Removal of radiocobalt from EDTA-complexes using oxidation and selective ion exchange.

Methods for the removal of radiocobalt from an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) complex of Co(II) (aqueous solution containing 10 microM Co(II) and 10 microM or 50 microM EDTA traced with (57)Co) are presented. The studies examined a combination of different oxidation methods and the sorption of (57)Co on a selective inorganic ion exchange material, CoTreat. The oxidation methods used were ultraviolet (UV) irradiation with and without hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), as well as ozonation alone or in combination with UV irradiation. Also, the possible contribution of Degussa P25 TiO(2) photocatalyst to degradation of EDTA was studied. The best results for the equimolar solution of Co(II) and EDTA were achieved by combining ozonation, UV irradiation, Degussa P25 TiO(2) and CoTreat, with approximately 94% sorption of (57)Co. High values for the (57)Co sorption were also achieved by ozonation ( approximately 88%) and UV irradiation (approximately 90%) in the presence of CoTreat and Degussa P25 TiO(2). A surplus of EDTA over Co(II) was also tested using 10 microM Co(II) and 50 microM EDTA. Only a slight decrease, to approximately 88% sorption of (57)Co, was detected compared to the value (approximately 90%) obtained with 10 microM EDTA.

Results of surgical treatment of unresolved Osgood-Schlatter lesion.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We present our experience with surgical treatment of unresolved, painful, late Osgood-Schlatter disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 70 operations performed in 67 patients (in three bilaterally) an ossicle under the distal patellar tendon was removed in 62 cases. In eight cases, excision of the prominent tibial tubercle and/or drilling of the epiphysis was performed. Additional procedures, such as rasping of the uneven anterior tibial surface, excision of inflammed bursa or the devitalized portion of the tendon, were done 21 times. Most patients were athletes or physically active young people. The mean age was 19.6 years. 54 operations were done on males and 16 on females. They had been followed preoperatively for 18 months and after surgery 2.2 years. RESULTS: The final results were excellent or good in 56, moderate in 9, poor in 3 and unknown in 2 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Osgood-Schlatter's disease may leave an ossicle under the distal patellar tendon, a prominent tibial tubercle or an uneven surface of anterior superior tibia. These may lead to pain and disability due to recurrent injuries or athletic exercises. Surgical treatment gives good results in chronic unresolved cases.

Spontaneous remission of bladder neoplasm.

A case of spontaneous remission of bladder cancer in an 85-year-old man is reported. The clinicopathological features are presented and the literature reviewed.

Ethanolamine oleate sclerotherapy for hydroceles and spermatoceles: a survey of 158 patients with ultrasound followup.

Sclerotherapy with 5% ethanolamine oleate was used to treat 102 hydroceles in 100 patients and 63 spermatoceles in 58 patients. Scrotal ultrasound examination was performed before the sclerotherapy and at each followup visit. Of the hydroceles 98% were cured completely and 68% were cured after only 1 sclerosant instillation, while 60% of the spermatoceles resolved completely and 33% partially, with 7% failures. No hydroceles recurred during an average followup of 43 months, whereas spermatocele recurred in 4 patients more than 1 year after successful treatment, with a mean followup of 46 months. Approximately half of the patients experienced pain after treatment, 3 had infection and 2 had hematoma. No changes in the structure or size of the testicles were found by ultrasound during followup. Ethanolamine oleate sclerotherapy is a safe, effective and economical form of outpatient therapy that can be recommended as primary treatment for hydroceles in adults and as an alternative to surgery for spermatoceles with 1 to 3 cysts in elderly men in whom fertility is not important.

Bronchoscopy during the first month of life.

