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Biomedical subjects

A S Nillius

Publications and source records attributed to A S Nillius.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Fatal pulmonary embolism after total hip replacement.

A retrospective study of fatal pulmonary embolism (FPE) was carried out in 1,324 cases of total hip replacement (THR), performed during 1969 to 1978. Dextran 70 (Macrodex 6 per cent in saline. Pharmacia AB, Sweden) was given as thromboembolic prophylaxis. Sixteen patients died within 3 months. Autopsy was performed in 14 cases. Nine died from embolism, which makes an incidence of 0.7 per cent. Autopsy was performed in 8 of these cases. Seven patients died during the second and third week. Five patients had complained of acute chest pain and 4 of them had chest radiograms taken, which were normal. Only one patient had clinical symptoms of deep vein thromboses. Perfusion lung scan was performed as a screening procedure in 3 cases, all of them showing defects typical of pulmonary embolism. Four patients died from FPE, despite heparin therapy for 3-5 days. A comparison between patients with FPE and a control group showed that premonitory attacks of acute chest pain and previous operations for orthopaedic reasons were significantly more common in patients with FPE (P less than 0.001 and P less than 0.05), respectively). No difference could be found between the groups concerning blood loss, amount of transfusion, sex, operated side, type of prosthesis and weight.

Aged↗

Deep vein thrombosis after total hip replacement: a clinical and phlebographic study.

Two hundred and forty-seven phlebograms (113 bilateral and 21 unilateral) were performed in 134 patients 10--14 days after total hip replacement. Fifty-eight per cent of the patients were found to have deep vein thrombosis. The patients with DVT were significantly older than patients without DVT, but there was no difference regarding sex, type of hip prosthesis, side of operation or day of mobilization. No difference was found in the duration of operation and anaesthesia, the operative haemorrhage and the amount of bank blood transfused in patients with and without DVT. Fifty per cent of the thrombi were confined to the calf veins. Ninety-seven per cent of these thrombi were asymptomatic and were as frequent on the operated as on the non-operated side. The remaining 50 per cent of the thrombi engaged the thigh with or without simultaneous calf vein involvement. These thrombi produced symptoms in 23 per cent of the cases and were significantly more common on the operated than on the non-operated side. It is concluded that DVT after hip replacement can be of two different types: thrombosis caused by stasis and the general effects of trauma and thrombosis caused by local factors involving the thigh veins of the operated leg.

Aged↗

Dynamic radionuclide phlebography. A clinical study in patients after total hip replacement.

Dynamic radionuclide phlebography was performed in 50 consecutive patients after total hip replacement to evaluate the diagnostic value of the method compared to contrast phlebography. The investigation was limited to the diagnosis of iliofemoral thrombi. A special injection technique was developed and flow curves, mean transit time and distribution of flow were recorded with a scintillation camera interfaced to a digital computer. Three principally different types of flow curves were observed. Mean transit time was of value in differentiating particle flow in the superficial veins from passage through the deep veins. Out of 15 legs with thrombi in the iliofemoral region, the distribution of flow was significantly changed in 12. Deep vein thrombosis in the lower leg did not influence mean transit time or distribution of flow in the iliofemora region. Extensive collateral flow was rare. Ninety per cent of the thrombi were asymptomatic. The method compares favorably with the 125 I fibrinogen method and cuff impedance phlebography, in diagnosing iliofemoral thrombi after total hip replacement.

Hip Joint↗