Quality control of albumin solutions by size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography, isoelectric focusing, and two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis.

Quality control of albumin solutions for human use is of utmost importance because the presence of impurities can provoke adverse reactions in treated patients. Three different techniques were used to detect the presence of albumin oligomers and polymers as well as foreign proteins in commercial solutions. The relative concentrations of the former two were estimated using size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography. Isoelectric focusing and two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis allowed detection of other contaminants of proteinaceous nature. The application of this combination of techniques supersedes the traditional approaches (gel filtration on polydextran gels, electrophoresis) in specificity and speed. Analysis of 34 lots of commercial albumin solutions from 22 manufacturers revealed the superior quality of preparations of placental rather than plasmatic origin.

Computed tomography in the preoperative planning of oral endo-osseous implant surgery.

Computed tomography (CT) is a well-established aid in the preoperative assessment of the dimension of mandible and maxilla for endo-osseous implant installation. CT is a valuable tool for the measurement of the alveolar ridge and recognition of the course of the inferior alveolar nerve canal. In the present study, three different techniques were examined: normal CT images with coronal and sagittal slices, standard reconstructions based on axial slices, and multiplanar reconstruction and display (MPR/MPD), also based on axial slices. Six dissected human jaw bones were examined with these three techniques. Afterwards, these jaws were sawn, and the real values were measured. Comparing these scores with the radiological measurements, the standard reconstruction technique seemed the most reliable method in the preoperative examination of the jaw bone quality and bone proportion.

Two cases of bulky plasmacytoma of the lateral orbital wall.

We describe two cases of solitary localized plasmacytoma in the lateral orbital wall, equally interesting for their localization and for their evolution under therapy. With CT we not only visualized the osteolytic bone lesion with greater accuracy than with conventional radiology but we also demonstrated the existence and extension of the concomitant soft tissue mass. We would like to emphasize the role of CT scanning for the evaluation of the lesion before and after treatment.

High resolution CT findings in diseases of the external auditory canal. A review of 31 cases.

Thirty-one patients with pathology of the external auditory canal (EAC) were examined with high resolution CT. In this retrospective study we found that CT plays an important role in the diagnosis and especially in the determination of the extent of the disease. CT also offered us a good evaluation of the contiguous bone and it was the best method to visualize the middle ear when complete occlusion of the external auditory canal (EAC) occurred.