Venous thrombosis and congenital absence of inferior vena cava in a patient with menorrhagia and pelvic pain.

BACKGROUND: Agenesis of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is an uncommon congenital vascular malformation. We report a case in a teenage female recently started on oral contraception. CASE: Because of menorrhagia, the patient had begun an oral contraceptive pill (OCP) 1(1/2) months prior to presentation. She initially presented with pelvic and lower back pain, and imaging showed a pelvic deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and an interrupted IVC. Anticoagulation was started, the OCP was discontinued, and a discussion occurred regarding the treatment options for her menorrhagia following her recent diagnosis. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: The case presented shows the rare occurrence of the congenital absence of an IVC with pelvic thrombosis in a young female with a history of menorrhagia and new onset of pelvic pain. The evaluation of this case report leads to a comprehensive review in the treatment choice for menorrhagia with the preceding history of a thrombotic event.

Estrogens and hormone replacement therapy: is there a role in the preservation of cognitive function?

Alzheimer's disease affects as many as 40% of Americans over the age of 80 and, as such, is a major public health issue. Interestingly, there is a two- to threefold greater prevalence in women than in men. It has been estimated that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will quadruple over the next half century. There have been implications of an effect of estrogen on neurological function for many years. As long as 50 years ago a study published in the gerontology literature suggested that the administration of i.m. estrogen in a nursing home population was associated with improvement in memory and a delay in progression of memory loss. Most recently there has been great interest in the effect of estrogen on both neurons and the CNS vasculature. A study evaluating verbal memory and abstract reasoning in over 700 women without dementia demonstrated that women who had used estrogen for as little as 1 year had significant improvements in baseline cognitive testing. The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and neurodementia is better understood today but remains incompletely elucidated. It has been suggested that inflammation exists both within the neurovasculature and the stroma and that beta-amyloid creates an inflammatory reaction. In Alzheimer's patients there are abnormal deposits of proteins such as beta-amyloid, presenelin, and apolipoprotein E-4. Estrogen may act as a protectant against these inflammatory mediating proteins. While a recent trial demonstrated no impact of estrogen in patients diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, other studies have suggested that estrogen use significantly delays disease onset. One study followed over 1,100 subjects who were free of disease at trial initiation over a period of 1 to 5 years. Even short-term use of estrogen imparted protection, although longer-term estrogen use was associated with greater protection. Unfortunately, most women are unaware of the potential beneficial effect of estrogen on cognitive function. Prospective studies are under way to try to delineate how estrogen impacts Alzheimer's disease.

Thoracic endometriosis syndrome resembling pulmonary embolism.

A 32-year-old infertility patient with a previous diagnosis of stage IV endometriosis experienced shortness of breath and chest pain. She was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism by spiral volumetric computed tomography (SVCT) and anticoagulated during hospitalization, although no history of thrombosis was ever identified. She continued to have intermittent symptoms of chest pain, back pain, and shortness of breath for the next 1.5 months. Repeat SVCT revealed a large, right-sided pleural effusion with associated consolidation but no evidence of pulmonary embolism. To obtain a definitive diagnosis, a thoracoscopic pleural biopsy was performed and showed thoracic endometriosis involving the pleura. The patient desired to retain her fertility and opted for treatment with depot medroxyprogesterone. She has been asymptomatic for 2 years with this treatment. This case illustrates the importance of recognizing thoracic endometriosis syndrome and the difficulty diagnosing this condition considering its nonspecific features.

Breast cancer and HRT--what are the data?

