SMJ // July 1974, Volume 67 - Issue 7
Editorial
MEDICAL WRITING
Commentary
The Cuban Physician
Commentary
The Effects of Droperidol on Modifying the Hypertensive Response to Ketamine
AbstractDroperidol, a potent neuroleptic, has been said to be an effective alpha-adrenergic blocking agent and should be effective in preventing hypertension caused by ketamine, a new anesthetic agent. Since our clinical observations did not support the effectiveness of droperidol as an alpha-adrenergic blocker, and since the literature contained reference primarily…
Commentary
Susceptibility of Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa to Gentamicin Disks
AbstractTo compare the in vitro susceptibility of mucoid and nonmucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa to gentamicin, 144 isolates of both mucoid and nonmucoid P aeruginosa were cultured from throat swab and sputum specimens from 29 patients with diagnosed cystic fibrosis. Muid forms of P aeruginosa from throat swab cultures were all susceptible…
Commentary
Compression of Lacrimal Sac by Inverted Papilloma Arising in the Maxillary Sinus
AbstractA lacrimal sac mass with the usual clinical symptoms associated with lacrimal sac compression was found to be inverted papilloma arising in the maxillary sinus. No similar case in the literature was found. Characteristically, the earliest symptom of these tumors is nasal obstruction. Inverted papilloma is a type, of epithelial…
Commentary
Tolnaftate Powder in Prophylaxis of Tinea Pedis
AbstractWe studied the effectiveness of 1% tolnaftate powder as compared to its toic-cornstarch vehicle in prevention of tinea pedis. Inmates of a prison farm in a hot, humid climate (a high-risk group) were the subjects in this double-blind study. One percent tolnaftate powder was superior to the vehicle both in…
Commentary
Carcinoma of the Lip
AbstractSquamous cell carcinoma of the lip occurs most often in middle-aged white men. Etiologic factors include smoking and sun exposure. The lesion is usually located on the vermilion border of the lower lip and, because of this conspicuous location, is discovered early. Basal cell carcinomas predominate on the skin of…
Commentary
The Acceptance of a Family Planning Clinic by Recently Delivered Teen‐agers
AbstractFrom 250 cases of recently delivered teen-agers, a family planning program has been accepted by at least part of the teen-age population and is successful in preventing unwanted teen-age pregnancy. However, some girls are unwilling to enter family planning, and others are unable to maintain their motivation to remain in…
Commentary
Peripheral Joint Imaging in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis*
AbstractThe pattern of isotope distribution using technetium 99m pertechnetate (99mTcO4—) in peripheral joints is evaluated in 21 children with known juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and seven with probable disease, and correlation is made with physical findings, x-ray films, and laboratory data. Joints most commonly involved in the former group (in order…
Commentary
Prevention of Adhesion in Injury of the Extensor Mechanism of the Fingers/t>
AbstractA particularly trying problem for surgeons is the restoration of function of the hand after the extensor mechanism of the fingers has been lacerated. Slicing or crushing injuries may involve so much tendinous tissue that the underlying phalanx is denuded of its periosteum. Adhesions of the repaired tendon to the…
Commentary
Malignant Hyperthermia
ONE OF THE MORE RECENTLY recognized complications of anesthesia is malignant hyperthermia. The condition is triggered by inhalation anesthetic agents and muscle relaxants and characterized by an explosive temperature elevation which, if not treated promptly and vigorously, will almost certainly result in the patient's death. In addition to the extremely…
Commentary
Breast Cancer and Vocal Cord Paralysis
AbstractThirty-seven potients with breast cancer and vocal cord paralysis are reviewed. Cord paralysis was caused by metastatic cancer in 32, radiation fibrosis in two, and miscellaneous causes in three. The left cord was affected more frequently than the right. The mechanism of production was compression of the vagus or recurrent…
Commentary
Chlorprothixene Therapy for Herpes Zoster Neuralgia
AbstractIn a clinical study, 30 patients with moderate-to-severe herpes zoster neuralgia were treated with chlorprothixene administered orally or both orally and intramuscularly. Eleven patients experienced relief from pain within 24 hours, and 27 of the 30 experienced relief from all pain within 72 hours. There was only one known failure,…
Commentary
Xeroradiography Nonmammographic Applications
AbstractSeveral nonmammographic uses of xeroradiography are explored: in the skull and thoracic inlet as well as xerotomography of the chest, larynx, and irachea. Studies of the skull and thoracic inlet were often found to be superior to the conventional x-ray studies. Plain xeroradiographs of lung “coin” lesions with calcifications were…
Commentary
Tietze's Syndrome at the Xiphisternal Joint
