Role of diltiazem in pregnant women with chronic renal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether diltiazem therapy decreases proteinuria during pregnancy in women with chronic renal disease, resulting in decreased risk of pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery and intrauterine fetal growth restriction. METHODS: We undertook retrospective data collection by chart review of pregnant women with chronic renal disease. Women treated with and without diltiazem were compared by independent t test analysis. RESULTS: Seven women were eligible for inclusion in the study. Individual patient trends revealed decreased or attenuated increase in proteinuria across gestation with diltiazem therapy. Mean arterial pressure was also decreased in the therapy group compared to increased pressure in the third trimester in the group with no therapy. The incidence of fetal growth restriction and need for labor induction were lower in the diltiazem-treated group. CONCLUSIONS: Diltiazem, a non-dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist, decreases proteinuria and preserves renal structure and function and should be considered an alternative to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in pregnancy in women with chronic renal disease.

Deformed colour images at vestibular provocation.

The deformations of the images--enlargement or prolongations: for adolescents in I and II quadrants, for adults in II and IV quadrant and the changes in their brightness, observed after vestibular provocation at patients with vestibular perturbations are explained by a suitable mathematical model.

[Determination of 131I-triiodothyronine absorption by erythrocytes]. / Opredelenie pogloshcheniia 131I-triiodtironina éritrotsitami.

The paper is concerned with an analysis of errors and shortcomings that are typical of a method for the determination of 131I-triiodothyronine absorbed by erythrocytes using washing (the so-called Hamolsky test). To lessen or to prevent some of these errors as well as to reduce the time of investigation a new method is proposed where repeated centrifugation and washing of the blood samples will be of no use. This method was used simultaneously with the previous one in 71 patients of whom 31 formed a group of healthy persons. A study of each patient was doubled by taking a double blood sample: 4 ml instead of 2 ml. The dispersion (sigma 2) of the results obtained by the new method turned out to be less than in the dispersion of the standard method. Using the X2 criterion the results obtained by both methods were analysed. It has been established that at the level of the value p less than 0.001 between the first and second measurements there are no statistically significant differences that are so typical of the previous method. The dispersion and nonparametric statistical analyses after the use of the F and X2 criteria have shown a greater reproducibility of the results obtained by the new method.