Endoscopic therapy of a pancreatic effusion caused by chronic pancreatitis.

A 36-year-old patient was hospitalized because of an extensive right pleural effusion. He complained of increasing dyspnea, moderate weight loss and night sweats. The pleural aspirate was hemorrhagic and, surprisingly, excessively elevated lipase activity (57,000 U/L) was measured. An ultrasound examination of the epigastric area revealed several cystic structures in the upper retroperitoneum, and CT scan additionally showed diffuse pancreatic calculi. After conservative treatment had failed, ERCP was performed. A pseudocyst and the indistinct outline of a stenosis of the pancreatic duct could be seen. A few fragments of calculi were removed and a pancreatic duct stent was positioned. Because of stent occlusion ERCP was repeated and some more calculi were extracted, after which the pleural effusion and the pseudocysts completely regressed. In cases of pleural effusion on unclear etiology, a pancreatic pleural effusion should be included in the differential diagnosis. In patients with this clinical picture ERCP can provide not only diagnostic information, but also opportunities for new modes of treatment.

Exercise induced sympathetic influences do not change interatrial conduction times in VDD and DDD pacing.

Using telemetry, right atrial electrogram (RA), and marker channel of atrial sense events (MA) in combination with the left atrial electrogram (LA), recorded by a filtered bipolar esophageal lead, interatrial conduction during submaximal exercise and at rest was examined in 46 DDD pacemaker patients. The RA-LA and MA-LA conduction times measured in the presence of atrial sensing (VDD) as well as the conduction time SA-LA from atrial stimulus (SA) to LA, determined during atrial pacing (DDD) were found to be individual constants independent of exercise induced sympathetic influences. Thus, having determined an optimal mechanical interval (LA-LV)mech/opt from left atrium to ventricle by other methods, the optimal AV delay for DDD as well as for VDD operation can be calculated by the sum of the appropriate interatrial conduction time (SA-LA, respectively MA-LA) and the (LA-LV)mech/opt interval. Due to the constant SA-LA and MA-LA, the difference between these two values (AV delay correction interval) is a constant as well, which remains unchanged during exercise. Therefore, in selecting the rate responsive AV delay, only hemodynamic and not electrophysiological measurements need to be considered.

Effect of physical activity on serum concentrations of digoxin and digitoxin.

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of moderate physical activity on serum concentrations of digoxin, digitoxin and albumin. METHODS: Blood samples were drawn from 10 consecutive mobile patients on digoxin and 12 patients on digitoxin therapy before and following a 10-min walking period. Digitalis serum concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay, and albumin serum concentrations by laser nephelometry. RESULTS: Following physical activity, digoxin serum concentrations dropped immediately to 79% of baseline values and remained significantly decreased for 20 min. Digitoxin concentrations did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: In contrast to digoxin, the effect of physical activity the serum concentration of digitoxin can be disregarded.

Detection of atrial fusion systole in patients with dual chamber pacemakers by 24-hour esophagus ECG.

We performed ambulatory 24-hour esophagus ECG in nine patients with dual chamber pacemakers suspect of transient arrhythmias in order to achieve correct and reliable P wave identification during daily life activities. In all patients episodes were observed with varying atrial artifact to left atrial depolarization sequences. These episodes probably reflected presence of atrial fusion systole, an ECG phenomenon which should be taken into account when analyzing ambulatory esophagus ECG. Thus, the ambulatory esophagus ECG revealed its ability to detect spontaneous atrial depolarization in the presence of pacemaker artifact in patients with DDD(R) pacemakers.

Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind testing of colour vision and electroretinogram at therapeutic and subtherapeutic digitoxin serum levels.

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study with 10 healthy probands, changes in colour discrimination and in the pattern electroretinogram (P-ERG) and visually evoked cortical potentials (P-VECP) were monitored at therapeutic and subtherapeutic digitoxin serum levels. There was a slight increase in the total error score in the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test at 0.1 mg digitoxin per day in comparison with the placebo. P-ERG and P-VECP did not show any significant changes.

Classification of malignant cardiac tumors with respect to oncological treatment.

