[Personal experience with the Barron method of treatment of hemorrhoidal nodules]. / Nase zkusenosti s metodou osetrení hemoroidálních uzlu podle Barrona.

The authors present their experience with the treatment of haemorrhoidal nodes by Barron's method, having used this method for 2.5 years at the surgical department of the Vítkov hospital. By this method in 1999-2001 122 patients with clinical manifestations of grade I-III haemorrhoids were treated. In the described group six relapses were recorded.

[The role of D-dimer determination in clinical evaluation with pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy]. / Príspevek stanovení D-dimeru ke klinickému hodnocení perfuzní plicní scintigrafie.

The diagnosis of pulmonary embolism is even in contemporary clinical practice problematical. Pulmonary angiography is used in our departments very little due to its invasive character. The method of choice for diagnosis remains therefore perfusion scintigraphy of the lungs, in this country frequently without ventilation scintigraphy as it is not available in the majority of our departments of nuclear medicine. In recent years in the diagnostic algorithms also assessment of D-dimers was started, i.e. assessment of products of fibrinolysis assessed by monoclonal antibodies. The authors tried to find out how many patients admitted to the medical department for diagnosis of pulmonary embolization may have a false positive diagnosis on the basis of pulmonary scintigraphy. During the period III/96 to V/96 a total of 18 patients from the medical clinic with suspected pulmonary embolism were examined where the value of D-dimers(latex test) was assessed and at the same time perfusion scintigraphy was performed. With regard to the highly negative predictive value of D-dimer assessment the authors focused their attention on patients with a suspect or positive lung scan (i.e. treated on account of pulmonary embolism) while D-dimers were negative. Of 13 patients with suspect or possible pulmonary embolism, as assessed by scintigraphy, four had negative dimers(30%). With regard to the 90% reported negative predictive value, based on the literature, thus three of these patients were unnecessarily admitted to hospital and treated. The authors assume that assessment of D-dimers should be part of the examination protocol due to its non-pretentious character and low price as compared with costs of hospitalization.

[Dynamic bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis of renal osteopathy]. / Pouzití dynamické kostiní scintigrafie v diagnostice renální osteopatie.

UNLABELLED: A study was undertaken to assess types of RO by a dynamic modification of osteoscintigraphy 53 pts dialyzed for 27-75 mths, 19-52 yrs old were divided, according to histological bone pictures, into 4 groups: I) 11 pts with hyperparathyroidism, II) 12 pts with osteomalacia, III) 11 pts with mixed RO, IV) 11 pts were after parathyroidectomy (PTE) and 13 controls. INVESTIGATIONS: the rate of 99mTc-Sn-HEDP accumulation in the skeleton, skeletal/background radioactivity index both registered for 60 min. (parameters K and P), serum levels of C-PTH, bone isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (bALP), acid phosphatase (ACP), free hydroxyproline (S-Hypro). RESULTS: 1. compared to controls: elevations of K and all biochemical parameters, P in groups I and III (p < 0.01 - < 0.001) were found. 2. Group 1 was characterized by the highest values of all parameters compared to groups II and IV (p < 0.01). 3. Linear relationships were found between K and bALP (p < 0.01), P and bALP, ACP, S-Hypro (p < 0.01) in pts of groups I, II, III. 4. PTE in group IV was followed by a decrease in all parameters (p < 0.01) compared to values of the same pts in group I. Aluminum osteopathy was present in 2/3 of cases in group II showing the lowest values of all parameters. CONCLUSION: DBS is a sensitive method for assessing bone turnover rate according to the degree of skeletal uptake of radionuclide. In this manner it is possible to determine both the type of RO and it's further development in repeated measurements.

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of azelastine and desmethylazelastine in guinea pig plasma and lung tissue.

Analytical methods have been developed for the simultaneous quantitation of azelastine (AZ) and desmethylazelastine (DAZ) in guinea pig plasma and lung tissue. The methods require a 1.00 mL plasma sample and a minimum 0.100 g lung sample. Both methods employ liquid/liquid organic extraction and back-extraction into dilute acid. Quantitation is performed by high performance liquid chromatography on a 2 x 250 mm 5 microns Hypersil CPS column using fluorescence detection. The linear quantitative ranges for AZ.HCl and DAZ.HBr in plasma are 0.156-160 ng/mL and 0.313-160 ng/mL, respectively. The linear quantitative ranges for AZ.HCl and DAZ.HBr in lung tissue are 0.039-20 micrograms/g for both.

Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies with azelastine in the guinea pig: evidence for preferential distribution into the lung.

The correlation between the antiasthma activity of azelastine and the concentrations of azelastine and its major metabolite, desmethylazelastine, in the blood and lung were investigated in guinea pigs. Blood and lung tissue samples collected at 15 min after aeroallergen (ovalbumin, 0.5 mg/ml, 30 s, 15 psi) challenge, i.e., 2-1/4 h after oral administration of the drug, were analyzed for azelastine and its desmethyl metabolite by specific HPLC assay. Azelastine afforded protection against immediate allergic responses (IAR, characterized by gasping and bronchospasmic convulsions). Based on the reduction of the severity of IAR, the ID50 was 0.04 mg/kg. It also delayed the onset of IAR and prevented mortalities. A positive correlation (r2 = 0.944) between the antiallergic activity and the sum concentrations of azelastine and desmethylazelastine in the lung was observed. Preferential uptake of azelastine and desmethylazelastine by the lung was demonstrated by the mean lung/blood ratio of about 22 and 146, respectively. The selective uptake of azelastine and its active metabolite by the lungs could contribute to its antiasthmatic/antiallergic activity in guinea pigs.

Determination of azelastine and desmethylazelastine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A manual-injection liquid chromatographic method using fluorescence detection permitted determination of a new antiasthmatic drug, azelastine, and its desmethyl metabolite extracted from human plasma. Reliable quantitation was achieved to at least 0.3 ng/ml for each analyte. No interference was seen in co-chromatography of sixteen other substances, which were potential co-medications (or their metabolites) as used in standard asthma or allergy treatment.