To determine the radiological and clinical outcome of primary intracerebral haemorrhage, a prospective study was carried out involving computed tomography (CT) of 388 consecutive Chinese patients admitted with acute stroke to a large public hospital in Hong Kong. Further CT and functional assessment were performed 3 months later in 71% of survivors. The patients were admitted over a 6 month period. 120 (31%) were found to have had presumed primary intracerebral haemorrhage. Of these, 64 patients (53%) died within 3 months. From 40 of the 56 survivors who returned for a follow-up study at 3 months, 30 were functionally independent and five mildly disabled; only five were significantly disabled. Follow-up CT showed no residual lesion in 27%, low attenuation areas in 37%, slit-like lesions in 25% and calcification in 10% of patients. The size of residual lesions correlated statistically with the degree of residual disability, although the association was not close. It is concluded that primary intracerebral haemorrhage accounts for a high percentage of strokes among Hong Kong Chinese with more than half of the patients dying within 3 months. Many survivors, in whom follow-up CT appearances are variable, show good functional recovery.

No abstract

Six patients with long-standing interstitial cystitis (IC) were treated with intravesical electromotive drug-assisted (EMDA) therapy using lidocaine (1.5%) and 1:100,000 epinephrine in aqueous solution. A stainless-steel silver-coated anode placed through an 18F Foley catheter was positioned in the urinary bladder, and a 5 x 10-cm dispersion electrode (cathode) was placed on the suprapubic skin, which was well lubricated with conductive jelly. The two electrodes were connected to a pulsed DC generator, and electrical current was slowly ramped from 0 to 15 mA while the lidocaine and epinephrine were in the urinary bladder. After 40 minutes of current application, the bladder was hydraulically dilated to maximum tolerance. Significant bladder dilatation was achieved without systemic symptoms. Post-treatment, voiding symptoms decreased, as did suprapubic and perineal pain, and in four patients, the results have been durable.

Iontophoresis inhibits bacterial growth at low bacterial concentrations. It does not inhibit bacterial growth after infectious levels have been attained, and it does not potentiate the action of gentamicin on resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Electromotive drug delivery technology may have applications for treating bladder pathology.