Continuous monitoring of detrusor pressure in patients with a reflex urinary bladder after spinal cord injury.

In spinal cord injury, the detrusor pressure, as a parameter of urinary bladder dysfunction, is related to incontinence and renal complications. In order to determine the intraindividual variation of maximum pressure and duration of detrusor contractions, in patients with a spinal reflex bladder, the detrusor pressure was registered during 24 hours of physiological filling in 16 patients. Between the bladder contractions the detrusor pressure was low in all patients, indicating high bladder complicance. During contractions the maximum detrusor pressure and its duration varied both inter- and intraindividually. In individual patients, however, mean values during the initial 12 hours correlated with mean values during the final 12 hours. Thus, mean values of a series of contractions appear to be characteristic of each patient and useful in describing the voiding pressure in spinal reflex bladder.

What makes the peritoneal drain work? Pressure in the subhepatic space after biliary surgery.

To determine the nature of the forces responsible for the evacuation of fluid from the peritoneal cavity via a drain we measured the pressure in the subhepatic space after biliary surgery. Pressure in that space increased with inspiration and decreased with expiration. The inspiratory increase was larger in the erect than in the supine position. Evacuation of fluid from the subhepatic space via a drain results from intermittent increase in pressure such as occurs during deep inhalation. Drainage is improved by maximal inspiration in the erect position.

Sump drainage versus static drainage after cholecystectomy.

Sump drainage was compared with closed static drainage in a randomized trial using a restricted sequential plan. Sump drains were converted into static drains by closing the air-vent tubes and by omitting suction. Sump drains so converted evacuated more intraperitoneal fluid during the first 24 hours after cholecystectomy than did drains in which the sump was functioning. For drainage after cholecystectomy, the sump drain is inferior to the passive drain in a closed circuit.

Randomized trial of drainage after cholecystectomy. Suction vaersus static drainage through a main wound versus a stab incision.

One hundred eighty-four patients who underwent biliary surgery were randomly allocated to four groups arranaed in a 2 by 2 design. In 92 patients the drain was brought out through the wound and in the other 92 through a stab incision. In half of the patients in each group the drain was connected to a suction system and in the other half to a sterile bag. Suction was found to impair rather than enhance intraperitoneal drainage. In patients who underwent elective cholecystectomy and early operation for acute cholecystitis, the amount of discharge was more than twice as large when suction was omitted than when it was applied. After common duct operations the amount of discharge was very large and there was little difference in cases with and without suction. Prolonged drainage, static or suction, resulted in an increase in the serum haptoglobin level. Analysis of out data suggested that after a few days the drain starts to act as a traumatic stimulus. No difference was found between cases with the drain brought out through a stab incision and those with the drain brought out through the main wound. A number of studies have ascertained the superiority of closed to open drainage. The results of the present trial lead us to recommend that after biliary surgery the closed us to recommend that after biliary surgery the closed drain should not be connected to a suction apparatus and that after elective cholecystectomy the drain should preferably be removed after a few days.

A radionuclide study on the effectiveness of drainage after elective cholecystectomy.

Passive drainage after elective cholecystectomy was studied in six patients. Their erythrocytes were labeled in vitro with technetium-99mTc and injected via the drain after operation. After one hour, we were able to recover labeled erythrocytes and free pertechnetate from peripheral blood. After 24 hours, a large part of the injected erythrocytes had been evacuated via the drain. In eight patients subjected to cholecystectomy, 99mTc-HIDA was injected intravenously after the operation. In four cases, in which the gallbladder bed was raw, the activity ratio discharge/blood rapidly reached extremely high values. In the other four cases, in which the liver surface had not been denuded, the ratio was much lower. Passive drainage is a useful device for evacuation intra-abdominal bile or hemolysed blood after cholecystectomy, especially when the gallbladder bed has been denuded.

Knee injuries in skiing. A prospective study from northern Sweden.

This paper evaluates 420 ski injuries occurring in Northern Sweden in 1977. Our main aim was to correlate knee injuries with types of skiing and to note a change in incidence with evolution of equipment. Fifty-eight lesions (13.8%) affected the knee joint which is about the same frequency as 10 years earlier nor has introduction of high stiff boots in downhill skiing increased incidence of knee injuries. Cross-country and long-distance skiing produced more knee injuries (24.7%) than downhill skiing (11.4%). Cross-country skiers were older and more women in this group sustained knee injuries. The use of non-release type bindings is probably the main reason for this higher incidence but age and different skiing techniques seem to contribute.