BACKGROUND: We investigated whether oral levofloxacin was as effective as intravenous cefazolin sodium for preventing postoperative infections in patients undergoing sagittal split ramus osteotomy of the mandible. METHODS: Forty-four patients were randomized to treatment with levofloxacin or cefazolin sodium. Levofloxacin (100 mg t.d.s.) was administered orally, and cefazolin sodium (1 g b.i.d.) by intravenous infusion. Both drugs were given until 5 days postoperatively. The concentrations of levofloxacin in the mandibular bone marrow and serum were measured. RESULTS: The mean levofloxacin concentration 4 h and 53.7 min after administration was 1.086 microg/ml in serum and 1.328 microg/ml in the mandibular bone marrow. The efficacy rate of levofloxacin was 95% and that of cefazolin sodium was 85.7%, with no significant difference between the two drugs (p = 0.322). CONCLUSION: Oral administration of levofloxacin is a simple, cost-effective and safe alternative to intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis after mandibular surgery.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between cytomorphologic features and prognosis in small-cell carcinoma of the lung.

Small-cell bronchial carcinoma cells obtained from 18 patients by fiberbronchoscopic brushing were examined to determine whether the cytomorphologic features could be related to the prognosis. Nuclear features such as small (less than 10 micrometer) or large (greater than 11 micrometer) size, round or aberrant shape and dark or light staining, were evaluated. In small-cell carcinoma cases with a very poor prognosis (death within four months), the incidence of small, round, darkly stained nuclei was much greater and a coarse or pyknotic chromatin pattern was more frequent in comparison with small-cell carcinoma cases with a better prognosis (survival greater than two years). In cases with a good prognosis, the incidence of large, lightly stained nuclei with aberrant shapes was much greater and a fine chromatin pattern was more frequent in comparison with cases with a very poor prognosis. Pertinent cytomorphologic features thus seem to be related to the prognosis.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Radiology of lung cancer.

It is of vital importance not only to prevent lung cancer but also to detect and treat it as early as possible. Plain chest X-ray examination often provides preliminary data useful for the early detection of lung cancer, and multiple diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to obtain more accurate information. The authors describe the clinical utility of imaging diagnosis by computed radiography (CR), advanced multiple beam equalization radiography (AMBER), CT, and MRI in term of the imaging-pathologic correlation. We would like to emphasize that these modalities are not competitive but supplementary. It should be anticipated that, as technological improvements continue to be made, each modality will assume an increasingly important role in the imaging of lung cancer.

Diagnostic Imaging↗