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Biomedical subjects

Z J Borowy

Publications and source records attributed to Z J Borowy.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Piperacillin versus cefazolin given perioperatively to high-risk patients who undergo open cholecystectomy: a double-blind, randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy, microbiologic features and toxicity of prophylactic cefazolin versus prophylactic piperacillin in high-risk patients who undergo open cholecystectomy. DESIGN: Double-blind randomized trial with follow-up for 6 weeks postoperatively. SETTING: An 850-bed community hospital, located in a major Canadian city. Patients admitted to hospital who satisfied published criteria for being at high-risk for infection after open cholecystectomy were entered into the protocol, and those who satisfied the criteria and provided consent were entered into the study. Eighty-one patients were randomly assigned by computer to receive either piperacillin or cefazolin as the prophylactic agent. INTERVENTIONS: Open cholecystectomy. MAIN OUTCOME: Provides detailed information on the organisms found in the biliary tree in patients with acute cholecystitis, assesses the in-vitro activity of cefazolin versus piperacillin against the isolated organisms, expecting that piperacillin would be much more active against isolated anaerobes and gram-negative bacteria. RESULTS: Bactobilia was documented in 42% of patients in the cefazolin group and 29% of patients in the piperacillin group. Piperacillin was active in vitro against 94% of all isolates versus 56% for cefazolin (p < 0.005, McNemar's test). Adverse effects and toxicities in both the piperacillin and cefazolin group were low and were not serious. CONCLUSIONS: Both piperacillin and cefazolin are safe and effective prophylactic antimicrobials for high-risk patients who undergo open cholecystectomy. However, piperacillin had a much wider spectrum of in-vitro activity against the isolated pathogens, especially Enterococcus sp., Enterobacter cloacae and the anaerobes.

Adult

Management of papillary carcinoma arising in thyroglossal-duct anlage.

Cysts of the thyroglossal duct are common congenital abnormalities. They present as asymptomatic midline cervical swellings. The risk of malignant change is low; only 103 cases have been reported in the world literature, 85% of which were papillary adenocarcinomas. The appropriate treatment for this condition remains controversial. The authors describe three patients who had papillary carcinoma contained within a thyroglossal-duct rest. All were treated by cyst resection and thyroid suppression, but without thyroidectomy and radioactive thyroid ablation. Postoperatively, all patients remained disease free, with no recurrence at follow-up ranging from 10 to 29 years. Isolated papillary carcinomas arising from primitive thyroid remnants, associated with a palpably normal thyroid gland at surgery and a negative thyroid scan, can be treated adequately by excising the thyroglossal mass.

Carcinoma, Papillary

A family exhibiting carotid body tumours.

The authors describe the surgery carried out for 11 carotid body tumours (CBTs) that were found in three generations of a Greek family. Eight patients with CBTs were operated upon at St. Joseph's Health Centre, Toronto, within 1 year. Three patients had bilateral CBTs, which were removed in two stages. Only one of the CBTs occurred in a female. Seven CBTs were excised by meticulous subadventitial dissection. In the eighth, a previous attempt at removal in another hospital had proved unsuccessful, and excision of the tumour required ligation of the external carotid artery and partial excision of the carotid bulb. The authors conclude that most CBTs can be excised directly without ligation, shunts or bypasses. In eight operations carried out on five patients, the only complication was a transient neuropraxia of the hypoglossal nerve that resolved within 2 weeks.

Adult

Primary colorectal anastomosis with the intracolonic bypass tube.

BACKGROUND: Intracolonic bypass with primary colocolonic or colorectal anastomosis may be an effective option in the operative management of complicated colonic disease when adequate bowel preparation is not possible. A pliable latex tube is anchored to mucosa and submucosa 3 centimeters proximal to a site of colocolonic anastomosis and later spontaneously evacuated by way of the rectum. METHODS: Twenty-nine consecutive patents who required urgent colorectal operations in the presence of unprepared bowel underwent left colon resection with intracolonic bypass and primary anastomosis. These patients would have otherwise undergone multistage procedures for the management of the colorectal disorders. Demographic data, APACHE II scores, and type and frequency of complications were recorded. RESULTS: Between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 1991, 31 patients were eligible for entry in the study. Two patients ultimately had contraindications for the use of intracolonic bypass. The causes encountered included complicated diverticular disease, colonic carcinoma, sigmoid volvulus, and iatrogenic colorectal injury. Complications included wound infection (7), myocardial infarction (2), prolonged ileus (1), deep vein thrombosis (2), and anastomotic leak (2). Postoperative myocardial infarction and subsequent multiorgan system failure were responsible for the only death in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Intracolonic bypass permits a safe primary anastomosis where multistage procedures would otherwise be required. Avoidance of colostomy and the attendant socioeconomic benefits warrants further study of this method.

Aged

Treatment of tuberculous masses in the neck.

Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis was diagnosed in 23 patients from 1970 to 1980; 21 of them were immigrants. The masses ranged in diameter from 1.5 to 5.5 cm. The posterior triangle was involved in 11 patients, the anterior triangle in 7 and both triangles in 5 (3 bilateral). Excisional node biopsy was performed in all. Acid-fast bacilli were identified on the smear in only 12 patients. Caseation necrosis was present in 19 specimens; the other 4 were comparable with sarcoidosis. However, all cultures grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which was corroborated in all by guinea-pig inoculation. No chest roentgenograms showed active pulmonary tuberculosis. Chemotherapy was given for 12 to 18 months. In three patients masses continued to enlarge for 5 months after initiation of chemotherapy, but then regressed and disappeared completely within 12 months. No recurrences were present in any patients (follow-up more than 2.5 years, mean 5.4 years).

Adolescent

Treatment of parotid neoplasms.

Over a 25-year period 124 patients were admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital, Toronto with parotid neoplasms; 102 had benign and 22 had malignant lesions. Of 75 pleomorphic adenomas, 26 were enucleated and 11 of them (42%) recurred; no instances of recurrence followed parotidectomy. In 19 patients with Warthin's tumour there were no recurrences following any of the methods of excision. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma occurred in nine patients; eight tumours were of low-grade malignancy. All were treated by parotidectomy and there were no recurrences. Four patients had malignant mixed tumour--two with long-standing parotid masses; in three patients this malignant tumour occurred years after regional radiotherapy. Facial weakness was permanent in three patients after total parotidectomy. The correct treatment of parotid neoplasms is superficial parotidectomy or, for deep lobe tumours, total parotidectomy. Radiotherapy is used for unresectable or suspected residual carcinoma.

Adenolymphoma

Modern management of cervical scrofula.

From 1970 to 1984, 32 patients were treated for tuberculous (TB) masses, which measured 1.2-5.5 cm. The posterior triangle was involved in 19 patients, anterior triangle in 7, and more than one triangle in 6 (3 bilateral). A superficial node was excised for diagnosis. Acid-fast bacilli were identified on the smear of 18 patients. Caseation necrosis was present in 27 specimens, sarcoidosis in four, nonspecific lymphadenitis in one; all cultures grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A chest x-ray showed no active TB. Chemotherapy was given for 9-18 months (9 months when only one node was diseased and 18 months with extensive nodal involvement). Follow-up examinations in all patients (greater than 3 years, mean 8.6 years) has revealed no recurrence. The need to excise all cervical TB nodes, chronically inflamed and often fused to important structures, was eliminated by adequate chemotherapy.

Adolescent