[Sheehans syndrome associated with uterine inversion].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Salmi.
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BACKGROUND: Operative treatment is the method of choice for pheochromocytomas. The best success of the operation requires both good operative technique and effective preoperative medication. Phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride, an alpha-receptor blocker, has been our traditional premedication. Since 1988 we have used it in a combination with alpha-methylthyrosine, a catecholamine-synthesis blocker. AIM: To evaluate different preoperative medications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1984 and 1994 22 patients were operated on for pheochromocytomas in Tampere University Hospital. Five patients received alpha-receptor blocker, three patients received catecholamine-synthesis blocker, and 14 patients received their combination for a median of 33 days prior to the operation. RESULTS: Three of the five patients receiving alpha-receptor blocker, two of the three patients receiving catecholamine-synthesis blocker, and four of the 14 patients receiving combination therapy demonstrated high systolic blood pressure during the operation. Three patients, one in the alpha-receptor blocker group and two in the combination therapy group, demonstrated a short hypotensive period during the operation. None of the patients experienced severe perioperative cardiac arrhythmias. Mild sedation occurred similarly in either premedications, but the treatment did not need to be discontinued due to adverse reactions. There was no hospital mortality. Two patients had postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Our initial experience with the combination therapy with alpha-receptor blocker and catecholamine-synthesis blocker is encouraging.
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Differentiated thyroid carcinoma often has a favourable prognosis. However, there is no unanimity about the surgical procedure used. In this analysis we evaluated the surgical complications of 178 patients operated on for differentiated thyroid carcinoma during a 12-year period. 110 of the patients were operated in one session and 68 in two. Total thyroidectomy was performed in 106 patients and ipsilateral lobectomy together with contralateral subtotal resection in 72 patients. Tumour was bilateral or multicentric in 59 patients (33%). Hypoparathyroidism occurred in eight patients (4%), without differences between total thyroidectomies and lobectomy plus subtotal resections. Hypoparathyroidism tended to be more common after completion resection than after completion thyroidectomy (4/28 vs 1/40; P = 0.08). Accidental injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve occurred in one patient (0.6%) during a contralateral resection. During a median follow-up of 4.5 years, tumour recurrence was detected in 22 patients (12%). In papillary carcinoma it was more common in patients who had underwent lobectomy plus contralateral resection than after total thyroidectomy (11/60 vs 3/88; P < 0.01). However, the median follow-up times were unequal. In conclusion, total thyroidectomy and even completion thyroidectomy is as safe as less radical lobectomy together with contralateral resection. Thus, total thyroidectomy should be offered to all patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma until there is a reliable method to recommend for those patients who can be treated with less radical procedures.
Qualitative properties of thyroglobulin (Tg) antibodies, in association with thyroid malignancy, suspected malignancy or other thyroid diseases, were studied in 177 patients. Retrospective clinical analysis revealed 137 patients to have thyroid carcinoma and 40 to have other thyroid diseases. Serum Tg was assayed by an immunoradiometric method. Thyroid microsomal (AMC) and Tg antibodies were measured by the particle agglutination method and the avidity of Tg antibodies by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Assessment of the qualitative properties of Tg antibodies revealed that the high-avidity antibodies especially seem to bind circulating Tg. Thus any Tg value from a sample with detectable Tg antibodies is unreliable and should be interpreted with caution.
Occurrence of thyroid antibodies and thyroiditis in association with thyroid malignancy, suspected malignancy or other thyroid diseases was studied in 177 patients. Retrospective clinical analysis revealed that 137 patients had thyroid carcinoma (108 papillary carcinomas, 10 occult papillary carcinomas, 14 follicular carcinomas, and 5 other carcinomas) and 40 had other thyroid diseases. Thyroid microsomal (AMC) and thyroglobulin antibodies (ATG) were measured by the particle agglutination method. Clinically significant thyroid antibody titers and histological or clinical features of thyroiditis were seen in nine patients with thyroid carcinoma, being equally prevalent in follicular and papillary carcinomas. Taking into account the prevalence of positive AMC antibodies and thyroid carcinoma in Finland, the highest predicted prevalence of simultaneously occurring thyroid carcinoma and thyroiditis in the under 40 age group should be 0.002% and in the over 40 age group 0.006%. In the present material the observed occurrences in corresponding age groups were unexpectedly high (4.7% and 5.2%). The results may partly be due to patient selection, but they also suggest that there might be a link between thyroiditis and thyroid carcinoma.
Eighty-three patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders were screened for coeliac disease. The screening was performed with IgA-class reticulin and endomysium antibody, IgA- and IgG-class gliadin antibody tests, and various biochemical tests for malabsorption. None of the tested subjects had selective IgA deficiency, which excludes the possibility of not detecting positives by an IgA-class test. Of the 83 patients, three asymptomatic coeliac patients were found, and one patient with coeliac disease previously diagnosed, an overall frequency of 4.8%. In addition, 25 patients with a solitary nodule of the thyroid gland were examined and one of them (4%) was found to have coeliac disease. By contrast, one (0.4%) out of 249 age- and sex-matched blood donors was found to have coeliac disease. All newly detected coeliac patients had IgA-class gliadin, reticulin and endomysium antibodies, but none of the patients had any gastrointestinal symptoms or abnormal biochemical findings suggesting coeliac disease. Treatment of thyroid disorders and coeliac disease was successful in these patients. The present results confirm that the frequency of subclinical coeliac disease is increased among patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders. IgA-class reticulin, endomysium or gliadin antibody tests are suitable screening methods for detecting these patients, as far as selective IgA-deficiency is excluded.
