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Biomedical subjects

C M March

Publications and source records attributed to C M March.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Estradiol gel in the treatment of menopausal symptoms: a placebo-controlled double-blind case study of efficacy and safety.

Thirty-nine postmenopausal women were randomized to treatment with either percutaneous estradiol or a placebo. Those taking the estradiol had an increase in serum estradiol to follicular phase levels and a concomitant fall in serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Atrophic vaginal epithelium became well estrogenized, and the frequency and severity of hot flushes decreased significantly. No significant benefits accrued to those using the placebo. Side effects were mild and similar in both groups. Percutaneous estradiol delivered in an alcohol-water gel is effective in treating climacteric symptoms and is an attractive alternative to both oral and transdermal patch administration of estrogen.

Administration, Topical

Hysteroscopy.

Hysteroscopy is a "new" endoscopic approach for the gynecologist. The development and refinement of the sophisticated fiberoptic light system can illuminate the darkness of the uterine cavity. Polyps can be differentiated from submucous myomas; intrauterine adhesions can be accurately "mapped" and classified, with synechiae lysed under direct vision; endometrial carcinoma can be diagnosed and possibly staged; embedded intrauterine devices can be identified and dislodged; the wastebasket diagnosis of "dysfunctional uterine bleeding" can be cleaned up; submucosal myomas and uterine septa can be resected; and successful transuterine sterilization may become a reality. If culdoscopy is menopausal and laparoscopy in its reproductive years, hysteroscopy is certainly in its infancy.

Decision Trees

Uterine surgical approaches to reduce prematurity.

Success rates of up to 80% can be expected after surgical treatment of abnormal uteri. A careful investigation should be conducted to verify that other causes of prematurity are not present prior to surgical intervention.

Congenital Abnormalities

A comparison of the efficacy and safety of ceftizoxime with doxycycline versus conventional CDC therapies in the treatment of upper genital tract infection with or without a mass.

It is well known that sexually transmitted infections of the upper genital tract are widespread. A variety of regimens are used to treat these conditions, many of which have not been subjected to randomized, prospective clinical trials (including the 1985 Centers for Disease Control [CDC] Guidelines for the treatment of upper genital tract infections [UGTI]). This investigation was undertaken to compare the 1985 CDC treatment guidelines with different doses of ceftizoxime, a third-generation cephalosporin with an intermediate half-life, plus doxycycline in patients with UGTI. The patients were divided into subgroups, depending on the presence or absence of a pelvic mass. Sixty-seven women participated in the study. They were older than 14 years of age and required hospitalization for the treatment of UGTI. These women had lower abdominal pain and tenderness, cervical motion or adnexal tenderness, and one of the following: temperature greater than 100.4 degrees F orally, leukocytosis greater than 10,500/mm3, or presence of a suspected inflammatory pelvic mass on pelvic examination or by ultrasound. Informed consent was obtained from all patients in a manner approved by the Institutional Review Board. Pelvic examinations and ultrasound evaluations of the pelvic soft tissues were performed on all patients at the time of admission. Those who were found not to have a pelvic mass or who had a pelvic mass less than 4 cm in transverse diameter were randomly allocated to receive either ceftizoxime 2 gm intravenously every 12 hours with doxycycline 100 mg intravenously twice daily (Rx 1, n = 13) or cefoxitin 2 gm intravenously every six hours with doxycycline 100 mg intravenously twice daily (Rx 2, n = 14). Those patients found to have a pelvic mass (greater than 4 cm in transverse diameter) were randomly allocated to receive either ceftizoxime 2 gm intravenously every eight hours with doxycycline 100 mg intravenously twice daily (Rx 3, n = 19) or clindamycin 900 mg intravenously every eight hours with a 2-mg/kg loading dose of gentamicin followed by 1.5 mg/kg intravenously every eight hours, with adjustments as necessary (Rx 4, n = 21). All UGTI patients without a mass treated with either Rx 1 or Rx 2 responded adequately. However, UGTI patients with a mass treated with Rx 4 were more likely than those treated with Rx 3 to require a change in antibiotics or need extirpative surgery in order to obtain a satisfactory clinical response (Fisher's exact test = 0.046, two-sided).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent

Cefmetazole and cefonicid. Comparative efficacy and safety in preventing postoperative infections after vaginal and abdominal hysterectomy.