During the 6-year period from 1984 to 1989, 196 bronchoscopies were performed on 132 neonates. The indications were grouped into four categories: (1) difficulties in artificial ventilation or failure to wean the baby from the ventilator (52); (2) other respiratory difficulties (52); (3) audible stridor (16); and (4) routine preoperative or postoperative examination of esophageal atresia patients (12). The most common finding was laryngomalacia or tracheomalacia (31). Other findings were: obstructing tracheal or bronchial granulation or stricture (23), obstructing mucous plug (22), grave tracheobronchitis (11), tracheoesophageal H-fistula (5), laryngeal perforation (3), congenital laryngeal stenosis (2), and complete laryngotracheoesophageal cleft (1). Four patients had miscellaneous pathology. The findings were normal in 30 patients. A therapeutic procedure was included in 99 of the 196 bronchoscopies. Seven serious complications occurred during the operative bronchoscopies, two of them requiring immediate pulmonary surgery. All complications were successfully managed. In contrast, no complications occurred in the 97 purely diagnostic bronchoscopies. In experienced hands, bronchoscopy of the newborn is a safe and useful examination. Complications occur when therapeutic procedures are included. Therefore, operative bronchoscopy should only be performed in conditions in which immediate thoracotomy and pulmonary surgery can be performed.

Sclerotherapy for hydroceles and epididymal cysts with ethanolamine oleate.

Seventeen patients with hydroceles or epididymal cysts were treated by tapping and injection with ethanolamine oleate. All 11 patients with hydroceles were cured. Three of six patients with epididymal cysts were cured. There were no cases of haematoma or infection. Sclerotherapy is recommended as primary treatment for all men over 50 years with hydroceles and for selected cases with epididymal cysts.

A double-blind comparison of carbamazepine and clomethiazole in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

The efficacy and tolerability of carbamazepine and clomethiazole in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal symptoms were compared in a double-blind study with 68 hospitalized patients. Target withdrawal symptoms, the patient's subjective feeling and unwanted effects were recorded daily during the 1 week-treatment period. No significant differences between the two treatments could be demonstrated in the parameters studied. It appears that carbamazepine, which is widely used as an antiepileptic drug, well tolerated and not likely to produce any addiction as such, might offer a valuable alternative treatment for the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: treatment and assessment of therapeutic efficacy.

The acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a disease of many different symptoms. Although the metabolism of ethanol is well-known, no specific treatment of the withdrawal syndrome has been developed. When assessing the therapeutic efficacy of drugs in this syndrome one of the main symptoms to be followed is sleep disturbances, because inability to sleep often maintains the drinking cycle. Besides different target symptoms, the visual analogue scale and the ability to work are useful parameters. The assessment of the efficacy relies mainly on subjective parameters and comparisons with placebo are needed.

Maprotiline and doxepin in the treatment of depression. A double-glind multicentre comparison.

Maprotiline (Ludiomil) and doxepin were compared in the treatment of depression in a double-blind multicentre trial. Four centres and 95 in- and out-patients took part in the trial. The severity of depression was evaluated with the aid of a visual analogue scale and nine target symptoms. Both maprotiline and doxepin diminished neurotic as well as psychotic depression significantly. The mean time of onset of action was 7.0 days in the maprotiline group and 7.7 days in the doxepin group. No statistically significant differences in antidepressive effect were found between the treatments. Two patients in the maprotiline group and four patients in the doxepin group discontinued the treatment because of unwanted effects, one patient in each group because of lack of efficacy and nine patients due to reasons not related to the treatment.

Serum zinc concentrations in Finns.

Serum zinc concentrations were measured in 1416 Finns aged 15 years and above and belonging to 18 population groups living in various parts of the country. The mean serum zinc concentration was for men 12.7 mumol/l (82 microgram/100 ml) and for women 11.7 mumol/l (77 microgram/100 ml). Zinc levels varied with sex, age, length of fast, time of day and geographic area. It is noted that the incidence of coronary heart disease, the occurrence of a number of elements in soil and water, and the zinc level in human sera can in a statistical sence be linked to soil composition in Finland. Causal relationships, however, remain obscure.

Ambulant treatment of alcohol withdrawal symptoms with carbamazepine: a formal multicentre doubl-blind comparison with placebo.

One hundred male out-patients were treated for alcohol withdrawal symptoms with either carbamazepine or placebo in a double-blind, multicentre trial carried out a five Finnish A-clinics (alcoholism treatment centres) in different parts of the country. In both the carbamazepine and the placebo groups two thirds of the patients completed the 7-day treatment successfully, and the final treatment results were considered equally good in both groups. However, the withdrawal symptoms, especially the sleep disturbances, subsided faster in the carbamazepine group than in the placebo group. The change in the total symptom score from the first day of treatment to the second was significantly greater in the carbamazepine group than in the placebo group. The patients' ability to work improved significantly faster in the carbamazepine group.