Function and structure of the nasal mucosa after 6 weeks' use of nose-drops

The nasal mucosa of 20 healthy subjects were examined before, during and after 6 weeks of regular use of xylometazoline nose-drops (1 mg/ml) 0.15 ml three times daily. The subjects, except those affected by common colds, did not suffer any diminished mucociliar function during or after the trial. The surface structures were not found to have changed when examined with scanning electron microscopy. No morphological changes were observed in the intercellular space, basal membrane or tunica propria when using transmission electron microscopy. During the test period 5 of the subjects developed upper respiratory infections which temporarily prolonged the mucociliar transport time tested with small particles of saccharin. In some of these subjects a reduction in the number of ciliated cells was observed as well as an inflammatory reaction close to the epithelial cells. It is concluded that the use of xylometazoline over a 6-week period does not provoke any major functional or structural changes in a normal nasal mucosa.

Electrically induced short-lasting tetanus of the calf muscles for prevention of deep vein thrombosis

Electrical calf muscle stimulation during surgery has been used for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with varied results in several studies. This effect is mainly achieved by the reduction of venous stasis in the legs. Another possible beneficial effect might be an increased fibrinolytic activity of the blood secondary to the muscle contractions. Previously, single electrical impulses have been used for stimulation, giving rise to 'single twitches' in the muscles. In the present study the effect on calf volume of muscle stimulation with groups of impulses giving a short-lasting tetanus was investigated. Changes in calf volume were recorded by strain gauge plethysmography. Optimal values for duration, number and frequency of the impulses within the groups were determined. Stimulation with groups of impulses reduced calf venous volume approximately three times more efficiently than stimulation with single impulses. Calf muscle stimulation did not enhance the increase in fibrinolytic activity of venous blood observed after oesophago- or laryngoscopies under general anaesthesia.

Treatment with xylometazoline (Otrivin) nosedrops over a six-week period

Twenty healthy subjects were treated with xylometazoline 1 mg/ml for six weeks in order to study the occurrence of tachyphylaxis and rhinitis medicamentosa. Each subject instilled 0.15 ml of xylometaxoline nose-drops into each nostril three times a day. Posterior rhinomanometry was performed before the trial started, after 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks treatment and 20, 27, 40 and 48 hours after the subject had taken the nose-drops for the last time. With rhinomanometry it was possible in this study to show that the same dose was adequate during the whole six-week period, i.e. no tachyphylaxis was observed. No reactive congestion was observed after the trial was finished.

Postural effects on nystagmus response during caloric labyrinthine stimulation in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. II. An electro-nystagmographic study

An electro-nystagmographic study of postural effects on the nystagmus response has been performed in 40 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis aged from 10 to 16 years. The control group comprised 29 healthy children of the same age. Caloric labyrinthine stimulation was done in the supine and erect position. The results were analysed with the aim of finding out whether an increased scoliotic deformity might influence the labyrinthine response. For comparison of the nystagmus response in the two different positions a quotient of the values (degrees/second) obtained from cold water stimulation in the erect and supine position was calculated. In the control children the labyrinthine response in erect posture was half of the response in supine posture. In erect posture the scoliotic deformity increased. This obvious change in the spine did not increase the caloric response from the convex side labyrinth. The predominance of the convex side labyrinth observed in the supine position was thus not seen in the erect position. The results of this study did not support the assumption that a postural deformity in the spine can influence a calorically induced labyrinthine response.

A study of labyrinthine function in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. I. An electro-nystagmographic study

An electro-nystagmographic study of labyrinthine function was performed in 56 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS)aged from 10 to 16 years. Forty-seven patients had major structural single curvatures, and nine patients had double-primary scoliosis and were analysed separately. Treatment was required in 36 cases while 20 were being observed only. Thirty healthy children of the same ages constituted a control group. Spontaneous nystagmus (SN) and positional nystagmus (PN) were found in 24 out of the 47 patients with single curvatures and in only one subject in the control group (P less than 0.001). No significant correlation was noted between direction of convexity and nystagmus. Neither did the frequency of SN or PN differ significantly between patients requiring treatment and patients submitted to observation only. Significant differences were observed in the caloric response between right and left scoliotic patients (P less than 0.05). The right convex patients had a sensitivity dominance in the right labyrinth and the left convex patients in the left labyrinth. There were no significant differences between right- and left-beating nystagmus. A dysrhythmic nystagmus occurred in the scoliotic patients with significantly increased frequency (P less than 0.05). The results are discussed with special reference to aetiology in AIS. It was difficult, however, to draw any definite conclusion as to whether the findings may indicate a causative factor in relation to the idiopathic curvature or whether they might be a feed-back effect from the deformed spine.

The influence of acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol on menstrual blood loss in women with and without an intrauterine contraceptive device

The influence of ASA and paracetamol on menstural blood loss and on some hematologic parameters was investigated in 23 women without an IUD and 10 women with an IUD. Neither in women with normal nor in women with small defects in the hemostatic mechanism were statistically significant increases in menstrual blood losses observed during treatment with ASA or paracetamol when compared to placebo. There was no linear correlation between bleeding time and basal menstrual blood loss or between the blood losses induced by ASA and paracetamol and the bleeding time.

Vestibulospinal reflex activity in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Postural effects during caloric labyrinthine stimulation recorded by stabilometry

Postural sway has been quantified with stabilometry during caloric labyrinthine stimulation in an erect posture in 49 patients, aged 10--16 years, with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Thirty-two healthy children of the same age constituted a control group. The scoliotic patients tended to have an increased postural sway during labyrinthine stimulation on the convex side compared to the effects on the concave side. Significant differences were observed when left and right scoliotic patients were compared with the controls. The results can be explained by an asymmetric sensitivity in the labyrinth or by a dysfunction in the postural control mechanisms at the brain stem level.

Influence of acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol on menstrual blood loss

In a double-blind cross-over study the influence of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and paracetamol on menstrual blood loss has been investigated in 23 women without an intrauterine loop or birth control pills. After intake of ASA there was no significantly, increased blood loss compared with intake of placebo or paracetamol.

Is high blood pressure an aetiological factor in epistaxis?

In the present investigation, 391 men born in 1913 were examined. The blood pressure was registered in a standardized way and the subjects were questioned about epistaxis. The aim of the investigation was to analyze whether habitual nose-bleeders or subjects with recent bleedings had higher blood pressure than the other subjects in the population study. All attempts to find a correlation between epistaxis and elevated (or high) blood pressure were unsuccessful. When high blood pressure is found in a patient with nose-bleeds it is probably an incidental finding and not an aetiological factor.

The frequency of epistaxis in a male population sample

In a population sample consisting of 507 males aged between 50 and 60 years and 120 thirty-year-old sons of these males the frequency of epistaxis and predisposing factors of epistaxis were studied. Only one-third of the subjects had never had epistaxis. One out of ten subjects had been treated for epistaxis by a doctor at least once in his life. About 3 per cent had had nose-bleeds during the previous week. Statistically it was shown that a history of upper respiratory infection and intake of acetylsalicylic acid separately might predispose to expistaxis.