Because of the small incidence of primary cardiac neoplasms there have been no randomized clinical trials to establish rational therapeutic strategies. Surgery is the first choice of therapy in all patients with small cardiac neoplasms. But it is not known whether adjuvant chemotherapy may be benefitial in patients in whom "curative" surgery has been performed. Chemotherapy must be considered as the first choice of therapy in primary cardiac tumors with extracardiac metastases. Combination of several agents is more effective than single-agent therapy. Radiation should be applied in less sensitive tumors only if surgery is not feasible and prior chemotherapy has failed. In patients in whom cardiac surgery was performed with a curative aim, chemotherapy but not radiation is the adjuvant therapy of choice. Patients with metastatic tumors to the heart should be treated according to the established rules for the involved tumor. Therapeutic strategy depends on the kind of tumor and the cardiac structure involved. Tumor spread to the pericardium will cause pericarditis or pericardial effusion up to pericardial tamponade. Instillation of tetracyclines, isotopes and chemotherapeutic agents in the pericardial space have been successfully applied to prevent recurrent effusion. Radiation did prolong life in patients with pericardial metastases as compared with repeated pericardiocentesis. Additional cardiac damage may be induced by radiation as well as by drugs. A trial with chemotherapy can be useful in all sensitive cardiac tumors.

Effects of verapamil on anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy: preliminary results of a prospective multicenter trial.

Previous investigations in animals and one retrospective study in man suggest that verapamil can prevent anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. In the following study, patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with double induction and consolidation chemotherapy (AML COOP study 1986, [3]) were randomized in a group with and without accompanying low-dose oral verapamil treatment. Since July 1986, 64 patients have been included. Thirty patients have been evaluated for pre- and posttreatment cardiological investigations. So far, no significant difference in cardiotoxicity has been observed either between the verapamil and nonverapamil group or between the two induction chemotherapy regimens (TAD/TAD - TAD/HAM).

[Recurring pulmonary artery embolisms and disseminated intravascular coagulation in right atrial myxoma]. / Rezidivierende Lungenarterienembolien und Verbrauchskoagulopathie bei rechtsatrialem Myxom.

A 33 year old woman presented with dyspnea and dizziness. These symptoms had recurred several times during the months preceding. At initial investigation we palpated a tumor in the upper abdomen corresponding to the sonographic finding of a 10 X 10 cm sized cystic tumor in the liver. Because of reduction of fibrinogen, prolonged thrombin time and thrombocytopenia a malignant disease involving the liver and producing pulmonary embolism and disseminated intravascular coagulation was suspected. However, during routine echocardiography a right atrial mass prolapsing in the right ventricle was detected. After normalization of fibrinogen and thrombin-time following a low dose heparin therapy a myxoma sized 6 X 5 cm was removed from the right atrium. The patient did not recover and died 20 days following surgery. At autopsy the liver tumor proved to be a benign cholangioendothelial cyst.

[Drug interaction during therapy with tolbutamide. The influence of some commonly used drugs on plasma level and half life in diabetic out-patients (author's transl)]. / Arzneimittelwechselwirkungen bei der Therapie mit Tolbutamid Beeinflussung von Serumspiegel und Halbwertzeit durch einige gebräuchliche Pharmaka bei Altersdiabetikern.

Tolbutamide belongs to those drugs responsible for the majority of drug interactions. E.g. Tolbutamide metabolism has been shown to be inhibited by coumarole derivatives. We determined plasma-tolbutamide levels in diabetic out-patients for one year. The results obtained indicate no difference in patients additionally treated with either digoxin or digoxin and alpha-methyldopa, or buformin and phenprocumone as compared with control groups. Interactions with respect to biotransformation should not be expected as far as digoxin, alpha-Methyldopa, or buformine were concerned, since these compounds do not share a common metabolic pathway with tolbutamide. In a different group of patients the elimination half life of tolbutamide under the influence of phenprocoumone was additonally determined. Differences could not be detected. This finding can be explained by means of enzyme-kinetic considerations, since phenprocumone, in contrast to dicoumarole, becomes metabolized according to a first order reaction. Competitive enzyme inhibition with tolbutamide which is metabolized similarly to phenprocoumone, therefore appears improbable.