Volume 98  ·   Issue 05  ·  1985

Thermal injury has been shown to result in suppression of many aspects of immunity. We studied the effect of cimetidine on suppressed cell mediated immunity in burned mice, utilizing a method of quantitating sensitivity to the contact antigen, 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene. Daily administration of cimetidine resulted in maintenance of normal cell mediated immunity in these otherwise immuno-suppressed animals. This effect may be secondary to the antagonism of cimetidine with histamine H2 receptors on suppressor cells. Immunorestoration with cimetidine may improve resistance of the burn ed host to infectious complications.

Between July 1955 and December 1980, 536 pathologically confirmed primary liver carcinoma cases underwent abdominal exploration at the Liver Cancer Research Unit, Zhongshan Medical College. Among them, 114 had various types of hepatectomy, with a 21.3% resectability rate and an operative mortality of 11.4%. The 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 58.6%, 32.1%, 23.1% and 21.4%. Of the 114 resections, 14 had small tumors measuring 5 cm or less in diameter. The survival rates in the group were 100%, 74.6% and 59.6% for 1-, 3- and 5-year survivals. Six survived more than 10 years, five have been living and well for 11 years and 9 months, 13 years and 11 months, 16 years and 2 months, 17 years and 9 months, and 21 years and 10 months respectively after operation. All are able to work. One little girl with primary hepatocellular carcinoma with a left hemi-hepatectomy and removal of a tumor weighing l.2 kilograms at age of 4 years and 7 months, is now a healthy young woman of 22 years and 4 months of age with normal development and normal working capacity. One patient died of recurrence of liver cancer and wide-spread metastases 1I years and one month after the operation. Factors influencing long-term results of hepatectomies for primary liver cancer are analysed and discussed in the paper. From our 28 years of clinical experience, we believe that the key to improving results of surgical treatment of primary liver cancer lies in early detection, early diagnosis, early and complete removal of the primary liver cancer and limitation of the resection to within 40% of total liver substance. Hepatectomy with resection exceeding 40% to 50% of the liver in patients with primary liver carcinoma associated with moderate to severe cirrhosis usually results in fatality.

This paper describes the quantitative differential diagnosis of common congenital heart diseases, Data of blood oxygen content of 202 patients with atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus were analyzed by computer and mathematical statistics. The discriminant formulas were obtained by stepwise discriminant analysis of multifactors. They are simple and easy to use, and have a comparatively high rate of coincidence. The stepwise discriminant analysis is believed to be a better method which not only simplifies the calculations, but also avoids the instability of discriminant formulas.

In this study, we analyze the data of blood oxygen content (BOC) in the 202 cases of atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and put forward new diagnostic criteria for BOC in differential diagnosis of ASD, VSD and PDA at the levels of atrium, ventricle and pulmonary artery. The new criteria prove accurate in 92.28% of diagnoses of the 1,063 patients with ASD, VSD, PDA, RSVA and RSVV compared with the findings at operations. The new criteria seem better than Dexter's criteria which are accurate in only 48.74% t0 50.87% of 1,063 patients.

A case of thrombosis of the Galenic system veins in an adult is reported. Psychiatric symptoms were the initial manifestation, and the diagnosis was made at necropsy. We believe that this condition is not as rare as it seems and that more careful clinical scrutiny and more complete examination at necropsy would disclose more cases. We suggest that the neurologists and neuropathologists consider the possibility of thrombosis of the Galenic system veins, whenever they encounter a case of thrombosis of the cerebral venous sinuses in which psychiatric symptoms are the initial manifestation.

Five cases of posterior urethral stricture were treated by a combination of transpubic urethroplasty and pedicled-muscle-flap grafting with m. rectus abdominis. All patients had a history of pelvic fracture or local trauma, and had had an operation with unfavorable results. Follow up of 7-25 months showed that all of them resumed normal voiding with normalization of urethrogram. No orthopedic problems and incisional hernia were observed.

A new method of distinguishing between normal and ectopic pregnancy is presented. The basis of this method is the presence and high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in cervical mucus of intrauterine pregnant women. Of 104 suspected ectopic pregnancy cases examined by this method in this study, 36 were proved by laparotomy to be ectopic pregnancy.

In 43 cases of alveolar hydatidosis caused by Echinococcus multilocularis, the chief clinical manifestation was firm, round and rough masses located on the upper right abdomen for 2 months to 7 years. Jaundice developed in 10. Casoni's intradermal test was positive in all; but indirect hemagglutination test and immunoelectrophoresis were positive in 8. Eosinophilia was always noted. Other examinations included ultrasonic exploration, roentgenography and radioisotope liver scanning. Hemihepatectomy was performed in cases that met the indications for operation. Most of the patients had palliative resection. The general condition of all these patients improved after operation.

Fasting serum vitamin B12 levels and intestinal absorption of free and bound radioactive vitamins were studied in patients with atrophic gastritis of Types A and B seen in Shanghai. In seven cases of Type A gastritis with megaloblastic anemia, one had serum vitamin B12 level of 65 pg/ml before the administration of vitamin B12, but the rest had normal serum vitamin B12 levels because the tests were done after vitamin B12 treatment. They all had abnormal dual isotope test results for vitamin B12 malabsorption.

We collected 448 cases of chronic gastritis (421 chronic atrophic gastritis) from 15 institutes in different areas of China. A study on the dynamic changes in intestinal metaplasia (530 slides), dysplasia (146 slides) and gastric gland atrophy was made over a period of 2 to 10 years.