Thomas F. Nealon

Perforations and foreign bodies of the rectum: report of 28 cases

A series comprised of 28 patients (five with perforations of the recto-sigmoid colon and 23 with lodged rectal foreign bodies) is presented. The symptomatology, physical, laboratory and x-ray findings are described. Methods of management are discussed, with emphasis on the operative management of perforations and the conservative approach to retained foreign bodies. It is felt that these protocols will be useful to physicians who see this practice less frequently. X-rays of two more unusual cases are depicted. A thorough review of the literature is also presented. This is the largest reported series of patients with retained rectal foreign bodies and/or perforations. The series includes two female patients, a heretofore unreported occurrence.

Hepatic artery flow improvement after portacaval shunt: a single hemodynamic clinical correlate.

We have documented a highly significant increment in hepatic arterial flow following a portacaval shunt in patients with cirrhosis of the liver and portal hypertension. In contrast with other hemodynamic variables, the increment in arterial flow was directly related to morbidity, hospital mortality, and long term survival. Patients with increments smaller than 100 ml/min had the worst clinical results. They accounted for all of the hospital mortality, the largest incidence of encephalopathy, and the worst long term cumulative survival rates. The extent of the increment was not related directly to the type of shunt but, rather, to some intrinsic capability of the cirrhotic liver to increase its arterial flow in response to the relief of sinusoidal hypertension produced by the shunt. This capability appears related to the degree of entrapment of the hepatic arterioles by the fibrous tissues of cirrhosis. This encasement of arterioles should change the elastic properties of the hepatic arterial bed and we propose to measure these properties by determining the characteristic input impedance of the arterial bed.

Indications for Intubation in Blunt Chest Trauma

The value of endotracheal intubation and internal stabilization in severe chest injuries is well known. Recent reports have proposed that many such patients can be managed without intubation. To determine which patients need intubation we reviewed 140 patients with three or more rib fractures who presented to our hospitals from 1 January 1979 through 31 December 1983: 119 nonintubated patients (Group A); 13 patients intubated on admission (Group B); five patients intubated after hospital day 1 (Group C); and three patients intubated questionably on admission (Group D). The purpose of this report was to identify the factors which indicated severe pulmonary injury necessitating intubation. The need for intubation was correlated with five risk factors: 1) initial respiratory rate of over 25 min; 2) pulse greater than 100 min; 3) systolic blood pressure less than 100 mm Hg; 4) poor initial arterial blood gas; 5) the presence of other injuries. There was no correlation between severity of pulmonary injury and number of fractures, bilateral and/or segmental fractures, flail chest, contusion of lung, or age of patient. There was a greater percentage of complications and deaths in intubated patients (Groups B, C, and D). Group C patients all had poor initial blood gases and were erroneously not intubated early, even though 60% of them had three or more risk factors, as did Group B patients. Only 4% of patients who did not need intubation (Group A) had three or more risk factors. Group D patients were intubated without apparent indication. They had good initial blood gas levels and only one risk factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pathologic identification of poor prognosis stage I (T1N0M0) cancer of the breast.

Twenty to 40% of Stage I(T1N0M0) cancers of the breast recur in ten years. This is an attempt to identify those patients in whom the disease is likely to recur. On the basis of a study of the histologie changes in the tumor and treatment failures poor prognosis was associated with several histological characteristics: poor cytologie differentiation; lymphatic permeation; blood vessel invasion and invasion of the tumor into the surrounding soft tissue. This classification was then applied to 363 cancers of the breast seen over a five year period and followed three to eight years. There were 203 Stage I (T1N0M0) tumors in the group. Ninety-four of the 203 Stage I tumors had one to four of the above histologie characteristics; 109 had none. Among the 109 patients characterized as good risks there were two treatment failures (2%). In the group of 94 with any high risk histologie features there were 47 treatment failures (50%) which were statistically significant (p = 0.001). The histologie changes had a cumulative effect on the degree of malignancy of the tumor. Pathologic changes in the tumor identified those patients whose Stage I (T1N0M0) tumors were likely to recur.

Autologous blood in the treatment of intraoperative hemorrhage.

Severe hemorrhage associated with major trauma and vascular procedures is seen frequently in our operating rooms. Immediate autotrunsfusion has enabled us to safely and adquately correct blood losses without placing overwhelming demands on our blood bank. Since October 1973, a device capable of retrieving, filtering and reinfusing blood lost during operation has been used on 51 patients (major trauma, 20; ectopic pregnancy, 2; portacaval shunt, 9; peripheral vascular surgery, 20). From 700 to 20,000 ccs of blood were reinfused. Platelets, hematocrit, fibrinogen, free plasma hemoglobin, bilirubin, and creatinine showed no significant changes as compared to preoperative values in 39 survivors. There were 12 deaths. Eight died postoperatively as a result of their injuries, 3 of uncontrollable bleeding and one of renal failure. This study shows that autotransfusion, when used with proper operating technique, is a most satisfactory technique for restoring blood volume in severe trauma cases and elective vascular operations. This method provides a rapid, simple way of rcinfusing fresh blood, free of hepatitis contamination with minimal derangement in cellular and plasma coagulation parameters.

The absence of protein--sparing effects utilizing crystalline amino acids in stressed patients.

The protein-sparing effects of the peripheral infusion of crystalline amino acids (PAA) was studied metabolically in selected surgical patients subjected to various degrees of stress. Twenty-one patients (sixteen cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, three with major abdominal traumatic injuries and four with paralytic ileus) were infused with 2 1/24 hours of a solution of 4.2% Travasol amino acids with only 5% glucose as a source of nonprotein calories. One-half of the cancer patients were also allowed ad libitum oral intake of a regular hospital diet or Vivonex-HN®. The nutritional status was evaluated by measuring changes in body weight, serum albumin levels and nitrogen balance. Body weight decreased in only the trauma patients. When these solutions were the sole source of nutrients all patients were in negative nitrogen balance and had significant decreases in their serum albumin levels. Serum albumin levels were preserved only when extra sources of calories were provided. The infusion of the crystalline amino acids without adequate levels of nonprotein energy did not conserve protein in these stressed patients.

Subphrenic abscess: comparison between operative and antibiotic management.

Subphrenic abscess is still a significant hazard which complicates surgical procedures as well as certain abdominal catastrophes. This is a report of 88 patients with subphrenic abscess at St. Vincents Hospital and Medical Center of New York from 1954 through 1971. There were 46 males and 42 females, ranging from 2 to 88 years. Operations on the stomach, duodenum and biliary tract were the major causes. The causative organisms in order of frequency were: E coli (41.6%), Staphylococcus (41.6%), Aerobacter aerogenes (23.3%), Proteus (20%), Streptococci (18.3%) and Pseudomonas (8.3%). Penicillin and tetracycline, the antibiotics most commonly chosen on an empiric basis, proved effective in only 38% of cases. On the other hand, kanamycin, chloramphenicol and cephalothin were effective in 90%, 85% and 70% of cases respectively. The overall mortality rate was 15%. Nine of the 21 patients (42.8%) treated with antibiotics alone died while 11 of 67 patients (10.6%) treated with antibiotics and surgical drainage died. Some of the latter deaths occurred in patients treated with prolonged antibiotic therapy and operated on only as a last resort. In this series subphrenic abscess was best treated by early surgical drainage combined with the use of appropriate antibiotics.