[Value of ultrasound in preoperative exploration of parotid tumors]. / La valeur de l'échographie dans l'exploration pré-opératoire des tumeurs parotidiennes.

Ultrasound image were compared with operative findings and gross pathology and histology appearances in 28 patients with parotid gland tumors (24 benign and 4 malignant). Ultrasound exploration provides precise data on localization, shape, size, outline, homogenicity of tumor contents and position of lesion in relation to pharyngeal wall. Clearly defined ultrasound images were detected in all benign but few malignant tumors, which presented mainly diffuse images. Non-homogeneous density of images, showing presence of intratumoral necrotic zones, was identified in all cases of malignant tumors but very few cases of benign lesions. Ultrasound imaging defines probable nature of a parotid tumor, probability enhanced by combining other exploratory investigations, but provides precise data on physical nature of tumor, of value during surgery.

Effect of age on the heart electrical phenomena, left ventricular wall thickness and blood pressure in men.

The effect of age on the maximal spatial QRS vector (MSQRSV) in the Frank lead system was correlated with th posterior left ventricular wall thickness (PLVWT), the interventricular septum thickness (IVST) determined by echocardiography, and with blood pressure in 300 normal men, distributed by age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-60). With advancing age, a significant decrease of MSQRSV accompanied by a significant increase of PLVWT was observed while the increase of IVST and of blood pressures with age were found non significant. It was concluded that: 1. blood pressure is not the sole determinant of hypertrophy; 2. myocardial hypertrophy is not the sole determinant of cardiac voltage increase; 3. there is some degree of myocardial sclerosis in healthy people aged over 40-60 years; 4. in left ventricular hypertrophy the left ventricular muscular mass cannot be accurately predicted from the heart electrical phenomena; 5. the results obtained were in agreement with those of authors describing different aspects of normal Frank ECG and vectorcardiogram (VCG) in subjects under and over 40-50 years of age; 6. the variability of the degree of age influence on normal ECG from one country to another could explain the different diagnostic criteria for the same cardiac disease in computerized programs.

Studies concerning the significance of orthogonal ECG changes with age in normal men and in arterial hypertension without congestive cardiac failure in men past forty.

Great ECG changes (Frank system) with age were found in normal men. ECG diagnostic criteria valid in Romania were studied by multivariate analyses in men aged 40--60 suffering from hypertension (Hyp) without cardiac congestive failure (CCF), out of which one group with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and another one without it. Echocardiographic studies in normal and hypertensive men past forty, as well as studies in experimental Hyp with LVH and without CCF were carried out. Heart X-ray evaluation is not a functional one. Some non-invasive methods in men do not determine an accurate evaluation of LV performance. The increase of LV muscular mass alone cannot explain the ECG changes in LVH in Hyp without CCF. Two conditional adaptive mechanisms: the liberation of catecholamines from the myocardium storage, induced by the pressure overload stress, and the increase of intracellular Ca++ influx could contribute to the respective ECG changes.