Breast cancer remains one of women's greatest concerns. When asked regarding the likelihood of contracting a specific disease, most women believe their greatest risk of death is from breast cancer. Interestingly, we have gone from a time when estrogen was utilized as a treatment regimen in advanced breast cancer, to the current question of hormone replacement therapy increasing the risk of breast cancer. When one searches earlier data, it is noted that estrogen in several different forms, including ethinyl estradiol, as well as DES, was used as a therapeutic agent in the management of advanced breast cancer. Indeed, some of the original trials evaluating tamoxifen for adjunctive treatment of breast cancer used estrogen as the "gold-standard" treatment arm. Numerous publications have attempted to address the relationship between hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer. In the last quarter of a century, at least 50 epidemiological studies have been published, with some studies demonstrating slight increases in patients who used hormone replacement therapy for an extended time, while others demonstrated no evidence of a change in incidence. The "Nurses' Health Study" suggested that current users of hormone replacement therapy of 5 or more years' duration have a relative risk of greater than 1.4. While a well-performed and conceived trial, it suffers from limitations like all other studies. In the same time period, multiple additional studies have cast doubt on the likelihood of hormone replacement therapy markedly increasing the risk of breast cancer. When the multitude of studies is combined, the evidence seems to demonstrate that in ever-use of hormone replacement therapy the increase in relative risk is small. It is interesting that, in almost all studies published (even those demonstrating increases such as the "Nurses' Health Study") discontinuation of 2 to 5 years evaporates the increased risk. This seems biologically implausible, given the prior exposure. A recent study by Sellers et al evaluated over 41,000 patients in a prospective cohort. In this study, they closely evaluated patients who were at a higher risk of breast cancer based on a positive family history in first-degree relatives. Interestingly, they, like others, found that HRT was not associated with a significantly increased incidence of breast cancer, but did note a significantly reduced total mortality rate. When one evaluates the sum total data in the world literature regarding hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer, it is difficult to ascertain that any substantial clinical risk exists with the use of hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer. Multiple ongoing trials, including the Women's Health Initiative-a Prospective Protocol, will help to define better if any appreciable risk exists.

Anterior abdominal wall adhesions after laparotomy or laparoscopy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of postoperative adhesions to the anterior abdominal wall peritoneum that could affect safe placement of the initial laparoscopic umbilical cannula at subsequent procedures. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Reproductive endocrinology and infertility service of a tertiary care referral hospital. PATIENTS: Two hundred fifteen women, 124 with prior abdominal surgery and 91 with no prior surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Surgical histories were reviewed, abdominal skin scars noted, and extent of anterior abdominal wall adhesions prospectively recorded. Statistical analysis was performed with the chi2 test. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: No anterior abdominal wall adhesions were present in 91 patients with no previous surgery or 45 patients with previous laparoscopy (12 had more than 1 laparoscopy; p <0.001 vs laparotomy). Seventeen (59%) of 29 patients with a midline vertical incision had anterior wall adhesions (p <0.05 vs suprapubic transverse incision). Eleven (28%) of 39 with a suprapubic transverse incision had anterior wall adhesions (p <0.001 vs no surgery or laparoscopy). Ninety-six percent of adhesions involved omentum and 29% included bowel. CONCLUSION: Prior laparotomy, whether through a midline vertical or suprapubic transverse incision, significantly increased the frequency of anterior abdominal wall adhesions, and these adhesions may complicate the placement of the laparoscopic cannula through the umbilicus.

Failed distal ulna resections.

Twenty patients with complaints of pain and limitation of activities for more than 1 year after ulnar head resection (Darrach) were studied. Their ages ranged from 18 to 60 years (mean, 38 years). The initial indications for operation were posttraumatic derangement in 18 patients, radial growth anomaly in 1, and a lesion of the ulna in 1. Follow-up ranged from 29 to 135 months (mean, 61 months). The patients had an average of 2.2 additional operations, with up to seven procedures per patient. Radiographs were compared with those from an equal number of successful Darrach resections chosen randomly, and no significant differences were noted. All 20 patients continue to have difficulties despite several years of treatment. The Darrach resection can result in serious disability, especially in the younger patient and the patient with lax ligaments. Reoperation on these patients is rarely successful.

Thumb avulsion: results of replantation/revascularization.

During a 9-year period, 39 thumb avulsions required emergency replantation/revascularization at our institution. Amputation was complete in 28 (72%) cases and involved the dominant thumb in 31 (80%). Farm machinery was the source of injury in 33 (85%) cases. Follow-up ranged from 7 months to 6 years. Only 10 of the revascularization attempts (26%) were successful; the remaining attempts required amputation at the level of the injury. In two (18%) of the 11 partial amputations and in eight (29%) of the 28 complete amputations, revascularization was successful. In eight (31%) of the 26 thumbs in which vein grafts were used, revascularization was successful, while one of the other two successes involved a transfer of the radial digital artery of the index finger. In six of the ten successful revascularizations, nerve repair was attempted, but without further procedures, none of the six digits regained two-point discrimination of less than 1 cm.

