JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
-
Seventeen patients who were partially or totally refractory to maximal doses of conventional antihypertensive agents were treated with minoxidil. Three patients were receiving long-term maintenance dialysis. Propranolol and diuretics were given to prevent reflex tachycardia and fluid retention. ⋯ The main side-effects were fluid retention (in eight) and hypertrichosis (in ten), accompanied in some by a peculiar coarsening of the facial features. Renal function stabilized or improved in most, and urine output increased in the three hemodialysis patients. We conclude that minoxidil is a valuable drug in severe hypertension.
-
A collaborative retrospective study undertaken to investigate cardiac arrest related to pediatric anesthesia in seven institutions between 1960 and 1972 showed 73 instances in which anesthesia was thought to have been either directly responsible or had played an important contributing role. About two thirds of these patients were successfully resuscitated. Cases were found to fit into one of two major categories: cardiovascular and respiratory. ⋯ Respiratory factors included failure to maintain a patent airway and ventilatory problems. In retrospect, most of these accidents were preventable. Such information should indicate where research emphasis needs to be placed and that our current methods of teaching and training need to be reevaluated.
-
Vigorous shaking of oxygenated sickle hemoglobin (Hb S) in solution causes precipitation of the hemoglobin. This unusual property of Hb S forms the basis of a simple test for the presence of Hb S. ⋯ The group tested included 55 persons with sickling disorders and 47 others with unusual hemoglobin patterns. This test may be used to confirm the presence of Hb S or to establish the diagnosis of sickling disorders rapidly in the clinic or at the bedside.