associated with reported screening practices. However, physicians' knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer in older women were associated with reported screening practices. When analyzing barriers to ordering mammography, cost to the patient was viewed as a barrier for women of all ages, and pain was viewed as a greater barrier for younger women; otherwise, physicians consistently believed that their elderly patients faced considerably more barriers compared with younger women. Further investigation is required to examine why primary care physicians report age-related differences in both breast screening and barriers to mammography. 

Category: neoplasms
Epidural anaesthesia for labour and caesarean section in a parturient with a single ventricle and transposition of the great arteries. We describe a case of a 29-year-old parturient with a single ventricle and transposition of the great arteries who had lumbar epidural analgesia/anaesthesia with a local anaesthetic for labour, emergency Caesarean section and postoperative pain. Her outcome and that of her baby was successful. The anaesthetic techniques used in other parturients with similar congenital cardiac anomalies are reviewed. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Effects of tromethamine and hyperventilation on brain injury in the cat. The metabolic brain acidosis after trauma has been thought to be harmful and to contribute to neurological deterioration. Amelioration of the brain acidosis either by systemic buffering agents or by hyperventilation has been proposed as a method of treatment. The objective of this study was to explore with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy the metabolic changes in brain that occur with the use of hyperventilation, THAM (tromethamine; tris[hydroxymethyl]aminomethane), and a combination (THAM and hyperventilation) therapy in experimental fluid-percussion injury. Brain lactate, brain pH, inorganic phosphate (Pi), and adenosine triphosphate levels were measured by 1H and 31P MR spectroscopy. Arterial and cerebrovenous lactate and water content in brain tissue was determined in 29 cats using the specific gravimetric technique. Following injury, the phosphocreatine (PCr)/Pi ratio, which is an index of cerebral energy depletion, decreased to 76% in four untreated animals, to 79% in 11 THAM-treated animals, to 68% in seven animals receiving hyperventilation, and to 66% in seven animals with combination THAM and hyperventilation therapy. The PCr/Pi ratio returned to a normal level in 8 hours in animals treated with THAM and THAM in combination with hyperventilation. The brain lactate index increased to 157% in the hyperventilation group after trauma. In cats receiving THAM plus hyperventilation, the brain lactate index was reduced to 142%, while the minimum rise of 126% was associated with treatment of THAM alone. In the THAM-treatment and combination-treatment groups, the water content of the white and gray matter was significantly decreased compared with that in untreated cat brains. Prolonged hyperventilation provided relative ischemia in brain tissue and promoted more production of brain lactate, no recovery of the PCr/Pi ratio, and no decrease in brain edema. On the other hand, administration of THAM decreased production of brain lactate and brain edema and promoted the recovery of cerebral energy dysfunction. It was found that THAM ameliorates the deleterious effects of hyperventilation by minimizing energy disturbance and that it also decreases brain edema. The authors conclude that THAM may be effective in reducing brain tissue acidosis and helpful as a metabolic stabilizing agent following severe head injury. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Relation of Helicobacter pylori to the human gastric mucosa in chronic gastritis of the antrum. The spatial relations between bacteria and the affected tissues can indicate pathogenic mechanisms. This study was undertaken to define the spatial relation of Helicobacter pylori to the human gastric mucosa. Antibodies against gastric mucus and ruthenium red were used to stabilise the glycoprotein structure of the mucus and glycocalyces in antral biopsy specimens from eight patients infected with H pylori. The location of organisms and ultrastructural features were assessed using systematic scanning and transmission electron microscopy: 92 (2)% (mean (SE] of H pylori were in the pit mucus, and 7 (3)% were in the surface mucus; 60 (12)% of H pylori were close to epithelial cells, with only 5 (2)% located near the epithelial intercellular junctions. Fine filamentous strands extended between organisms and nearby epithelial cells, with few organisms in membrane to membrane contact. H pylori were not observed between, beneath, or within cells of the gastric mucosa. The preferred location of H pylori in the gastric antrum is within the pit mucus close to the epithelial cell surface, with no evidence that they have a direct toxic effect on the mucosa. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Essential hypertension, metabolic disorders, and insulin resistance. Essential hypertension is frequently associated with several metabolic abnormalities, of which obesity, glucose intolerance, and dyslipidemia are the most common. This report discusses the epidemiologic evidence for the coexistence of these risk factors and questions why hyperinsulinemia and essential hypertension cosegregate. The euglycemic insulin clamp and the insulin suppression test are documented with respect to the physiologic functions of insulin, and the mechanisms of insulin resistance in essential hypertension are discussed. Evidence to suggest that insulin resistance is a marker for an "atherogenic syndrome" is reviewed. It is concluded that all the hemodynamic and metabolic disorders of essential hypertension and insulin resistance are closely related. The clinical approach to the patient with any of the abnormalities in question should take into consideration the whole cluster, with therapy aimed at ameliorating the entire hemodynamic-metabolic profile. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Hemiparkinsonism as a complication of an Ommaya reservoir. Case report. The authors describe the case of a 28-year-old woman who developed the following symptoms in her right hand: a lasting resting tremor, transient focal rigidity, and paresthesia. These deficits occurred following treatment with intrathecal methotrexate via an Ommaya reservoir which was placed too deeply, resulting in trauma to the contralateral mesencephalon. 

Category: nervous system diseases