Comparison of three methods in surgical treatment of pilonidal disease.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Kitchen.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The practicalities of providing intravenous nutrition support the use of 3-in-1 bags. However, problems with stability are an important consideration, especially because the clinical consequences can be devastating. Infusion sets designed with different colored tubing to decrease peroxide formation have been investigated. Also, even though high-dose heparin should not be combined with lipid emulsions, evidence for prescribing low dose in neonatal practice has been published. Furthermore, the largest study testing lipid stability with different drugs highlights 23 that should not be combined. Generation of oxalate as a marker of vitamin C loss and degradation of cocarboxylase have been investigated. Practical guidance has been published on the prevention of copper sulfide and iron phosphate precipitates. A study demonstrating that parenteral nutrition admixture is a poor growth medium has been reported. Finally, cyclical intravenous feeding may have a beneficial effect on the liver through protecting mitochondrial function from hypoxic damage.
Internal mammary node involvement in early breast cancer is a prognostic factor of uncertain significance. This paper addresses isolated regional recurrence at this site following breast conservation radiotherapy. A case is presented of a woman who developed an internal mammary recurrence after lumpectomy and breast irradiation. This recurrence was diagnosed as a bone metastasis, a common mistake which may lead to suboptimal management. The true incidence of regional recurrences in the internal mammary nodes has been underestimated and their clinical significance has not been appreciated. Salvage procedures for local control and long-term cure are likely to be successful if the diagnosis is made before distant metastases have occurred and a lengthy period has elapsed since initial treatment was given. The role of reirradiation should be considered as the tissues at this site will generally tolerate a second course of radical radiotherapy given more than 10 years after the first.
The indications for parenteral nutrition have been examined over the past year. These studies have mostly supported the enteral compared to the intravenous route. Because a formal diagnosis of intestinal failure has not always been the key to initiating intravenous nutrition, however, the clinical applications of their conclusions are uncertain. Studies have also focused on supplementing intravenous nutrition with glutamine; the lack of ideal control groups makes interpretation difficult. Finally, based on present evidence, a pragmatic approach to the provision of intravenous nutrition can be supported.
PURPOSE: To determine prospectively the prognostic significance of HER-2/neu oncogene amplification in the primary tumors of breast cancer patients. METHODS: HER-2/neu amplification in tumor DNA was determined by the slot-blot technique in 1,056 patients with breast cancer (stage I to III) diagnosed between 1987 and 1990. Parameters such as estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) levels, tumor size, axillary nodal involvement, tumor grade, and time to relapse were prospectively obtained. RESULTS: HER-2/neu oncogene amplification, > or = 2, > or = 3, and > or = 5 copy number, was detected in 21%, 11%, and 7% of patients, respectively. In a test set of 529 patients, Cox multivariate analysis showed HER-2/neu copy number > or = 3 or > or = 5 was associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) duration. HER-2/neu copy number > or = 3 correlated significantly with pathologic stage of disease, number of axillary nodes with tumor, histologic type, and absence of ER and PgR. For all patients, after a median follow-up duration of 39 months, Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis indicated that tumor oncogene copy number > or = 3 correlated with shorter DFS in both node-negative and node-positive patients. In Cox multivariate analysis, HER-2/neu copy number > or = 3 was associated with shorter DFS, independent of nodal status, ER level, and tumor size. CONCLUSION: Although the follow-up duration of this study is relatively short, we conclude that HER-2/neu amplification is an independent predictor of shorter DFS in both node-negative and node-positive patients.
Seven commercially available screening tests for rheumatoid factor and two quantitative tests have been compared with the standard Rose-Waaler test in a series of 477 sera from patients with various joint diseases. Markedly different results were obtained, and on the basis of our findings suggestions are made as to what we consider to be the most satisfactory currently available tests.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.