[Penetrating head injury from harpoon. Case report]. / Trauma craneoencefálico perforante por arpón. Precentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

The harpoon presence as aggressor weapon is unusual in the neurosurgical practice. Most cases are associated with diving or sport activities as result of imprudence. A 31 year old patient who sustained a penetrating craniocerebral injury with a fishing harpoon is presented and complementary exams, neurosurgical procedure and postoperative evolution are detailed. We discuss the management of this unusual injury and review the current literature on craniocerebral injuries caused by similar objects.

Trauma craneoencefálico perforante por arpón. Presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura / Penetrating head injury from harpoon. Case report

La presencia de un arpón como agente agresor resulta poco común en la práctica neuroquirúrgica, no siendo reportados casos similares en amplias series. La mayoría de estos casos resultan de accidentes en el buceo o en actividades deportivas, en ambos casos como resultado de violaciones de las medidas de seguridad. Se presenta en este trabajo a un paciente de 31 años que accidentalmente sufre un trauma craneoencefálico perforante por un arpón, exponiéndose los exámenes complementarios realizados, detallándosela conducta neuroquirúrgica aplicada y su evolución postoperatoria. Se discute nuestra experiencia en el manejo de este inusual caso y se realiza un análisis y comparación con los casos reportados en la literatura (AU)

No disponible

The politics of adolescent pregnancy: a view of New York State.

In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Connecticut statute outlawing the use of birth control by married couples. Since then, 26 related cases have been heard by the court. Many of these directly involved teenagers. Frequently, the determinations involved parental consent or a parental notice requirement. New York State does not have parental consent nor notice requirements for minors seeking contraceptive or abortion services. The physician makes the professional judgment of the maturity of the person seeking care. All efforts to institute any form of parental consent in New York State have failed. The New York State Bar Association has supported this posture. A statewide network of family planning clinics exists throughout New York State. Yet, in spite of their combined efforts, and the activities of many other agencies and organizations, the rate of pregnancy among 15 to 19 year olds increased 20 percent between 1972 and 1980. There is a need for bold public action. Informed community leaders, health professionals, and leaders in the educational community must form a coalition to support the special initiatives which New York State's governor and New York City's mayor support. Black physicians have an unusual opportunity and a special responsibility to the youth of this city to provide leadership in their communities, and in their profession, in providing information about the risks and complications of teen pregnancies and teen parenting.

Extracellular factors, blood group antigens, and bacteriophage of nephritogenic and nonnephritogenic strains of M-type 12 streptococci.

Strains of M-type 12 streptococci from 18 patients with acute glomerulonephritis and 18 patients with uncomplicated pharyngitis were analyzed for in vitro production of streptolysin O, diphosphopyridine nucleotidase, hyaluronidase, streptokinase, streptolysin S, proteinase, hyaluronic acid, and fibrinogen-precipitating factor. In addition, relations to blood group antigens, lysogeny, and susceptibility to bacteriophage were determined. No significant differences were found between strains from nephritic and nonnephritic patients. By not indicating a role in the pathogenesis of poststreptococcal acute glomerulonephritis for any of the factors studied, these observations diminish the probability that these factors are of specific importance in this disease and thus direct our attention elsewhere.

Characteristics of beta hemolytic streptococci associated with acute glomerulonephritis in Trinidad, West Indies

Twenty-seven strains of beta hemolytic streptococci from patients with acute glomerulonephritis and 212 strains from school children were isolated in Trinidad during an epidemic of nephritis involving over 1,000 patients. Sixty-two per cent of the 27 strains from nephritic patients and 3 strains from school children belonged to an apparently new serotype referred to here as Trinidad type A. Type-specific antibodies against this type were found in 50 per cent of 56 patients 1 to 3 months after acute glomerulonephritis. Six of the 10 remaining strains from patients with nephritis and 34 strains from school children were characterized as a second new type B. This strain contained M protein of provisional type Schoenborn isolated from pyoderma in Red Lake, Minnesota. It also contained a second antigen found in some type 41 strains of streptococci. Studies of temperate bacteriophage related to these strains suggested a possible association with nephritis in a negative way. With one exception, streptococci strains from nephritic patients were not lysogenic, while antiphage activity was observed in sera from 72 per cent of 50 patients. Moreover, 33 per cent of 86 strains from school children in areas where nephritis was occurring were lysogenic, while only 3 of 46 strains from areas without nephritis contained bacteriophage.(AU)