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Twelve patients with small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung were treated with vincristine 1 mg/m i.v. day 1, adriamycin 50 mg/m i.v. day 1, cyclophosphamide 1,000 mg/m i.v. day 1, and etoposide 80 mg/m i.v. day 2, 4, 6 given on an outpatient basis and repeated at 3-week intervals. As consolidation therapy seven patients received two courses of BCNU median 29 mg/m (range 24-73 mg/m) short term intraarterial infusion in the bronchial artery with 2 to 3-weeks intervals. One patient with limited disease had no evidence of disease for 13+ months and one patient complete remission for 3+ months. Four of ten patients with extensive disease had complete remission for median 5 months (range 2+ to 5+ months) and four patients had partial remission for median 5 months (range 4 to 5+ months). Despite side effects the chemotherapy was well tolerated by the patients. The results correspond to those obtained with other effective regimens in small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fifty-nine-year-old, asymptomatic woman with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery is presented. The diagnosis was established by catheterization and angiocardiography. The indications for surgery in this condition are discussed, with special reference to asymptomatic patients. In this patient, surgery was not undertaken, because of the absence of signs of impairment of left ventricular perfusion and function. The patient remains asymptomatic after eight years of observation.

210 patients were screened for pulmonary embolism after total hip replacement with chest radiography and perfusion-ventilation scintigraphy using a new, dry 99mTc-microaerosol and a detailed system for coding scintigraphic abnormalities. Chest radiography did not contribute significantly to the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. In spite of careful evaluation, false-negative and false-positive scintigraphic diagnoses of PE are still possible.

The experience of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in 66 patients (71 stenoses) with arteriosclerotic lesions in the pelvic and lower extremity arteries is reported. The PTA was technically successful in 70 stenoses. Complications were seen in eleven patients. The follow-up time was 19 months (2-44). The frequency of recurrencies was clearly related to the location of stenosis, the more distal the lesion the higher the recurrency rate. The immediate roentgenologic result had no prognostic value to protect recurrencies. To conclude PTA is an alternative to surgery in patients with short stenoses in the iliac arteries, but very strict indications should be used when lesions are localized below the inguinal ligament.

Seven patients with advanced gallbladder carcinoma were given intraarterial infusions of 10 to 15 mg mitomycin C with 10 to 24 days' interval, 3 received intravenous infusion (10 mg/m2) with median 3 weeks' interval. Stationary disease was obtained in 4 patients, progressive disease in 4, and treatment failures in 2. The median survival after mitomycin C treatment was 4 months (range 1-23 +). Irreversible thrombocytopenia occurred in 2 patients and a severe gastrointestinal bleeding episode in one.

The clinical consequences of postoperative complications as defined by signs and symptoms, chest radiography and measurements of the arterial oxygen tension were studied in 53 men, aged 40-75, who were electively operated for peptic ulcer or gallbladder disease. Clinical signs of a respiratory complication were detected in 4 patients. Of the 28 patients with chest X-ray abnormalities and 23 with arterial hypoxemia only 2 had clinical signs of a disordered pulmonary function. None of the remaining patients with arterial hypoxemia and/or chest X-ray abnormalities required any specific treatment. Hospital stay was not prolonged in patients with respiratory complications. Arterial hypoxemia and chest X-ray abnormalities in patients without clinical signs of a disordered pulmonary function had no influence on postoperative course or rehabilitation and were in all cases reversible without treatment.

Bronchial angiography and intraarterial infusion of mitomycin-C were successfully performed in 39 of 47 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. More than one course was given to several patients. No neurologic complications occurred and the side effects were insignificant. The pertinent anatomy of the bronchial and spinal arteries is summarized and a comprehensive description of the angiography and infusion technique is given. It is important that the infused artery is not occluded by the catheter and that the drug is properly diluted to avoid complications. The method appears to be of therapeutic value in the treatment of pulmonary carcinoma.

