The antibiotic concentration of the fluid from either lateral ventricle was determined 104 times in 37 patients through direct ventricular puncture, external ventricular drainage (EVD), or cerebrospinal fluid shunt sampling. The patients were 1 month to 12 years old. When the patients were receiving maximal intravenous antibiotic therapy alone, the concentrations for the most part were below 5 microgram/ml, whereas patients receiving an antibiotic through direct ventricular puncture, EVD, or a shunt reservoir usually had concentrations over 5 microgram/ml. However, wide variations from patient to patient were found with all forms of treatment despite similar dosages. Clustering of the concentration tended to occur in each individual patient. The authors conclude that, to obtain a high concentration of an antibiotic in the ventricular fluid, one should administer it directly into the ventricle.

No abstract

Ultrasound findings in 25 patients with surgically proven endometriosis are presented. Of the 31 lesions characterized at ultrasound examination, 17 were described as cystic, four as polycystic, five as mixed, and four as solid. Nine patients had a diagnostic pattern of sonolucent zones within the uterus representing blood lakes (adenomyosis) associated with extrauterine masses. In the remaining 16 patients, ultrasound alone could not differentiate endometriosis from diseases such as tubovarian abscess, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cyst(s), or tumor. Clinical history contributed to proper diagnosis in these patients.

No abstract

No abstract