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Biomedical subjects

F Hammer

Publications and source records attributed to F Hammer.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Endometrial carcinoma in patients aged 75 years or older: outcome and complications after postoperative radiotherapy or radiotherapy alone.

A retrospective analysis is reported of 89 patients at least 75 years old (median age 79 years) treated with irradiation for endometrial carcinoma between 1972 and 1989, the median follow-up being 39 months. In 66 patients radiotherapy was given postoperatively and in one case preoperatively, 22 patients were treated with radiotherapy alone: intravaginal insertions exclusively in 22 patients (median dose 60 Gy to the mucosa) and combined with external radiotherapy in 53 patients (median external target dose 45 Gy; three or four fields, all treated daily, 1.8 to 2.0 Gy per fraction, five fractions per week; 30 Gy to the vaginal mucosa with low-dose rate). A few patients were treated with external radiotherapy or intrauterine insertions only. 65% of the patients treated with radiotherapy alone and 34% of the patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy had FIGO stage II or III disease. Five-year actuarial overall survival and disease-free survival for all patients with adenocarcinomas treated with curative intent was 47.5% and 57.2%, respectively. In 48 patients with surgical stages I and II, treated with postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, overall actuarial survival is 58.2% and disease-free survived 65.5% at five years. After postoperative vaginal insertions only, no vaginal recurrence occurred. With combined external and intravaginal radiotherapy in surgical stage I and II, 4/36 patients (11%) showed a recurrence in the vagina only, the abdominal and pelvic recurrence rate being 8.3%. Grade 3 to 4 late toxicity was observed in 6/53 patients (11.3%) treated with external and intravaginal radiotherapy. However, in patients receiving external radiotherapy less than 45 Gy and intravaginal radiotherapy 30 to 40 Gy, as is standard postoperative adjuvant treatment today, only one grade 3 late toxicity was observed in 17 patients (5.9%). We conclude, that treatment of elderly patients with adenocarcinoma of the uterus should follow the same pattern as in younger patients, the acute side-effects and late toxicity of radiotherapy being similar.

Actuarial Analysis

[Chorea gravidarum].

Chorea gravidarum is a rare maternal complication during pregnancy. Like the better known chorea minor it shows extrapyramidal symptoms with involuntary movements, lack of coordination, slurred speech and psychic disorders. The neurological state is normal except for a loss of muscle tone. The symptoms most commonly begin in the first trimester of pregnancy and usually resolve spontaneously after 2-3 months. The maternal mortality lies below 1%. In the case of subjectively disturbing symptoms anticonvulsive and sedative therapy with benzodiazepine or neuroleptics may be indicated. Etiological factors including rheumatic fever, chorea minor, hormonal, psychic and autoimmune disorders are discussed. Elective termination of the pregnancy is not indicated. The presented case report shows a chorea-like situation beginning in the ninth week of pregnancy.

Adult

[Iniencephaly: prenatal and postnatal findings].

A 33-year-old para-3 was admitted in the 33rd week of gestation because of a suspected foetal anomaly. Ultrasound examination showed polyhydramnios, exaggerated cervico-thoracic lordosis and significant shortening of the spine because of a reduced number of vertebrae. The facial profile was flat, the foetal movements were rare and slow, and the extremities normal. A biopsy of the placenta revealed a normal female karyotype. Based on ultrasound examination, the diagnosis of iniencephaly was made. Because of the fatal prognosis of this malformation, labour was induced at 35 weeks of gestation. The patient delivered spontaneously. The infant died after 90 minutes. The postmortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of iniencephaly. Iniencephaly is a very rare malformation comprising a bone defect at the occiput, malformation of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, spina bifida, and retroflexion of the head. The aetiology is not clear. 90% of the probands are female. The malformation is incompatible with survival after birth.

Abnormalities, Multiple

[Results of treatment of 177 stage Ib and IIa cervix cancers at the Zurich University Gynecologic Clinic].

Between 1971 and 1980, 177 patients were treated for a carcinoma of the uterine cervix (145 stage Ib, 32 stage IIa) in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland. There were 115 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy combined with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Of these, 91 also received radiotherapy. Surgery could not be performed on 62 patients due to internal medical problems and risks presented by anaesthesia. They were treated solely by combined radiotherapy. Of the 177 patients, 79.5% had a squamous-cell carcinoma, 14.8% an adenocarcinoma and the other 5.7% rare types of carcinomas. Of the 115 patients who were operated, metastases of pelvic lymph nodes were found in 13% and an infiltrative carcinoma of the parametrium in 8.7%. The most severe complications we had were uretero- or vesicovaginal fistulas (5.2% of all operated patients). No significant statistical difference was found in the results of the three methods of treatment. The 5-year survival rate in stage Ib was between 61 and 81% (non corrected) and between 75 and 85% (corrected). In stage IIa, there were not enough patients for valid statistical conclusions to be drawn.

Adenocarcinoma

Changes in coronary blood flow and myocardial metabolism during aortic balloon valvuloplasty.

The effects of balloon inflation on myocardial perfusion and metabolism were studied during aortic valvuloplasty in 17 patients with aortic stenosis, including 6 with associated coronary artery disease. Coronary sinus flow and blood samples were obtained before and during the first inflation, and 5 to 10 minutes after the last inflation. During inflation, coronary blood flow decreased (272 +/- 111 standard deviation to 166 +/- 92 ml/min; p less than 0.05), myocardial oxygen uptake fell and transcardiac lactate handling shifted from extraction to production (35 +/- 54 to -41 +/- 48 mumol/min; p less than 0.01). At the end of the procedure, aortic valve area had increased from 0.51 +/- 0.22 to 0.81 +/- 0.48 cm2 (p less than 0.002). Coronary sinus flow increased slightly above control values (+6%; difference not significant) and myocardial oxygen and lactate uptakes were back to control values. However, myocardial alanine production had increased from -3.6 to -6.6 mumol/min (p less than 0.05) and glutamine production was reduced or replaced by extraction (-3.3 +/- 2.1 to 3.5 +/- 3.8 mumol/min; p less than 0.05). Recovery of coronary flow, oxygen and lactate uptakes was not significantly different in patients with or without coronary artery disease, although the former patients tended to have less glutamine extraction and less improvement in their ejection fraction at the end of the procedure. Thus, aortic balloon valvuloplasty produces brief episodes of low-flow ischemia. Recovery of oxidative metabolism is almost immediate after deflation and no detrimental effect seems to persist at the end of the procedure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Brain stem and cervical cord dysraphic lesions in iniencephaly.

Iniencephaly is a rare, lethal, axial dysraphic malformation complex diagnosed on the basis of three cardinal features: deficiency of the occipital bone, cervicothoracic spinal retroflexion, and rachischisis. The majority of the patients also have various associated viscerae malformations. An iniencephalic female fetus delivered at 35 5/7 weeks of gestation revealed severe anomalies of the central nervous system and the spine: the cerebellar vermis was hypoplastic, the medulla oblongata was flattened and broadened, and the cervical canal was widely patent dorsally. The thoracolumbar spinal cord had a duplicated central canal and lacked a dorsal fissure, representing a minor degree of diastematomyelia. The cervicothoracic spine showed severe bony anomalies including aplasia and fusion of vertebral bodies.

Abnormalities, Multiple