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Biomedical subjects

C Herold

Publications and source records attributed to C Herold.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Successful outcome of a complicated pregnancy in a renal transplant recipient taking cyclosporine A.

The successful outcome of a pregnancy complicated by reversible renal failure secondary to total ureteral obstruction caused by a pregnant uterus and treated temporarily with nephrostomy is reported. The cyclosporine A (CsA) and prednisone treated female recipient of a cadaveric renal allograft gave birth to a male child, which at 2080 grams was small for gestational age (35 weeks of pregnancy). The child presented neither signs of congenital anomalies or chromosome aberrations nor nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity or anemia. Simultaneous measurement of trough CsA blood levels (CsA RIA, Sandoz) displayed reduced values in the child's blood (mother 864 ng/ml-4 hours after oral CsA intake; son 312 ng/ml). Beside postrenal failure the patient's pregnancy was complicated by 7 rejection episodes treated with high doses of methylprednisone (total dose 5 g) with reversible damage of the transplant function, two episodes of a urinary tract infection and increasing anemia necessitating blood transfusions. The HIV negative patient had developed a Kaposi's sarcoma 6 weeks after grafting. The progression of infiltrating skin lesions during pregnancy was not seen.

Adult↗

[Right heart failure as a clinical sign of pulmonary artery sarcoma].

A 43 year-old female patient was admitted on account of severe dyspnoea of several months' duration and thrombocytopenia. The clinical symptomatology was compatible with pulmonary embolism, but no source of embolization was found and heparin therapy did not lead to clinical improvement. Angiography of the pulmonary artery revealed multiple filling defects. Symptoms improved after treatment with cortisone and so a malignant process was assumed. The patient died from right ventricular failure before the diagnosis could be established. At autopsy a sarcoma of the pulmonary artery, obviously originating from the pulmonary trunk was found. Thrombocytopenia most probably resulted from consumption of platelets by a mechanism corresponding to the Kasabach-Merritt syndrome. The difficulties in the diagnosis of pulmonary artery sarcomas are discussed and the 69 previously published cases are reviewed.

Adult↗

Accessory spleen: presentation as a large abdominal mass in an asymptomatic young woman.

Accessory spleen hypertrophy is usually related to hematologic, lymphomatous, and rheumatoid diseases. We describe here the case of an 18-year-old asymptomatic woman who presented with a very large accessory spleen occupying the lower abdomen. Its appearance on abdominal sonogram, computed tomogram, and hepatosplenic scintigraphy is correlated with the resected specimen.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

Duplex sonography of tumors of the carotid body.

Five histologically confirmed tumors of the carotid body and seven lymph node metastases in the area of the carotid bifurcation were investigated with real-time sonography. In addition, 10 patients underwent measurements of intratumorous flow by way of a pulsed Doppler system. The typically hypervascular tumors of the carotid body revealed flow signals with standardized adjustment of Doppler sonography. The hypovascularized lymph node metastases did not demonstrate flow on Doppler sonography. In all patients, either preoperative angiography or enhanced computerized tomography was done and these studies confirmed the degree of vascularization of the mass as determined by Doppler sonography. Duplex sonography permitted noninvasive demonstration of hypervascular tumors in the area of the carotid bifurcation, a finding highly suggestive of nonchromaphil paraganglioma of the carotid body.

Adult↗

[Percutaneous drainage of complicated abscesses and fluid collections].

The original concept of percutaneous, radiological abscess drainage was confined to well circumscribed, solitary abscesses, that could be reached by a short access avoiding transgression of uninvolved organs or compartments. With increasing experience criteria for percutaneous abscess drainage have been expanded to radiological treatment of pancreatic, periappendiceal, diverticular, interloop and mediastinal abscesses and fluid collections. The authors present their experience with percutaneous treatment of such "complicated" abscesses in 140 patients.

Abdomen↗

[Abortion complications and their effect on subsequent pregnancies].

About complications in 2147 interruptions of pregnancy, carried out between February 15, 1974 and December 31, 1976 was reported.--48,4 per cent was nullipare or primipare. The rate of early complications was 5,28 per cent. During the period of report 7,03 per cent of patients became pregnant again. The fates from these pregnancy were following: 37,6 per cent interruptions of pregnancy once more. 15,2 per cent abortion and 18,4 per cent premature birth. Prenatal mortality was 3,1 per cent.

