The New England journal of medicine
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Purified, [131I]-labeled goat antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen, which have been shown to localize in human carcinoma in nude mice, were injected into 27 patients with carcinoma. Patients were scanned with a scintillation camera at various intervals. In 11 patients, radioactivity was detectable in the tumor 48 hours after injection. ⋯ The results demonstrated that only the anti-CEA antibodies localized in tumors. However, the total antibody-derived radioactivity in the tumor was only about 0.001 of the injected dose. We conclude that, despite the present demonstration of specificity, this method of tumor detection is not yet clinically useful.
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The survival rate for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is low in communities where emergency service is provided solely by emergency medical technicians. We trained such technicians in a suburban community of 79,000 to recognize and treat out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation with up to three defibrillatory shocks without the use of medications or special airway protection. ⋯ In 12 of 38 patients with ventricular fibrillation, a stable perfusing cardiac rhythm followed defibrillatory shocks given by defibrillator technicians. The enhanced survival after cardiac arrest is encouraging, and further trials of defibrillation by emergency medical technicians are warranted.