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Overall transvascular escape rate of albumin [TERalb, i.e. the fraction of intravascular mass of albumin (IVMalb) passing to the extravascular space per unit time] was determined from the disappearance of i.v. injected radioiodinated serum albumin. Patients with tense ascites due to liver cirrhosis and pigs with posthepatic portal hypertension and intraperitoneally instilled fluid were studied before and after abdominal paracentesis in order to evaluate the effect of ascitic fluid hydrostatic pressure on the transvascular escape rate of albumin. TERalb of the ascitic patients (n = 6) were on average 7.8% IVMalb.h-1, which is somewhat higher but not significantly above normal (mean 5.6% IVMalb.h-1). After paracentesis and removal of the ascitic fluid, TERalb rose significantly to an average of 11.9% IVMalb.h-1 (P less than 0.05). The fraction of IVMalb passing into the peritoneal cavity was on average 0.21 and 0.38% IVMalb.h-1 before and after paracentesis, respectively (n = 4). In ascitic, posthepatic portal-hypertensive pigs (n = 6), TERalb averaged 15.1% IVMalb.h-1, a value not being significantly different from non-ascitic, normotensive controls (mean 16.1% IVMalb.h-1). After paracentesis, TERalb rose significantly to an average of 24.3% IVMalb.h-1. The increased albumin extravasation rate after removal of ascites is best explained by an increased sinusoidal-tissue pressure difference caused by a decreased hydrostatic fluid pressure in the liver interstitium (portal and subcapsular spaces) due to the hydrostatic effect of the removed ascitic fluid.

Transvascular escape rate of albumin [TERalb, i.e. the fraction of the intravascular mass of albumin (IVMalb) passing to the extravascular space per unit time] was determined from the disappearance of i.v. injected radioiodinated serum albumin in anaesthetized pigs during control conditions and during regional venous congestion in the infradiaphragmatic area. Balloon catheters were placed in the portal vein (infrahepatic portal congestion) and in the inferior vena cava above (suprahepatic caval congestion) and below (infrahepatic caval congestion) the outlets of the hepatic veins. TERalb was on the average 13% IVMalb.h-1 under basal pressure conditions. TERalb rose significantly (p less than 0.01) during suprahepatic caval and infrahepatic portal congestion to an average of 29 and 19% IVMalb.h-1, respectively. TERalb was positively correlated to the portal pressure (r = 0.75, P less than 0.001). Only a minor increment in TERalb was found during infrahepatic caval congestion. The hepatic share of the increased TERalb during stasis above the hepatic veins was estimated to be threefold that of the extrahepatic splanchnic area. Our results point to filtration of protein, predominantely through the lining of the sinusoids and perisinusoidal space of the liver into the interstitial space around the portal vessels and further into the lymphatics, as the main mechanism of the previously demonstrated marked increase in TERalb in patients with portal venous hypertension due to cirrhosis of the liver.

(1975). Congenital Clubfoot: A Follow-up of 58 Children Treated During 1964-1969. Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica: Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 152-160.

Stricture formation after transurethral prostatectomy was studied in a randomized clinical trial including 185 patients. The patients were allocated to either a 2-day urethral catheter-dilation or internal Otis urethrotomy and to an operation with either a polytetrafluoroethylene coated or an uninsulated metal resectoscope. Urethral stricture was defined as an obstruction resulting in a maximum urine flow rate of less than 15 ml. per second and not permitting the passage of a 21F cystoscope. The frequency of urethral strictures was significantly lower after Otis internal urethrotomy (4 per cent) than after a 2-day urethral catheter dilation (16 per cent). The incidence of stricture formation was similar in patients operated on with a polytetrafluoroethylene coated (8 per cent) and with an uninsulated metal (12 per cent) resectoscope sheath. The incidence of stricture formation was unrelated to age, duration of preoperative and postoperative catheterization, operating time and presence of urinary tract infection.

The ocular function of 14 non-alcoholic, high icteric patients with recent occlusion of the common bile duct and 3 patients with viral hepatitis with a cholestatic pattern was studied. By means of a colour vision test panel including the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test, 12 patients were initially classified as colour defective with a pattern of acquired colour vision deficiency (ACVD), predominantly of a tritan type. Visual acuity, visual field, slit lamp microscopy, intraocular pressure, ophthalmoscopy and tear secretion tests were normal, and all patients had normal levels of serum vitamin A. Retesting of 4 initially colour defective patients after disappearance of the obstructive jaundice showed a complete normalisation of the ACVD's. It is concluded, that the colour perception in patients with obstructive jaundice is related to the serum bilirubin level, and not to a deficiency of vitamin A.