Abortion, Legal↗

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound improves hepatic vessel visualization after orthotopic liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether color-coded Doppler sonography combined with an ultrasound contrast medium would improve the assessment of liver-supplying vessels after orthotopic liver transplantation. METHODS: Forty-seven patients after orthotopic liver transplantation participated. Examinations were done without and then with the ultrasound contrast medium Levovist. Visualization of the liver-supplying vessels was assessed with a scoring system. RESULTS: Visualization of the portal vein was similar without and with contrast medium. Hepatic arteries were visualized in 39 patients without contrast medium and 46 patients with contrast medium. The remaining patient showed hepatic artery thrombosis, which was confirmed angiographically. With the use of Levovist, the examination took 3.7 min rather than the usual 6.4 min. CONCLUSION: Imaging of hepatic arteries after liver transplantation improved significantly with the use of ultrasound contrast medium. These findings are important because the early detection of blood flow through the liver after transplantation affects prognosis.

Adult↗

Clinical value of MRC in the follow-up of liver transplant patients with a choledochojejunostomy.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinical value of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) in liver transplant patients receiving choledochojejunostomy (CDJ). METHODS: Twenty-five MRCs were performed in 23 initially asymptomatic patients 19 months (mean) after liver transplantation with biliary reconstruction via CDJ. The images were evaluated by consensus (two investigators) for bile duct strictures and dilatations. As a standard of reference, clinical follow-up (including laboratory analysis) was used in 20 cases and direct cholangiography or surgery in three cases. RESULTS: Fourteen pathologic findings were observed in 11 patients (anastomotic strictures in four, left or right bile duct strictures in three, and peripheral segmental dilatations with or without strictures in seven). Patients with pathologic MRC findings had significantly higher levels of alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.05) and more frequently had histories of cholangitis than did patients with normal MRC. Four of six patients with stenoses of the central bile ducts subsequently developed biliary complications requiring treatment (three confirmed by direct cholangiography). In patients with unremarkable bile ducts or only peripherally located changes on MRC, no bile duct complications or relevant changes in the cholestasis parameters occurred during follow-up (mean = 30 months). CONCLUSION: MRC can noninvasively detect pathologic biliary tract changes in liver transplant patients in the asymptomatic stage and provide information for planning invasive therapeutic procedures.

Adult↗

Changes in hepatic hemodynamics after orthotopic liver transplantation: color Doppler sonography.

BACKGROUND: Liver perfusion has an influence on therapy results in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in hepatic hemodynamics in patients after OLT with color-coded Doppler sonography (CCDS). METHODS: Forty-five consecutive patients were included. The examinations were done before, on postoperative day 1, and then weekly until the patients were discharged. Mean velocity of the portal (PV-V) and splenic (SV-V) veins and the maximum velocity and resistance index of the hepatic artery were determined. RESULTS: After OLT a significant increase in PV-V and SV-V was observed. Twenty-five patients had normal perfusion of the hepatic artery, whereas 16 patients had abnormal flow patterns. In these patients prostaglandin I(2) was used until flow rates normalized. In four patients, CCDS could not detect perfusion of the hepatic artery. CONCLUSIONS: CCDS is a suitable method for evaluating hepatic hemodynamics before and after OLT. Changes in blood flow velocities in the liver-supplying vessels are detectable, but perfusion of the hepatic artery is seldom detectable. These observations are of special interest after OLT, where liver circulation has an influence on therapy results.

Adult↗

Single-organism model of host defense against infection: a novel immunotoxicologic approach to evaluate immunomodulatory drugs.

The immunotoxicologic effects of drugs on host defense have been studied widely using various animal models of infection. Here we describe a new approach to testing host defense by using a single organism (Candida albicans) in CBA/J mice. The model is configured to test 3 effector systems via different routes of inoculation to stimulate different effector arms of the immune response. Nonspecific immunity was evaluated by C. albicans colony-forming unit (CFU) count from the spleen at 2 hr (uptake) and > or = 22 hr (clearance) following intravenous inoculation. Cell-mediated immunity was assessed by CFU count from an intramuscular injection site 6 days postinoculation. Humoral immunity was assessed by anti-Candida antibody titer, following multiple subcutaneous immunizations with C. albicans. Finally, overall immunity was evaluated following intravenous injection using survival as the endpoint. Histopathological, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic evaluation of selected tissues revealed the involvement of the expected cell types in the different effector systems. Several immunomodulatory drugs--dexamethasone, cyclosporine, liposomal muramyltripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine, and SK&F 105685--were evaluated in the C. albicans model. Dexamethasone impaired host defense against C. albicans by suppressing all endpoints measured. Similarly, cyclosporine showed broad immunosuppressive activity, with the exception of yeast uptake from the spleen. In contrast, muramyl tripeptide-phosphatidylethanolamine enhanced all but cell-mediated immunity to C. albicans. SK&F 105685 displayed both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on immune responses to the infection. Our studies demonstrate that a single organism-based approach can be a useful method for evaluating the immunological hazards of drugs on host resistance to infection.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