Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

O Munck

Publications and source records attributed to O Munck.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Placenta flow index in posterior wall placentas measured with 99mtechnetium-labelled human serum albumin.

Measurement of the perfusion of posterior wall placentas with the isotope technique may pose a problem owing to attenuation of the gamma radiation. The present investigation compares the placenta flow index (PFI) in 34 pregnant women with anterior wall placenta and 13 with posterior wall placenta. We found no difference in the shortest skin-to-placenta distance on ultrasound scanning and no difference in PFI between the anterior and the posterior wall placentas.

Adult↗

Prognostic value of in vitro measurements of platelet aggregability and fibrinolytic activity in patients with reversible cerebral ischemic attacks.

Platelet aggregability and fibrinolytic activity were studied repeatedly in 83 patients with reversible cerebral ischemic attacks over a median follow-up period of 26 months. Platelet hyperaggregability, defined as in vitro secondary aggregation obtained by adenosine diphosphate concentration less than or equal to 1 mumol/l, was demonstrated in 36.1% or the patients examined 5-8 days after the attack, but only in 6% of age- and sex-matched blood donors (p less than 0.001). Fibrinolytic activity was reduced in 57.8% of the patients, as compared with 20.5% of the controls. At the time of follow-up only 8% of the survivors showed platelet hyperaggregability, whereas the fibrinolytic activity was still reduced in 44.4%. Over the observation period 21.7% of the patients had a stroke or died. No significant correlation was found between abnormalities of platelet aggregability or of fibrinolytic activity, when observed 5-8 days after the ischemic episode, and the subsequent risk of stroke or death. It is concluded that in patients with recent cerebral ischemic attacks the demonstration of platelet hyperaggregability or reduced fibrinolytic activity appears to be without prognostic significance.

Adult↗

What do early bone scans tell about breast cancer patients?

In 1978, 1012 out of a total of 1888 Danish breast cancer patients registered for a nationwide therapeutical trial were bone-scanned to find osseous metastases. A re-reading group (N.R., O.M. and S.P.N.) interpreted 842 of the scans produced in the twelve participating hospitals. Specific criteria were used for grading the scintiscans. Of the 842 scans 682 were performed within 30 days of the operation and were defined as initial. The re-reading group found 50 (7%) of these scans to be equivocal and 46 (7%) to be indicative of bone metastases at the time of operation. The number of X-ray-verified bone metastases was only 5 (0.6%). The frequency of positive bone scans correlated with the age of the patients and tumor size, but not with clinical staging at the time of operation, number of positive axillary lymph nodes or degree of tumor anaplasia. Recurrences and death rates during a 2-yr follow-Up period correlated significantly with initial clinical staging. In the clinical low-risk group a positive initial bone scan worsened the prognosis, but this was not statistically significant for all patients grouped together. Although the prognostic value of the initial bone scan per se is dubious, it serves as a guidance for elective X-ray examination and as a basis for comparing subsequent scans.

Age Factors↗

Perfusion of the intervillous space of the human placenta measured with 99mtechnetium labelled human serum albumin.

The perfusion of the intervillous space of the human placenta was investigated with 99Tc-Human Serum Albumin and external counting in 45 pregnant women between the 34th and 38th week of gestation. The pregnancy was normal in 34 women, while there was placental insufficiency in 11. Two variables were calculated from the placenta curve: the placenta flow index (PFI) and the mean transit time (t) for plasma through the intervillous space. From double determinations, the coefficient of variation for PFI was calculated to 1.6%. For t it was 20%. PFI was significantly higher in the controls than in the patients with placental dysfunction (P less than 0.05). There was a significant correlation between PFI and t (rs = - 0.36, P less than 0.05). The plasma oestriol level and the PFI correlated significantly, whereas the correlation between t and the plasma oestriol level was not significant. The placenta flow index can be used to measure the physiological effect of a pharmacological treatment, bedrest or other treatments.

Chorionic Villi↗

Ultrasonography, 99mTc-DIDA cholescintigraphy, and infusion tomography in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.

Ultrasonography, 99mTc-DIDA cholescintigraphy, and infusion tomography of the gallbladder were compared in a prospective study comprising 45 consecutive patients clinically suspected of having acute cholecystitis. The diagnosis of acute cholecystitis was established or excluded by operation in 35 patients, by oral cholecystography in 5, and by intravenous cholangiography in 5. The predictive values of a positive and a negative test were 100% and 83%, respectively, by ultrasonography and 98% and 88% by cholescintigraphy. Corresponding values for infusion tomography were 87% and 33%. The results suggest that in patients suspected of having acute cholecystitis, 99mTc-DIDA cholescintigraphy and ultrasonography provide a rapid and reliable diagnosis.

Acute Disease↗

The effect of prostatectomy on upper urinary tract function.

59 patients with obstructive prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) were evaluated regarding the influence of prostatectomy on upper urinary tract function by means of [51Cr]EDTA clearance and gamma camera renography measurements. 25 patients were randomly allocated to transvesical and 34 patients to transurethral prostatectomy. At the 6-month follow-up a slight decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was seen in the total patient group. Residual renal activity 20 min following injection (A20) as well as half-peak time values showed upper urinary tract obstruction in 54% of the patients preoperatively, whereas dilatation of the upper urinary tract was demonstrated at i.v. pyelography in only 15%. Patients with renographic obstruction preoperatively had low GFR values compared with patients without obstruction. In patients with upper urinary tract obstruction, prostatectomy relieved the obstruction, even in the case of normal urography. In patients with normal upper urinary tract, a clinically insignificant decrease in GFR and increase in A20 and half-peak time was observed. No differences with regard to upper urinary tract function were seen on comparing transurethral with transvesical prostatectomy.

Aged↗

Scintigraphic diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding with 99mTc-labeled blood-pool agents.

Abdominal scintigraphy with 99mTc-labeled albumin or red blood cells was used in 68 patients to localize gastrointestinal bleeding or confirm that it had stopped. Acute, active bleeding was identified in 33 patients; characteristic patterns of bleeding from the stomach, biliary passages, small intestine, and colon are shown. Sensitivity was 0.86 (95% confidence limits, 0.57-0.98) and specificity was 1.0 (95% confidence limits, 0.82-1.0) in 33 patients who had scintigraphy and endoscopy performed in succession. Abdominal scintigraphy appears to be a valuable supplement to conventional diagnostic methods. In upper gastrointestinal bleeding, scintigraphy should be considered when endoscopy fails. In lower intestinal bleeding, scintigraphy should be the method of choice.

Adolescent↗