A single 1-g dose of cefmetazole was compared with a single 1-g dose of cefonicid for prophylaxis in vaginal and abdominal hysterectomy to determine their efficacy and safety. The antibiotics were administered intramuscularly 15-90 minutes before the incision was made. Cefmetazole and cefonicid had similar activity against most of the aerobic organisms recovered, but cefmetazole was significantly more active against anaerobic gram-negative microorganisms. The patterns of regrowth of vaginal flora were similar in the two treatment groups. Patient demographic characteristics and surgical procedures were similar in both groups. The difference in primary prophylactic failure (e.g., cuff cellulitis) with the two study drugs (1 of 53 [1.9%] with cefmetazole and 2 of 28 [7.1%] with cefonicid) did not reach statistical significance, and the results were similar for the two routes of hysterectomy. Cefmetazole, at a dose of 1 g intramuscularly preoperatively, is a safe and effective agent for prophylaxis during hysterectomy.

Adult

Pregnancy outcome in women with müllerian duct anomalies.

The outcomes of 186 pregnancies in 150 women with müllerian duct anomalies who delivered over an eight-year period were analyzed. The average birth weight was 2,919 g. Eighty-three percent of the deliveries were by cesarean section; malpresentation was the indication for 80% of those deliveries. The incidences of breech presentation and transverse lie were 61% and 11%, respectively. Delivery of preterm infants occurred in 25% of the pregnancies, and 12% were small for their gestational age. There were two sets of twins. A history of a previous preterm infant, recurrent abortion or a second-trimester loss was given by 13%, 9% and 59% of the patients, respectively. Of patients examined for renal anomalies, 11% had a defect, usually unilateral renal agenesis.

Abnormalities, Multiple

Experience with ultrasound.

Treatment with human menopausal gonadotropins is safe and effective. However, in order to maintain those properties, careful monitoring of the ovarian response to the exogenous gonadotropins is mandatory. Safety is afforded by the use of rapid assays of the estrogen level in serum or urine. The use of real-time ultrasonography to monitor follicular growth has improved the efficacy. The administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can be delayed until follicular maturation has been achieved; hCG can be withheld if too many mature follicles are present. Monitoring therapy with both modalities as well as with clinical methods ensure a high rate of successful gestations.

Chorionic Gonadotropin

Surgical management of leiomyomata during pregnancy.

This report reviews an 8-year experience with surgical management of leiomyomata during pregnancy at Los Angeles County Women's Hospital. Fourteen patients had such surgery, for a rate of 1.1 operations per 10,000 births. Five women had exploratory laparotomy only, six had myomectomy, and three had hysterectomy; one patient aborted after surgery. Thirteen other women had incidental myomectomies at cesarean delivery; one of these had an intraoperative hemorrhage. No other complications occurred. Surgical management of leiomyomata during pregnancy is safe in carefully selected patients.

Adult

Efficacy and safety of single-dose ceftizoxime vs. multiple-dose cefoxitin in preventing infection after vaginal hysterectomy.

The efficacy, safety and effect of a single, 1-g dose of ceftizoxime on the return of vaginal flora were compared to those of the standard regimen of three 2-g doses of cefoxitin for prophylaxis in 99 randomized women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy. Thirty-four were studied in Dallas and 65 in Los Angeles. Surgical procedures were comparable for all the antibiotic groups, although proportionately more simple hysterectomies were performed in Dallas. The patients received a povidone-iodine vaginal preparation immediately before surgery; vaginal packs, when used, contained no antimicrobial agents. Primary prophylactic failure (operative site infection) occurred in 1 of 52 (1.9%) and 4 of 47 (8.5%) of the ceftizoxime- and cefoxitin-treated patients, respectively, for a nonsignificant difference. All five primary prophylactic failures occurred in the Los Angeles patients. One patient in each antibiotic group developed a urinary tract infection and was classified as a secondary prophylactic failure. Febrile morbidity, length of hospital stay and incidence of adverse effects did not differ by antibiotic. The enterococcus was commonly found in the postoperative vaginal flora and was of no value in predicting operative-site infection. Enterobacter species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated more commonly in patients who received cefoxitin. Diphtheroids, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Peptostreptococcus species were isolated more commonly in patients treated with ceftizoxime.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Improved pregnancy rate with monitoring of gonadotropin therapy by three modalities.

The frequency of complications during gonadotropin therapy was reduced after the introduction of rapid estrogen assays. However, pregnancy rates remained low especially in normoestrogenic women. One hundred forty-three infertile normoestrogenic women were treated with human menopausal gonadotropin-human chorionic gonadotropin for 661 cycles. Almost all cycles were ovulatory. Whereas 53.7% of the patients conceived when drug administration was monitored by cervical score and serum estradiol levels only, 72.1% became pregnant when treatment was monitored by these modalities and real-time ultrasonography of the ovaries (p less than 0.05). Mean serum estradiol levels were significantly higher when ultrasonography was used to monitor response, but complications such as multiple births and ovarian enlargement did not occur more often. The data suggest that "true" ovulation occurs more often when ovarian imaging is used to determine drug dosage. Because of the higher pregnancy rate achieved by combined clinical (cervical score), biochemical (serum estradiol), and sonographic methods of monitoring, this approach should replace less extensive techniques.

