Rheumatological considerations in the qualification of rheumatoid patients for surgical treatment and principles for pre- and post-operative management.

The surgical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients can be safe because it is planned treatment, but it requires the close cooperation of the orthopedic surgeon, the rheumatologist, and the anesthesiologist. The proper evaluation of the risk factors for coexisting diseases decreases the possibility of general surgical and infectious complications. Thromboembolic preventive measures after surgery are an absolute requirement, for at least 15 days after the operation, using heparin of low molecular weight; preventive antibiotic therapy is also required, using second-generation cephalosporing for 3-5 days, depending on the risk factors. Methotrexate treatment should be suspended for 7 days during the peri-operative period. Prolonged steroid therapy creates a risk of adrenal failure in the event of illness or peri-operative stress, which increases with the steroid dosage and the prolongation of therapy. Steroid administration cannot be stopped prior to surgery. Treatment outcome depends on the activity level the disease and the skill of the surgeon, as well as pre- and post-operative care and rehabilitation.

[Antilogistic function and possibilities of its application in the analysis of the demographic transformation process]. / Funkcja antylogistyczna i mozliwosci jej zastosowania w analizie procesu transformacji demograficznej.

PIP: The antilogistic function and method of simple substitution (deduced from projecting trends in technological development) are applied to the analysis of the demographic transition using data concerning Poland and Sweden from the eighteenth century to the present.^ieng

[Beta-endorphin levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in humans]. / Stezenie beta-endorfiny w krwi i pllynie mózgowordzeniowym u ludzi.

Beta-endorphin concentrations were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood before and after lumbar tap in 19 patients with lumbosacral pains. No statistically significant difference was observed in this concentration before and after lumbar tap, although in individual cases a significant rise of beta-endorphin occurred. The mean beta-endorphin concentration in blood was about twice as high as in the cerebrospinal fluid. No correlation was noticed between the concentration of beta-endorphin in blood and in CSF.

[Ceruloplasmin and copper in the serum of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)]. / Ceruloplazmina i miedz w surowicy chorych na stwardnienie zanikowe boczne (SZB).

The serum level of ceruloplasmin and copper were determined in 14 patients with ALS, 9 with Wilson's disease and 10 with other brain diseases. The enzyme level in 8 patients with ALS (57%) was decreased, similarly as in 8 with Wilson's disease (89%), and 2 (20%) in the control group. The mean ceruloplasmin level in the group of patients with Wilson's disease was 50% that in ALS patients. The copper level was decreased in only 1 ALS patient and 1 in the control group, while in patients with Wilson's disease it was low in 8 cases. These changes may be an effect as well as a cause of motor neuron disease.

[Serum diphenylhydantoin in epileptic patients (preliminary report)]. / Oznaczanie poziomu dwufenylohydantoiny (DPH) w surowicy krwi u chorych na padaczke (doniesienie wstepne).

Serum DPH level was determined in previously untreated epileptics who were receiving one dose of 300 mg of DPH daily (Phenytoin--Polfa) during 21 days. The DPH level was determined on the 1st, 10th and 21st days after starting treatment. The obtained results show significant individual differences in absorption of DPH. In 5 patients lower therapeutic range was achieved, in one patient the level was very high and in two cases the therapeutic concentration could not have been achieved. This indicates the necessity of control serum DPH determinations for establishing the individual therapeutic dose of the drug.