To critically analyze the accuracy of the OPG/Zira unit in the diagnosis of significant carotid artery stenosis, 135 patients (270 carotid arteries) were reviewed in comparison with the biplane carotid arteriograms. For practical purposes the radiological findings were divided into two categories; the first category included patients with normal carotids or carotids with less than 40% stenosis and the second category included patients who had carotid stenosis of greater than 40% (significant stenosis). The 136 arteries with significant stenosis on the arteriograms had positive OPG (136/160); i.e., 85.0% sensitivity, 101/110 arteries had negative arteriograms and negative OPG; i.e., 91.8% specificity. There was 6.2% false positive rate (9/145) and 19.2% false negative (24/125). The overall diagnostic accuracy was 87.7% (237/270).

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Long term follow-up of prophylactic caval clipping.

120 high risk patients who underwent prophylactic inferior vena cava clipping were retrospectively evaluated to determine the incidence of post clipping leg swelling and pulmonary embolism. Each one of those patients had at least two criteria for the clipping. These criteria of high risk factors were precisely identified. There were two patients who had postoperative pulmonary embolism but none of them was fatal, i.e. less than two per cent. Two patients developed severe leg swelling (less than two per cent) and six had mild leg swelling (less than six per cent). Prophylactic inferior vena cava clipping is a safe and effective mean to prevent post-operative pulmonary embolism.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Bacteremia due to streptococcus zooepidemicus associated with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Group C streptococci are a common cause of infection in animals but a rare cause of infection in man. To our knowledge, the English literature contains only three cases of arteriosclerotic aneurysms of the abdominal aorta (AAA) secondarily infected with group C Beta-hemolytic Streptococci. Two cases did not survive in spite of adequate antibiotic therapy. One patient responded to aortic repair with a bifurcated woven dacron graft followed by four weeks of high-dose intravenous penicillin. This article describes our clinical experience with a patient who survived an atherosclerotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and S. zooepidemicus infection.

Aged↗