Intraoperative Heparin Injection Reduced D-dimer and TAT Levels after Total Hip Arthroplasty

Recently, the incidences of pulmonary embolism (PE) and/or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after orthopedic operation increased in Japan. However the effective prevention methods have not been established yet. To make the effective prevention of PE and/or DVT after total hip arthroplasty (THA), we investigated the time-dependent changes of serum thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) and D-dimer levels after THA. We measured changes of serum TAT, and D-dimer levels (before, on day 1, day 5, week 2 and week 4 after operation). Twenty-six women (mean age 64.5 years old), who had undergone THA for osteoarthritis of the hip joint were enrolled and divided into two groups at random. One group had been intravenously injected with 1,000 units of heparin during THA (IH Group, 14 patients), and the other group had not been injected (NH Group, 12 patients). No patients showed clinical PE and/or, DVT. The levels of TAT and D-dimer in IH group significantly reduced compared with these in NH group on the fifth and first postoperative day, respectively (p Our data suggests that intravenous heparin injection during THA might be a potentially effective and safe strategy for prophylaxis of PE after THA

Cyclic phase changes of interstellar medium

Based upon the view that the interstellar medium composed of a hot gas, a warm gas, and cold clouds is regulated by supernova remnants, its time variation is studied by use of model equations. Similar to nonlinear oscillators, three types of solutions are found. They are a stable stationary state (focus), a limit cycle, and a runaway state. It is suggested that each solution corresponds to a realistic state of interstellar medium. An entrained state of interstellar medium by an external periodic force shows a chaotic state and/or a new limit-cycle state, depending upon the frequency and the amplitude of the external force. The present result suggests a new approach to the evolution of galaxies

Spontaneous Remission of Solitary-Type Infantile Myofibromatosis

Infantile myofibromatosis is a rare fibrous tumor of infancy. The cutaneous solitary type has typically an excellent prognosis. However, histologically, it is important to rule out leiomyosarcoma, which has a poor prognosis. The low frequency of mitosis was definitive for a diagnosis of infantile myofibromatosis. We present a cutaneous solitary-type case of infantile myofibromatosis. Following incisional biopsy, the tumor remitted spontaneously