Examination of more than 30 cases of bronchopleural fistula (BPF), of diverse causes, including 6 following resectional surgery, revealed a distinctive configuration of air/fluid collections in the pleural space. Maler in 1940 independently observed that loculated BPF pockets conform in shape to the adjacent chest wall. With the most common posterior costophrenic angle location, there is a wide air-fluid level in the frontal view, but on lateral films the anteroposterior diameter is narrow. In contrast, abscess cavities tend to be spherical and farther from the ribs. Use of these plain film criteria permits earlier and more confident diagnosis.

Bronchial artery infusion of mitomycin C might be very effective in treating minor tumors but, as a rule, less effective in the treatment of larger tumors. In order to achieve improved effect of treatment, 21 cases (stage II-III/TNM) were given supplementary chemotherapy with bleomycin or vincristine-bleomycin. Preoperative treatment was given to 11 cases in which indications for surgical treatment were primarily uncertain or absent. The other group consisted of 10 patients with inoperable lesions. Combined treatment has proved to have a strong but mainly local effect. Repeated courses (up to 5 times) were more effective than a single one. The regional effect, i.e: on overgrowth onto the mediastinum, pericardium or thoracic wall was weak. The system effect was negligible. Penetrating data about objective response are given.

In eight patients with inoperable obstructive jaundice, an endoprosthesis was inserted percutaneously through the obstruction to allow internal drainage of bile to the bowel. The method offers several advantages over external percutaneous drainage and is warranted in selected cases.

Fifty-six patients with previously untreated, unresectable squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region were treated with repeated intra-arterial chemotherapy with mitomycin C using a selective or super-selective angiographic technique, and bleomycin given i.v., followed by radical radiotherapy. In addition, restricted tumour-reductive surgery was done in 18 of these patients. The response rate (CR + PR) after completion of the integrated treatment was 89%, with 63% of the patients showing CR. The toxicity of this regimen was, however, far from negligible. The median survival for this series of patients with advanced head and neck cancers is 19 months, and 17 are still alive after 16 + -66 + months.

Two groups (n = 10 in each) of adult sheep were exposed to hemorrhagic shock resulting in mean arterial pressure (MAP) below 25 mmHg for 10 min. Following that, group A received crystalloids (8% of body wt) during one hr together with supraceliac intraaortic balloon tamponade during the first 30 min, while group B (controls) received crystalloids only. The central circulation was rapidly restored in group A, as indicated by increased MAP and increased systemic vascular resistance (SVR). After deflation of the balloon MAP dropped to the same value as in the control group, while cardiac index increased gradually with volume replacement and was significantly higher at the end of the resuscitation period (60 min) than in the control group (P less than 0.05). Despite a more rapid restoration of central hemodynamics in group A, lactic acidosis was more severe, acute renal failure and neurological complications more frequent, and mortality higher than in the control group. It was concluded that continuous supraceliac aortic occlusion for 30 min had deleterious effects on organs dependent on aortic blood flow distal to the aortic tamponade and may contribute to the development of multiple organ failure after resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of intermittent intraaortic balloon tamponade in hemorrhagic shock.

The incidence of postoperative chest X-ray abnormalities, arterial hypoxemia and clinically recorded pulmonary complications was studied in fifty-two 40-75-year-old men admitted for elective surgery for peptic ulcer or gallbladder disease. Twenty-eight (54%) patients had an abnormal chest X-ray and twenty-three (43%) arterial hypoxemia, whereas only four patients (8%) were identified with clinical signs and symptoms of respiratory complications. Forty-one patients (79%) were found with pulmonary complications by at least one of the three methods. Twelve patients had both an abnormal chest X-ray and arterial hypoxemia. Only two of these were identified with clinical signs indicating pulmonary complications. The great discrepancy between results based on clinical signs and symptoms noted in the patients' records and results based on postoperative chest X-ray and measurements of the arterial oxygen tension, respectively, should be of great importance when comparing the incidence of pulmonary complications after different forms of surgery and when assessing risk factors and clinical consequences of respiratory complications.