BACKGROUND The aims of this study were to evaluate the incidence of synchronous appendiceal neoplasm in patients with colorectal cancer, and to determine its clinical significance. METHODS Pathological reports and medical records were reviewed of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma who underwent oncological resection of the tumor together with appendectomy at the Faculty of Medicine Sirir...

BACKGROUND Plastic surgery training programs draw applicants directly from medical school (the "integrated path"), and they may also draw applicants who have completed other categorical training (the "independent path"). Much of the literature on applicant selection focuses on the integrated path. The authors sought to characterize the selection process of independent path programs and how they...

PURPOSE This study evaluated long-term results of transanal irrigation for defecation disturbances. METHODS Three hundred and forty-eight patients [248 women and 100 men; median age 52 years (range, 5-85)] suffering from constipation and fecal incontinence were introduced to transanal irrigation. Patients using transanal irrigation at follow-up received a mailed questionnaire describing bowel...

s in other industrialized countries, the health care sector is an important element of the Netherlands’ economy. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), national health expenditures in the Netherlands rose from 6 percent in 1970 to 8.2 percent in 1980 (23). The growth rate slowed in the 1980s; by 1991, national health expenditures accounted for only a slightly higher share of GDP at 8.3 per...

Multiple risk factors interplay in the formation of foot ulceration and/or limb amputation in the diabetic patient. This study defines the prevalence of foot pathology, lower extremity complications, and known risk factors for ulceration in a cross-sectional analysis of 92 diabetic patients in a Veterans Affairs Metabolic Clinic. Sixteen percent of patients had a history of lower extremity comp...

BACKGROUND Tacrolimus (FK 506) is an effective immunosuppressant drug for the prevention of rejection after organ transplantation, and preliminary studies suggest that topical application of tacrolimus is effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. METHODS We conducted a randomized, doubleblind, multicenter study that compared 0.03 percent, 0.1 percent, and 0.3 percent tacrolimus ointmen...

The purpose of this note is to posit and discuss the concept of "competitive inhibition potential" (CIP), which is an in vivo index of the ability of a competitive inhibitor to elevate plasma concentrations of drug substrates, when the competitive inhibitor is administered at its usual and customary dose.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to characterize the nature of dog bite injuries treated over a 5-year period at a large tertiary pediatric hospital and to identify relevant parameters for public education and injury prevention. METHODS Investigators performed a retrospective review of emergency room records of a single tertiary pediatric hospital. Records of all patients who were e...