Spontaneous renal haemorrhage in the peritoneal cavity.

A 49 year old woman was admitted to hospital after a sudden onset of severe back pain. Twelve hours later, the haemoglobin had decreased to 5.9 and became unstable. She underwent emergency laparotomy that showed intraperitoneal bleeding, secondary to spontaneous kidney rupture. The patient was given a nephrectomy. Histological examination showed an angiomyolipoma as the cause of the bleeding. To the knowledge of the authors, only five previous cases of spontaneous renal bleeding into the peritoneal cavity have been reported in English literature.

Abnormal drug metabolism in chronic pancreatitis. Treatment with antioxidants.

Functional and morphological changes in hepatocytes, indicating induction of the drug metabolizing enzymes and free radical-mediated damage, were found in 4 patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. The possibility that reflux of abnormal bile (rich in lipid peroxidation and other products generated through hepatic metabolism of xenobiotics) into the pancreatic duct may initiate pancreatic damage was negated when bile duct ligation and bile diversion did not abolish attacks of pancreatitis in 3 cases, although the evidence of reflux was indisputable in 1 of them who also had a pancreatoduodenectomy. Pancreatic acinar cells from that patient showed extensive microvesiculation, as did hepatocytes from each case. These observations suggest that pancreatic and liver damage in chronic pancreatitis proceed independently but by the same mechanism-heightened, but unmitigated, oxidative detoxification of xenobiotics by cytochromes P450. Therefore, although bile reflux is not a prerequisite, it could compound injury in the head of the gland. Antioxidants were prescribed to the 3 cases mentioned and, from the outset, to a fourth patient who showed the same liver changes. This unconventional approach has held attacks at bay during a follow-up period of 5 yr.

Female type cystic hyperplasia in a male breast.

A 28 year old man had a swelling of the right breast. He was phenotypically and karyotypically a normal male. Microscopic examination of the excised specimen showed the pattern of cystic hyperplasia identical to that commonly seen in the female breast. Numerous cysts were grouped in a lobular pattern and their lining showed apocrine metaplasia. There was extensive background fibrosis, some mammary duct ectasia and some features consistent with the more classical microscopic appearances of gynaecomastia. Whilst some of the features noted above are sometimes seen in gynaecomastia the presence of the full range of the features of cystic hyperplasia is distinctly unusual in the male.

An evaluation of APTT monitoring of low-dose heparin dosage in hip surgery.

The activated partial thromboplastin time has been used to monitor the effects of low-dose subcutaneous heparin in two groups of patients undergoing hip surgery. The study was performed to determine the degree of anticoagulation required to protect these high-risk patients from post-operative deep vein thrombosis. The patients were randomised to receive a fixed regimen of subcutaneous calcium heparin (5,000 units eight-hourly) or a dose of calcium heparin monitored by maintaining the standardised APTT at 50 secs. In the adjusted group the APTT achieved the target figure in 46% of observations compared to 27% in the fixed group (p less than 0.005). Nine patients showed positive 125I-fibrinogen scans and in all, the APTT was below the target value the day before the scan became positive. In contrast, in six of the nine thrombotic patients heparin was detected by antifactor Xa clotting assay. The APTT, therefore, appears to give a better guide to the antithrombotic effect of heparin than the antifactor Xa clotting assay. These preliminary observations suggest that prolonging the standardised APTT method to just above 50 secs improves prophylaxis in high-risk cases. Furthermore, an increased dose of heparin is required than is proved during the conventional low-dose regime of 5,000 units tds. With regular control using the standardised APTT, increasing the dose to the target value does not increase post-operative haemorrhage. Further studies with larger numbers of patients are required in order to show a significant reduction in the incidence of post-operative deep vein thrombosis in hip surgery patients receiving low-dose adjusted heparin.