AbstractTietze's syndrome, or peristernal chondritis or perichondritis, is a painful, benign affectation of all ages, races and sexes which is self-limited and presents as an exquisitely painful mass most frequently overlying the costal cartilages. The disease may mimic a variety of more worrisome clinical entities and must be considered in…
Commentary
Vascular Access by Means of Surgically Created Arteriovenous Fistulas in the Chemotherapy of Leukemia A Preliminary Report
AbstractWith prolonged survival resulting from chemotherapy of acute leukemia, vascular access becomes a major problem for the patient and the physician. This is because of the need for multiple venipunctures, prolonged intravenous chemotherapy, and the local irritant effect of the drugs currently in use. Surgically created arteriovenous fistulas between the…
Commentary
Massive Pulmonary Embolism A Plan of Medical Management
AbstractMethods for management of patients with massive pulmonary embolism are presented. Early, decisive support of both respiration and circulation should allow successful resuscitation and diagnostic confirmation by pulmonary arteriography in many patients. For the majority of patients who survive the episode of acute embolism, the decision to continue with nonoperative…
Commentary
The Radiologist in Prevention and Diagnosis of Instrumental Perforation of the Esophagus
AbstractThe most common type of esophageal perforation is secondary to medical instrumentation. Many radiographic findings in routine evaluations of patients, if adequately demonstrated and reported by the radiologist, can help the endoscopist to avoid perforations due to predisposing anatomic characteristics. Radiographic evaluation of a suspected esophageal perforation should begin with…
Review Article
Biologic and Clinical Implications of Transfer Factor
AbstractThe transfer of cell-mediated immunity from one individual to another can be successfully accomplished by the injection of leukocyte extracts. The biologic material responsible for this transfer of delayed hypersensitivity in man is called transfer factor (TF) and is obtained by dialysis' of disrupted lymphocytes. This substance is neither an…
Article
The Cuban Physician in the United States
AbstractThree thousand Cuban physicians have been integrated into the American medical community. Their exodus and migration is historically unique and therefore endowed with singular psychosocial dynamics. Described are the sociopolitical motivations for their departure from Cuba and the conflicts generated by a dynamic interplay of divergent value systems and cultures.
Current Concepts
Present Day Management of Hypertension
Article
Writing for Each Other
Case Report
Neonatal Coccidioidomycosis in a Southwestern Pima Indian
PULMONARY COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS is a disease caused by the airborne arthrospore of the fungus Coccidioides immitis. This disease is widely endemic in the lower Sonoran life zone, which includes the arid regions of southern California, central and southern Arizona and New Mexico, and northwestern Texas.1 It is especially prevalent among Indian…
Case Report
Spontaneous Spinal Epidural Hemorrhage
AbstractTwo cases of spinal epidural hemorrhage are presented. Both patients recovered almost completely. Spontaneous spinal epidural hemorrhage may present with sudden pain and rapidly progressing paralysis. Delay in diagnosis may result in significant residual disability, and a rapidly progressive neurologic deficit with good clinical localization should be explored promptly. In…
Case Report
Adenocarcinoma of the Colon Presenting as Clostridium septicum Cellulitis of the Left Thigh
THE ASSOCIATION of infections caused by Clostridium septicum and malignancy has been reported previously. The source of the organism usually is considered to be the patient's own gastrointestinal tract regardless of the type of malignancy. This is a case report of a primary adenocarcinoma of the colon presenting as a…
Case Report
Hypoalbuminemia, Ascites, and Pseudomembranous Colitis After Clindamycin Therapy
THE ADMINISTRATION of certain antibiotics is often followed by diarrhea and, in some cases, by pseudomembranous colitis. Lincomycin has been shown to cause diarrhea in 20% to 50% of those treated orally.1 With prolonged therapy, a clinical picture similar to ulcerative colitis has occurred. Clindamycin, a derivative of lincomycin, reportedly…
Case Report
A Massive Pulmonary Hemorrhage Resulting in Cavitation Occurring in a Case of Hemophilia A Associated with Diabetes Mellitus
THE AVAILABILITY of concentrated antihemophilic factor (AHF) from human and animal sources has provided us with a more convenient treatment for bleeding in patients with hemophilia. However, the prevention of bleeding is still a difficult problem in extending the life of hemophiliacs; it has been reported that bleeding after injury…
Southern Medical News
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor
Letters and comments are welcomed. They should be typed in double-space, and of no greater length than two pages. Acceptance and shortening remain the prerogative of the Editor.
