Intravenous cidofovir treatment for recalcitrant warts in the setting of a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome

Cidofovir is an acyclic nucleoside phosphonate with broad-spectrum activity against DNA viruses, including human papilloma virus (HPV). However, data on the efficacy of cidofovir in an immunosuppressive setting remain contradictory. We report for the first time on the promotion of the healing of recalcitrant warts in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome with intravenous cidofovir treatment.     

开道散合扶正和胃合剂治疗上消化道癌性狭窄疗效观察

目的：观察开道散合扶正和胃合剂治疗上消化道癌性狭窄的临床疗效。方法：对40例患者采用口服开道散、扶正和胃合剂联合胃镜下癌灶内注射5-氟脲嘧啶注射液及鸦胆子乳剂方法治疗上消化道癌性狭窄。结果：治疗后无瘤灶消失病例，34例患者肿瘤缩小达50％以上，完全缓解0例，部分缓解34例，稳定4例，进展2例，有效率为85．0％。治疗后患者吞咽困难有了较明显的改善，显效7例，有效31例，无效2例，总有效率95．0％。治疗后所有患者的卡氏评分均有所升高，与治疗前比较，差异有显著性意义（P〈0．05），提示治疗后患者的生活质量有所改善。结论：开道散合扶正和胃合剂治疗上消化道癌性狭窄疗效满意，能使实体瘤缩小、吞咽困难改善、生活质量提高。     

Rate of flow of aqueous humor determined from measurements of aqueous flare

Measurement of light scattered in the anterior chamber can provide important clinical information about the eye. In this study, a scanning ocular spectrofluorophotometer was used to measure scattering in the anterior chamber. Pathologic scattering (flare) was induced by argon laser photocoagulation of the iris in pigmented rabbits. The spectrally corrected intensity of the flare in inflamed eyes decreased as the inverse 2.2 power of the wavelength of the illuminating beam. The strongest signal with this instrument was measured at 470 nm. Diurnal variation of normal and spontaneous scatter from the aqueous humor was measured in nine pigmented rabbits entrained to a 12-hr light/12-hr dark cycle and in eight human subjects. A technique is described for determining the rate of flow of aqueous humor from scattered light when the transfer rate of scattering substance into the anterior chamber is constant. This technique was used to study changes in flow over the diurnal cycle. The rate of flow in human subjects during sleep was 60% of the rate during waking hours. In rabbits, the rate was lowest (44% of maximum) during the 6 hr after the lights were turned on, and were greatest just before the lights were turned on. These findings confirm previous studies of the circadian rhythm of aqueous humor flow in rabbits and humans.     

Morbidity among employees engaged in the manufacture or formulation of chlorpyrifos.

The prevalence of selected illnesses and symptoms during 1977-85 was compared between 175 employees potentially exposed to the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos and 335 matched controls with no history of exposure to organophosphates. Subjects were subdivided into three exposure intensity groups on the basis of job title and air monitoring data for dose response testing. This classification scheme was shown roughly to correlate with plasma cholinesterase inhibition in the workers. No statistically significant differences in illness or prevalence of symptoms were observed between the exposed and unexposed groups or among the three exposure subgroups. Potentially exposed employees did report symptoms of dizziness and of malaise and fatigue relatively more often than subjects from the comparison group; however, further analyses by exposure level, process area, or time did not support a relation with exposure. No cases of peripheral neuropathy were seen among the exposed workers. Although the sample size was small and the statistical power limited, the cumulative exposures likely to have been experienced by this workforce exceed those to be expected for individuals using the product as recommended. The absence of exposure related adverse effects, including neurological impairment, is reassuring.     

Synchronous colonic adenocarcinoma and extragenital malignant mixed mesodermal tumour

A synchronous occurrence of large bowel adenocarcinoma and extragenital malignant mixed mesodermal tumour (MMMT) is reported. This case represents the sixth extragenital MMMT reported in the literature.     

Digital radiography of subtle pulmonary abnormalities: an ROC study of the effect of pixel size on observer performance

Forty conventional radiographs with examples of mild interstitial infiltrates and subtle pneumothoraces and 40 normal studies of the chest were selected and digitized, with pixel sizes of 1.0, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.1 mm. Observer performance tests were carried out using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Conventional radiographs and digitized images were compared. The results indicate that, in such cases, diagnostic accuracy increases significantly as the pixel size is reduced, at least to the 0.1-mm level. We conclude that, for digital systems using screen-film or similar image receptors, use of a pixel size substantially larger than 0.1 mm may result in some loss of diagnostic accuracy.