Adult

Hysteroscopic management of recurrent abortion caused by septate uterus.

Between April 1982 and April 1986, 91 patients underwent hysteroscopy for treatment of septate uteri. In 88 patients simultaneous laparoscopy was performed and one patient had a simultaneous laparotomy. Ninety procedures were performed on an outpatient basis with the patients under general anesthesia. The septum was incised with flexible scissors. Sequential estrogen-gestagen therapy was used immediately after operation to reepithelialize the freshly dissected surfaces. Patients were permitted to conceive in the first month after operation. The indications for hysteroscopy were multiple but included recurrent abortion in 79 patients. Among those patients in this category the pretreatment reproductive wastage was 95%. Most losses were in the first trimester. Among those patients who conceived after therapy, the gestational outcome markedly improved. Eighty-seven percent of the pregnancies have resulted in a living infant or have progressed beyond 20 weeks of gestation. Because the gestational outcome equals or exceeds that achieved by transabdominal metroplasty and because of its lower morbidity and the option for vaginal delivery, hysteroscopic incision of the symptomatic septate uterus should replace transabdominal metroplasty.

Abortion, Habitual

Galactorrhea and pituitary tumors in postpill and non-postpill secondary amenorrhea.

One hundred sixty-seven women with secondary amenorrhea were observed from six months to four years. In 66 patients, the amenorrhea followed the discontinuation of oral contraceptives (postpill) while in the remaining 101 the amenorrhea was not temporally pill related (non-postpill). Galactorrhea was present in 43 (65%) of those with postpill amenorrhea and in 32 (32%) of those with non-postpill amenorrhea (p less than 0.001). Tomography of the sella turcica was performed in the 75 women with galactorrhea and in the 35 without galactorrhea who did not have withdrawal uterine bleeding following progesterone administration and who had low or normal serum follicle-stimulating hormone levels (hypothalamic-pituitary failure). Forty of the 75 patients with amenorrhea and galactorrhea had radiographic evidence of a pituitary tumor whereas only eight of 35 patients with hypothalamic-pituitary failure without galactorrhea had an abnormal sella turcica (p less than 0.01). The incidence of radiographic abnormalities in those with galactorrhea was similar in both the postpill and non-postpill groups.

Adolescent

Gonadotropin insufficiency in patients with thalassemia major.

To elucidate whether the cause of sexual maturational arrest in thalassemia major is of hypothalamic or pituitary etiology, three female and two male patients were extensively studied. After the iv administration of 150 micrograms gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and 500 micrograms of TRH, all patients demonstrated a minimal LH and no FSH response, with variable PRL and TSH responses. The test was repeated after the patients received 100 micrograms GnRH im daily for 7 days. The LH, FSH, PRL, and TSH responses were similar to those obtained previously. The female patients were then retested twice, after priming with 17 beta-estradiol (2 mg daily for 7 days) and again after treatment with human menopausal gonadotropins. The male patients were treated with hCG and, after testosterone reached normal adult male values, the GnRH-TRH stimulation test was repeated. In both the female and male patients, the pituitary responses remained unchanged. These results demonstrate the presence of primary gonadotropin insufficiency as well as the lack of positive estrogen feedback mechanism in patients with thalassemia major. The site of this abnormality has been demonstrated to be the pituitary gland, since hemosiderosis of the pituitary without hypothalamic involvement has been found at autopsy in one patient.

Adult

Adrenocorticotropin-dependent virilizing paraovarian tumors in Nelson's syndrome.

A 35-yr-old woman with Nelson's syndrome presented with amenorrhea and virilization. Serum testosterone (T) concentration was 605 ng/dl and fell to 33 ng/dl when dexamethasone was administered. The MCR of T fell from 1383 to 991 liters/day and the T production rate decreased by 96%. With administration of synthetic ACTH, T concentration rose to 338 ng/dl. Plasma ACTH concentration paralleled T during repeated suppression testing, suggesting that T secretion was dependent on ACTH hypersecretion. Preoperative and intraoperative ovarian vein catheterization suggested that the predominant source of androgen production was from the right ovarian vein. Laporatomy revealed multiple paraovarian tumors in the right mesosalpinyx and mesovarium. Incubation of tumor slices and ovarian tissue with [3H]pregnenolone and [14C]17-hydroxyprogesterone demonstrated conversion of both precursors to T by the tumor and confirmed that the tumors were the source of androgen excess. The microscopic appearance of the tumors closely resembled the morphology of testicular and paratesticular tumors of men with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Nelson's syndrome. The analogous dependency of the tumors on ACTH hypersecretion in men with paratesticular tumors and in this woman with paraovarian tumors suggests that the tumors may arise in both males and females from a common steroid-secreting cell of adrenogenital origin.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone