SMJ // September 1979, Volume 72 - Issue 9
Editorial
CANCER ANSWER To Find or Not to Find
Primary Article
Lung Cancer in Shipbuilding and Related Industries in Louisiana
The relationship between shipbuilding and related industries and risk of fatal lung cancer (1960–1975) is described for selected Louisiana parishes. Deaths from lung cancer were matched to deaths not caused by cancer. Shipbuilders had a significantly increased risk (greater than twofold) of dying of lung cancer as compared with other…
Primary Article
Anesthetic Management of Neck Trauma
In a retrospective review of one year's experience in the management of neck trauma, 88 cases comprising 42 gunshot wounds, 29 stab or slash injuries, and 17 injuries by blunt trauma were reviewed. Multiple injuries were noted in all groups, but a higher percentage was found in the blunt trauma…
Primary Article
Laryngeal Papillomatosis Anesthetic Management
We reviewed the anesthetic management of all children admitted with laryngeal papillomatosis during a six-year period. This included 147 endoscopies on 16 patients, most referred with advanced disease after initial care in other hospitals. Onset of the disease before age 2 was associated with the most severe upper airway involvement….
Primary Article
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Primary Article
Adverse Effects of Pancuronium in Patients With Hemorrhagic Shock
Thirty-five patients with hemorrhagic shock had surgical repair of trauma to the great vessels using a ketamine-pancuronium-nitrous oxide sequence for anesthesia. The data of the cardiovascular and respiratory changes occurring during anesthesia and the operation were tabulated and subjected to multifactorial computer analysis. Fifteen patients died during or after operation…
Primary Article
Auriculotemporal Syndrome After Combined Modality Therapy for Cancer
Auriculotemporal syndrome frequently follows trauma to the auriculotemporal nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve. Classic symptoms are gustatory sweating and hyperemia, with pain occurring in less than 10% of cases. We have treated six patients for a variant of auriculotemporal syndrome following combined modality therapy for head and neck…
Primary Article
Multiple Coronary Bypass Grafting Current Mortality and Morbidity
Although coronary artery bypass surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years, recent critical reports have cast doubt on its efficacy in certain groups of patients. Our report reviews a recent experience with multiple coronary bypass grafting for triple vessel disease. From March 1976 to October 1978, 276 patients received…
Primary Article
Sputum Cytology in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer
To evaluate the contribution of sputum cytology to the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, 918 cases of lung cancer were reviewed. Of 105 patients with positive sputum cytology, 93 had other invasive procedures to establish the cell type or stage or to attempt to cure the disease. In 12…
Primary Article
Histoplasmosis Clinical Manifestations and Surgical Management
In this retrospective study of 115 cases of histoplasmosis, there were 66 male and 49 female patients ranging in age from 2 months to 79 years. The most common presenting symptoms were cough, chest pain, wheezing, weight loss, hemoptysis, and shortness of breath. Thirty-five patients (30%) were asymptomatic. Two patients…
Primary Article
Exceptionally High Arterial Oxygen Tension in Diabetic Ketoacidosis
We recently managed a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis who had an exceptionally high arterial oxygen tension of 144 mm Hg while breathing room air. This was higher than the calculated alveolar oxygen tension and suggested the impossible situation of an uphill diffusion gradient. We were surprised to find this is…
Primary Article
Cutaneous Horns A Histopathologic Study
We report a series of 230 cutaneous horns, of which fewer than one fourth were frankly malignant. Actinic keratoses were the lesions most commonly found underlying cutaneous horns (37.39%). Cutaneous horns overlying a benign lichenoid keratosis, epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, trichilemmoma, an epidermal inclusion cyst, and a benign fibroma are reported. Three…
Primary Article
Diagnosis and Treatment of Nonorganic Pelvic Pain
Pelvic pain was a prominent complaint among one third of 3,000 gynecology clinic patients. In 1.1% no causative disease could be found, and these patients failed to respond to routine therapy. Twenty of these patients who were studied minutely revealed some psychologic disorder including hysteria, passive-aggressive behavior, sociopathy, depression, and…
Primary Article
Lymphocyte Toxicity in Retinoblastoma
Cytotoxicity can be used in the determination of patients with retinoblastoma. With further refinement, this type of test may become useful in aiding the physician in the detection of retinoblastoma.
