Pregnancy in a woman with unilateral lung agenesis.

Unilateral lung agenesis is a rare congenital condition of unknown etiology. A 33-year-old nullipara with right lung agenesis and scoliosis was admitted to the hospital at 30 weeks of gestation because of oligohydramnios. At 32 weeks she was treated for an upper respiratory tract infection with azithromycin. She went into premature labor at 34 weeks and was delivered by Cesarean for breech presentation. Both mother and infant did well.

Uterine rupture associated with castor oil ingestion.

A woman at 39 weeks' gestation with a previous Cesarean delivery had severe abdominal pains and rupture of membranes shortly after ingesting 5 ml of castor oil. Forty-five minutes later, repetitive variable decelerations prompted a Cesarean delivery. At surgery, a portion of the umbilical cord was protruding from a 2-cm rupture of the lower transverse scar.

Umbilical arterial Doppler sonography for fetal surveillance in pregnancies complicated by pregestational diabetes mellitus.

Antepartum fetal surveillance constitutes an essential component of the standards of care in managing pregnancies complicated by pregestational diabetes mellitus. Fetal hyperglycemia is associated with increased oxidative metabolism, hypoxemia and increased brain and renal perfusion without any significant changes in fetoplacental perfusion. Human cordocentesis data show that fetal hypoxemia and acidemia are associated with changes in the umbilical arterial Doppler indices in maternal diabetes mellitus complicated by fetal growth restriction or pre-eclampsia. Consistent with this, observational studies suggest significant diagnostic efficacy of the Doppler method in diabetic pregnancies complicated by vasculopathy, and in the presence of fetal growth restriction or hypertension. However, the relationship between abnormal umbilical arterial Doppler indices and the quality of glycemic control remains unproved. Although there are no randomized trials specifically addressing this issue, existing evidence suggests that Doppler velocimetry of the umbilical artery may be beneficial for antepartum fetal surveillance in diabetic pregnancies complicated by vasculopathy, fetal growth restriction or hypertension.

Use of ultrasound in occupational risk assessment of low-back pain.

The aim of the study was to evaluate ultrasound technique in preemployment medical assessment of the risk for low-back pain. Volunteers for the study were recruited among agricultural workers employed in the "Agraria Department" of the University of Bologna, Italy. The group consisted of 90 subjects, 52 male and 38 female, aged 25 to 58 years. The subjects filled in a questionnaire on medical history of low-back pain and were examined using an ultrasonograph equipped with a high linear frequency probe (3.5 MHz). The oblique parasagittal diameter of the lumbar spinal canal was measured by transabdominal ultrasonic imaging in the lumbar (L4-L5) and lumbosacral (L5-S1) region. Individuals with significantly narrower canals (< 14 mm) had an increased risk of low-back pain. The paper concludes that ultrasound imaging could become a valuable screening tool in industry, permitting selective job placement for workers at high risk for disorders of the back.

Computer processing of x-ray films. Preliminary report on arteriograms.

An X-ray processing system by computer is described. The scanning device and display are illustrated. The main processing methods are analyzed, in particular the linear and non linear ones. An example of image processing which is the base for future work is shown.