No thyroid abnormalities in patients submitted to cardiac catheterization in the first eighteen months of life.

BACKGROUND: No data are available about the risk of thyroid disturbance after exposure to low-dose radiation due to the use of cardiac catheterization in the first years of life. AIM: To determine the risk of functional and morphological thyroid abnormalities in a homogeneous cohort of patients who underwent diagnostic low-dose radiation for heart catheterization during the first 18 months of life. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-five patients, submitted to cardiac catheterization during the first 18 months of life, underwent evaluation of the thyroid function and structure after a median period of 13 yr since the first radiation exposure. Sixty-eight unexposed controls matched for age and sex, underwent the same protocol. Twenty-two patients were then re-evaluated after a median period of 22 yr. RESULTS: Thyroid function resulted normal in both patients and controls. The prevalence of small thyroid nodules and inhomogeneous structures in ultrasound study was not augmented in irradiated patients compared to controls. No thyroid tumors or reduced thyroid volume were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Neither functional nor morphological disorders of the thyroid gland were demonstrated after a period up to 24 yr in patients exposed to diagnostic ionizing radiation for cardiac catheterization during the first 18 months of life.

Ultrasonographic monitoring of the fetal growth of common seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina).

Three captive female common seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) were monitored ultrasonographically during five pregnancies. Pregnancy was diagnosed in the third month and fetal monitoring was continued until parturition. The ultrasound measurements were made with the active collaboration of the animals by training them to cooperate with the procedure.

Circulating levels of catecholamines and cyclic AMP during the handgrip test in borderline hypertension.

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and circulating levels of catecholamines and cyclic AMP were measured during the handgrip test in 18 borderline hypertensive patients, 22 stable hypertensive patients, and 20 normotensive control subjects. No difference was observed, at rest, for plasma levels of noradrenaline, adrenaline, dopamine, and cyclic AMP among the three groups. During the handgrip test in borderline hypertensive patients, the percentage of increase of plasma levels of noradrenaline, adrenaline, dopamine, and cyclic AMP were significantly more elevated with respect to the levels of control subjects but not when compared with those of stable hypertensive patients. These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that in both borderline and stable hypertension there is an exaggerated sympathetic response to the handgrip test.

Clinical evaluation of ceftazidime in high risk patients.

Ceftazidime was used in 19 patients at high risk owing to severe impairment of natural defense systems. The therapeutic efficacy and adverse reactions produced by cephalosporin, as evaluated on the basis of the results of clinical investigations and laboratory tests, were regarded as positive.