Primary Article
Phylogeny and the Herniated Disc
Using a phylogenic classification of the spine, one can identify precisely the numerical location of any vertebra or disc, including vertebrae with junctional anomalies at transitional zones. Such precision permitted comparisons of myelographic reports of sites of disc disease with the actual levels of extradural deformities and of charted levels…
Primary Article
Screening for Colorectal Cancer
A voluntary colorectal screening program was carried out in North Carolina to evaluate the public's willingness to perform a do-it-yourself bowel test, to educate the public on the importance of routine colorectal screening, and to assess the efficacy of a small-scale screening program in detecting colorectal cancer. A screening kit…
Primary Article
Are You An Artist?
Primary Article
Situs Inversus and Appendicitis
Two cases of left lower quadrant appendicitis associated with situs inversus totalis are presented. Historic, genetic, and embryologic aspects of situs inversus, as well as recent theories regarding etiology are discussed. The clinical recognition of appendicitis in situs inversus is often difficult because of the unusual location of the appendix…
Primary Article
BOOKS RECEIVED
Primary Article
Agenesis of the Gallbladder and Congenital Lumbar Hernia
We describe a case of congenital absence of the gallbladder and cystic duct, associated with a congenital lumbar hernia, and review the literature. Special emphasis is placed on the pathogenesis of common bile duct involvement and its effects. Treatment is aimed at correcting these primary defects and their complications.
Primary Article
Primary Lymphomas of the Gastrointestinal Tract
An institutional experience with primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (PGL) is reviewed. Included are 46 cases involving the stomach, 11 involving the small bowel, and two, the large bowel. The clinical, pathologic, and therapeutic aspects of PGL are discussed.
Primary Article
(15S)-15 Methyl Prostaglandin F2α Levels in Amniotic Fluid, and Blood in Second Trimester Abortions
A single intra-amniotic injection of (15S)-15 methyl prostaglandin F2α (THAM) was used to induce second trimester abortion in five patients. Serial levels of (15S)-15 methyl prostaglandin F2α were subsequently measured in amniotic fluid and plasma by radioimmunoassay. The slow removal of this drug from the amniotic fluid was documented. Plasma…
Primary Article
46, XY Gonadal Dysgenesis With Secondary Amenorrhea, Virilization, and Bilateral Gonadoblastomas
A phenotypic girl with secondary amenorrhea, enlargement of the clitoris, XY gonadal dysgenesis, and bilateral gonadoblastomas is described. The presence of secondary amenorrhea does not obviate the existence of a Y chromosome. The presence of the Y chromosome should be a warning that a gonadal tumor may be present and,…
Primary Article
Spondylitis Caused by Brucella abortus
A case of severe chronic spondylitis of the lumbar spine caused by Brucella abortus is presented. Infection was probably associated with ingestion of raw cow's milk. A technetium bone scan provided evidence of activity as early as two years before the radiographic abnormalities were evident. Although rarely seen in brucellosis,…
Primary Article
Relationship Between Spray Adhesives and Congenital Malformations
Evidence from clinical impressions and laboratory slides that spray adhesive products could have a potentially dangerous mutagenic or teratogenic effect was first reported in 1973. However, similar laboratory slides observed by others revealed no significant difference between chromosomal slides of malformed infants and those of normal children in households whose…
Current Concepts
Keep Warm Stools Cold On the Status of Parasitology
Although the prevalence of parasites has decreased in some areas, no parasite has been eliminated, and the current literature indicates that parasitic diseases continue as a major cause of morbidity. In addition to endemic forms, imported parasitic diseases are being seen more frequently because of increased world travel and immigration….
