Case report of symptomatic cholelithiasis after ventricular cholecystic shunt.

Hydrocephalus is a prevalent problem in the pediatric population, and patients with ventriculo-peritoneal shunts are often encountered. The use of ventricular cholecystic shunts is an option for patients who are unable to have a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. This is a case report that describes a late complication of a ventricular cholecystic shunt. Eleven years after insertion of a ventricular cholecystic shunt, the patient developed cholelithiasis encrusted on shunt tubing. The shunt was revised, and 6 months follow-up has shown relief of symptoms and no further evidence of cholelithiasis.

Effect of blood transfusion on outcome after major burn injury: a multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To delineate blood transfusion practices and outcomes in patients with major burn injury. CONTEXT: Patients with major burn injury frequently require multiple blood transfusions; however, the effect of blood transfusion after major burn injury has had limited study. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Regional burn centers throughout the United States and Canada. PATIENT POPULATION: Patients admitted to a participating burn center from January 1 through December 31, 2002, with acute burn injuries of >or=20% total body surface area. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Outcome measurements included mortality, number of infections, length of stay, units of blood transfused in and out of the operating room, number of operations, and anticoagulant use. RESULTS: A total of 21 burn centers contributed data on 666 patients; 79% of patients survived and received a mean of 14 units of packed red blood cells during their hospitalization. Mortality was related to patient age, total body surface area burn, inhalation injury, number of units of blood transfused outside the operating room, and total number of transfusions. The number of infections per patient increased with each unit of blood transfused (odds ratio, 1.13; p<.001). Patients on anticoagulation during hospitalization received more blood than patients not on anticoagulation (16.3+/-1.5 vs. 12.3+/-1.5, p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The number of transfusions received was associated with mortality and infectious episodes in patients with major burns even after factoring for indices of burn severity. The utilization of blood products in the treatment of major burn injury should be reserved for patients with a demonstrated physiologic need.

Effects of oxandrolone on outcome measures in the severely burned: a multicenter prospective randomized double-blind trial.

Severe burns induce pathophysiologic problems, among them catabolism of lean mass, leading to protracted hospitalization and prolonged recovery. Oxandrolone is an anabolic agent shown to decrease lean mass catabolism and improve wound healing in the severely burned patients. We enrolled 81 adult subjects with burns 20% to 60% TBSA in a multicenter trial testing the effects of oxandrolone on length of hospital stay. Subjects were randomized between oxandrolone 10 mg every 12 hours or placebo. The study was stopped halfway through projected enrollment because of a significant difference between groups found on planned interim analysis. We found that length of stay was shorter in the oxandrolone group (31.6 +/- 3.1 days) than placebo (43.3 +/- 5.3 days; P < .05). This difference strengthened when deaths were excluded and hospital stay was indexed to burn size (1.24 +/- 0.15 days/% TBSA burned vs 0.87 +/- 0.05 days/% TBSA burned, P < .05). We conclude that treatment using oxandrolone should be considered for use in the severely burned while hepatic transaminases are monitored.

Diagnosing suspected acute nonclassic appendicitis with sulesomab, a radiolabeled antigranulocyte antibody imaging agent.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of a technetium 99m-labeled antigranulocyte murine antibody Fab' fragment (sulesomab) as a diagnostic imaging agent in children with suspected acute nonclassic appendicitis. METHODS: Serial planar images at 15 to 30 minutes, 1, 2, and 4 hours and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images were acquired after sulesomab injection. In 40 children with suspected acute nonclassic appendicitis, imaging results were confirmed surgically in 21 patients, whereas 19 nonsurgical patients resolved presenting signs and symptoms and were considered to not have appendicitis. RESULTS: Sulesomab imaging had 95% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 95% negative predictive value, and 90% positive predictive value for acute appendicitis. In 78% of patients, sulesomab accurately detected or excluded acute appendicitis and would have changed management plans. No patients had adverse events, and no human antimurine antibody response occurred in 18 evaluable patients. CONCLUSIONS: Sulesomab was well tolerated with no side effects and with no apparent immunogencity. Appendicitis was rapidly and accurately detected. In pediatric patients with suspected nonclassic appendicitis, management decisions incorporating sulesomab imaging provided benefit in separating surgical from nonsurgical patients.

Management of splenic trauma in the pediatric hemophiliac patient: Case series and review of the literature.

In July and August 1998, 3 patients who attend the Hemophilia Treatment Center required emergency admission to the authors' hospital for management of hemorrhagic shock caused by splenic injury. Computed tomography was used to diagnose and grade the splenic injuries, which ranged from II to IV on the organ injury scale. Two patients had Christmas disease (Factor IX deficiency) and were treated with splenorrhaphy and factor IX replacement. One patient who has severe von Willebrand disease (Type 3) had grade II splenic injury that required splenectomy to secure hemostasis. The coagulopathic deficiency was aggressively treated in each patient. All patients required operative intervention with attempted splenorrhaphy. All patients survived their operative experience, and none suffered a rebleeding episode. With correction of the coagulopathy throughout the perioperative period and local hemostatic control by operative techniques, salvage procedures for splenic injury were successful for 2 of these 3 patients.