Bone reconstruction.

The reconstruction of bone defects relies upon the reconstitution of bone in the area. The basic concepts of fracture healing are presented to better understand the mechanism of bone grafting. Conventional bone graft techniques are quite effective in reconstructing defects, including those up to 25 cm in length, provided an adequate vascular bed is available to allow vascularization of the grafts. If an adequate milieu is not available, then the use of a pedicle or free vascular bone graft can be employed. Just as skin and muscle flaps have provided the solution to soft-tissue loss, vascularized bone grafts provide the technique to deal with large bone defects not amenable to conventional treatment. Allografts additionally have a place in skeletal reconstruction but require appropriate management and consideration of host immune response.

Lipomas compressing the radial nerve at the elbow.

Four patients have been treated for compression of the radial nerve by lipomas at the elbow. The treatment of all cases was surgical excision with complete resolution. Lipomas are a very common tumor but infrequently cause nerve compression symptoms.

Silicone-rubber implant arthroplasty of the metacarpophalangeal joints for rheumatoid arthritis.

Forty-six patients with rheumatoid arthritis underwent metacarpophalangeal-joint arthroplasty of the index through little fingers on 210 joints in fifty-five hands using the Swanson-design silicone-rubber spacer. The patients were followed for two to eight years (average, five and one-quarter years). They were evaluated both preoperatively and postoperatively for range of motion, deformity, subjective sense, grip strength, and prehension. In the initial postoperative evaluation, the majority of patients expressed a strong subjective impression of improvement. Ulnar drift improved from the preoperative average of 25 degrees to less than 5 degrees. The preoperative average extension deficit decreased from 56 to 10 degrees, while the average range of motion increased from 17 to 51 degrees. In the long-term postoperative evaluation, the average ulnar drift had increased to 12 degrees, the average extension deficit had increased to 22 degrees, and the average range of motion had decreased to 39 degrees. Grip strength and prehension did not significantly improve at either evaluation. There were no fractures of the prosthesis and no patient had synovitis. We have found the procedure to be useful for the correction of deformity, increasing range of motion of the fingers, and improving the patient's sense of well-being.

Traumatic dorsal dislocation of the triquetrum: a case report.

A case of traumatic dorsal dislocation of the triquetrum associated with direct trauma is reported. Diagnosis was delayed, and open reduction and internal fixation with Kirschner wire was performed 7 days after injury. Eight months afterwards, the patient had good alignment of the carpus assessed radiographically, with full range of motion of the wrist and normal grip strength.

Sodium-dependent uptake of taurine in encapsulated Staphylococcus aureus strain M.

A novel uptake system for the unusual sulfonated amino acid taurine was discovered in the prokaryote, encapsulated Staphylococcus aureus strain M. This strain has been shown previously to contain taurine in its capsular polysaccharide. Taurine uptake by whole cells incubated in buffer showed a saturable dependency upon Na+ and taurine uptake was itself a saturable process, stimulated by glucose, and markedly affected by temperature. No evidence was found for the inducibility of taurine uptake. In the presence of 10 mM NaCl Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed a Km of 42 microM and Vmax of 4.6 nmol/min per mg dry weight for taurine uptake at 37 degrees C. Increasing concentrations of Na+ decreased the Km of the system and appeared to increase the Vmax. Of various other cations tested only Li+ supported marked taurine uptake. Excess unlabelled taurine did not cause efflux of radioactivity taken up. Taurine was taken up into cold trichloroacetic acid-soluble material and did not chromatograph as taurine, indicating rapid metabolism during or closely following uptake. Taurine uptake appeared to occur via a highly specific system because amino acids representing the major known groups of amino acid transport systems in S. aureus did not inhibit taurine uptake, and uptake was only slightly diminished by the structurally closely related compounds hypotaurine and 3-amino-1-propane sulfonic acid. Sulfhydryl group reagents, electron transport inhibitors, an uncoupler and inhibitors of Na+-linked transport processes inhibited taurine uptake. A variety of other metabolic inhibitors had little effect on taurine uptake.