Zhonghua yi xue za zhi = Chinese medical journal; Free China ed
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Feb 2000
Prediction of biochemical relapse for stage pT3 prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy.
Approximately 30% to 50% of clinically localized prostate cancers are found to be locally advanced after radical prostatectomy. Without adjuvant therapy, more than 30% of stage pT3 patients will have biochemical failure in a median follow-up of three years. Whether adjuvant therapy should be given remains controversial. Identification of prognostic indicators may be helpful to select patients at risk of biochemical failure for postoperative adjuvant therapy. ⋯ Patients with poorly differentiated tumors and/or seminal vesicle invasiveness are at higher risk of biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy. Our limited experience did not support the routine application of adjuvant therapy for this subgroup of patients. A larger sample size with a longer follow-up period is necessary to reach a definitive conclusion.
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Jan 2000
Case ReportsCholesterol crystal embolization causing acute renal failure.
Acute renal failure due to cholesterol embolization is a complication of severe generalized arteriosclerotic disease. It occurs spontaneously, or more often, as a complication of major medical or surgical procedures such as angiography and vascular surgery. ⋯ We report two cases of acute renal failure in which cholesterol embolization was found in skin and renal biopsies. One patient's renal function stabilized, but not to the basal level and the other patient developed end-stage renal disease.
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Jan 2000
Case ReportsCombined spinal-epidural anesthesia for cesarean section in a patient with Takayasu's disease.
We describe a successful episode of anesthesia management in a parturient affected with Takayasu's disease who underwent elective cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Takayasu's disease is characterized by chronic occlusive inflammation of the arteries (panarteritis) of unknown origin that usually involves the aorta and its main branches. ⋯ The impact of pregnancy on Takayasu's disease is unclear, but worsening of ischemic symptoms, cardiac failure, aggravation of hypertension and cerebral hemorrhage have been reported in sufferers who are in the later stages of pregnancy. Nonetheless, anesthesia management of a parturient with advanced Takayasu's disease presents a challenge to anesthetists.
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Jan 2000
Case ReportsPhenotypic heterogeneity in a Chinese family with mitochondrial disease and A3243G mutation of mitochondrial DNA.
The A3243G mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been shown to be responsible for or associated with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, strokelike episodes (MELAS) syndrome, diabetes mellitus (DM) and several other neuromuscular diseases. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to identify the A3243G mtDNA mutation and an electron microscope to examine mitochondrial derangement in the muscle biopsies of a 38-year-old man suspected to have MELAS syndrome with DM. We found great variability in the clinical presentation and in the proportion of mtDNA with the A3243G mutation in the matrilineal family members of the patient. ⋯ The hair follicles and blood cells of the patient and his mother showed the A3243G mutation in the tRNA(Leu)(UUR) gene. The proportions of the mutant DNA in the hair follicles and blood cells of the proband were 36.8% and 35.2%, respectively, and those of the patient's mother were 28.8% and 13.9%, respectively. We conclude that the A3243G mtDNA mutation may manifest with MELASDM or CPPDM in different matrilineal members of the same family as a result of differences in random segregation of the heteroplasmic A3243G mutant mtDNA in the affected tissues of patients.
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Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei) · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of recovery characteristics of sevoflurane and halothane for outpatient surgery in infants.
Sevoflurane, a newly approved potent inhaled anesthetic in Taiwan, provides rapid emergence from anesthesia in adults and children. Clinically, it is difficult to accurately assess the rate of recovery from anesthesia in infants. This study was designed to compare the emergence characteristics of halothane with those of sevoflurane having recourse to a respiratory agent monitor in infants undergoing outpatient surgery. ⋯ Sevoflurane is superior to halothane for rapid elimination in infant outpatient surgery as gauged by observation of end-tidal concentration elimination curves recorded with a respiratory agent monitor. No other postoperative side-effect was evident in sevoflurane anesthesia.