Surgery has been used to treat primary hyperparathyroidism since 1925. The indications for surgery in mild hypercalcaemia and in asymptomatic patients are not clearly established, but the attitude to surgery is liberal if the surgical results are good. The value of preoperative localisation studies prior to the initial neck exploration is also questionable. We evaluated the results of 147 consecutive patients, who had been operated on for hyperparathyroidism. We analysed also the results of preoperative localisation studies. Most of the patients had symptoms which could be related to primary hyperparathyroidism. Hypercalcaemia was cured by surgery in 96% of the patients, but six patients needed more than one procedure. Permanent hypocalcaemia ensued in 3% of the patients. Complications were rare, but occurred more often in patients with previous thyroid or parathyroid operations, and in patients who needed a simultaneous thyroid operation. Preoperative ultrasonography, which was made in 135 patients, revealed an abnormal parathyroid gland correctly in 47% of the patients. The result was incorrect in 26%, and there was no finding in 27% of the patients. Thallium-technetium subtraction scintigraphy, which was made in 96 patients, was correct in 29%, incorrect 41%, and uninformative in 30% of the patients. Angiography was performed in eight patients with a correct finding in six patients. We conclude that operative treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism is successful and safe in experienced hands. The reliability of noninvasive localisation studies is poor, and they are not necessary before the initial neck explorations.
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There are very few data as yet to quantify the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on bone metabolism, although the use of these drugs as a first-line treatment in bronchial asthma has widened. We determined the effect of three dose levels (200, 1000, 2000 micrograms/day, three weeks each) of inhaled beclomethasone on specific characteristics of bone metabolism in nine postmenopausal women with new asthma without any previous corticosteroid therapy. Significant decrease was noted in the mean serum morning osteocalcin concentration between the baseline and after nine weeks of beclomethasone (from 4.4 to 3.1 micrograms/l, p = 0.005). Significant increase in serum total and ionised calcium was found, although the parameters measuring bone resorption itself did not change. The results show that especially high-dose inhaled beclomethasone decreases serum osteocalcin in post-menopausal asthmatic women. Further studies are needed to assess the effects of inhaled beclomethasone, both on the ability of the osteoblasts to form bone matrix and on the density of bone during a longer treatment period on inhaled corticosteroids.
The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and causes of postoperative hyperglycaemia. Blood sugar was measured after operation in 262 patients who had undergone minor emergency operations, when the patients were receiving 5% glucose infusion at the rate of 170 ml/h. In 32 patients (12%) blood glucose was over 8.0 mmol/l. Serum insulin concentration in these patients was significantly higher than in reference patients, who had blood glucose below 5.5 mmol/l. The number of insulin receptors in red cells and the affinity of insulin to receptors were similar in both groups. Serum cortisol was higher, but free fatty acid concentration lower, in the hyperglycaemic group than in the reference group. The tests done postoperatively were repeated two weeks later without surgical stress. The values recorded, indicating the patients' normal metabolism, did not differ between the two groups, except that serum cortisol was somewhat higher in the reference patients. The oral glucose tolerance test was normal in all patients except one. The results suggest that patients prone to postoperative hyperglycaemia are not diabetic, but that their production of glucose is increased during surgical stress.
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Two clinically most widely used agglutination tests, Thymune and Serodia distributed by Wellcome and Fjirebio/Ames, respectively, to determine thyroid autoantibodies were compared. The Serodia tests seemed to be considerably more sensitive than the corresponding Thymune tests; first, Serodia tests resulted in several new positive samples and second, 16% and 30% of positive thyroglobulin and thyroid microsomal antibodies by Serodia resulted in at least 16 times higher titres, respectively. Over 300 healthy blood donor sera were used to determine the occurrence of thyroid autoantibodies in normal population. Titre limits of 400 and 6400 in anti-thyroglobulin and anti-microsomal antibodies were adapted for clinical use, respectively, even though the results suggested that the lower titre limits could be applied for males and subjects younger than 40 years. These defined titre limits were applied to examine randomly selected clinical patient material gathered during 1 year. The main patient groups identified included patients with chronic thyroiditis, thyroid malignancy, diabetes. Graves' disease and rheumatoid diseases as well as patients with vaguely defined clinical conditions. Without the aid of antithyroglobulin antibodies only one patient with chronic thyroiditis would have been missed if thyroid microsomal antibodies were used alone. Thus, in general clinical practise thyroid microsomal antibodies can be used as a sole diagnostic test for autoimmune thyroid diseases.
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Adverse effects of the ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on five pacemaker models have been tested. The study consisted of three parts: 1. measurement of magnetic fields in a radiotherapy room (microtron MM14), 2. the application of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on pacemakers in a test laboratory (1...1000 microT, 10...10000 Hz), and 3. the application of ionizing radiation of different types of radiotherapy devices on the pacemakers. The magnetic field strength in the microtron treatment room was found to be under 7.5 microT, which is one order of magnitude lower than the tolerance level obtained for the pacemakers in the test laboratory. All the tested pacemakers tolerated the ionizing radiation dose levels (less than 60 Gy) which are used in the radiotherapy.