Pulmonary function changes in cirrhosis of the liver.

Pulmonary function tests were performed in 21 cirrhotic patients with ascites, and these were compared with 50 normal controls. The vital capacity in the cirrhotic group was 93.67 +/- 12.5% and in controls was 102.47 +/- 15.22%, p less than 0.05. The maximum voluntary ventilation in cirrhotic patients was 89.33 +/- 25.4% and in controls was 127.48 +/- 28.44%, p less than 0.001. The functional residual capacity in cirrhotic patients was 2362.19 +/- 845.08 ml and in controls was 3085.1 +/- 837.92 ml, p less than 0.01. The total lung capacity in cirrhotic patients was 4675 +/- 1204.09 and in controls was 5791.56 +/- 1033.99, p less than 0.01. The first forced expiratory volume in cirrhotic patients was 70.1 +/- 12.79%, whereas that in controls was 77.74 +/- 9.18%, p less than 0.05. These results imply that in cirrhosis of the liver there are prominent restrictive ventilatory disorders as well as obstructive disorders.

T cell subpopulation in hepatoma.

The determination of T cell subpopulation is a modern development in immunology. The increase or hyperactivity of suppressor T cells plays an important role in the development of immune deficiency diseases and most tumors. Our 15 cases of hepatoma, which have all been confirmed with clinical and pathological evidence, belong to the rapid-growing type. Suppressor (Tr) cell elevation appears in the early stage; and the more severe and late the disease is, the higher the Tr cell increase. Thus, the determination of T cell subpopulations bears a close relationship to the evaluation of early hepatoma and to the prognosis of the disease.

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the aged. A retrospective analysis of 100 cases.

One hundred consecutive patients (predominantly men, aged 60 years and older), who were admitted to the Hsinhua Hospital, Shanghai, with acute bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract during a three-year period, were reviewed. The most common causes of bleeding were peptic ulcers, chronic gastritis, prolapse of gastric mucosa, and other benign conditions. In 22 patients, bleeding was either due to oesophageal varices, or was a complication of cor pulmonale. The incidence of malignant disease was 23% (higher than that reported from the United States or the United Kingdom). The mortality rate in patients with benign causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (after exclusion of patients with malignant disease, cor pulmonale, and hepatic cirrhosis) was 4.4%--much lower than the British rate, but slightly higher than that reported in an Australian study. It is hoped that, with the increasing interest in geriatrics, and closer attention to acute bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract in the aged, the mortality rate from this condition will decline.